DISCLAIMERS: With the exception of Kumi Yuy and Sette Devion, none of these characters are mine. The song called 'Survivor' belongs to Destiny's Child.
Gundam Wing: The Second Chapter
Episode 33: That Which Does Not Kill...
by SkyLark
with help from Snodin, Vampira, Sam, Stormy, Silver Star, Beekay, GREETER 600, and Ruby along with all who show support for this saga!
On a hill beside the one where Duo Maxwell's cross was, Kumi hammered another cross into the ground. Every hit echoed throughout the woods, making an eerie sound against the stillness that existed otherwise. Her hits became more forceful as she worked, letting her silent rage out on the memorial that she made for her fallen comrade. Finally, it became clear that the cross wouldn't be moving anywhere and Kumi wiped the sweat from her forehead, catching her breath.
As she stepped back, the black-clad pilot did not notice that her efforts caused the silver cross pendant of her hidden necklace to pop out from under her sleeveless top. With the contrast of her attire, the silver pendant shimmered in the bright sunlight. Looking to the cross before her, Kumi looked to the name in bold, black letters that read 'Dorothy Catalonia' across the horizontal beam and the name 'Novem' that read down the top half of the vertical beam of wood.
A gust of wind passed her as Kumi closed her eyes and lowered her head in respect. Her comrades were still too overwhelmed by grief to be able to take part in this. Novem's memorial service was going to take place in a few days and they would need all of that time to try and get themselves together just to be stable enough to deal with that.
Two deaths just two months apart was far too much for them to bear...One death was far too much for them to bear. Opening her eyes, Kumi saw the silver cross that fell over her chest. Taking the pendant into her hand, the silver-haired pilot placed it back under her top. Looking back to Dorothy's cross, the pilot then turned to return to the safe house.
* * * * * *
Relena was in her room, sitting up on her bed that was still made with her back leaning against the headboard. She looked as though she was in a daze, pale with an empty look in her eyes. A timid knock came to the door just before it was opened slowly. Sette peeked in when there was enough of an opening to do so. Seeing Zes and the way that she was sitting, the ex-princess felt the bottom of her stomach drop for the umpteenth time these last twenty-four hours. She drew hear head back out and carefully slid the door open by pressing the side of her body against it. In her hands, she carried a tray of food that she had made for lunch.
Walking to the bed with the offering, Sette asked quietly, "Relena?" The young queen remained unresponsive, just looking ahead of her without changing her expression. The tomboy lowered the tray on the desk beside the bed. Taking the young queen's hands into her own, she called gently again, "Relena?"
Slowly, the other pilot turned her head to look to her comrade. Sette gave a smile and sigh of relief as she said quietly, "There you are." She gently ran a hand through her half-sister's hair as a sign of comfort. Taking the tray into her hands again, she placed the food before the young queen. "I made this for you, since I know you haven't had anything to eat," the ex-princess informed her friend.
Zes looked indifferently to the tray that rested over her stomach. There was a pause and she didn't move at all. Sette sighed deeply and lowered her head as she closed her eyes. She said quietly and sincerely, "I know that Dorothy was a wonderful friend to you...She was a good person and a damn good pilot." Opening her eyes and looking to her half sister again, she continued, "But you know that she's at peace now, with her grandfather. I know that she wanted to stay here with us, but God... just had other plans."
Hearing this, Relena turned back to her comrade in shock and asked in a small, broken voice, "After everything that has happened over the years...After what happened just in this war alone, you still believe in God?" The tomboy smiled and shrugged, "If I didn't, I sure as hell wouldn't be piloting a Gundam suit, that's for certain." Zes looked to the pilot with great curiosity as she listened closely.
Sette continued, "I don't know...Fighting in a war like this for so many years, it's hard not to believe that there's a Supreme Being out there, and that Heaven does exist...When you've been a pilot as long as myself, Kumi, Quatre and the other guys have been, it gets to be the only thing that we can look forward to most of the time."
Relena shook her head and said with pain in her voice, "Dorothy was my best friend. I can't get over her death that easily. It was bad enough with Duo-" She couldn't continue anymore as tears flooded her eyes and she began to sob. Instinctively, Sette moved the tray and placed it back onto the table. The moment her hands were free, she hugged Zes and rubbed her back as she continued to cry. "Just let it out, Zes," she said soothingly. "I know that it hurts, believe me."
With a small sigh, the ex-princess assured her friend, "The pain does become bearable in time, but you'll never truly get over this." A stray tear left her own eye and she quickly brushed it away. Zes hugged the other pilot as she let her tears and sobs out. Sette just went on supporting her until it passed. "We're all trying to get through this together. If you ever need to cry like this or just need somebody to talk to, you can always come to me or any of the others."
The young queen's sobs calmed and soon, she let the tears out that she needed to for the time being. Lying back, she nodded and said quietly, "Thank you, Sette. I needed that." The tomboy smiled and nodded, "Don't mention it." Looking to the tray, she asked, "Now will you try and get something in your system? I don't cook for just anyone." A very small smile fell on Zes's face and she nodded. She took a few bites of one of the sandwiches that the ex-princess made when she placed the tray before her again.
For some reason, the young queen thought that there was something she needed to ask the tomboy. But with the death of her best friend weighing heavily on her mind, she couldn't remember what it was. Sette remained in the room with her, seeing that she ate everything. It would take quite sometime for the queen to get over her friend's death, but at least she was taking a step to trying to take care of herself.
* * * * * *
On Peace Million, Lady Une was sitting in her office, head resting on her folded arms over the top of her desk. Looking to the picture of the Gundam pilots, her right hand reached to the frame and gently ran along the glass protecting the image. Sitting up, she took the picture into her hand and hugged it against her chest. A small knock came to her door. Lady Une called in a small voice, "Come in." Lieutenant Keiser entered and looked to his commander. His expression saddened when he looked to the Preventer hugging the photo of the Gundam pilots.
Waling into the room and closing the door behind him, Keiser sighed deeply. Une didn't look up to him as she remained lost in her thoughts and pain. The Lieutenant walked to her and moved to gently removed the frame from the young woman's arms. Lady Une only looked up to him when he tried managed to remove the picture from her without any difficulty. From there, she was gently lifted onto her feet and into a tight embrace from the tall man.
Unable to hold her tears back, Lady Une sobbed quietly as she returned the embrace and buried her head in Keiser's chest. The young man rubbed the back of her head and said quietly, "I know that you're blaming yourself for this. You did nothing wrong." The woman in his arms shook her head, "You tried to warn me...You said yourself that no matter how the war ends, not all of the pilots would make it through alive. I should have listened and kept them safe."
The Lieutenant kept his hands on Une's shoulders as he gently pulled her back at arm's length to have their eyes locked. "You did the right thing in keeping those pilots in this war. Fighting this way is all that they know and it's what they want. Nobody forced them to remain Gundam pilots all this time, they made that choice on their own." Drying the tears that rolled down Lady Une's cheeks, he assured her quietly, "I have more respect for you and all of them for it. I've only known those kids a few months and I'm already worrying over them as a father would. I can only imagine how badly this is hurting you."
Lady Une turned back to look to the picture and said in a small voice, "How much more do they have to suffer? It just isn't fair that they're losing the only people, their best friends and comrades, who understand and accept them unconditionally." Keiser shook his head, "They won't stop fighting. They don't know how to. Otherwise, they would have returned here and given the task of piloting their suits to someone else by now."
The head of the Preventers shuddered inwardly and whispered, "I almost wish that they would." The Lieutenant nodded, "So do I. But like all parents, there comes a time that they have to let their children go and live their lives as they wish." Lady Une looked back up to Keiser, recalling these same words coming from here the last time that she and the Lieutenant had a discussion about the pilots in her office months ago. A very small smile crossed her face and she nodded, "You're right. I almost forgot that comes with parenting, no matter how difficult it is. Thank you for reminding me about that."
The Lieutenant smiled back and nodded, "Glad I can help. Just don't forget that you're not the only one who loves those pilots." Une was taken back by the sincerity of his words and her smile grew a bit. "I'm glad that you shared that with me. I just wish that everyone felt the same way about them." The tall man nodded and sighed deeply, "Yea. But then again, if that was the case, they wouldn't be here since there would be war and no reason for them to live as soldiers." The young woman, again, was shocked at the truth behind the once harsh man's words. She chuckled deeply and shook her head, "Thank God you're here to help put things into perspective for me. I was starting to lose it before you stopped by."
Keiser smirked and shrugged, "All in a day's work. I'm going to see how the rest of the crew is holding up." Lady Une nodded, "Alright." She paused before asking quietly, "How are the preparations coming with the Memorial Service?" The Lieutenant answered, "They're working out slowly, but fine otherwise. Everything will be ready in two days." The head of the Preventers gave a nod, "Good. Thank you again for all of your help, Lieutenant." He nodded and waved, "Don't mention it, Lady Une."
Just as he was about to leave the room, Lady Une called to Keiser, "Lieutenant?" He stopped and turned back and looked with concern to his commander. Une smiled and asked, "Would it be too informal if I simply call you by your first name from now on?" Keiser's concern faded into a relieved smile. "Of course not." The young woman smiled, "Very well, Jason. I'll see you at our meeting later this evening, then." Jason nodded back, "That you will." At this, he left the room. Lady Une smirked, "Hn." Looking back to the picture of the Gundam pilots, she sighed deeply. She placed a kiss on her hand and placed it over the glass covering the image.
* * * * * *
Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the large ship, Noin, Sally Poe and Sera Makato sat together in one of the lounges. The three young women looked exhausted and strained from an emotional train wreck after receiving the word of Dorothy's death almost twenty-four hours prior to this time as they sat at the table in the center of the room.
Taking a sip from her tea, Sera asked, "Has anyone contacted the pilots since they got through to us last night to see if they're alright?" Sally shook her head, "Not yet. They're going to need some time after what happened yesterday. I'm sure that they're dealing with this as best as possible. The best support that they can get is through each other. If we were to call and check up on them, it might do more harm than good since they'll know that we're worrying over them."
Noin sighed as she rubbed her tired eyes, "I wouldn't know what to say to them two days from now when we see each other at the service. What good would any words do to take away any of their pain?" Sera lowered his cup and shook her head as she folded her hands before her, "If either of you come up with an answer to that, please let me know."
Sally said sadly, "I suppose I don't have to ask if either of you heard the final numbers of the colonies that made alliances with OZ." Makato shuddered, "I heard the number the same time that Commander Wilcox did, last night." Noin shook her head, "I knew that there would be a lot of people who would give up on us...But I never thought that so many would willingly make agreements with Quinze Khshrenadah...We'll talk more about it at the meeting tonight." Sera asked her friend, "How is Milliardo holding up?" Fire replied, "He's coping. He's with Mirando and Marimaya now. This whole dam war is just getting to be too much."
Sally couldn't help but let a chuckled out as she stated, "What war has never been too much?" Noin shrugged, "Compared to the wars we've been through combined with the missions that we fought as Preventers prior to this war, I think it's safe to say that they don't come close to being this devastating." Water sighed deeply and nodded, "You're right. I didn't mean to laugh. I just need to do something...laugh, scream, cry...Anything but sitting here, drinking tea and trying to make sense out of all of this." Makato nodded, "I couldn't agree more. But what else can we do?" Fire shook her head and answered, "Not a damn thing. That's what's making this so unbearable right now."
Sera rose and walked to the sink to clean her cup. "Well, I'm going to see how Justin is doing. I haven't seen him since last night, when we got the message about the colonies that turned their backs on us." She placed the cup away once it had been dried. Sally and Noin rose from the table and walked with Makato to the door. "We'll head over to his room with you. We're heading that way, ourselves," Noin offered. With a friendly smile, Sera accepted and the three young women made their way down the halls.
Once they were just before Commander Wilcox's room, Sera smiled and waved, "I'll meet you both in the hanger soon." Water and Fire waved as they passed and continued to walk ahead down the hall. They heard Heero's mother open the door and enter the room behind them. There was no other sound following that. Then, just as they were about to make their way around the corner, they heard Sera give a blood-curdling scream from within Wilcox's room. The Preventers froze in their tracks, startled initially. They quickly removed their pistols and sprinted back to the room of Pulsar's owner.
Sally reached the door first, quickly opening it with Noin right behind her. Both ladies had their guns up and ready when they entered the dark room. Noin called, "Sera?" The Preventer shouted from the bathroom, "Help me! I'm in here!" The two women sprinted to the adjoined room. Turning the light on, they froze in the doorway with shocked, pale faces.
In the bathtub, Commander Wilcox's uniformed, unconscious body was lying on its back. There was a note beside the tub with no name on the envelope, beside a blood-covered knife. Blood was covering almost his entire body, the source of it being his wrists. The water was running, only recently turned off when Sera found him like this. Most of the blood ran down the drain and continued to do so as the remainder of the water left the tub. Sera was working as best she could to stop the blood, holding his wrists and sobbing with tears running down her face.
Noin gasped and ran to the tub, followed by Sally. Together, the three women carefully lifted Wilcox from the tub and onto the floor of the bathroom. Noin took Wilcox's right arm and looked to the deep wound that he made running down from the wrist. She whispered gravely, "God, Justin, what were you thinking?" She and Sera removed two towels and bandaged his arms tightly with them. As they did this, Sally placed her hands around the cold, wet neck of the commander to get a pulse. Her eyes widened and she opened the uniform to bear his bare skin of his chest. Lying her right ear against his chest over his heart, she hoped to have better luck that way. Her eyes closed slowly as she gave a small sigh.
Lifting herself to sit up, Sally whispered sadly, "He's gone." Sera shook her head and sobbed, "No. God, this can't be happening." Her blood-covered hands came up, covering her face. Noin walked over the body to kneel next to her friend to comfort her. Sally made her way over to the note that was left next to the knife that the commander used to kill himself, still fresh with his blood as it dripped from the blade and stained the white tile floor. A chill ran up her spine when she looked to the weapon. Water opened the envelope when she returned to her friends and read the letter within.
As she held Sera, Noin asked, "What does it say?" Sally read quietly, "We're all doomed to lose to OZ. Better to die than live under their control." Makato looked up with wide eyes from the embrace. Even Noin was taken back by the message as she gave the same expression.
Sera looked with anger to the body of her good friend. She released herself from Noin's embrace and crawled to his face, hissing, "You son of a bitch. How could you?" She went on to shout and began punching the face of the dead commander, "YOU BASTARD! HOW COULD YOU JUST GIVE UP LIKE THAT!?!" Sally and Noin called with concern, "Sera!?!" They quickly restrained the Preventer and Sally hugged her tightly as she started to shake and sob uncontrollably. Noin lowered her head sadly and rubbed her emotional comrade's back for support. All the while, the dead body remained in the center of the room, coated in blood and cold.
* * * * * *
Out in the far reaches of space, several OZ mobile suits were flying and scanning the area. One of the soldiers informed her comrades, "I know that whatever I picked up is here somewhere." One of her partners shook his head as he looked to his monitors, "I haven't seen anything the whole time we've been out here. Are you sure that you read the radars correctly?" The young redhead nodded, "I wasn't seeing things. We just have to keep looking, that's all."
A third soldier shook hid head and sighed deeply, "I don't see the point if we've been here for ten minutes and still haven't found any-" The soldier's words stopped short as a small gasp left him, his eyes wide and jaw a bit slack. His comrades froze as they, too saw what he found.
Just a half-mile away from them, Wing Zero was floating lifelessly in the sea of stars. The young woman whispered breathlessly, "I-is that what I think it is?" Flashing their suits' search lights, the OZ soldiers saw that it was indeed Wing Zero. There was no mistaking the Gundam with its large angel wings. The second soldier sneered when the state of shock passed, "Inform his Excellency that we have located Pilot 01."
* * * * * *
Back in the cabin safe house, Trowa, Quatre, Wufei and Kumi sat in the living room. The fireplace was glowing as the pilots spoke of their options and what they should do at this point. Wufei moved, "We need to find another pilot for Rampage as soon as possible." Quatre's eyes widened and he opposed, "Dorothy's grave isn't even cold yet. You want someone to replace her before we can even grieve her death?"
The Chinese pilot looked hurt at this suggestion and shook his head, "Of course I don't want anyone to replace Dorothy. No one can replace her, no matter how hard they try. And I miss her as much as the rest of you. But Novem willingly requested giving the responsibility of piloting Rampage to someone else. We can't let a good Gundam suit like that go to waist. She knew it, too." Kumi gave a small nod and deadpanned, "Wufei's right. It was her request that we find someone to pilot Rampage. However, we'll worry about that after the memorial service. Then, we'll discuss our options and how to go about choosing the new pilot."
Trowa sighed deeply, "There's another thing to worry about. A good number of spies were sent to get a good idea as to how many colonies finalized agreements with OZ. Let's just hope that Commander Wilcox was able to get some good news that he can pass onto us." A voice from the doorway of the kitchen said quietly, "Wilcox is dead."
The pilots looked up in shock to see Delapan standing before them. She had her arms wrapped around her waist and supported herself by leaning against the wall on her left. Her pale face bore an expression of fear mixed with grief as she continued, "I just spoke with Noin while I was in the hanger...C-commander Wilcox killed himself earlier today...Slit his wrists and let his own blood run down the drain of his tub."
Quatre shook his head, looking ill as he asked in a small whisper, "But why?" Catherine answered, "He got the final number of the colonies that sighed with OZ." The Chinese pilot sighed deeply and lowered his head as his eyes closed. "How many?" he asked with dread in his tone. Delapan cleared her throat and said in a strangled voice, "Over a third of the colonies in space."
The pilots took the news in their own ways. Trowa rose from his spot and walked out of the room, trying to deal with the news on his own terms with a look of loss and anger on his face. Wufei folded his hands before his face, never lifting it or opening his eyes. Quatre covered his own face, lying back on the couch that he was sitting on.
Kumi walked to Delapan with her expressionless face and said to her, "Thank you for giving us the news." Turning back to the others, she suggested, "You all should get some rest. It's been a difficult two days." Wufei sighed deeply as he rose to his feet and walked out of the room, "It's been a difficult nine months." Quatre and Delapan left the room behind the Chinese pilot, trying to process everything that they had to deal with. Kumi lowered her head, whispering sadly, "That it has been."
* * * * * *
Quinze Khushrenadah walked at a quick pace through the halls of the huge ship that he was requested to visit immediately. He was soon greeted by a tall, bald man in a uniform decorated with small metals of honor and valor. He smiled and saluted to his commander. Quinze nodded and said, "I understand that you have something that is of great interest to me?" The Sergeant nodded as he lowered his hand, "That would be correct, Your Excellency. If you would come this way." The soldier led the way through the many halls.
It was not long before the two men entered another hanger, finding themselves on one of the highest balconies of the room once they passed the door. The tall Sergeant stopped before the railing and looked down. Turning back to his commander, he smiled, "Welcome to your surprise, sir." Quinze looked to his soldier in confusion, but walked to the railing and looked down.
His green eyes widened and a small gasp left him. Below them, on the ground level of the hanger, the Gundam known as Wing Zero was lying on its back. The OZ leader gazed on the suit in disbelief. Turning to the bald man, he asked, "How?" The Sergeant chuckled deeply and answered, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." His commander replied, "Humor me." The tall man smirked, "He didn't put up a fight. We found him hours ago and he was taken without any struggle."
Quinze was intrigued as his eyes widened in disbelief again for a moment. Again, the bald man chuckled as he nodded, "My sentiments exactly." Khushrenadah was not willing to believe his ears and suggested, "He must have given some form of resistance?" The Sergeant shook his head, "He didn't lift a finger." Quinze asked, "Where is he?" The tall man answered, "I'll talk you to the holding cell." At this, the men left the hanger together.
In a large, dark cell, Heero sat in the far corner from the door, back against the wall with his head hung as far as it could lie and eyes closed. The door to the cell opened and light from the hall outside poured in. Not lifting his head, the cobalt eyes of the pilot opened. Soon, two pairs of strong hands grabbed him, forcing him to his feet roughly. Being held up, the Wing pilot continued to keep his head lowered. A deep voice before him chuckled and Heero recognized it instantly. A long hand wrapped under his chin and forced him to look up.
Cobalt met green as Heero and Quinze faced each other for the first time. Khushrenadah sneered and said deeply, "Well, well, well... If it isn't the great Heero Yuy." The Japanese pilot's eyes narrowed, his head still held up by the OZ leader. Quinze was just a few inches taller that the pilot. The young man said quietly, "I am in great awe of you, Heero. Both you and Kumi are the perfect living examples of what a soldier should be. And yet, here you are...In the possession of the enemy who threatens the peace that you and your friends have been fighting for almost as long as you've lived. You must have something to say that's burning within you. I would love to hear it."
Heero remained silent, his expression never changing. Quinze lowered his hand and assured the pilot as he growled deeply, "Very well. Have it your way. I'll have you talking soon enough...I'll have you screaming in agony as my men do whatever it takes to break you...And I'll have the privilege of watching you die before me."
He paused, seeing that nothing made the pilot stir. Quinze sighed deeply, "I'm quite disappointed, I must admit. You are not the Heero Yuy that I have heard of since the end of the Eve Wars. I was told that you had a fire that could not be extinguished and a spirit that would never die." He continued, while pacing around the pilot to have a thorough look at him from every angle, "I have a broken young man before me, not the person that helped lead the victory of peace on the Earth and in Space. There is no fire burning within you, nor is there is soul fighting to live. It makes me wonder..."
Khushrenadah's pace around the Japanese pilot concluded and he looked back into his cobalt eyes. His prisoner, who still needed to be held up by a guard on his right and on his left, didn't make the smallest of threats. It was amazing how lost the pilot was. Looking deeper into the narrowed cobalt eyes, Quinze gave a small- barely audible- gasp as his eyes widened. He sneered as he said deeply, "Of course. Duo Maxwell."
Instantly, Heero's eyes widened as his jaw fell a bit slack. The OZ leader laughed loudly at this. As his laughter died, he shook his head and chuckled deeply, "I should have known that the rumors about the two of you were true." Whatever feelings had died within him, Heero was now filling with a rage as he glared his most life-threatening glare to Quinze. This just added to the amusement of his captor. The young man smiled and said, "So Doctor J's training couldn't kill the human emotion of love. This is all too intriguing."
The OZ leader gave a look of sympathy to his prisoner and said, "You must miss him terribly." The Wing pilot bit his lip as tightly as he could, holding back all of the hatred and fury within him. Quinze continued to patronize, "You know, I really feel bad for taking his life as quickly as I had. I never believed that the two of you were more than friends. If that wasn't the case, I would have spared him long enough to know exactly what it was about Duo that undid the conditioning you faced when you were under the great doctor's control. Now, I'll never know."
Quinze sneered as he paced before the pilot, "Did you dream of him before you first realized that you had feelings for him? You still dream of him even now, I imagine? When you had nightmares, were his arms around you enough to put them to rest?" Heero bit down even harder into his bottom lip, drawing blood that ran down the right side of his mouth. The OZ leader went on, "Would a few words from his mouth make you forget any pain that was coursing through you when you were wounded after a struggle?"
Finally, Kushrenadah stood before the Wing pilot and leaned in to whisper, "Was he as good in bed as he was at piloting?" That was all that Heero could take as his vision went red. He tried to lash out, hurling his body in the direction of the smug man before him as he shouted and growled loudly. The two soldiers were far too strong and Heero was not well enough to overpower them. All of his efforts had no effect as all he could do was grit his teeth, taking deep and hoarse breaths. Quinze smiled, "That's more like it. The fire in you has died a bit, but it's still there. I'm going to have fun snuffing it out."
Khushrenadah walked to the door and turned back to the Wing pilot before leaving. The guards let Heero go and walked out of the cell. The Japanese pilot remained standing and wiped the blood from his mouth with his right hand, still glaring at Quinze. The OZ leader sneered and waved, "Pleasant dreams, Heero. And be sure to give Duo my best." He chuckled and left the doorway as the cell door clammed, leaving the Wing pilot in complete darkness again.
Heero lowered his head as he growled deeply and loudly. His hands clenched into fists and his focus drew back to the closed sell door. The pilot's right hand reached under his deep blue T-shirt to pull the cross underneath from its resting place. Both hands wrapped around it and Heero's cobalt eyes closed. He whispered to a God that he still did not know whether or not he believed in, "Give me strength."
* * * * * *
Later that night, Kumi walked down one of the hallway upstairs where a handful of bedrooms lied, wearing a night gray T-shirt that fell to her waist and a pair of black mesh shorts. Walking to the last bedroom door at the end of the hall, she paused and knocked three times. There was a pause before any response came. Then, the door slowly opened before her. Trowa stood in the doorway, wearing nothing but a pair of hunter green sweatpants. The two pilots looked in silent awe to each other, amazed and breathless by the appearance of their partner.
After a pause that felt like an eternity, Trowa's look of wonder turned into concern. He asked quietly, "Kumi? Is something wrong?" The silver-haired pilot broke from her hypnotized state with the question and she shook her head, "No. I just-" She paused, not knowing what to say. She quickly recovered and said quietly, "I just...wanted to see that you were alright...After everything that's happened the last few days." Trowa was speechless, with his jaw slightly slack. Kumi was actually worried about him. After another brief pause, he smiled warmly and said kindly, "I'm alright. Thank you."
The two pilots stood silently, just inches from each other and left uncertain as to what they should say or do at this point. Suddenly, Kumi closed the gap between them, wrapping her arms around the tall pilot's neck and pressing her lips tightly against his with her eyes closed. Trowa's eyes widened as he was startled by the abrupt gesture, but slid closed as he returned the kiss with just as much fire. Parting their lips, the kiss became deep and passionate as apposed to forceful and rushed. They moaned in each other's mouths, reveling in the feeling that they both wanted for so long now.
Without any difficulty, Trowa managed to wrap his right arm around Kumi's slender waist, lifting her off her feet as he carried her into his room that way without breaking the kiss. As he did this, he closed the door behind him with his left arm. The sound of a click signified that he didn't hesitate to lock the door once it was shut.
* * * * * *
The morning found Trowa and Kumi lying in each other's arms. Trowa was on his back with Kumi lying against the right side of his chest, her head over where his heart was beating steadily. Their arms were wrapped tight around one another as all that covered them was a thin sheet and Kumi's long, silver hair as it had cascaded around their bodies. With a small, deep breath, the cobalt eyes of the 'Perfect Soldier' opened slowly. Looking up to the Trowa's peaceful face, she gazed almost sadly. Closing her eyes again, she kissed the skin under her head and sighed deeply. She tightened her hold on the tall pilot for a moment.
The silver-haired pilot managed to slip through the embrace and walked from the bed to gather her clothes. The sheet from the bed slipped down to the lowest part of Trowa's waist possible without revealing his most intimate part. He rolled to his left side, unconsciously missing the warm feeling of Kumi in his arms where she once was.
The Japanese pilot slipped back into her night wear and looked back to her sleeping lover. She quietly crawled back to the side of the bed where she knelt and kissed Trowa's cheek gently. A small smile crossed his lips and a small sigh of content left him. This sound and the sight of the sweet smile on her partner's face was enough to bring a small smile on the lips of the 'Perfect Soldier.' "Sleep well, Trowa," she whispered.
Soundlessly, Kumi slipped through the room and past the door, closing it behind her. It was too early in the morning for anyone else to be awake. Heero and Kumi woke every morning at exactly six o'clock on account of their training. Looking to the closed door of Trowa's room, she placed a hand on the wood. The young pilot made her way back to her own room to change into her usual, black attire...back into the soldier.
* * * * * *
That night, Kumi entered her room after taking a shower. Her laptop remained on the desk in the far corner of the room. Closing her door, she changed from her powder blue towel into her black attire. When she was changed, she pulled her damp hair up into its ponytail. Once the Japanese pilot finished fixing her hair, the young pilot moved to leave the room, opening her door and ready to step out. Just then, her laptop blinked on and a screen of static appeared on the open machine. The silver-haired pilot froze in her tracks and turned to the device.
The 'Perfect Soldier' closed her door, just before walking quickly to her laptop. She failed to notice that she didn't completely close the door as it now had a small crack in it. A male voice came from her computer. "This is General Churchill calling Pilot One Zero. Do you read me?" Kumi stood before the laptop and gave a nod as she replied, "This is Pilot One Zero initializing voice authorization." The static on the screen faded as the General's image appeared. He looked to the silver-haired pilot with a look of distress. Seeing her, however, he gave a small and relieved smile as he began, "Hello, Kumi."
The young pilot gave a nod, "General Churchill. What is the situation?" Churchill wasn't surprised that the 'Perfect Soldier' only wanted to get right to business. His original intent to beat around the bush and make light of the news he received went right out the window. Taking a deep breath, the man stated, "I have received reliable information on a mission that requires your skills." Kumi asked, "What is it that I need to do?"
Trowa was walking towards Kumi's room when he noticed that the door had a slight crack in it. He heard two voices coming from the room. He recognized the voice of Churchill since he aided Quatre and Sette in their missions. His hazel eyes widened a moment in realization that something must have been wrong for him to be contacting Kumi on her personal laptop. He walked closer to the crack enough to just see the back of the pilot who just the night before had become his lover. She was standing before her desk, looking down to her laptop straight and still as ever.
Churchill stated, "OZ has captured a Preventer...a leak." Kumi's cobalt eyes widened at his then narrowed. She said in monotone and sternly, "Understood. Where are they?" The General answered, "They are being held on the ship known as Quasar. Trowa visited the ship and managed to give us all of the information on Quasar. I will be sending the same information to the database of your laptop upon the conclusion of this discussion."
[Intro to 'Survivor' begins]
The General lowered his head and said gravely, "I know that this couldn't have come at a worse time, with Dorothy's death and the colonies-" Kumi interrupted and said clearly, "The colonies who betrayed us are not our concern at this time. We'll win this war without their support and Dorothy will be avenged." Churchill nodded, "You're right." He regained his confidence and asked, "You know what it is you have to do, then?" The silver-haired pilot answered in her soldier voice, "Mission accepted." The screen went black as the connection was cut.
Without hesitating, Kumi opened the top drawer of her desk, removing a pistol.
[Now that you're out of my life, I'm so much better
You thought that I'd be weak without you but I'm stronger
You thought that I'd be broke without you but I'm richer
You thought that I'd be sad without you, I laugh harder]
Trowa's hazel eyes widened as he watched through the doorway. Kumi removed several clips of bullets for the pistol, leading it quickly. Placing the gun in her halter within her black stretch pants, she moved to the bed. Lifting her right leg to rest on the bed before her, the 'Perfect Soldier' rolled up her loose material of the pant.
[Thought I wouldn't grow without you, now I'm wiser
Thought that I'd be helpless without you, but I'm smarter
Thought that I'd be stressed without you, but I'm chillin'
Thought I wouldn't sell without you, sold my million]
Kumi strapped on a halter with a long and thick, jagged-edge blade. Covering the weapon with the material, she then moved her left leg in the same fashion, strapping on another pistol and halter there. Once her pants were rolled back down to her ankles, the silver-haired pilot walked over to bend at the waist to have a close look at her laptop's screen, patching into the signal of the hanger.
[I'm a survivor, I'm not gonna give up,
I'm not gonna stop, I gonna work harder
I'm a survivor, I'm gonna make it
I will survive and keep on surviving]
Sette's face appeared on the screen. She smiled and asked, "Hey, boss. What's going on?" Her partner replied, "Sette, have one of the personal ships prepared for me. There's something that I have to take care of." The ex-princess looked concerned, and said, "Sure thing Kumi...It's a 'plug' trip, isn't it?" Kumi nodded at the term that her comrade made for this kind of mission since the Eve Wars, "Yea." Sette assured her friend, "I'll have everything ready by the time you get down here." The Japanese pilot replied, "Thank you." The connection was cut.
[I'm a survivor, I'm not gonna give up,
I'm not gonna stop, I gonna work harder
I'm a survivor, I'm gonna make it
I will survive and keep on surviving]
In the hanger, Sette turned to Wufei, Quatre, Delapan and Zes. She motioned for them to follow her as she informed them, "We have to work quick. Bring all of the explosives that we stored." The Chinese pilot and redhead and young queen ran to the storage room not far from where they were stationed. Together, they carefully took some of the weapons into their possession. Quatre and Sette ran to the ships to choose one that would be led to the runway for their comrade.
[Thought I couldn't breathe without you, I'm inhaling
You thought I couldn't see without you, perfect vision
You thought I wouldn't last without you, but I'm lasting
You thought that I would die without you, but I'm living]
Looking to the data on the quilled ship known as Quasar, Kumi remained slouched forward as she focused. "Enter through the sixth hanger. You'll have a better chance at getting in undetected," a gentle voice from behind informed her. The 'Perfect Soldier' turned to see her lover standing there with a sad look on his face. Kumi whispered, "Trowa," frozen in shock that he heard what she had to do. The tall pilot walked to her and kissed her forehead, holding his lips there.
[Thought that I would fail without you, but I'm on top
Thought it would be over by now, but it won't stop
Thought that I would self-destruct, but I'm still here
Even in in my years to come, I still gonna be here]
"Be careful, Kumi," he pleaded quietly as he pulled her into an embrace. "If we lose you..." Trowa couldn't finish. Kumi pulled back enough to look into her partner's eyes. She removed the silver chain and cross pendant from its hiding place and from her neck. The silver-haired pilot placed the chain around Trowa's neck as she explained, "This was a gift from Foreign Minister Caffey...Look after it for me till I get back." The tall pilot smiled and nodded, "I'll do that." Kumi walked over to the laptop and closed it. Placing the computer in a personal backpack just for it, the Japanese pilot strapped it on and headed out of the room along with Trowa.
[I'm a survivor, I'm not gonna give up,
I'm not gonna stop, I gonna work harder
I'm a survivor, I'm gonna make it
I will survive and keep on surviving
I'm a survivor, I'm not gonna give up,
I'm not gonna stop, I gonna work harder
I'm a survivor, I'm gonna make it
I will survive and keep on surviving]
The Gundam pilots in the hanger worked together in arming the ship. Wufei and Zes looked after the guns at the bottom of the craft as the others worked on the inside. The ex-princess looked over everything, taking mental notes as to what was needed, since she had been on several solo missions. Once she saw that everything was in order, she nodded to her comrades and ran out of the ship. Outside, Wifei and Relena finished their tasks and ran behind their friends, taking the elevator to the second level of the hanger.
[Wishing you the best,
Pray that you are blessed,
Give your success, no stress
And lots of happiness]
In an elevator going down to the floor of the hanger, Kumi stood with her back against the wall opposite of the doors with her arms crossed and eyes closed. Deep in thought, she made sure not to lose sight of what she needed to do. The yellow lights from the hanger ran over the inside of the elevator as it made its way down.
[Bridge Two]
[Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh]
In the elevator taking Quatre and the other pilots upstairs, Zes turned to her half-sister and asked, "What exactly is a 'plug' trip?" The tomboy answered, "It's a name I give to missions like the one that Kumi's going on...She has to silence a leak." "In other words plugging it," Wufei realized aloud. The ex-princess nodded. The other pilots looked to Sette in shock and fear. "Is she going to be alright going alone?" Delapan asked. The blue-haired pilot assured them, "She's the only person best suited for it."
[I'm a survivor, I'm not gonna give up,
I'm not gonna stop, I gonna work harder
I'm a survivor, I'm gonna make it
I will survive and keep on surviving]
The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Trowa was working at the main system of the base. He turned back to see the others. Delapan walked to him, resting a hand on her brother's right shoulder for support. He placed his right hand over hers and squeezed it in appreciation of the gesture.
[I'm a survivor, I'm not gonna give up,
I'm not gonna stop, I gonna work harder
I'm a survivor, I'm gonna make it
I will survive and keep on surviving]
Quatre turned to Sette and asked, "What did you mean that Kumi's the best person suited?" The tomboy replied, "She's the only person that I know, other than Heero, who can aim a gun at someone- seeing the fear in their eyes- and not have any problem pulling the trigger." The Arabian shuddered inwardly, but knew that what Sette said was the truth. Wufei and Zes made their way to Trowa and stood with him as the couple behind them joined them as well.
[After all of the darkness and sadness,
Soon comes happiness
If I surround myself in positive things,
I make it to see better days]
The elevator reached the ground level and opened. Kumi remained in the lift, looking out with her soldier expression ever present. The silver-haired pilot walked out and looked to the ship that had been made ready for her. She then made her way towards the craft.
[I'm a survivor, I'm not gonna give up,
I'm not gonna stop, I gonna work harder
I'm a survivor, I'm gonna make it
I will survive and keep on surviving
I'm a survivor, I'm not gonna give up,
I'm not gonna stop, I gonna work harder
I'm a survivor, I'm gonna make it
I will survive and keep on surviving]
Just before reaching the shuttle, the 'Perfect Soldier' looked up to see Trowa and the other pilots looking over the railing and down to her. They all had looks of confidence and strength, now a whole unit and unbreakable even after all of the challenges that they had to face.
Kumi couldn't have been prouder of them, even if she would never say so. She smirked and gave a nod to her comrades, letting them know that everything would be fine. The others gave a wave, smile, nod or some sign of 'good luck' to their friend. The silver-haired pilot turned to the ship and climbed up to the cockpit, closing the glass seal over her.
[I'm a survivor, I'm not gonna give up,
I'm not gonna stop, I gonna work harder
I'm a survivor, I'm gonna make it
I will survive and keep on surviving
I'm a survivor, I'm not gonna give up,
I'm not gonna stop, I gonna work harder
I'm a survivor, I'm gonna make it
I will survive and keep on surviving]
Trowa returned to the control panel and typed the controls for the opening in the Earth's surface to split at the end of the runway, giving a clear path for the skies. Kumi took hold of her controls and looked to the stars ahead of her. Completely focused, she took off as great speed, shooting up the curved runway and into the atmosphere.
The wind from the swift launch was enough to reach the other pilots as they watched their comrade's departure. With their hair blowing, they looked up in the direction that their friend disappeared. Relena sighed and said quietly, "That which doesn't kill us, makes us stronger, right?" Her half-sister looked back to her and nodded with a warm smile, "Damn right." They looked back up to the stars, silent and still as ever.
TBC
Gundam Wing: The Second Chapter
Episode 33: That Which Does Not Kill...
by SkyLark
with help from Snodin, Vampira, Sam, Stormy, Silver Star, Beekay, GREETER 600, and Ruby along with all who show support for this saga!
On a hill beside the one where Duo Maxwell's cross was, Kumi hammered another cross into the ground. Every hit echoed throughout the woods, making an eerie sound against the stillness that existed otherwise. Her hits became more forceful as she worked, letting her silent rage out on the memorial that she made for her fallen comrade. Finally, it became clear that the cross wouldn't be moving anywhere and Kumi wiped the sweat from her forehead, catching her breath.
As she stepped back, the black-clad pilot did not notice that her efforts caused the silver cross pendant of her hidden necklace to pop out from under her sleeveless top. With the contrast of her attire, the silver pendant shimmered in the bright sunlight. Looking to the cross before her, Kumi looked to the name in bold, black letters that read 'Dorothy Catalonia' across the horizontal beam and the name 'Novem' that read down the top half of the vertical beam of wood.
A gust of wind passed her as Kumi closed her eyes and lowered her head in respect. Her comrades were still too overwhelmed by grief to be able to take part in this. Novem's memorial service was going to take place in a few days and they would need all of that time to try and get themselves together just to be stable enough to deal with that.
Two deaths just two months apart was far too much for them to bear...One death was far too much for them to bear. Opening her eyes, Kumi saw the silver cross that fell over her chest. Taking the pendant into her hand, the silver-haired pilot placed it back under her top. Looking back to Dorothy's cross, the pilot then turned to return to the safe house.
* * * * * *
Relena was in her room, sitting up on her bed that was still made with her back leaning against the headboard. She looked as though she was in a daze, pale with an empty look in her eyes. A timid knock came to the door just before it was opened slowly. Sette peeked in when there was enough of an opening to do so. Seeing Zes and the way that she was sitting, the ex-princess felt the bottom of her stomach drop for the umpteenth time these last twenty-four hours. She drew hear head back out and carefully slid the door open by pressing the side of her body against it. In her hands, she carried a tray of food that she had made for lunch.
Walking to the bed with the offering, Sette asked quietly, "Relena?" The young queen remained unresponsive, just looking ahead of her without changing her expression. The tomboy lowered the tray on the desk beside the bed. Taking the young queen's hands into her own, she called gently again, "Relena?"
Slowly, the other pilot turned her head to look to her comrade. Sette gave a smile and sigh of relief as she said quietly, "There you are." She gently ran a hand through her half-sister's hair as a sign of comfort. Taking the tray into her hands again, she placed the food before the young queen. "I made this for you, since I know you haven't had anything to eat," the ex-princess informed her friend.
Zes looked indifferently to the tray that rested over her stomach. There was a pause and she didn't move at all. Sette sighed deeply and lowered her head as she closed her eyes. She said quietly and sincerely, "I know that Dorothy was a wonderful friend to you...She was a good person and a damn good pilot." Opening her eyes and looking to her half sister again, she continued, "But you know that she's at peace now, with her grandfather. I know that she wanted to stay here with us, but God... just had other plans."
Hearing this, Relena turned back to her comrade in shock and asked in a small, broken voice, "After everything that has happened over the years...After what happened just in this war alone, you still believe in God?" The tomboy smiled and shrugged, "If I didn't, I sure as hell wouldn't be piloting a Gundam suit, that's for certain." Zes looked to the pilot with great curiosity as she listened closely.
Sette continued, "I don't know...Fighting in a war like this for so many years, it's hard not to believe that there's a Supreme Being out there, and that Heaven does exist...When you've been a pilot as long as myself, Kumi, Quatre and the other guys have been, it gets to be the only thing that we can look forward to most of the time."
Relena shook her head and said with pain in her voice, "Dorothy was my best friend. I can't get over her death that easily. It was bad enough with Duo-" She couldn't continue anymore as tears flooded her eyes and she began to sob. Instinctively, Sette moved the tray and placed it back onto the table. The moment her hands were free, she hugged Zes and rubbed her back as she continued to cry. "Just let it out, Zes," she said soothingly. "I know that it hurts, believe me."
With a small sigh, the ex-princess assured her friend, "The pain does become bearable in time, but you'll never truly get over this." A stray tear left her own eye and she quickly brushed it away. Zes hugged the other pilot as she let her tears and sobs out. Sette just went on supporting her until it passed. "We're all trying to get through this together. If you ever need to cry like this or just need somebody to talk to, you can always come to me or any of the others."
The young queen's sobs calmed and soon, she let the tears out that she needed to for the time being. Lying back, she nodded and said quietly, "Thank you, Sette. I needed that." The tomboy smiled and nodded, "Don't mention it." Looking to the tray, she asked, "Now will you try and get something in your system? I don't cook for just anyone." A very small smile fell on Zes's face and she nodded. She took a few bites of one of the sandwiches that the ex-princess made when she placed the tray before her again.
For some reason, the young queen thought that there was something she needed to ask the tomboy. But with the death of her best friend weighing heavily on her mind, she couldn't remember what it was. Sette remained in the room with her, seeing that she ate everything. It would take quite sometime for the queen to get over her friend's death, but at least she was taking a step to trying to take care of herself.
* * * * * *
On Peace Million, Lady Une was sitting in her office, head resting on her folded arms over the top of her desk. Looking to the picture of the Gundam pilots, her right hand reached to the frame and gently ran along the glass protecting the image. Sitting up, she took the picture into her hand and hugged it against her chest. A small knock came to her door. Lady Une called in a small voice, "Come in." Lieutenant Keiser entered and looked to his commander. His expression saddened when he looked to the Preventer hugging the photo of the Gundam pilots.
Waling into the room and closing the door behind him, Keiser sighed deeply. Une didn't look up to him as she remained lost in her thoughts and pain. The Lieutenant walked to her and moved to gently removed the frame from the young woman's arms. Lady Une only looked up to him when he tried managed to remove the picture from her without any difficulty. From there, she was gently lifted onto her feet and into a tight embrace from the tall man.
Unable to hold her tears back, Lady Une sobbed quietly as she returned the embrace and buried her head in Keiser's chest. The young man rubbed the back of her head and said quietly, "I know that you're blaming yourself for this. You did nothing wrong." The woman in his arms shook her head, "You tried to warn me...You said yourself that no matter how the war ends, not all of the pilots would make it through alive. I should have listened and kept them safe."
The Lieutenant kept his hands on Une's shoulders as he gently pulled her back at arm's length to have their eyes locked. "You did the right thing in keeping those pilots in this war. Fighting this way is all that they know and it's what they want. Nobody forced them to remain Gundam pilots all this time, they made that choice on their own." Drying the tears that rolled down Lady Une's cheeks, he assured her quietly, "I have more respect for you and all of them for it. I've only known those kids a few months and I'm already worrying over them as a father would. I can only imagine how badly this is hurting you."
Lady Une turned back to look to the picture and said in a small voice, "How much more do they have to suffer? It just isn't fair that they're losing the only people, their best friends and comrades, who understand and accept them unconditionally." Keiser shook his head, "They won't stop fighting. They don't know how to. Otherwise, they would have returned here and given the task of piloting their suits to someone else by now."
The head of the Preventers shuddered inwardly and whispered, "I almost wish that they would." The Lieutenant nodded, "So do I. But like all parents, there comes a time that they have to let their children go and live their lives as they wish." Lady Une looked back up to Keiser, recalling these same words coming from here the last time that she and the Lieutenant had a discussion about the pilots in her office months ago. A very small smile crossed her face and she nodded, "You're right. I almost forgot that comes with parenting, no matter how difficult it is. Thank you for reminding me about that."
The Lieutenant smiled back and nodded, "Glad I can help. Just don't forget that you're not the only one who loves those pilots." Une was taken back by the sincerity of his words and her smile grew a bit. "I'm glad that you shared that with me. I just wish that everyone felt the same way about them." The tall man nodded and sighed deeply, "Yea. But then again, if that was the case, they wouldn't be here since there would be war and no reason for them to live as soldiers." The young woman, again, was shocked at the truth behind the once harsh man's words. She chuckled deeply and shook her head, "Thank God you're here to help put things into perspective for me. I was starting to lose it before you stopped by."
Keiser smirked and shrugged, "All in a day's work. I'm going to see how the rest of the crew is holding up." Lady Une nodded, "Alright." She paused before asking quietly, "How are the preparations coming with the Memorial Service?" The Lieutenant answered, "They're working out slowly, but fine otherwise. Everything will be ready in two days." The head of the Preventers gave a nod, "Good. Thank you again for all of your help, Lieutenant." He nodded and waved, "Don't mention it, Lady Une."
Just as he was about to leave the room, Lady Une called to Keiser, "Lieutenant?" He stopped and turned back and looked with concern to his commander. Une smiled and asked, "Would it be too informal if I simply call you by your first name from now on?" Keiser's concern faded into a relieved smile. "Of course not." The young woman smiled, "Very well, Jason. I'll see you at our meeting later this evening, then." Jason nodded back, "That you will." At this, he left the room. Lady Une smirked, "Hn." Looking back to the picture of the Gundam pilots, she sighed deeply. She placed a kiss on her hand and placed it over the glass covering the image.
* * * * * *
Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the large ship, Noin, Sally Poe and Sera Makato sat together in one of the lounges. The three young women looked exhausted and strained from an emotional train wreck after receiving the word of Dorothy's death almost twenty-four hours prior to this time as they sat at the table in the center of the room.
Taking a sip from her tea, Sera asked, "Has anyone contacted the pilots since they got through to us last night to see if they're alright?" Sally shook her head, "Not yet. They're going to need some time after what happened yesterday. I'm sure that they're dealing with this as best as possible. The best support that they can get is through each other. If we were to call and check up on them, it might do more harm than good since they'll know that we're worrying over them."
Noin sighed as she rubbed her tired eyes, "I wouldn't know what to say to them two days from now when we see each other at the service. What good would any words do to take away any of their pain?" Sera lowered his cup and shook her head as she folded her hands before her, "If either of you come up with an answer to that, please let me know."
Sally said sadly, "I suppose I don't have to ask if either of you heard the final numbers of the colonies that made alliances with OZ." Makato shuddered, "I heard the number the same time that Commander Wilcox did, last night." Noin shook her head, "I knew that there would be a lot of people who would give up on us...But I never thought that so many would willingly make agreements with Quinze Khshrenadah...We'll talk more about it at the meeting tonight." Sera asked her friend, "How is Milliardo holding up?" Fire replied, "He's coping. He's with Mirando and Marimaya now. This whole dam war is just getting to be too much."
Sally couldn't help but let a chuckled out as she stated, "What war has never been too much?" Noin shrugged, "Compared to the wars we've been through combined with the missions that we fought as Preventers prior to this war, I think it's safe to say that they don't come close to being this devastating." Water sighed deeply and nodded, "You're right. I didn't mean to laugh. I just need to do something...laugh, scream, cry...Anything but sitting here, drinking tea and trying to make sense out of all of this." Makato nodded, "I couldn't agree more. But what else can we do?" Fire shook her head and answered, "Not a damn thing. That's what's making this so unbearable right now."
Sera rose and walked to the sink to clean her cup. "Well, I'm going to see how Justin is doing. I haven't seen him since last night, when we got the message about the colonies that turned their backs on us." She placed the cup away once it had been dried. Sally and Noin rose from the table and walked with Makato to the door. "We'll head over to his room with you. We're heading that way, ourselves," Noin offered. With a friendly smile, Sera accepted and the three young women made their way down the halls.
Once they were just before Commander Wilcox's room, Sera smiled and waved, "I'll meet you both in the hanger soon." Water and Fire waved as they passed and continued to walk ahead down the hall. They heard Heero's mother open the door and enter the room behind them. There was no other sound following that. Then, just as they were about to make their way around the corner, they heard Sera give a blood-curdling scream from within Wilcox's room. The Preventers froze in their tracks, startled initially. They quickly removed their pistols and sprinted back to the room of Pulsar's owner.
Sally reached the door first, quickly opening it with Noin right behind her. Both ladies had their guns up and ready when they entered the dark room. Noin called, "Sera?" The Preventer shouted from the bathroom, "Help me! I'm in here!" The two women sprinted to the adjoined room. Turning the light on, they froze in the doorway with shocked, pale faces.
In the bathtub, Commander Wilcox's uniformed, unconscious body was lying on its back. There was a note beside the tub with no name on the envelope, beside a blood-covered knife. Blood was covering almost his entire body, the source of it being his wrists. The water was running, only recently turned off when Sera found him like this. Most of the blood ran down the drain and continued to do so as the remainder of the water left the tub. Sera was working as best she could to stop the blood, holding his wrists and sobbing with tears running down her face.
Noin gasped and ran to the tub, followed by Sally. Together, the three women carefully lifted Wilcox from the tub and onto the floor of the bathroom. Noin took Wilcox's right arm and looked to the deep wound that he made running down from the wrist. She whispered gravely, "God, Justin, what were you thinking?" She and Sera removed two towels and bandaged his arms tightly with them. As they did this, Sally placed her hands around the cold, wet neck of the commander to get a pulse. Her eyes widened and she opened the uniform to bear his bare skin of his chest. Lying her right ear against his chest over his heart, she hoped to have better luck that way. Her eyes closed slowly as she gave a small sigh.
Lifting herself to sit up, Sally whispered sadly, "He's gone." Sera shook her head and sobbed, "No. God, this can't be happening." Her blood-covered hands came up, covering her face. Noin walked over the body to kneel next to her friend to comfort her. Sally made her way over to the note that was left next to the knife that the commander used to kill himself, still fresh with his blood as it dripped from the blade and stained the white tile floor. A chill ran up her spine when she looked to the weapon. Water opened the envelope when she returned to her friends and read the letter within.
As she held Sera, Noin asked, "What does it say?" Sally read quietly, "We're all doomed to lose to OZ. Better to die than live under their control." Makato looked up with wide eyes from the embrace. Even Noin was taken back by the message as she gave the same expression.
Sera looked with anger to the body of her good friend. She released herself from Noin's embrace and crawled to his face, hissing, "You son of a bitch. How could you?" She went on to shout and began punching the face of the dead commander, "YOU BASTARD! HOW COULD YOU JUST GIVE UP LIKE THAT!?!" Sally and Noin called with concern, "Sera!?!" They quickly restrained the Preventer and Sally hugged her tightly as she started to shake and sob uncontrollably. Noin lowered her head sadly and rubbed her emotional comrade's back for support. All the while, the dead body remained in the center of the room, coated in blood and cold.
* * * * * *
Out in the far reaches of space, several OZ mobile suits were flying and scanning the area. One of the soldiers informed her comrades, "I know that whatever I picked up is here somewhere." One of her partners shook his head as he looked to his monitors, "I haven't seen anything the whole time we've been out here. Are you sure that you read the radars correctly?" The young redhead nodded, "I wasn't seeing things. We just have to keep looking, that's all."
A third soldier shook hid head and sighed deeply, "I don't see the point if we've been here for ten minutes and still haven't found any-" The soldier's words stopped short as a small gasp left him, his eyes wide and jaw a bit slack. His comrades froze as they, too saw what he found.
Just a half-mile away from them, Wing Zero was floating lifelessly in the sea of stars. The young woman whispered breathlessly, "I-is that what I think it is?" Flashing their suits' search lights, the OZ soldiers saw that it was indeed Wing Zero. There was no mistaking the Gundam with its large angel wings. The second soldier sneered when the state of shock passed, "Inform his Excellency that we have located Pilot 01."
* * * * * *
Back in the cabin safe house, Trowa, Quatre, Wufei and Kumi sat in the living room. The fireplace was glowing as the pilots spoke of their options and what they should do at this point. Wufei moved, "We need to find another pilot for Rampage as soon as possible." Quatre's eyes widened and he opposed, "Dorothy's grave isn't even cold yet. You want someone to replace her before we can even grieve her death?"
The Chinese pilot looked hurt at this suggestion and shook his head, "Of course I don't want anyone to replace Dorothy. No one can replace her, no matter how hard they try. And I miss her as much as the rest of you. But Novem willingly requested giving the responsibility of piloting Rampage to someone else. We can't let a good Gundam suit like that go to waist. She knew it, too." Kumi gave a small nod and deadpanned, "Wufei's right. It was her request that we find someone to pilot Rampage. However, we'll worry about that after the memorial service. Then, we'll discuss our options and how to go about choosing the new pilot."
Trowa sighed deeply, "There's another thing to worry about. A good number of spies were sent to get a good idea as to how many colonies finalized agreements with OZ. Let's just hope that Commander Wilcox was able to get some good news that he can pass onto us." A voice from the doorway of the kitchen said quietly, "Wilcox is dead."
The pilots looked up in shock to see Delapan standing before them. She had her arms wrapped around her waist and supported herself by leaning against the wall on her left. Her pale face bore an expression of fear mixed with grief as she continued, "I just spoke with Noin while I was in the hanger...C-commander Wilcox killed himself earlier today...Slit his wrists and let his own blood run down the drain of his tub."
Quatre shook his head, looking ill as he asked in a small whisper, "But why?" Catherine answered, "He got the final number of the colonies that sighed with OZ." The Chinese pilot sighed deeply and lowered his head as his eyes closed. "How many?" he asked with dread in his tone. Delapan cleared her throat and said in a strangled voice, "Over a third of the colonies in space."
The pilots took the news in their own ways. Trowa rose from his spot and walked out of the room, trying to deal with the news on his own terms with a look of loss and anger on his face. Wufei folded his hands before his face, never lifting it or opening his eyes. Quatre covered his own face, lying back on the couch that he was sitting on.
Kumi walked to Delapan with her expressionless face and said to her, "Thank you for giving us the news." Turning back to the others, she suggested, "You all should get some rest. It's been a difficult two days." Wufei sighed deeply as he rose to his feet and walked out of the room, "It's been a difficult nine months." Quatre and Delapan left the room behind the Chinese pilot, trying to process everything that they had to deal with. Kumi lowered her head, whispering sadly, "That it has been."
* * * * * *
Quinze Khushrenadah walked at a quick pace through the halls of the huge ship that he was requested to visit immediately. He was soon greeted by a tall, bald man in a uniform decorated with small metals of honor and valor. He smiled and saluted to his commander. Quinze nodded and said, "I understand that you have something that is of great interest to me?" The Sergeant nodded as he lowered his hand, "That would be correct, Your Excellency. If you would come this way." The soldier led the way through the many halls.
It was not long before the two men entered another hanger, finding themselves on one of the highest balconies of the room once they passed the door. The tall Sergeant stopped before the railing and looked down. Turning back to his commander, he smiled, "Welcome to your surprise, sir." Quinze looked to his soldier in confusion, but walked to the railing and looked down.
His green eyes widened and a small gasp left him. Below them, on the ground level of the hanger, the Gundam known as Wing Zero was lying on its back. The OZ leader gazed on the suit in disbelief. Turning to the bald man, he asked, "How?" The Sergeant chuckled deeply and answered, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." His commander replied, "Humor me." The tall man smirked, "He didn't put up a fight. We found him hours ago and he was taken without any struggle."
Quinze was intrigued as his eyes widened in disbelief again for a moment. Again, the bald man chuckled as he nodded, "My sentiments exactly." Khushrenadah was not willing to believe his ears and suggested, "He must have given some form of resistance?" The Sergeant shook his head, "He didn't lift a finger." Quinze asked, "Where is he?" The tall man answered, "I'll talk you to the holding cell." At this, the men left the hanger together.
In a large, dark cell, Heero sat in the far corner from the door, back against the wall with his head hung as far as it could lie and eyes closed. The door to the cell opened and light from the hall outside poured in. Not lifting his head, the cobalt eyes of the pilot opened. Soon, two pairs of strong hands grabbed him, forcing him to his feet roughly. Being held up, the Wing pilot continued to keep his head lowered. A deep voice before him chuckled and Heero recognized it instantly. A long hand wrapped under his chin and forced him to look up.
Cobalt met green as Heero and Quinze faced each other for the first time. Khushrenadah sneered and said deeply, "Well, well, well... If it isn't the great Heero Yuy." The Japanese pilot's eyes narrowed, his head still held up by the OZ leader. Quinze was just a few inches taller that the pilot. The young man said quietly, "I am in great awe of you, Heero. Both you and Kumi are the perfect living examples of what a soldier should be. And yet, here you are...In the possession of the enemy who threatens the peace that you and your friends have been fighting for almost as long as you've lived. You must have something to say that's burning within you. I would love to hear it."
Heero remained silent, his expression never changing. Quinze lowered his hand and assured the pilot as he growled deeply, "Very well. Have it your way. I'll have you talking soon enough...I'll have you screaming in agony as my men do whatever it takes to break you...And I'll have the privilege of watching you die before me."
He paused, seeing that nothing made the pilot stir. Quinze sighed deeply, "I'm quite disappointed, I must admit. You are not the Heero Yuy that I have heard of since the end of the Eve Wars. I was told that you had a fire that could not be extinguished and a spirit that would never die." He continued, while pacing around the pilot to have a thorough look at him from every angle, "I have a broken young man before me, not the person that helped lead the victory of peace on the Earth and in Space. There is no fire burning within you, nor is there is soul fighting to live. It makes me wonder..."
Khushrenadah's pace around the Japanese pilot concluded and he looked back into his cobalt eyes. His prisoner, who still needed to be held up by a guard on his right and on his left, didn't make the smallest of threats. It was amazing how lost the pilot was. Looking deeper into the narrowed cobalt eyes, Quinze gave a small- barely audible- gasp as his eyes widened. He sneered as he said deeply, "Of course. Duo Maxwell."
Instantly, Heero's eyes widened as his jaw fell a bit slack. The OZ leader laughed loudly at this. As his laughter died, he shook his head and chuckled deeply, "I should have known that the rumors about the two of you were true." Whatever feelings had died within him, Heero was now filling with a rage as he glared his most life-threatening glare to Quinze. This just added to the amusement of his captor. The young man smiled and said, "So Doctor J's training couldn't kill the human emotion of love. This is all too intriguing."
The OZ leader gave a look of sympathy to his prisoner and said, "You must miss him terribly." The Wing pilot bit his lip as tightly as he could, holding back all of the hatred and fury within him. Quinze continued to patronize, "You know, I really feel bad for taking his life as quickly as I had. I never believed that the two of you were more than friends. If that wasn't the case, I would have spared him long enough to know exactly what it was about Duo that undid the conditioning you faced when you were under the great doctor's control. Now, I'll never know."
Quinze sneered as he paced before the pilot, "Did you dream of him before you first realized that you had feelings for him? You still dream of him even now, I imagine? When you had nightmares, were his arms around you enough to put them to rest?" Heero bit down even harder into his bottom lip, drawing blood that ran down the right side of his mouth. The OZ leader went on, "Would a few words from his mouth make you forget any pain that was coursing through you when you were wounded after a struggle?"
Finally, Kushrenadah stood before the Wing pilot and leaned in to whisper, "Was he as good in bed as he was at piloting?" That was all that Heero could take as his vision went red. He tried to lash out, hurling his body in the direction of the smug man before him as he shouted and growled loudly. The two soldiers were far too strong and Heero was not well enough to overpower them. All of his efforts had no effect as all he could do was grit his teeth, taking deep and hoarse breaths. Quinze smiled, "That's more like it. The fire in you has died a bit, but it's still there. I'm going to have fun snuffing it out."
Khushrenadah walked to the door and turned back to the Wing pilot before leaving. The guards let Heero go and walked out of the cell. The Japanese pilot remained standing and wiped the blood from his mouth with his right hand, still glaring at Quinze. The OZ leader sneered and waved, "Pleasant dreams, Heero. And be sure to give Duo my best." He chuckled and left the doorway as the cell door clammed, leaving the Wing pilot in complete darkness again.
Heero lowered his head as he growled deeply and loudly. His hands clenched into fists and his focus drew back to the closed sell door. The pilot's right hand reached under his deep blue T-shirt to pull the cross underneath from its resting place. Both hands wrapped around it and Heero's cobalt eyes closed. He whispered to a God that he still did not know whether or not he believed in, "Give me strength."
* * * * * *
Later that night, Kumi walked down one of the hallway upstairs where a handful of bedrooms lied, wearing a night gray T-shirt that fell to her waist and a pair of black mesh shorts. Walking to the last bedroom door at the end of the hall, she paused and knocked three times. There was a pause before any response came. Then, the door slowly opened before her. Trowa stood in the doorway, wearing nothing but a pair of hunter green sweatpants. The two pilots looked in silent awe to each other, amazed and breathless by the appearance of their partner.
After a pause that felt like an eternity, Trowa's look of wonder turned into concern. He asked quietly, "Kumi? Is something wrong?" The silver-haired pilot broke from her hypnotized state with the question and she shook her head, "No. I just-" She paused, not knowing what to say. She quickly recovered and said quietly, "I just...wanted to see that you were alright...After everything that's happened the last few days." Trowa was speechless, with his jaw slightly slack. Kumi was actually worried about him. After another brief pause, he smiled warmly and said kindly, "I'm alright. Thank you."
The two pilots stood silently, just inches from each other and left uncertain as to what they should say or do at this point. Suddenly, Kumi closed the gap between them, wrapping her arms around the tall pilot's neck and pressing her lips tightly against his with her eyes closed. Trowa's eyes widened as he was startled by the abrupt gesture, but slid closed as he returned the kiss with just as much fire. Parting their lips, the kiss became deep and passionate as apposed to forceful and rushed. They moaned in each other's mouths, reveling in the feeling that they both wanted for so long now.
Without any difficulty, Trowa managed to wrap his right arm around Kumi's slender waist, lifting her off her feet as he carried her into his room that way without breaking the kiss. As he did this, he closed the door behind him with his left arm. The sound of a click signified that he didn't hesitate to lock the door once it was shut.
* * * * * *
The morning found Trowa and Kumi lying in each other's arms. Trowa was on his back with Kumi lying against the right side of his chest, her head over where his heart was beating steadily. Their arms were wrapped tight around one another as all that covered them was a thin sheet and Kumi's long, silver hair as it had cascaded around their bodies. With a small, deep breath, the cobalt eyes of the 'Perfect Soldier' opened slowly. Looking up to the Trowa's peaceful face, she gazed almost sadly. Closing her eyes again, she kissed the skin under her head and sighed deeply. She tightened her hold on the tall pilot for a moment.
The silver-haired pilot managed to slip through the embrace and walked from the bed to gather her clothes. The sheet from the bed slipped down to the lowest part of Trowa's waist possible without revealing his most intimate part. He rolled to his left side, unconsciously missing the warm feeling of Kumi in his arms where she once was.
The Japanese pilot slipped back into her night wear and looked back to her sleeping lover. She quietly crawled back to the side of the bed where she knelt and kissed Trowa's cheek gently. A small smile crossed his lips and a small sigh of content left him. This sound and the sight of the sweet smile on her partner's face was enough to bring a small smile on the lips of the 'Perfect Soldier.' "Sleep well, Trowa," she whispered.
Soundlessly, Kumi slipped through the room and past the door, closing it behind her. It was too early in the morning for anyone else to be awake. Heero and Kumi woke every morning at exactly six o'clock on account of their training. Looking to the closed door of Trowa's room, she placed a hand on the wood. The young pilot made her way back to her own room to change into her usual, black attire...back into the soldier.
* * * * * *
That night, Kumi entered her room after taking a shower. Her laptop remained on the desk in the far corner of the room. Closing her door, she changed from her powder blue towel into her black attire. When she was changed, she pulled her damp hair up into its ponytail. Once the Japanese pilot finished fixing her hair, the young pilot moved to leave the room, opening her door and ready to step out. Just then, her laptop blinked on and a screen of static appeared on the open machine. The silver-haired pilot froze in her tracks and turned to the device.
The 'Perfect Soldier' closed her door, just before walking quickly to her laptop. She failed to notice that she didn't completely close the door as it now had a small crack in it. A male voice came from her computer. "This is General Churchill calling Pilot One Zero. Do you read me?" Kumi stood before the laptop and gave a nod as she replied, "This is Pilot One Zero initializing voice authorization." The static on the screen faded as the General's image appeared. He looked to the silver-haired pilot with a look of distress. Seeing her, however, he gave a small and relieved smile as he began, "Hello, Kumi."
The young pilot gave a nod, "General Churchill. What is the situation?" Churchill wasn't surprised that the 'Perfect Soldier' only wanted to get right to business. His original intent to beat around the bush and make light of the news he received went right out the window. Taking a deep breath, the man stated, "I have received reliable information on a mission that requires your skills." Kumi asked, "What is it that I need to do?"
Trowa was walking towards Kumi's room when he noticed that the door had a slight crack in it. He heard two voices coming from the room. He recognized the voice of Churchill since he aided Quatre and Sette in their missions. His hazel eyes widened a moment in realization that something must have been wrong for him to be contacting Kumi on her personal laptop. He walked closer to the crack enough to just see the back of the pilot who just the night before had become his lover. She was standing before her desk, looking down to her laptop straight and still as ever.
Churchill stated, "OZ has captured a Preventer...a leak." Kumi's cobalt eyes widened at his then narrowed. She said in monotone and sternly, "Understood. Where are they?" The General answered, "They are being held on the ship known as Quasar. Trowa visited the ship and managed to give us all of the information on Quasar. I will be sending the same information to the database of your laptop upon the conclusion of this discussion."
[Intro to 'Survivor' begins]
The General lowered his head and said gravely, "I know that this couldn't have come at a worse time, with Dorothy's death and the colonies-" Kumi interrupted and said clearly, "The colonies who betrayed us are not our concern at this time. We'll win this war without their support and Dorothy will be avenged." Churchill nodded, "You're right." He regained his confidence and asked, "You know what it is you have to do, then?" The silver-haired pilot answered in her soldier voice, "Mission accepted." The screen went black as the connection was cut.
Without hesitating, Kumi opened the top drawer of her desk, removing a pistol.
[Now that you're out of my life, I'm so much better
You thought that I'd be weak without you but I'm stronger
You thought that I'd be broke without you but I'm richer
You thought that I'd be sad without you, I laugh harder]
Trowa's hazel eyes widened as he watched through the doorway. Kumi removed several clips of bullets for the pistol, leading it quickly. Placing the gun in her halter within her black stretch pants, she moved to the bed. Lifting her right leg to rest on the bed before her, the 'Perfect Soldier' rolled up her loose material of the pant.
[Thought I wouldn't grow without you, now I'm wiser
Thought that I'd be helpless without you, but I'm smarter
Thought that I'd be stressed without you, but I'm chillin'
Thought I wouldn't sell without you, sold my million]
Kumi strapped on a halter with a long and thick, jagged-edge blade. Covering the weapon with the material, she then moved her left leg in the same fashion, strapping on another pistol and halter there. Once her pants were rolled back down to her ankles, the silver-haired pilot walked over to bend at the waist to have a close look at her laptop's screen, patching into the signal of the hanger.
[I'm a survivor, I'm not gonna give up,
I'm not gonna stop, I gonna work harder
I'm a survivor, I'm gonna make it
I will survive and keep on surviving]
Sette's face appeared on the screen. She smiled and asked, "Hey, boss. What's going on?" Her partner replied, "Sette, have one of the personal ships prepared for me. There's something that I have to take care of." The ex-princess looked concerned, and said, "Sure thing Kumi...It's a 'plug' trip, isn't it?" Kumi nodded at the term that her comrade made for this kind of mission since the Eve Wars, "Yea." Sette assured her friend, "I'll have everything ready by the time you get down here." The Japanese pilot replied, "Thank you." The connection was cut.
[I'm a survivor, I'm not gonna give up,
I'm not gonna stop, I gonna work harder
I'm a survivor, I'm gonna make it
I will survive and keep on surviving]
In the hanger, Sette turned to Wufei, Quatre, Delapan and Zes. She motioned for them to follow her as she informed them, "We have to work quick. Bring all of the explosives that we stored." The Chinese pilot and redhead and young queen ran to the storage room not far from where they were stationed. Together, they carefully took some of the weapons into their possession. Quatre and Sette ran to the ships to choose one that would be led to the runway for their comrade.
[Thought I couldn't breathe without you, I'm inhaling
You thought I couldn't see without you, perfect vision
You thought I wouldn't last without you, but I'm lasting
You thought that I would die without you, but I'm living]
Looking to the data on the quilled ship known as Quasar, Kumi remained slouched forward as she focused. "Enter through the sixth hanger. You'll have a better chance at getting in undetected," a gentle voice from behind informed her. The 'Perfect Soldier' turned to see her lover standing there with a sad look on his face. Kumi whispered, "Trowa," frozen in shock that he heard what she had to do. The tall pilot walked to her and kissed her forehead, holding his lips there.
[Thought that I would fail without you, but I'm on top
Thought it would be over by now, but it won't stop
Thought that I would self-destruct, but I'm still here
Even in in my years to come, I still gonna be here]
"Be careful, Kumi," he pleaded quietly as he pulled her into an embrace. "If we lose you..." Trowa couldn't finish. Kumi pulled back enough to look into her partner's eyes. She removed the silver chain and cross pendant from its hiding place and from her neck. The silver-haired pilot placed the chain around Trowa's neck as she explained, "This was a gift from Foreign Minister Caffey...Look after it for me till I get back." The tall pilot smiled and nodded, "I'll do that." Kumi walked over to the laptop and closed it. Placing the computer in a personal backpack just for it, the Japanese pilot strapped it on and headed out of the room along with Trowa.
[I'm a survivor, I'm not gonna give up,
I'm not gonna stop, I gonna work harder
I'm a survivor, I'm gonna make it
I will survive and keep on surviving
I'm a survivor, I'm not gonna give up,
I'm not gonna stop, I gonna work harder
I'm a survivor, I'm gonna make it
I will survive and keep on surviving]
The Gundam pilots in the hanger worked together in arming the ship. Wufei and Zes looked after the guns at the bottom of the craft as the others worked on the inside. The ex-princess looked over everything, taking mental notes as to what was needed, since she had been on several solo missions. Once she saw that everything was in order, she nodded to her comrades and ran out of the ship. Outside, Wifei and Relena finished their tasks and ran behind their friends, taking the elevator to the second level of the hanger.
[Wishing you the best,
Pray that you are blessed,
Give your success, no stress
And lots of happiness]
In an elevator going down to the floor of the hanger, Kumi stood with her back against the wall opposite of the doors with her arms crossed and eyes closed. Deep in thought, she made sure not to lose sight of what she needed to do. The yellow lights from the hanger ran over the inside of the elevator as it made its way down.
[Bridge Two]
[Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh]
In the elevator taking Quatre and the other pilots upstairs, Zes turned to her half-sister and asked, "What exactly is a 'plug' trip?" The tomboy answered, "It's a name I give to missions like the one that Kumi's going on...She has to silence a leak." "In other words plugging it," Wufei realized aloud. The ex-princess nodded. The other pilots looked to Sette in shock and fear. "Is she going to be alright going alone?" Delapan asked. The blue-haired pilot assured them, "She's the only person best suited for it."
[I'm a survivor, I'm not gonna give up,
I'm not gonna stop, I gonna work harder
I'm a survivor, I'm gonna make it
I will survive and keep on surviving]
The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Trowa was working at the main system of the base. He turned back to see the others. Delapan walked to him, resting a hand on her brother's right shoulder for support. He placed his right hand over hers and squeezed it in appreciation of the gesture.
[I'm a survivor, I'm not gonna give up,
I'm not gonna stop, I gonna work harder
I'm a survivor, I'm gonna make it
I will survive and keep on surviving]
Quatre turned to Sette and asked, "What did you mean that Kumi's the best person suited?" The tomboy replied, "She's the only person that I know, other than Heero, who can aim a gun at someone- seeing the fear in their eyes- and not have any problem pulling the trigger." The Arabian shuddered inwardly, but knew that what Sette said was the truth. Wufei and Zes made their way to Trowa and stood with him as the couple behind them joined them as well.
[After all of the darkness and sadness,
Soon comes happiness
If I surround myself in positive things,
I make it to see better days]
The elevator reached the ground level and opened. Kumi remained in the lift, looking out with her soldier expression ever present. The silver-haired pilot walked out and looked to the ship that had been made ready for her. She then made her way towards the craft.
[I'm a survivor, I'm not gonna give up,
I'm not gonna stop, I gonna work harder
I'm a survivor, I'm gonna make it
I will survive and keep on surviving
I'm a survivor, I'm not gonna give up,
I'm not gonna stop, I gonna work harder
I'm a survivor, I'm gonna make it
I will survive and keep on surviving]
Just before reaching the shuttle, the 'Perfect Soldier' looked up to see Trowa and the other pilots looking over the railing and down to her. They all had looks of confidence and strength, now a whole unit and unbreakable even after all of the challenges that they had to face.
Kumi couldn't have been prouder of them, even if she would never say so. She smirked and gave a nod to her comrades, letting them know that everything would be fine. The others gave a wave, smile, nod or some sign of 'good luck' to their friend. The silver-haired pilot turned to the ship and climbed up to the cockpit, closing the glass seal over her.
[I'm a survivor, I'm not gonna give up,
I'm not gonna stop, I gonna work harder
I'm a survivor, I'm gonna make it
I will survive and keep on surviving
I'm a survivor, I'm not gonna give up,
I'm not gonna stop, I gonna work harder
I'm a survivor, I'm gonna make it
I will survive and keep on surviving]
Trowa returned to the control panel and typed the controls for the opening in the Earth's surface to split at the end of the runway, giving a clear path for the skies. Kumi took hold of her controls and looked to the stars ahead of her. Completely focused, she took off as great speed, shooting up the curved runway and into the atmosphere.
The wind from the swift launch was enough to reach the other pilots as they watched their comrade's departure. With their hair blowing, they looked up in the direction that their friend disappeared. Relena sighed and said quietly, "That which doesn't kill us, makes us stronger, right?" Her half-sister looked back to her and nodded with a warm smile, "Damn right." They looked back up to the stars, silent and still as ever.
TBC