DISCLAIMER: With the exception of Sette Devion and Kumi Yuy, none of the Gundam Wing characters are mine.
Gundam Wing: The Second Chapter
Episode 29: From Dust to Dust
by SkyLark
with help from Snodin, Vampira, Sam, Stormy, Silver Star, Beekay, GREETER 600, Ruby and all supporters of this fic
Heero stepped from the hanger of the final Preventer craft that he would be visiting before his mission. As he entered the long hallway just beyond the large doors, a tall Preventer in his early thirties smiled to the Gundam pilot. He extended his hand and nodded, "Heero Yuy, I'm Captain David Wilson. My men are waiting to offer you any assistance in completing your mission." Heero gave a nod back and shook the Captain's hand firmly.
When the handshake broke, the Wing pilot looked out the window beside them. Colony X63 was in the distance. Heero walked to the window as he looked to the sight. "I finally made it," he said quietly to himself after long pause. Looking to X63, he held his breath as he looked to the beautiful image. The Wing pilot closed his eyes and lowered his head and thought aloud, "We're so close to ending this war." Wilson nodded as he looked to the 'Perfect Soldier', "So close and yet so far, ne, Heero? The Colony is still a little over an hour away."
Turning back to the Captain, the Japanese pilot informed him, "I don't want there to be any loss of Preventers in this fight. I'll handle this mission on my own with Wing Zero." David chuckled deeply and shook his head. He sighed, "I had a feeling that you would say that. We'll still be here in case that should change." Heero replied, "Arigato ...Have you heard anything from Lieutenant Jacobs?" the captain nodded, "Yes. He said that when he last checked, Duo is just an hour from returning to Deathscythe."
The Gundam pilot nodded back, "Good. So everything will be in place come one o'clock this morning." David smirked, "That it will. It's almost ten o'clock now. Once you're in X63's heart at that time, you'll be able to contact Duo through the transmitter that the main monitor provides. It'll be easier to work as one that way...We only get one chance at this." Heero nodded, "We're both aware of that." He turned back to face the hanger and looked over his shoulder to see the Preventer. "I'll be leaving for X63 then." David smirked and waved, "In that case, good luck, Yuy." The 'Perfect Soldier' made his way back to the hanger after giving one last nod to the captain.
* * * * * *
Duo was at the shipyard, waving and saying good-bye to the co-workers that he befriended during his stay on V10. Night had fallen a little over an hour before this time, and the braided pilot didn't want to miss wishing everyone that he met his best before he left. While he was going to miss talking with a lot of these guys, the American was thankful that he was just hours away from being with Heero again.
The American swore that he would never leave the Japanese pilot's side after they were reunited. For the months they had been sent to work on their missions, they were only able to spend one night together. The braided pilot chuckled to himself as he walked from the shipyard, "Heero and I will have a lot of catching up to do when we're together again." He smiled, "And great things come to those who wait."
"Solo," the voice of his manager called from behind again. Duo turned and smiled to the older man. "Hey, Sean," he replied. His manager stood before him and sighed as he crossed his arms, "Just wanted to thank you again for all your help here. It's been nice knowing you these last few weeks. Duo smiled back, "Thank you for making me so welcome here." The pair shook hands firmly.
Sean patted the braided pilot's back and said, "You take care of yourself out there, kid." The man placed a tine tracking device on Duo's back as he patted it. The American smiled and waved, "Later, man. It's been a pleasure." As Duo disappeared into the darkness of the port ahead of the shipyard, Sean called and waved, "It's been a pleasure on my part, too..." The manager sneered and chuckled deeply to himself, "Duo Maxwell...Oh, you don't know the half of it."
* * * * * *
The Gundam pilots on Earth were all in the living room of their new cabin. Trowa was working on the transcript that Duo had given him. Quatre, Wufei, Zes and Novem were playing cards and Delapan was reading a book she found in the safe house's small study on the second floor. Kumi was working on her laptop, looking to the blueprints she had been working on for years. The sounds of a small ship landing in the hanger below them proved that Sette had returned from her trip to Pulsar.
It was not long before the tomboy was entering the living room, carrying a lot on her with two backpacks falling on either shoulder and three large medical kits in her arms. She announced with a bright smile, "I'M HOOOME!" Quatre was the first up to greet her as he kissed her cheek.
Sette returned the gesture and sighed in relief, "Thank you, love," as her fiancee helped with some of the bag. The young woman explained to the others, "We'll have to go to Pulsar if we hope to watch X63 and V10 when the missions are accomplished. I just came back to drop this stuff off and pick you guys up." Looking to the bags after lying them on the ground, the ex-princess stated, "I got all of our necessities and them some."
"What's the 'and then some,'" Kumi asked, never looking up from her laptop as she worked. Sette smiled and opened one of her backpacks. Taking some items, the tomboy went through the room, handing something to everyone as she said, "Just a few things that I knew you guys would like."
Handing a round object to Trowa, she smiled, "I know that your compass broke when we were getting here, so here's a brand new one." Trowa smiled warmly to the other pilot and gave a nod as he replied, "Thank you." Relena was handed two fluffy pillows as Sette explained, "Zes, I know that you won't be too comfortable sleeping without these since you're pregnant." The young queen chuckled as she accepted the gift, "Thank you, Sette."
Walking to the silver-haired pilot, the tomboy continued, "Kumi, I know I got you hooked on tea during the Eve Wars, so I have boxes of teabags here for you." Placing the boxes next to her busy partner, the blue-haired pilot chuckled. Sette continued to go off on some of the things that she had brought. Looking to Delapan, Sette stated, "Oh, yea...Derek says hello and he misses you." The redhead's eyes widened then softened as she smiled and nodded.
Wufei sighed deeply as the tomboy continued to talk about her trip. "Do you ever shut up?" he shot as her. Lowering the items in her arms, Sette looked to the Chinese pilot. "Oh, and I almost forgot, Wufei, I got this for you..." She extended a thick piece of duct tape from a large roll that she brought back from Pulsar. Wufei's dark eyes widened instantly as he told her, "Get away from me with that." He got to his feet instantly and ran from the room with Sette right on his heels, still holding the duct tape. She smiled as they ran through the room, "Come here! I want to make you useful!"
The other pilots, with the exception of Kumi, laughed as their friends flew from the living room. As the laughter died, the 'Perfect Soldier' looked to the clock on her screen and closed her laptop. Rising from her seat, the silver-haired pilot told the others in monotone, "Well, we best head for Pulsar now, since Heero and Duo will be accomplishing their missions soon." Her comrades smiled to each other and made their way to the hanger.
* * * * * *
Heero was shooting towards Colony X63 and before long, the colony was in the sight of his monitors. With a sneer on his face, the Japanese pilot pressed forward on his controls with everything that he had. The white Gundam was shooting like a comet right for its destination. As was about to reach the colony's atmosphere, Heero caught sight of just some of the two hundred OZ soldiers that had arrived at the colony...waiting for him to arrive. The 'Perfect Soldier' chuckled deeply to himself, "Good. This should be interesting."
Aiming the Buster Riffle in the direction of the Taurus suits ahead of him, the Wing pilot took out a handful of the first opponents in his path. The other Taurus suits managed to maneuver themselves much more quickly. They not only avoided the beam, but also were soon firing upon the winged Gundam. Heero was able to return the fire before long. The white suit removed its laser blade and held off on the use of the Buster Riffle for now.
The Wing pilot growled deeply as he made his way through the Taurus suits. Before long, he had taken out nearly all of them. When the last three remained, their pilots froze as they looked in terror and shock to Wing Zero. "W-What the hell is he?" one of the young pilots whispered gravely as she looked to her monitors.
Desperate, the three soldiers shot after the Gundam. Heero shot to them in response and faster than anyone could blink, he stabbed through the three Taurus suits, who were no match. After the final explosion, The Japanese pilot looked to the Colony that he was sent to find.
The winged suit fell from the sky as the pilot within pressed down on his controls again. His eyes narrowed and some sweat making its way down his face. Heero looked to his monitors to see the massive swarm of OZ soldiers in the air and on the barren ground of the desert below.
The Wing pilot continued to allow his suit to fly down, head-first. Several Aires suits swarmed not far below him as they shot up was quickly as they could. Only a few shots actually hit the suit in its free-fall. And those that did make their mark bounced off on account of the speed that the Gundam's flight.
Heero took his blade and chopped through the first suits that he came in contact with, not stopping to take care of those Aires suits that he didn't destroy as he fell past them to make his way to the barren miles of land past them.
The great numbers of Leos, Virgos and other suits beyond the pack of Aires suits didn't phase the 'Perfect Soldier' in the least. Even when he could not see his way past the mobile suits, Heero simply continued to make his way to them and removed the Buster Riffle again, welcoming the fight to come as he fired a single, massive shot that took out a wide circle of soldiers. As the OZ soldiers around that ring looked up, they discharged with all of their guns at once. Again, only a small number of shots made their mark but had no effect. Heero pulled back on his controls, causing his suit to soar just over the heads of the mobile suits on the colony's surface.
As he soared over them, the Wing pilot lowered the laser blade to point straight down, taking out a good number of OZ pilots as they had no time to react. Once he reached the large, round break in the soldiers that the Buster riffle made, Heero looked to the soldiers that encircled him. The Wing pilot sneered and gave a nod to himself just before the soldiers went on to shout and fell upon him.
* * * * * *
Back on V10, Duo shot Deathscythe through the waterfall where his suit was hidden far beyond the city. He shouted with an elated smile, "YYYEEE-HHHAAA!" The demon-winged suit shot through the night air and made its way to the mountain ranges of the colony, miles from anything and anyone...Where the entrance to the colony's heart was to be found. It was not long before Deathscythe reached the mountain rages and was in the middle of a struggle against OZ soldiers who had hidden there.
Taking his suit's massive laser scythe, Duo cut several Leos and Virgos in half at the waist or from top to bottom as they shot from their hiding places in attempt to take the Gundam pilot by surprise. Duo shouted to them, "NICE TRY, ASSHOLES!" Spinning his suit, the American went on to take on the many soldiers that were waiting for their chance to take him on.
The OZ soldiers shouted and forced their way to try and overpower the braided pilot. While there were a few good hits that managed to make their mark, Duo was too determined not to fail in his mission, as he was for any mission that he was sent on. With this conviction, his eyes narrowed and focused on eliminating his opponents. After several minutes, it was time for a new tactic.
Deathscythe shot up straight into the sky to penetrate the Aires suits that rained shots from above. One of the OZ soldiers hissed in his Leo, "Shit! He's fast!" The Gundam pilot shouted and stabbed through his enemies without blinking or faltering in his attack. Using the mountains around them, Duo flew through the many hazardous caverns around.
Several Aires suits crashed into the stone crevasses and cliffs in their attempt to follow the dark suit, exploding in mid-air upon impact. Duo sneered as he saw that there was still a good number of soldiers that managed to pilot themselves safely through the obstacle course. Two Aires suits were gaining speed and were not far from the American as they went after his with sweat-drenched faces and thinly narrowed eyes.
Deathscythe suddenly spun to look back at them, catching both pilots off-guard as they gasped loudly and shouted as they tried to avoid the laser scythe that had been raised as the suit continued to fly backwards. The OZ soldiers tried desperately to fly up as they pulled on their controls and groaned loudly in their efforts. They had been flying too fast to even slow down a hair and their suits continued to fly right to the Gundam. The laser scythe swiped from left to right, destroying both suits in the single move. Duo turned his suit around to return to the suits that couldn't fly after him.
* * * * * *
An hour later, The Gundam pilots quickly entered the control room of Pulsar and ran to their friends as they all looked to the large monitor in the front of the room. Sette asked Lady Une, "Did we miss the fireworks?" The young woman shook her head, "Not yet. But there are two Preventers crafts close enough that are able to take those images of the colonies. Lieutenant Jacobs is the closest to V10 and Captain Wilson is by X63. They'll be the ones who will report on Heero and Duo's conditions when this is over."
With a small smile, Une informed the pilots, "Duo and Heero are at their destinations and should be reaching the colony hearts soon." The pilots looked a bit more relieved when they heard this, though this news did not guarantee that everything was going to go smoothly. While the only images that they were able to see were of the distant shots of the colonies, at least there was something that they could look too.
Zes ran to Brian as they laughed and hugged tightly, being reunited for the first time in weeks. They kissed deeply before embracing tightly again. Marimaya, Milliardo and Noin hugged and kissed their friends as they made their way to them as well. Derek watched the pilots and their friends from the back of the control room once he entered. The sight of all of them together and so happy was gut-wrenching. He continued to look to them with a heavy heart and soon turned to see the main monitor that revealed the two colonies.
Anderson held his breath and whispered to himself, "Whatever Quinze had planned, I just hope that Duo and Heero get out of it alive..." Delapan saw Derek and smiled brightly as she ran to him. The young Preventer gave a small, warm smile as the redhead hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek, smiled, "I've missed you." Anderson returned the peck and sighed deeply as he closed his eyes in Catherine's embrace, whispering back, "I've missed you, too."
Trowa went on to sit at one of the computers, working carefully on translating the OZ transcript. Novem looked to the tall pilot as he continued to read through the papers that he had been working on for several hours. She sighed deeply to herself, "I just hope that he can decipher that message soon. I have a bad feeling that we need the information in that transcript right away."
Kumi was not far from Dorothy with her arms crossed and eyes focused on the European pilot. She assured the blonde pilot in her monotone voice, "Trowa's doing all he can. We'll use whatever he learns to our advantage soon enough." Novem nodded, "I guess I'm just a little edgy, with everything that happening now." The silver-haired pilot gave a single nod and simply replied, "Understood."
The other pilots had been standing or sitting closely together as they were anxious to see the completion of the missions that would help them win the war. There was silence as everyone kept their guards up for anything to happen.
* * * * * *
Heero was destroying OZ soldiers left and right. The only physical evidence that he had been going through a lot in this fight was the sweat that soaked his face and body. Looking to his monitors, he was breathing heavy and focused on his opponents. The Wing pilot spun his suit with the laser blade pointed ahead of his suit, cutting the soldiers around him in half across their waists. Heero growled deeply as he saw the steady approach of soldiers, no matter how many he knocked out.
Still fighting without allowing himself to have a second to breathe, the Japanese pilot pushed forward and went on to block every attempt on his life, only to take the lives of those who generated that threat. It would not be long before he managed to have a brief look to see that he was making a very large dent in the numbers of OZ soldiers. With an inward sigh of relief, Heero chuckled deeply, "Finally."
The OZ soldiers surrounding the 'Perfect Soldier' for their chance to try and destroy him watched as those closest to the winged Gundam were killed left and right despite all of their tactics. Some soldiers in the furthest distance that watched looked to their monitors with wide eyes and pale faces. Frozen in their places, they bit back the fear that was creeping in their minds and bodies. One young soldier was sweating badly just dreading having to fight the Gundam pilot.
Looking to one of his comrades, the young pilot shouted, "Fuck this! That kid's not human!" He was prepared to shoot off in his Leo when the other pilot he addressed shouted, "YOU FOOL!" It was too late, the terrified pilot was off in mid-air. Panting as he made his suit fly as fast as he could, the young man growled, "Come on." As he was about to reach the atmosphere of X63, he was stopped by an Aires as it got right in his path. The suit's pilot aimed his gun at the Leo. The retreating soldier gasped and screamed, "NOOO!"
The Aired suit fired a single shot, hitting the Leo square over the cockpit. The Leo's pilot screamed in agony just before his mobile suit exploded just before the other OZ soldier. The Aired pilot shook his head and hissed, "What a goddamned waste."
Over his transmitter, he shouted to his comrades, "The next bastard to try and retreat will be taken out by his own men! We're not leaving this place until that son of a bitch is dead, or everyone of us is killed!" Any fears of facing Heero within all of the OZ pilots who had been listening and watching in shock were forgotten as they looked with narrowed eyes to the image of the white Gundam.
Heero also intercepted the warning from the OZ soldier and sneered to himself. "I'll just have to kill every last one of you, then," he growled quietly. Taking his Buster riffle, the Japanese pilot wiped out a long line of mobile suits, their pilots screaming loudly from the terrible heat and pain the beam caused. There was a wide chain of explosions as the suits were taken out. Heero shouted and fired the massive gun yet again, killing any and everything that it touched.
An OZ solider in her Virgo gave a small gasp as she covered her eyes from the bright light that came the explosions around her. When the light subsided, she lowered her arm and quickly looked back to the screen. Wing Zero was looking right at her, charging with its blade lifted in mid-air. The OZ pilot didn't have a moment to breath before the Gundam ran to her and sliced her from top to bottom. Heero went on to take out the suits close to that Virgo in a similar manner, despite all of their attempts to block and return the attack.
Though more than half of the OZ army had been completely destroyed, the Wing pilot didn't allow any time for the challengers to have a second to gain the upper-hand in this fight. There was just too much riding on the successful completion of these last two missions, regardless of the fact that the war would be far from over when they were finished. There were too many lives at stake...not only at this time, but the lives that had yet come into the world. With all of these things in his mind and heart, Heero fought with everything that he had to offer and then some.
Before he knew it, Heero had knocked the OZ soldier down to a mere forty soldiers. There were now some visible bruises and cuts on his face, arms and shoulders. There had been too many soldiers to be able to get out of the fight unscathed, even for someone as powerful as the Wing pilot. He wiped some blood that dropped from the right side of his mouth and finally breathed a small, nearly inaudible, sigh of relief.
Looking to the small clock in his suit's monitor, he saw that it was now 12:25 pm. In just thirty-five minutes, he and Duo would be reaching the hearts of their respected colonies, as they had planned. He said aloud quietly, "Almost time to reach the Colony hearts, Duo."
* * * * * *
On V10, Duo looked to his built-in clock of Deathscythe's monitor. The pilot smiled to himself, "Not long now, Heero." He continued take out his own enemies as he caused Deathscythe to force its way through the mobile suits with its massive weapon. Seeing that he was more than ready to wipe out the final soldiers as he killed their comrades left and right, the braided pilot licked his bleeding bottom lip and chuckled, "Anyone else want to try their luck against Shinigami?" Of course, the OZ pilots were not prepared to leave the fight unless they were dead, or they had killed the Gubdam pilot.
Wiping a some of the sweat that poured from his face, the American went on to block a strike from one of the Taurus suits that made its way to him. Knocking the OZ soldier off balance with a forceful thrust forward on their locked weapons, Duo took advantage of the situation and swiped his blade to stab into the cockpit of the Taurus suit. The comrades of the killed pilot went on to quickly make their way to the god of Death to pick up where their friend left off. Not much time would pass before this wave of troops shared the same fate as their partner.
Looking to his monitor, Duo noticed that there was just a handful of soldiers remaining. The pilots within were looking to the dark Gundam in shock mixed with fear. They couldn't move as they realized that they were not going to be leaving the colony alive. The American waiting for someone to make a move. There was a long pause as the Gundam and the mobile suits looked to each other. The braided pilot rubbed his bleeding right cheek into his shoulder to absorb the blood from the gash there into his black t-shirt. Still, there was no change as the two sides remained like statues.
Finally, one of the Leos ran forward as its pilot screamed loudly. His few remaining comrades charged right behind him as they used their last resources to take the Gundam out. Without blinking, Duo growled deeply and ran towards the oncoming soldiers. As they met in the middle, the American maneuvered his suit to dodge, stab and destroy every OZ soldier. After the explosions of the mobile suits had passed, Duo gasped loudly as he tried to catch his breath, folding himself as sweat drenched him. The fight had been a long and exhausting one.
This moment to relax was to be short-lived as the braided pilot's monitors beeped. Zooming onto the signal that his suit had picked up, Duo's eyes narrowed as he saw that another large swarm of OZ soldiers was making its way to the colony's atmosphere. "Damn it," he hissed as he sat back up, finally able to breathe normally again. Looking to the bases of the mountains that surrounded his suit, the young pilot noticed a cavern where he could fit Deathscythe.
Upon hiding the suit in the shadows of the cavern, Duo turned his transmitter and announced, "Lieutenant Jacobs, I'm making my way to the Colony's heart now." The voice of a much older man chimed in, "Great work, Duo. Good luck." The pilot nodded and undid the harness himself as he replied, "Thank you."
He placed the stealth mode on his suit for added protection of his suit. Deathscythe 'disappeared' and the American lowered himself onto the ground. Running out of the cavern, Duo made his way to a special entrance that would lead him to the colony's heart.
As he ran, he thought aloud, "I can't risk OZ following Deathchythe down to the Colony's heart and finding a way to stop me before I can activate the heart, since I might have to wait for Heero...Good thing there's another entrance I managed to find during my stay here. He continued to run through the mountainous valley in the night, thankful that his eyes had adjusted to the darkness. Duo just focused on making his way to his destination as fast as his feet could take him.
* * * * * *
Heero screamed as he brought a death blow from his laser blade into the cockpit of a Taurus pilot. The mobile suit was destroyed in a large ball of flames. There was a very small handful of soldiers left as they faced Wing Zero. Heero was not in any way concerned about the minor injuries he had endured from the long struggle. Looking to his enemies, his eyes narrowed as a low, deep growl left him.
Knowing that there was not time to simply stand and wait for someone to make a move, Heero said flatly, "Omae o koruso." The OZ soldiers shouted as they saw the winged suit raise its Buster Riffle right at them. The Japanese pilot pressed the triggering device and took out the remaining OZ soldiers with a single, yet massive, shot.
The Gundam pilot looked around to see that he had killed every last OZ soldier that had been waiting for him. Panting to catch his breath, Heero fell back in his seat with his eyes closed as he needed this moment to try and focus on the main task at hand. He looked to the clock again. 12:48 pm.
The cobalt eyes of the pilot widened for a moment and he turned his transmitter on. "Captain Wilson, I am flying to the Colony's heart now. Duo should be making his way the his destination as we speak," he informed the Preventer.
Wilson's voice responded, "Copy that, Heero. We're close enough now that we can hold off any OZ soldiers that might try to surprise you. You won't have to worry about them following you if you have to wait for Duo. Good luck." Heero nodded, "Arigato." The connection was cut off and the Wing pilot's eyes narrowed as he managed to gain his focus again.
The winged Gundam flew off as its pilot made his way to the most hallow part of the barren stretch of land. Once he made his way there, Heero pushed forward and his Gundam flew head-first under the surface of the colony.
* * * * * *
Duo was holding onto a thin bar with both hands as he hung from it, shooting down into the hidden tunnel that would bring him to V10's heart. The bright, golden, lights in the narrow tube provided more than enough brightness for him to know what was happened as he plummeted
down.
* * * * * *
Heero was just a few feet from shooting to the part of the tube that would be too small for his suit to fly through without damaging part of X63's heart. Once he made his way there, the Wing pilot quickly released his harness and lowered himself to the ground. Running into the small opening, the 'Perfect Soldier' soon reached the main monitor and turned the transmission on.
Duo did the same once he reached the main monitor of V10 and was waiting to intercept the message sent from X63. The image of the pilots' lovers came on the screen as the pair sighed deeply when they saw that their partner was alive and had reached their locations. They both bit back the concern they felt when they saw the bruises on their lover, since they still had work to do. With small warm, smile the pilots nodded to each other.
"Ready, koi?" Duo asked his partner as he cracked his knuckles. Heero nodded and replied, "Hai....On one." The pair made their way to the switched and controls that they needed to work. Both pilots made their way to the first switch of their monitors. Heero counted once their hands were ready, "Three...Two...One." On one, the pair flipped the first switch. Making their way to the second switch, they nodded to each other again to let their lover know they were ready. Duo counted, "Three...two...One." On one, their second switched were flipped.
The final two switches were flipped in the same manner. Duo sighed and wiped some sweat from his brow. "Now for the hard part," he said quietly as he looked to the keyboard of the panel. Heero said gently, "Just watch my hand on your monitor, Duo. I'll do the same with yours. We'll get through this together." The braided pilot smiled and nodded, "Got it."
Their hands rested just above their keyboards and Heero asked, "Ready?" Duo nodded, "Ready when you are." Heero nodded back and counted, "Three...Two...One." On one, the pair began to type the long series of commands into their monitors, never missing a beat. Sweat was dripping down both pilot's faces as their eyes were dead-locked on the image of their lover's hands, seeing that they never missed their partner's moves. They kept up a pace that just moved fluently, never pausing and never breaking. The two pilots knew that even one small mistake would cause all of their efforts to be meaningless.
After three minutes, the last key remained. Heero's hands suddenly stopped, in the sudden realization that this was the last thing that they had to do. He snapped, "SHIT!" as he feared that his sudden pause would have been too sudden for Duo. Heero's eyes widened as he looked to Duo, who was laughing loudly. The American went on to chuckle to him, "You'd always pause before hitting the last key when you typed your reports!"
Heero looked in shock as Duo's hands were frozen the same way that his own were, never having pressed the last key in anticipation of Heero's pause. He was amazed that the braided pilot knew him so well, regardless of the fact that they had worked closely together for years. It just showed how there were times Duo knew Heero better than he knew himself.
The Wing pilot smiled in relief and chuckled deeply. His chuckle grew into laud laughter as his lover joined in as they let all of their nerves finally relax. When their laughed subsided, Heero whispered with a loving smile, "Ai shiteru, Duo." His partner sighed in relief and whispered back, "Ai shiteru, Heero." The pair counted together, "Three....two...one." On one, they pressed the last letter on their keyboard in perfect time.
* * * * * *
On Pulsar, the Preventers and pilots that had been sitting rose to their feet as they looked to the image of the colored rings, showing the territory they had contact with now. Where Kumi's purple ring left off between Saturn and Uranus, a silver ring (for Duo) went from there to the spot just past Neptune. A thick, green ring (for Heero) appeared to color the remainder of the galaxy at the same time.
The shocked men and women all caught their breath collectively and Lady Une shouted, "THEY DID IT! WE HAVE CONTACT WITH EVERYONE IN SPACE!" There was a huge cheer and cry from the pilots and the Preventers as they instantly hugged, kissed, high-fived and did what ever their relief and elation brought them to do.
Kumi simply remained in the back of the control room, leaning her back against the wall there with her arms crossed as she looked to the celebration with a small smirk. She then focused on Trowa, who was suddenly looking with a shocked glance to the papers he was working on. The silver-haired pilot blinked then said quietly to herself, "You've found something, haven't you, Trowa?"
* * * * * *
Heero and Duo smiled lovingly to each other and concluded their cover up. Now, no matter what happened to the colonies or their hearts, the signal couldn't be destroyed. It was the lock into the completion of the missions as a whole. When this was finished, they both sighed deeply at the same time. Heero smiled to his partner, "Thanks for the back up." Duo chuckled and winked, "Anytime, love. It was a pleasure." The braided pilot sighed deeply, "I just can't believe we finally got through this." The Wing pilot nodded his agreement.
Duo smiled, "I'll be at Captain Wilson's ship in a few hours. It'll be easier to head back to Pulsar from there." Heero nodded, "Hai. I'll meet you there, koibito." He went on to whisper in a plea, "Be careful out there." His lover replied in a whisper back, "I will....See you soon, love." Heero couldn't cut the connection off before saying quietly and affectionately, "Ai shiteru, Duo." Fighting very small tears of relief, his lover replied the same, "Ai shiteru, Heero." The connection was cut. Both pilots had so many emotions running through them right now that they didn't know what end was up in trying to sort them out. Still, the only thing that they were the most certain of was just wanting to be with their koi as soon as possible.
* * * * * *
The Gundam pilots and the Preventers all looked to the images of the colonies as they continued to celebrate. Trowa was finally able to see something in the transcript that made sense after all of his efforts. He read aloud to himself as he scribbled the translation on a blank piece of paper. The tall pilot read aloud quietly to himself, "And so, after much debating and effort or our part, there are ten more colonies that have allied with us..." The greenish eyes of the Gundam pilot widened as he said gravely to himself, "A secret alliance between OZ and some of the colonies?" Quickly, he scanned the rest of the message.
"Those colonies include..." he continued. "W384, F131, P79, Q82..." A sharp gasp left Trowa as his eyes widened as he looked to what he scribbled. 'V10' was what he translated in his handwriting. The pilot instantly jumped from his seat and turned on a grabbed a headset from a Preventer that had them lying on the desk before her.
Trowa's friends all watched in shock and confusion as they were not able to react from his sudden move. The tall pilot looked to the Preventer and told her, "Give me the connection to Colony V10's heart!" Seeing the distress in the Gundam pilot's face, the young woman connected the signal as fast as her hands could type. Kumi ran up behind her comrade and watched with some concern in her expression. Soon, the Preventer nodded to Trowa, "You're in." Hearing this, Trowa shouted as loudly as he could into the microphone, "DUO GET OUT OF THERE NOW! COLONY V10 MADE AN ALLIANCE WITH OZ! YOU'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A TRAP!" Kumi gasped and shouted with wide eyes, "WHAT!?!"
* * * * * *
That very instant, back on V10, the American shouted into the transmitter of the main monitor, "WHAT!?!" Not a second passed and Duo head the safety clips of several guns behind him behind clicked off. His deep blue eyes closed slowly at the sounds. Turning around, he saw ten men, all aiming their weapons at him. There was a pause as the braided pilot turned and looked to the armed men.
Duo finally chuckled and sneered, "Congratulations. You've caught Death." Instantly, he was hit in the gut by the first of the armed men with the base of his shot gun. The braided pilot fell to his knees, gasping to regain the wind that had been knocked out of him. The other intruders proceeded to beat the pilot as they encircled him.
"DUO! WHAT HAPPENED!?! WHERE ARE YOU!?!" Trowa's voice cried desperately over the transmitter. Duo struggled to reply as he looked to the monitor and barely managed to get out in a small, strangled voice, "T-Trowa..." He managed to get to his knees again as he used all the strength he had to craw to the monitor. One of the men chuckled deeply and shook his head to the beaten pilot. He pulled some wires from the monitor, ending the contact with Pulsar.
The men around proceeded to beat the American with their weapons, legs, fists and whatever they could get a hold of. Duo was hit in the back of the head and fell to the ground like a rock. He groaned painfully as he looked up to the men standing over him, their guns aimed at the pilot as they chuckled deeply and sneered.
There was blood coming from the bruised all over the American as he squeezed his eyes closed in agony, a sharp hiss of breath leaving him. Duo was losing consciousness, seeing the room and everything around him growling black. He licked his dry lips weakly and sighed deeply, knowing that his time was almost up. The braided pilot whispered sadly, "God, please look after Heero for me, since I can't do it now..." At the last words, a small whimper of pain left him as he was consumed by darkness and collapsed unconscious.
The first of the armed men that began the assault bent to his knees and removed the homing device that had been hidden on the pilot's back. He sneered to the fallen American, "Mission complete."
* * * * * *
In Foreign Minister Falseon's room just moments later, the balding man smiled to the image of Quinze Khshrenadah, "My men have captured Duo Maxwell, as we said we would." The OZ leader smiled wickedly, "Thank you for your help, Michael." He stretched and sighed, "And now I must say farewell." Faleson's green eyes widened as he snapped, "What was that!?!"
Quinze sneered, "The sacrifice of you and your people will never be forgotten. You helped us kill a Gundam pilot. But, I won't be taking any chances. I don't want that pilot having the chance to escape with his life after all of the grief that he and his friends had caused me." Falseon's eyes widened as he shouted, "You told me that you wanted him alive!" The OZ leader laughed, "And you believed me!" Falseon glared to the dark-haired and hissed, "You had this planned all along." Quince smiled and nodded, "Guilty as charged."
Leaning forward in his seat and folding his hands, the leader of OZ revealing that he had been holding something resembling a long pen. Quinze chuckled, "You should have chosen your friends more wisely, old man." Falseon shouted, "YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Before he could continue, the minister watched as the image of the OZ leader disappeared. The green eyes of the old man widened as he realized and cried, "He was holding a triggering device!" As these words were shouted from his mouth, he spun quickly to look out from the large window behind him.
From the night sky over the colony, the beginning of a wide, golden beam was making its way to V10. The people of the colony screamed as they saw the ray breaking through the colony's atmosphere. With wide eyes and a pale face, Falseon whispered gravely, "And so it ends..." The bean engulfed the colony, wiping out everything that it touched.
* * * * * *
There was a bright flash of light that was blinding even on the monitors as those who watched covered their eyes and shouted in shock and pain. In the control room of Pulsar, everyone was stricken with fear when they felt the bright rays from the screen disappear. Slowly, they lowered their hands and arms from covering their eyes. "No,'" was all Quatre managed to whisper breathlessly. The others were too shocked to say anything as they looked with wide eyes and pale faces.
There was nothing spared from V10. All that remained was floating debris and other shattered remains from the colony, practically the size of stardust. All was silent and still. There was a long pause of stillness as everyone looked in shock and disbelief to the monitor. Trowa fell to his knees, unable to breathe as he looked in grief to the screen ahead. Sette was fighting huge tears in her eyes as she whispered, "T-tell me that I'm seeing things...please."
Relena covered her mouth as a whimper left her. She shook her head vibrantly and sobbed, "God please, no...Not Duo." Novem and Brian were nest to her as they were still too taken back by the fact that their friend had been killed. Brian wrapped his arms around his wife as she buried her head in his chest. Novem lowered herself into a chair just behind her, staring to the monitor.
Wufei lowered his head with tears streaming down his face as he chocked a sob and began to shake. Sally was the closest to the Chinese pilot. Crying, herself, she wrapped her arms around the dark-eyed pilot and chocked back sobs along with him. Quatre was about to fall when his fiancee helped him stay on his feet, though Sette was having trouble standing, herself.
Delepan was crying as she lowered herself to kneel besides Trowa. The brother and sister held each other and remained like that as they supported each other. Derek finally took a small breath and looked to the redhead holding her brother. He went to his knees behind her and rubbed her shoulders.
Kumi remained frozen, staring to the monitor with a heavy heart. Her cobalt eyes slowly closed, unable to look to the empty space that was being shown. Lowering her head, she whispered, "Sleep well, Duo...You've earned it." She placed her hood on and turned back to her comrades, who did whatever they could to help each other get through this.
Milliardo and Noin held each other tightly. Fire was weeping as she shook in her husband's arms. Silent tears rolled down Milliardo's cheeks as he closed them and rested his head on Noin's. Keiser looked to Lady Une, who was covering her mouth with her right hand, choking sobs as tears ran from her eyes. He went to her and hugged her, rubbing her back for support. Marimaya was crying as she looked to her friends after turning from the screen and joined Lady Une. The head of the Preventers pulled from Keiser's embrace gently so that she could hug Marimaya.
Kumi looked to Keiser as she slowly walked out of the control room. The Lieutenant gave a small, sad nod to the pilot as she passed his and followed her. When the doors of the room closed behind them, Keiser looked to the silver-haired pilot's back to see that her head was lowered and her hands were to her side. He sighed deeply and whispered sincerely, "I'm sorry, Kumi...I-I wish that I could do something." Without turning back to face the young man, the hooded pilot lifted her head and replied quietly, "Could you contact Lieutenant Jacobs?"
Keiser's eyes widened for a moment and he asked, "If that's what you wish...But why?" There was a pause before Kumi answered, "He might be able to find what's left of Deathscythe...We'll need it sent here to rebuild the suit." The Lieutenant frowned and nodded, "Of course...I'll contact him right away." The pilot gave a small nod and said, "Thank you." Keiser was about to walk back to the hanger when he heard Kumi clear her throat and call, "Lieutenant?"
The Preventer turned back to the silver-haired pilot and replied, "Yes, Kumi?" The young woman turned slowly to face him. There were tiny tears in the cobalt eyes of the pilot. She whispered, "Please see if anyone out there can get through to Heero...He doesn't..." She cleared her throat again and whispered in a small voice, "He doesn't know Duo's..." She couldn't say it. The words just wouldn't leave her. The heart of the young man fell into the pit of his stomach as he could only imagine what this news would do to the Wing pilot.
After a long pause, he whispered, "I'll see that Heero's informed and taken care of." The pilot nodded after fighting the tears back, "Arigato." Keiser walked back into the control room again. The doors closed behind him.
The moment she was alone, Kumi fell to her knees, throwing her right hand over her mouth as a small whimper left her, all color leaving her face. She folder onto herself and choked back sobs as she started shaking. Looking to her side and out the window that revealed the stars, she took a deep breath and tried to compose herself. "I'm so, so sorry, Heero," she sobbed as a small, single tear rolled down her right cheek.
* * * * * *
Quinze Kushrenadah was spinning himself in his wheeled seat as he chuckled deeply to himself, "From ashes to ashes and dust to dust." That chuckle grew into a maddened laugh that couldn't be contained as it filled and echoed around the room he was in. The OZ leader shouted in elation, "Now the real fun begins!"
TBC
Gundam Wing: The Second Chapter
Episode 29: From Dust to Dust
by SkyLark
with help from Snodin, Vampira, Sam, Stormy, Silver Star, Beekay, GREETER 600, Ruby and all supporters of this fic
Heero stepped from the hanger of the final Preventer craft that he would be visiting before his mission. As he entered the long hallway just beyond the large doors, a tall Preventer in his early thirties smiled to the Gundam pilot. He extended his hand and nodded, "Heero Yuy, I'm Captain David Wilson. My men are waiting to offer you any assistance in completing your mission." Heero gave a nod back and shook the Captain's hand firmly.
When the handshake broke, the Wing pilot looked out the window beside them. Colony X63 was in the distance. Heero walked to the window as he looked to the sight. "I finally made it," he said quietly to himself after long pause. Looking to X63, he held his breath as he looked to the beautiful image. The Wing pilot closed his eyes and lowered his head and thought aloud, "We're so close to ending this war." Wilson nodded as he looked to the 'Perfect Soldier', "So close and yet so far, ne, Heero? The Colony is still a little over an hour away."
Turning back to the Captain, the Japanese pilot informed him, "I don't want there to be any loss of Preventers in this fight. I'll handle this mission on my own with Wing Zero." David chuckled deeply and shook his head. He sighed, "I had a feeling that you would say that. We'll still be here in case that should change." Heero replied, "Arigato ...Have you heard anything from Lieutenant Jacobs?" the captain nodded, "Yes. He said that when he last checked, Duo is just an hour from returning to Deathscythe."
The Gundam pilot nodded back, "Good. So everything will be in place come one o'clock this morning." David smirked, "That it will. It's almost ten o'clock now. Once you're in X63's heart at that time, you'll be able to contact Duo through the transmitter that the main monitor provides. It'll be easier to work as one that way...We only get one chance at this." Heero nodded, "We're both aware of that." He turned back to face the hanger and looked over his shoulder to see the Preventer. "I'll be leaving for X63 then." David smirked and waved, "In that case, good luck, Yuy." The 'Perfect Soldier' made his way back to the hanger after giving one last nod to the captain.
* * * * * *
Duo was at the shipyard, waving and saying good-bye to the co-workers that he befriended during his stay on V10. Night had fallen a little over an hour before this time, and the braided pilot didn't want to miss wishing everyone that he met his best before he left. While he was going to miss talking with a lot of these guys, the American was thankful that he was just hours away from being with Heero again.
The American swore that he would never leave the Japanese pilot's side after they were reunited. For the months they had been sent to work on their missions, they were only able to spend one night together. The braided pilot chuckled to himself as he walked from the shipyard, "Heero and I will have a lot of catching up to do when we're together again." He smiled, "And great things come to those who wait."
"Solo," the voice of his manager called from behind again. Duo turned and smiled to the older man. "Hey, Sean," he replied. His manager stood before him and sighed as he crossed his arms, "Just wanted to thank you again for all your help here. It's been nice knowing you these last few weeks. Duo smiled back, "Thank you for making me so welcome here." The pair shook hands firmly.
Sean patted the braided pilot's back and said, "You take care of yourself out there, kid." The man placed a tine tracking device on Duo's back as he patted it. The American smiled and waved, "Later, man. It's been a pleasure." As Duo disappeared into the darkness of the port ahead of the shipyard, Sean called and waved, "It's been a pleasure on my part, too..." The manager sneered and chuckled deeply to himself, "Duo Maxwell...Oh, you don't know the half of it."
* * * * * *
The Gundam pilots on Earth were all in the living room of their new cabin. Trowa was working on the transcript that Duo had given him. Quatre, Wufei, Zes and Novem were playing cards and Delapan was reading a book she found in the safe house's small study on the second floor. Kumi was working on her laptop, looking to the blueprints she had been working on for years. The sounds of a small ship landing in the hanger below them proved that Sette had returned from her trip to Pulsar.
It was not long before the tomboy was entering the living room, carrying a lot on her with two backpacks falling on either shoulder and three large medical kits in her arms. She announced with a bright smile, "I'M HOOOME!" Quatre was the first up to greet her as he kissed her cheek.
Sette returned the gesture and sighed in relief, "Thank you, love," as her fiancee helped with some of the bag. The young woman explained to the others, "We'll have to go to Pulsar if we hope to watch X63 and V10 when the missions are accomplished. I just came back to drop this stuff off and pick you guys up." Looking to the bags after lying them on the ground, the ex-princess stated, "I got all of our necessities and them some."
"What's the 'and then some,'" Kumi asked, never looking up from her laptop as she worked. Sette smiled and opened one of her backpacks. Taking some items, the tomboy went through the room, handing something to everyone as she said, "Just a few things that I knew you guys would like."
Handing a round object to Trowa, she smiled, "I know that your compass broke when we were getting here, so here's a brand new one." Trowa smiled warmly to the other pilot and gave a nod as he replied, "Thank you." Relena was handed two fluffy pillows as Sette explained, "Zes, I know that you won't be too comfortable sleeping without these since you're pregnant." The young queen chuckled as she accepted the gift, "Thank you, Sette."
Walking to the silver-haired pilot, the tomboy continued, "Kumi, I know I got you hooked on tea during the Eve Wars, so I have boxes of teabags here for you." Placing the boxes next to her busy partner, the blue-haired pilot chuckled. Sette continued to go off on some of the things that she had brought. Looking to Delapan, Sette stated, "Oh, yea...Derek says hello and he misses you." The redhead's eyes widened then softened as she smiled and nodded.
Wufei sighed deeply as the tomboy continued to talk about her trip. "Do you ever shut up?" he shot as her. Lowering the items in her arms, Sette looked to the Chinese pilot. "Oh, and I almost forgot, Wufei, I got this for you..." She extended a thick piece of duct tape from a large roll that she brought back from Pulsar. Wufei's dark eyes widened instantly as he told her, "Get away from me with that." He got to his feet instantly and ran from the room with Sette right on his heels, still holding the duct tape. She smiled as they ran through the room, "Come here! I want to make you useful!"
The other pilots, with the exception of Kumi, laughed as their friends flew from the living room. As the laughter died, the 'Perfect Soldier' looked to the clock on her screen and closed her laptop. Rising from her seat, the silver-haired pilot told the others in monotone, "Well, we best head for Pulsar now, since Heero and Duo will be accomplishing their missions soon." Her comrades smiled to each other and made their way to the hanger.
* * * * * *
Heero was shooting towards Colony X63 and before long, the colony was in the sight of his monitors. With a sneer on his face, the Japanese pilot pressed forward on his controls with everything that he had. The white Gundam was shooting like a comet right for its destination. As was about to reach the colony's atmosphere, Heero caught sight of just some of the two hundred OZ soldiers that had arrived at the colony...waiting for him to arrive. The 'Perfect Soldier' chuckled deeply to himself, "Good. This should be interesting."
Aiming the Buster Riffle in the direction of the Taurus suits ahead of him, the Wing pilot took out a handful of the first opponents in his path. The other Taurus suits managed to maneuver themselves much more quickly. They not only avoided the beam, but also were soon firing upon the winged Gundam. Heero was able to return the fire before long. The white suit removed its laser blade and held off on the use of the Buster Riffle for now.
The Wing pilot growled deeply as he made his way through the Taurus suits. Before long, he had taken out nearly all of them. When the last three remained, their pilots froze as they looked in terror and shock to Wing Zero. "W-What the hell is he?" one of the young pilots whispered gravely as she looked to her monitors.
Desperate, the three soldiers shot after the Gundam. Heero shot to them in response and faster than anyone could blink, he stabbed through the three Taurus suits, who were no match. After the final explosion, The Japanese pilot looked to the Colony that he was sent to find.
The winged suit fell from the sky as the pilot within pressed down on his controls again. His eyes narrowed and some sweat making its way down his face. Heero looked to his monitors to see the massive swarm of OZ soldiers in the air and on the barren ground of the desert below.
The Wing pilot continued to allow his suit to fly down, head-first. Several Aires suits swarmed not far below him as they shot up was quickly as they could. Only a few shots actually hit the suit in its free-fall. And those that did make their mark bounced off on account of the speed that the Gundam's flight.
Heero took his blade and chopped through the first suits that he came in contact with, not stopping to take care of those Aires suits that he didn't destroy as he fell past them to make his way to the barren miles of land past them.
The great numbers of Leos, Virgos and other suits beyond the pack of Aires suits didn't phase the 'Perfect Soldier' in the least. Even when he could not see his way past the mobile suits, Heero simply continued to make his way to them and removed the Buster Riffle again, welcoming the fight to come as he fired a single, massive shot that took out a wide circle of soldiers. As the OZ soldiers around that ring looked up, they discharged with all of their guns at once. Again, only a small number of shots made their mark but had no effect. Heero pulled back on his controls, causing his suit to soar just over the heads of the mobile suits on the colony's surface.
As he soared over them, the Wing pilot lowered the laser blade to point straight down, taking out a good number of OZ pilots as they had no time to react. Once he reached the large, round break in the soldiers that the Buster riffle made, Heero looked to the soldiers that encircled him. The Wing pilot sneered and gave a nod to himself just before the soldiers went on to shout and fell upon him.
* * * * * *
Back on V10, Duo shot Deathscythe through the waterfall where his suit was hidden far beyond the city. He shouted with an elated smile, "YYYEEE-HHHAAA!" The demon-winged suit shot through the night air and made its way to the mountain ranges of the colony, miles from anything and anyone...Where the entrance to the colony's heart was to be found. It was not long before Deathscythe reached the mountain rages and was in the middle of a struggle against OZ soldiers who had hidden there.
Taking his suit's massive laser scythe, Duo cut several Leos and Virgos in half at the waist or from top to bottom as they shot from their hiding places in attempt to take the Gundam pilot by surprise. Duo shouted to them, "NICE TRY, ASSHOLES!" Spinning his suit, the American went on to take on the many soldiers that were waiting for their chance to take him on.
The OZ soldiers shouted and forced their way to try and overpower the braided pilot. While there were a few good hits that managed to make their mark, Duo was too determined not to fail in his mission, as he was for any mission that he was sent on. With this conviction, his eyes narrowed and focused on eliminating his opponents. After several minutes, it was time for a new tactic.
Deathscythe shot up straight into the sky to penetrate the Aires suits that rained shots from above. One of the OZ soldiers hissed in his Leo, "Shit! He's fast!" The Gundam pilot shouted and stabbed through his enemies without blinking or faltering in his attack. Using the mountains around them, Duo flew through the many hazardous caverns around.
Several Aires suits crashed into the stone crevasses and cliffs in their attempt to follow the dark suit, exploding in mid-air upon impact. Duo sneered as he saw that there was still a good number of soldiers that managed to pilot themselves safely through the obstacle course. Two Aires suits were gaining speed and were not far from the American as they went after his with sweat-drenched faces and thinly narrowed eyes.
Deathscythe suddenly spun to look back at them, catching both pilots off-guard as they gasped loudly and shouted as they tried to avoid the laser scythe that had been raised as the suit continued to fly backwards. The OZ soldiers tried desperately to fly up as they pulled on their controls and groaned loudly in their efforts. They had been flying too fast to even slow down a hair and their suits continued to fly right to the Gundam. The laser scythe swiped from left to right, destroying both suits in the single move. Duo turned his suit around to return to the suits that couldn't fly after him.
* * * * * *
An hour later, The Gundam pilots quickly entered the control room of Pulsar and ran to their friends as they all looked to the large monitor in the front of the room. Sette asked Lady Une, "Did we miss the fireworks?" The young woman shook her head, "Not yet. But there are two Preventers crafts close enough that are able to take those images of the colonies. Lieutenant Jacobs is the closest to V10 and Captain Wilson is by X63. They'll be the ones who will report on Heero and Duo's conditions when this is over."
With a small smile, Une informed the pilots, "Duo and Heero are at their destinations and should be reaching the colony hearts soon." The pilots looked a bit more relieved when they heard this, though this news did not guarantee that everything was going to go smoothly. While the only images that they were able to see were of the distant shots of the colonies, at least there was something that they could look too.
Zes ran to Brian as they laughed and hugged tightly, being reunited for the first time in weeks. They kissed deeply before embracing tightly again. Marimaya, Milliardo and Noin hugged and kissed their friends as they made their way to them as well. Derek watched the pilots and their friends from the back of the control room once he entered. The sight of all of them together and so happy was gut-wrenching. He continued to look to them with a heavy heart and soon turned to see the main monitor that revealed the two colonies.
Anderson held his breath and whispered to himself, "Whatever Quinze had planned, I just hope that Duo and Heero get out of it alive..." Delapan saw Derek and smiled brightly as she ran to him. The young Preventer gave a small, warm smile as the redhead hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek, smiled, "I've missed you." Anderson returned the peck and sighed deeply as he closed his eyes in Catherine's embrace, whispering back, "I've missed you, too."
Trowa went on to sit at one of the computers, working carefully on translating the OZ transcript. Novem looked to the tall pilot as he continued to read through the papers that he had been working on for several hours. She sighed deeply to herself, "I just hope that he can decipher that message soon. I have a bad feeling that we need the information in that transcript right away."
Kumi was not far from Dorothy with her arms crossed and eyes focused on the European pilot. She assured the blonde pilot in her monotone voice, "Trowa's doing all he can. We'll use whatever he learns to our advantage soon enough." Novem nodded, "I guess I'm just a little edgy, with everything that happening now." The silver-haired pilot gave a single nod and simply replied, "Understood."
The other pilots had been standing or sitting closely together as they were anxious to see the completion of the missions that would help them win the war. There was silence as everyone kept their guards up for anything to happen.
* * * * * *
Heero was destroying OZ soldiers left and right. The only physical evidence that he had been going through a lot in this fight was the sweat that soaked his face and body. Looking to his monitors, he was breathing heavy and focused on his opponents. The Wing pilot spun his suit with the laser blade pointed ahead of his suit, cutting the soldiers around him in half across their waists. Heero growled deeply as he saw the steady approach of soldiers, no matter how many he knocked out.
Still fighting without allowing himself to have a second to breathe, the Japanese pilot pushed forward and went on to block every attempt on his life, only to take the lives of those who generated that threat. It would not be long before he managed to have a brief look to see that he was making a very large dent in the numbers of OZ soldiers. With an inward sigh of relief, Heero chuckled deeply, "Finally."
The OZ soldiers surrounding the 'Perfect Soldier' for their chance to try and destroy him watched as those closest to the winged Gundam were killed left and right despite all of their tactics. Some soldiers in the furthest distance that watched looked to their monitors with wide eyes and pale faces. Frozen in their places, they bit back the fear that was creeping in their minds and bodies. One young soldier was sweating badly just dreading having to fight the Gundam pilot.
Looking to one of his comrades, the young pilot shouted, "Fuck this! That kid's not human!" He was prepared to shoot off in his Leo when the other pilot he addressed shouted, "YOU FOOL!" It was too late, the terrified pilot was off in mid-air. Panting as he made his suit fly as fast as he could, the young man growled, "Come on." As he was about to reach the atmosphere of X63, he was stopped by an Aires as it got right in his path. The suit's pilot aimed his gun at the Leo. The retreating soldier gasped and screamed, "NOOO!"
The Aired suit fired a single shot, hitting the Leo square over the cockpit. The Leo's pilot screamed in agony just before his mobile suit exploded just before the other OZ soldier. The Aired pilot shook his head and hissed, "What a goddamned waste."
Over his transmitter, he shouted to his comrades, "The next bastard to try and retreat will be taken out by his own men! We're not leaving this place until that son of a bitch is dead, or everyone of us is killed!" Any fears of facing Heero within all of the OZ pilots who had been listening and watching in shock were forgotten as they looked with narrowed eyes to the image of the white Gundam.
Heero also intercepted the warning from the OZ soldier and sneered to himself. "I'll just have to kill every last one of you, then," he growled quietly. Taking his Buster riffle, the Japanese pilot wiped out a long line of mobile suits, their pilots screaming loudly from the terrible heat and pain the beam caused. There was a wide chain of explosions as the suits were taken out. Heero shouted and fired the massive gun yet again, killing any and everything that it touched.
An OZ solider in her Virgo gave a small gasp as she covered her eyes from the bright light that came the explosions around her. When the light subsided, she lowered her arm and quickly looked back to the screen. Wing Zero was looking right at her, charging with its blade lifted in mid-air. The OZ pilot didn't have a moment to breath before the Gundam ran to her and sliced her from top to bottom. Heero went on to take out the suits close to that Virgo in a similar manner, despite all of their attempts to block and return the attack.
Though more than half of the OZ army had been completely destroyed, the Wing pilot didn't allow any time for the challengers to have a second to gain the upper-hand in this fight. There was just too much riding on the successful completion of these last two missions, regardless of the fact that the war would be far from over when they were finished. There were too many lives at stake...not only at this time, but the lives that had yet come into the world. With all of these things in his mind and heart, Heero fought with everything that he had to offer and then some.
Before he knew it, Heero had knocked the OZ soldier down to a mere forty soldiers. There were now some visible bruises and cuts on his face, arms and shoulders. There had been too many soldiers to be able to get out of the fight unscathed, even for someone as powerful as the Wing pilot. He wiped some blood that dropped from the right side of his mouth and finally breathed a small, nearly inaudible, sigh of relief.
Looking to the small clock in his suit's monitor, he saw that it was now 12:25 pm. In just thirty-five minutes, he and Duo would be reaching the hearts of their respected colonies, as they had planned. He said aloud quietly, "Almost time to reach the Colony hearts, Duo."
* * * * * *
On V10, Duo looked to his built-in clock of Deathscythe's monitor. The pilot smiled to himself, "Not long now, Heero." He continued take out his own enemies as he caused Deathscythe to force its way through the mobile suits with its massive weapon. Seeing that he was more than ready to wipe out the final soldiers as he killed their comrades left and right, the braided pilot licked his bleeding bottom lip and chuckled, "Anyone else want to try their luck against Shinigami?" Of course, the OZ pilots were not prepared to leave the fight unless they were dead, or they had killed the Gubdam pilot.
Wiping a some of the sweat that poured from his face, the American went on to block a strike from one of the Taurus suits that made its way to him. Knocking the OZ soldier off balance with a forceful thrust forward on their locked weapons, Duo took advantage of the situation and swiped his blade to stab into the cockpit of the Taurus suit. The comrades of the killed pilot went on to quickly make their way to the god of Death to pick up where their friend left off. Not much time would pass before this wave of troops shared the same fate as their partner.
Looking to his monitor, Duo noticed that there was just a handful of soldiers remaining. The pilots within were looking to the dark Gundam in shock mixed with fear. They couldn't move as they realized that they were not going to be leaving the colony alive. The American waiting for someone to make a move. There was a long pause as the Gundam and the mobile suits looked to each other. The braided pilot rubbed his bleeding right cheek into his shoulder to absorb the blood from the gash there into his black t-shirt. Still, there was no change as the two sides remained like statues.
Finally, one of the Leos ran forward as its pilot screamed loudly. His few remaining comrades charged right behind him as they used their last resources to take the Gundam out. Without blinking, Duo growled deeply and ran towards the oncoming soldiers. As they met in the middle, the American maneuvered his suit to dodge, stab and destroy every OZ soldier. After the explosions of the mobile suits had passed, Duo gasped loudly as he tried to catch his breath, folding himself as sweat drenched him. The fight had been a long and exhausting one.
This moment to relax was to be short-lived as the braided pilot's monitors beeped. Zooming onto the signal that his suit had picked up, Duo's eyes narrowed as he saw that another large swarm of OZ soldiers was making its way to the colony's atmosphere. "Damn it," he hissed as he sat back up, finally able to breathe normally again. Looking to the bases of the mountains that surrounded his suit, the young pilot noticed a cavern where he could fit Deathscythe.
Upon hiding the suit in the shadows of the cavern, Duo turned his transmitter and announced, "Lieutenant Jacobs, I'm making my way to the Colony's heart now." The voice of a much older man chimed in, "Great work, Duo. Good luck." The pilot nodded and undid the harness himself as he replied, "Thank you."
He placed the stealth mode on his suit for added protection of his suit. Deathscythe 'disappeared' and the American lowered himself onto the ground. Running out of the cavern, Duo made his way to a special entrance that would lead him to the colony's heart.
As he ran, he thought aloud, "I can't risk OZ following Deathchythe down to the Colony's heart and finding a way to stop me before I can activate the heart, since I might have to wait for Heero...Good thing there's another entrance I managed to find during my stay here. He continued to run through the mountainous valley in the night, thankful that his eyes had adjusted to the darkness. Duo just focused on making his way to his destination as fast as his feet could take him.
* * * * * *
Heero screamed as he brought a death blow from his laser blade into the cockpit of a Taurus pilot. The mobile suit was destroyed in a large ball of flames. There was a very small handful of soldiers left as they faced Wing Zero. Heero was not in any way concerned about the minor injuries he had endured from the long struggle. Looking to his enemies, his eyes narrowed as a low, deep growl left him.
Knowing that there was not time to simply stand and wait for someone to make a move, Heero said flatly, "Omae o koruso." The OZ soldiers shouted as they saw the winged suit raise its Buster Riffle right at them. The Japanese pilot pressed the triggering device and took out the remaining OZ soldiers with a single, yet massive, shot.
The Gundam pilot looked around to see that he had killed every last OZ soldier that had been waiting for him. Panting to catch his breath, Heero fell back in his seat with his eyes closed as he needed this moment to try and focus on the main task at hand. He looked to the clock again. 12:48 pm.
The cobalt eyes of the pilot widened for a moment and he turned his transmitter on. "Captain Wilson, I am flying to the Colony's heart now. Duo should be making his way the his destination as we speak," he informed the Preventer.
Wilson's voice responded, "Copy that, Heero. We're close enough now that we can hold off any OZ soldiers that might try to surprise you. You won't have to worry about them following you if you have to wait for Duo. Good luck." Heero nodded, "Arigato." The connection was cut off and the Wing pilot's eyes narrowed as he managed to gain his focus again.
The winged Gundam flew off as its pilot made his way to the most hallow part of the barren stretch of land. Once he made his way there, Heero pushed forward and his Gundam flew head-first under the surface of the colony.
* * * * * *
Duo was holding onto a thin bar with both hands as he hung from it, shooting down into the hidden tunnel that would bring him to V10's heart. The bright, golden, lights in the narrow tube provided more than enough brightness for him to know what was happened as he plummeted
down.
* * * * * *
Heero was just a few feet from shooting to the part of the tube that would be too small for his suit to fly through without damaging part of X63's heart. Once he made his way there, the Wing pilot quickly released his harness and lowered himself to the ground. Running into the small opening, the 'Perfect Soldier' soon reached the main monitor and turned the transmission on.
Duo did the same once he reached the main monitor of V10 and was waiting to intercept the message sent from X63. The image of the pilots' lovers came on the screen as the pair sighed deeply when they saw that their partner was alive and had reached their locations. They both bit back the concern they felt when they saw the bruises on their lover, since they still had work to do. With small warm, smile the pilots nodded to each other.
"Ready, koi?" Duo asked his partner as he cracked his knuckles. Heero nodded and replied, "Hai....On one." The pair made their way to the switched and controls that they needed to work. Both pilots made their way to the first switch of their monitors. Heero counted once their hands were ready, "Three...Two...One." On one, the pair flipped the first switch. Making their way to the second switch, they nodded to each other again to let their lover know they were ready. Duo counted, "Three...two...One." On one, their second switched were flipped.
The final two switches were flipped in the same manner. Duo sighed and wiped some sweat from his brow. "Now for the hard part," he said quietly as he looked to the keyboard of the panel. Heero said gently, "Just watch my hand on your monitor, Duo. I'll do the same with yours. We'll get through this together." The braided pilot smiled and nodded, "Got it."
Their hands rested just above their keyboards and Heero asked, "Ready?" Duo nodded, "Ready when you are." Heero nodded back and counted, "Three...Two...One." On one, the pair began to type the long series of commands into their monitors, never missing a beat. Sweat was dripping down both pilot's faces as their eyes were dead-locked on the image of their lover's hands, seeing that they never missed their partner's moves. They kept up a pace that just moved fluently, never pausing and never breaking. The two pilots knew that even one small mistake would cause all of their efforts to be meaningless.
After three minutes, the last key remained. Heero's hands suddenly stopped, in the sudden realization that this was the last thing that they had to do. He snapped, "SHIT!" as he feared that his sudden pause would have been too sudden for Duo. Heero's eyes widened as he looked to Duo, who was laughing loudly. The American went on to chuckle to him, "You'd always pause before hitting the last key when you typed your reports!"
Heero looked in shock as Duo's hands were frozen the same way that his own were, never having pressed the last key in anticipation of Heero's pause. He was amazed that the braided pilot knew him so well, regardless of the fact that they had worked closely together for years. It just showed how there were times Duo knew Heero better than he knew himself.
The Wing pilot smiled in relief and chuckled deeply. His chuckle grew into laud laughter as his lover joined in as they let all of their nerves finally relax. When their laughed subsided, Heero whispered with a loving smile, "Ai shiteru, Duo." His partner sighed in relief and whispered back, "Ai shiteru, Heero." The pair counted together, "Three....two...one." On one, they pressed the last letter on their keyboard in perfect time.
* * * * * *
On Pulsar, the Preventers and pilots that had been sitting rose to their feet as they looked to the image of the colored rings, showing the territory they had contact with now. Where Kumi's purple ring left off between Saturn and Uranus, a silver ring (for Duo) went from there to the spot just past Neptune. A thick, green ring (for Heero) appeared to color the remainder of the galaxy at the same time.
The shocked men and women all caught their breath collectively and Lady Une shouted, "THEY DID IT! WE HAVE CONTACT WITH EVERYONE IN SPACE!" There was a huge cheer and cry from the pilots and the Preventers as they instantly hugged, kissed, high-fived and did what ever their relief and elation brought them to do.
Kumi simply remained in the back of the control room, leaning her back against the wall there with her arms crossed as she looked to the celebration with a small smirk. She then focused on Trowa, who was suddenly looking with a shocked glance to the papers he was working on. The silver-haired pilot blinked then said quietly to herself, "You've found something, haven't you, Trowa?"
* * * * * *
Heero and Duo smiled lovingly to each other and concluded their cover up. Now, no matter what happened to the colonies or their hearts, the signal couldn't be destroyed. It was the lock into the completion of the missions as a whole. When this was finished, they both sighed deeply at the same time. Heero smiled to his partner, "Thanks for the back up." Duo chuckled and winked, "Anytime, love. It was a pleasure." The braided pilot sighed deeply, "I just can't believe we finally got through this." The Wing pilot nodded his agreement.
Duo smiled, "I'll be at Captain Wilson's ship in a few hours. It'll be easier to head back to Pulsar from there." Heero nodded, "Hai. I'll meet you there, koibito." He went on to whisper in a plea, "Be careful out there." His lover replied in a whisper back, "I will....See you soon, love." Heero couldn't cut the connection off before saying quietly and affectionately, "Ai shiteru, Duo." Fighting very small tears of relief, his lover replied the same, "Ai shiteru, Heero." The connection was cut. Both pilots had so many emotions running through them right now that they didn't know what end was up in trying to sort them out. Still, the only thing that they were the most certain of was just wanting to be with their koi as soon as possible.
* * * * * *
The Gundam pilots and the Preventers all looked to the images of the colonies as they continued to celebrate. Trowa was finally able to see something in the transcript that made sense after all of his efforts. He read aloud to himself as he scribbled the translation on a blank piece of paper. The tall pilot read aloud quietly to himself, "And so, after much debating and effort or our part, there are ten more colonies that have allied with us..." The greenish eyes of the Gundam pilot widened as he said gravely to himself, "A secret alliance between OZ and some of the colonies?" Quickly, he scanned the rest of the message.
"Those colonies include..." he continued. "W384, F131, P79, Q82..." A sharp gasp left Trowa as his eyes widened as he looked to what he scribbled. 'V10' was what he translated in his handwriting. The pilot instantly jumped from his seat and turned on a grabbed a headset from a Preventer that had them lying on the desk before her.
Trowa's friends all watched in shock and confusion as they were not able to react from his sudden move. The tall pilot looked to the Preventer and told her, "Give me the connection to Colony V10's heart!" Seeing the distress in the Gundam pilot's face, the young woman connected the signal as fast as her hands could type. Kumi ran up behind her comrade and watched with some concern in her expression. Soon, the Preventer nodded to Trowa, "You're in." Hearing this, Trowa shouted as loudly as he could into the microphone, "DUO GET OUT OF THERE NOW! COLONY V10 MADE AN ALLIANCE WITH OZ! YOU'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A TRAP!" Kumi gasped and shouted with wide eyes, "WHAT!?!"
* * * * * *
That very instant, back on V10, the American shouted into the transmitter of the main monitor, "WHAT!?!" Not a second passed and Duo head the safety clips of several guns behind him behind clicked off. His deep blue eyes closed slowly at the sounds. Turning around, he saw ten men, all aiming their weapons at him. There was a pause as the braided pilot turned and looked to the armed men.
Duo finally chuckled and sneered, "Congratulations. You've caught Death." Instantly, he was hit in the gut by the first of the armed men with the base of his shot gun. The braided pilot fell to his knees, gasping to regain the wind that had been knocked out of him. The other intruders proceeded to beat the pilot as they encircled him.
"DUO! WHAT HAPPENED!?! WHERE ARE YOU!?!" Trowa's voice cried desperately over the transmitter. Duo struggled to reply as he looked to the monitor and barely managed to get out in a small, strangled voice, "T-Trowa..." He managed to get to his knees again as he used all the strength he had to craw to the monitor. One of the men chuckled deeply and shook his head to the beaten pilot. He pulled some wires from the monitor, ending the contact with Pulsar.
The men around proceeded to beat the American with their weapons, legs, fists and whatever they could get a hold of. Duo was hit in the back of the head and fell to the ground like a rock. He groaned painfully as he looked up to the men standing over him, their guns aimed at the pilot as they chuckled deeply and sneered.
There was blood coming from the bruised all over the American as he squeezed his eyes closed in agony, a sharp hiss of breath leaving him. Duo was losing consciousness, seeing the room and everything around him growling black. He licked his dry lips weakly and sighed deeply, knowing that his time was almost up. The braided pilot whispered sadly, "God, please look after Heero for me, since I can't do it now..." At the last words, a small whimper of pain left him as he was consumed by darkness and collapsed unconscious.
The first of the armed men that began the assault bent to his knees and removed the homing device that had been hidden on the pilot's back. He sneered to the fallen American, "Mission complete."
* * * * * *
In Foreign Minister Falseon's room just moments later, the balding man smiled to the image of Quinze Khshrenadah, "My men have captured Duo Maxwell, as we said we would." The OZ leader smiled wickedly, "Thank you for your help, Michael." He stretched and sighed, "And now I must say farewell." Faleson's green eyes widened as he snapped, "What was that!?!"
Quinze sneered, "The sacrifice of you and your people will never be forgotten. You helped us kill a Gundam pilot. But, I won't be taking any chances. I don't want that pilot having the chance to escape with his life after all of the grief that he and his friends had caused me." Falseon's eyes widened as he shouted, "You told me that you wanted him alive!" The OZ leader laughed, "And you believed me!" Falseon glared to the dark-haired and hissed, "You had this planned all along." Quince smiled and nodded, "Guilty as charged."
Leaning forward in his seat and folding his hands, the leader of OZ revealing that he had been holding something resembling a long pen. Quinze chuckled, "You should have chosen your friends more wisely, old man." Falseon shouted, "YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Before he could continue, the minister watched as the image of the OZ leader disappeared. The green eyes of the old man widened as he realized and cried, "He was holding a triggering device!" As these words were shouted from his mouth, he spun quickly to look out from the large window behind him.
From the night sky over the colony, the beginning of a wide, golden beam was making its way to V10. The people of the colony screamed as they saw the ray breaking through the colony's atmosphere. With wide eyes and a pale face, Falseon whispered gravely, "And so it ends..." The bean engulfed the colony, wiping out everything that it touched.
* * * * * *
There was a bright flash of light that was blinding even on the monitors as those who watched covered their eyes and shouted in shock and pain. In the control room of Pulsar, everyone was stricken with fear when they felt the bright rays from the screen disappear. Slowly, they lowered their hands and arms from covering their eyes. "No,'" was all Quatre managed to whisper breathlessly. The others were too shocked to say anything as they looked with wide eyes and pale faces.
There was nothing spared from V10. All that remained was floating debris and other shattered remains from the colony, practically the size of stardust. All was silent and still. There was a long pause of stillness as everyone looked in shock and disbelief to the monitor. Trowa fell to his knees, unable to breathe as he looked in grief to the screen ahead. Sette was fighting huge tears in her eyes as she whispered, "T-tell me that I'm seeing things...please."
Relena covered her mouth as a whimper left her. She shook her head vibrantly and sobbed, "God please, no...Not Duo." Novem and Brian were nest to her as they were still too taken back by the fact that their friend had been killed. Brian wrapped his arms around his wife as she buried her head in his chest. Novem lowered herself into a chair just behind her, staring to the monitor.
Wufei lowered his head with tears streaming down his face as he chocked a sob and began to shake. Sally was the closest to the Chinese pilot. Crying, herself, she wrapped her arms around the dark-eyed pilot and chocked back sobs along with him. Quatre was about to fall when his fiancee helped him stay on his feet, though Sette was having trouble standing, herself.
Delepan was crying as she lowered herself to kneel besides Trowa. The brother and sister held each other and remained like that as they supported each other. Derek finally took a small breath and looked to the redhead holding her brother. He went to his knees behind her and rubbed her shoulders.
Kumi remained frozen, staring to the monitor with a heavy heart. Her cobalt eyes slowly closed, unable to look to the empty space that was being shown. Lowering her head, she whispered, "Sleep well, Duo...You've earned it." She placed her hood on and turned back to her comrades, who did whatever they could to help each other get through this.
Milliardo and Noin held each other tightly. Fire was weeping as she shook in her husband's arms. Silent tears rolled down Milliardo's cheeks as he closed them and rested his head on Noin's. Keiser looked to Lady Une, who was covering her mouth with her right hand, choking sobs as tears ran from her eyes. He went to her and hugged her, rubbing her back for support. Marimaya was crying as she looked to her friends after turning from the screen and joined Lady Une. The head of the Preventers pulled from Keiser's embrace gently so that she could hug Marimaya.
Kumi looked to Keiser as she slowly walked out of the control room. The Lieutenant gave a small, sad nod to the pilot as she passed his and followed her. When the doors of the room closed behind them, Keiser looked to the silver-haired pilot's back to see that her head was lowered and her hands were to her side. He sighed deeply and whispered sincerely, "I'm sorry, Kumi...I-I wish that I could do something." Without turning back to face the young man, the hooded pilot lifted her head and replied quietly, "Could you contact Lieutenant Jacobs?"
Keiser's eyes widened for a moment and he asked, "If that's what you wish...But why?" There was a pause before Kumi answered, "He might be able to find what's left of Deathscythe...We'll need it sent here to rebuild the suit." The Lieutenant frowned and nodded, "Of course...I'll contact him right away." The pilot gave a small nod and said, "Thank you." Keiser was about to walk back to the hanger when he heard Kumi clear her throat and call, "Lieutenant?"
The Preventer turned back to the silver-haired pilot and replied, "Yes, Kumi?" The young woman turned slowly to face him. There were tiny tears in the cobalt eyes of the pilot. She whispered, "Please see if anyone out there can get through to Heero...He doesn't..." She cleared her throat again and whispered in a small voice, "He doesn't know Duo's..." She couldn't say it. The words just wouldn't leave her. The heart of the young man fell into the pit of his stomach as he could only imagine what this news would do to the Wing pilot.
After a long pause, he whispered, "I'll see that Heero's informed and taken care of." The pilot nodded after fighting the tears back, "Arigato." Keiser walked back into the control room again. The doors closed behind him.
The moment she was alone, Kumi fell to her knees, throwing her right hand over her mouth as a small whimper left her, all color leaving her face. She folder onto herself and choked back sobs as she started shaking. Looking to her side and out the window that revealed the stars, she took a deep breath and tried to compose herself. "I'm so, so sorry, Heero," she sobbed as a small, single tear rolled down her right cheek.
* * * * * *
Quinze Kushrenadah was spinning himself in his wheeled seat as he chuckled deeply to himself, "From ashes to ashes and dust to dust." That chuckle grew into a maddened laugh that couldn't be contained as it filled and echoed around the room he was in. The OZ leader shouted in elation, "Now the real fun begins!"
TBC