DISCLAIMER: The Gundam Wing characters (other that Kumi Yuy and Sette Devion) and not mine.
I have to thank Traci, Sam, Beekay, Silver Star, Mylia, Ruby, D-max, GREETER 600, Lily, Ryla, Stormy, Naz, Akuma, Kai, Enigma, my entire 1x2x1 family and everyone who is enjoying this fic. This fic never would have happened without you! Everything goes out to everyone! LOVE YOU ALL!!!!
Gundam Wing: The Second Chapter
Episode 42: Vengeance's Fury
by SkyLark
In the control room of Pulsar, Lady Une was looking over the Preventers as they worked at their stations. Lieutenant Keiser, Sally Poe and Sera Makato entered the large room. Their commander smiled warmly as she walked to meet them in the back of the room, away from everyone's ears. Once they were together, Sally asked quietly, "Have you heard anything from the Colony Council about the escape yet?" Lady Une sighed deeply as she frowned, "They're sending some of their own guards here for when the pilots return."
Keiser shook his head, "I had a feeling they would hear about this before long." Sera huffed, "It isn't a surprise. They have eyes all over Space. They must have known about Kumi's escape the moment that Excalibur left Pulsar." Sally sighed deeply, "They won't do anything about it until after the battle with Nebula, since they know we need to defeat Nebula. As much as I respect the members of the Colony Council, they do have a tendency to abuse their power."
It was as Water spoke and folded her hands that Lady Une noticed a gold band on the ring finger of the braided Preventer's left hand. Had it not been for a small sparkle of gold that came from the movement, it wouldn't have been seen. Lady Une looked to the ring for a brief moment with curious eyes. Her daze was broken as the doors to the hanger opened and Howard walked in. The old man smiled to his friends as he informed them, "The Preventer crafts closest to Colony A131 have been informed of what they need to do. They're moving into position now and should be there after the Gundams initiate the fight."
Keiser turned to see one of the Gundams pilot as she worked at a computer with her headset on to contact her friends whenever needed. He walked beside the focused young woman and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. Relena jumped for a moment and a large gasp left her, on account of being broken from her concern and determination so suddenly. Turning to look up to the tall man beside her, she smiled and sighed deeply in relief. Removing her headset, she said quietly, "Sorry about that." Brian was chuckling deeply along with Keiser as the Lieutenant replied, "I'm the one who should apologize, Zes. I didn't mean to startle you."
The King of the World walked towards his wife, chuckling deeply as he smiled lovingly to her. "I know that you're anxious, sweetheart," he said soothingly as he massaged her shoulders to try and calm her nerves. "Just relax and have faith in the others." Zes kissed her husband's hand and leaned back into his chest as she sighed deeply, "I know that I shouldn't worry so much... I just can't help it." King Weatherall kissed her forehead and said gently, "You have too big of a heart to not worry."
Relena shook her head sadly, "I still can't help but wish that I was out there with them. There's only so much that I can do here, on the sidelines." Keiser smiled to Zes and assured her, "You're doing more than enough to help your friends. They need your understanding of the Gundam suits to guide them through the battle safely. By no means are you on the sidelines." The young queen's sadness vanished at these words as she returned the Lieutenant's warm smile and replied sincerely, "Thank you. You're right, Lieutenant." The tall man nodded and squeezed her right shoulder for more support.
A loud beep sounded from the computer before the queen as the monitor blinked a few times. With wide eyes, the trio looked to the screen and Zes typed a few commands into the system. Lady Une, Sera, Sally and Howard ran up from behind and huddled to see the computer. "They've reached Nebula," Zes said quietly, almost inaudibly as she continued to look to the monitor with wide eyes and her breath held within her chest.
* * * * * *
Breaking through the atmosphere of A131, Euphoria was the first to see the enormous ship that flew hundreds of miles over the Colony's surface and in the thick sea of white clouds. Milliardo shouted, "HIT THEM WITH EVERYTHING YOU HAVE!" The pilots right behind him responded with loud shouts and cries as they shot through the skies towards their target. Along with them, there was a massive fleet of over one hundred Preventers from Pulsar. They joined their comrades as they geared themselves for the attack.
* * * * * *
In Nebula's control room, the OZ soldiers within were looking to their main monitors. Lieutenant Marx was said in the back of the room, smug sneer in place as he stood straight and tall. Looking to the images of the approaching army, he ordered in a deep chuckle, "It's about time they decided to show up. I was getting tired of waiting." The suits were getting closer, though they still had a lot of ground to cover before actually reaching the OZ craft.
One of his men came to him and saluted, "Shall we send out first fleet, Sir?" Marx shook his head, "Not just yet. Give them a taste of out lasers first, then send them. Let's make this as much fun as possible." The young soldier replied, "Yes, sir." The Lieutenant looked back to the monitors and looked to the images of the Gundam suits as he hissed, "Come on, you sons of bitches. Show me what you're really made of."
* * * * * *
The lasers of Nebula were the first to greet the pilots outside as they opened fire from every direction. The Gundam pilots made sure to maneuver their suits to avoid the beams. Only a very small handful of Preventer mobile suits were not as lucky as they were taken out before they could get anywhere near the target. Locking onto their visuals and gripping their controls, every one of the soldiers focused on reaching the carrier. Knowing that the lasers were at attempt to shake their army, Trowa called to his friends, "This is one mission that we can't afford to lose so everyone remember not to let them shake you!" His friends nodded to took this to heart as they glared and growled to the ship that they were more than four miles from now.
The lasers continued to fire continuously, but never managed to stop the pursuit of the Gundams and their allies. As they were about three-and-a-half miles from the OZ craft, the first wave of soldiers poured from its hangers. Wufei sneered at the sight of them as he growled deeply in anticipation, "Here they come." The Gundam suits spread themselves to reach as much of the sky as possible, to thin out their enemies as best they could. The OZ mobile suits followed them all the same, knowing that they didn't need to worry about a lack of soldiers in their force.
Sette was the first of the Gundam pilots to be greeted by the OZ soldiers head-on. Taking her laser mallet, the queen smashed through the first three opponents that reached her with ease as she spun her suit and shot past them. Looking to her monitors, she was fully prepared for the wave of gunfire and slashes from those who had yet to face her. Sette growled deeply as she met and returned every assault without any hesitation or fear. Keeping her captured friends in mind, she remained determined mot to leave this battlefield without them.
Several hundred feet from the tomboy, Delapan was the next to face hand-to-hand combat against the OZ troops. Welcoming the fight, the redhead raised Slither's whip and wrapped it tightly around two Space Virgos. Causing the snake tail to squeeze the mobile suits tightly, Catherine crushed them effortlessly. Once those suits went up in great explosions, Delapan turned and looked to nearly thirty more OZ suits that were making their way to her. Eyes narrowed, the young pilot advanced in their direction. Moments later, she would be engaged in her own personal war, away from any of her comrades.
* * * * * *
On pulsar, Zes was watching he fight closely as she made sure that there wasn't anything wrong that her friends might have been too preoccupied to miss. In the back of the room, the Preventers were gathered as they watched the battle on the main monitors in the front of the room. Tying a few controls to have a scan of different angles on her computer, the young queen said to herself, "I know that there is something we're missing..." Just then, she linked onto a hole in the defense that gave a straightaway for anyone who tried to fly up from the Colony below. Relena's eyes widened as a sharp gasp left her. All too quickly, she knew as to what OZ's methods were.
* * * * * *
Relena's image appeared on the screens of every Preventer suit and Gundam as she announced, "There is no one from our army fighting below Nebula at this time. The OZ soldiers are trying to keep it that way by holding you where you are, above it. When their back up comes from A131, they'll be able to surround you and push you back. There's a gap in their forces that you can break through but you need to move fast!"
Noin looked to see the hole in the defenses that her sister-in-law was speaking of. When she found it, she informed there others, "I'm on my way down there now!" Trowa was only a few yards away from Rampage as he nodded, "I'm heading down there with you." Saying this, they quickly shot those troops closest to them with a spray of bullets and arrows. Trowa and Noin pushed their suits the to fly several miles below Nebula as they shot downward through the only break that allowed them to do so.
* * * * * *
Marx looked to his monitors in disbelief as he watched Rampage and Heavy Arms making their way down. "HOW THE HELL DID THEY KNOW WHERE THAT OPENING WAS!?!" he screamed in rage to his soldiers. "TELL THE SOLDIERS ON A131 TO GET UP HERE NOW!" he ordered. Looking to his second-in-command, he stated, "You are to lead them in here for the time being." The Captain saluted and nodded, "Yes, sir." Marx Glared to the image of the two Gundams as they reached below the ship and were stopped just two miles away from it's base. He growled deeply, "I've waited long enough for this." The Lieutenant left the control room quickly.
* * * * * *
The moment that they reached the bottom of the ship, Noin and Trowa spread apart to handle the OZ soldiers who prevented them from hitting Nebula from below. It was as they began this new tactic that the Gundam pilots caught their first glimpse of the A131 soldiers as they came to aid their OZ allies from far below. The European pilot warned his friends as they continued to fight above the ship, "If there's anyway some of you can get down here, we'll need all the help we can get. There's about three hundred soldiers making coming up from the Colony."
Wufei was in the middle of a heated struggle when he received Trowa's call for help. He nodded to the request and replied, "I'm on it." Sending flames ahead of him, The Chinese pilot forged his own opening through the wall of mobile suits. The journey downward was not an easy one, the raven-haired pilot soon learned as he was up against a great number of troops from Nebula. Still, Wufei plowed through with his sword and flames. One OZ soldier would have managed to shoot him down, had it not been for a Preventer who aided the Chinese pilot. With a grateful smile and wave to the young man that saved him, the Gundam pilot continued to soar downward.
* * * * * *
Meanwhile, inside Nebula, Heero and Duo were pulled from their cell, arm cuffed, and led down the halls forcefully by Marx and a small handful of his armed men. The Gundam pilots made no move to attack their captors, knowing that they would never be able to reach their suits alive if they tried to escape at this point. They walked, side-by-side and listened to the battle being waged outside. Marx would not look to his prisoners as he walked ahead. The Wing pilot turned to face his lover, who in turned looked back to him. Heero have his koi a reassuring smile and took his hand into his own. Duo smiled lovingly back and squeezed his partner's hand tightly as they continued to walk to the execution chamber.
* * * * * *
Noin and Trowa were just in the midst of fighting off the new recruits from A131 by the time Wufei managed to join them after his treacherous flight to help them. Together, the three pilots held off as many of the Colony soldiers as they could, along with handling those OZ soldiers that they had been fighting all along. As this went on, another huge swarm of cloned soldiers made their way from Nebula. Noin hissed from her cockpit, "Damn it! At this rate, they'll swallow us whole before we get anywhere near the ship."
Quatre was watching his monitors in the midst of his own battle with the OZ forces as the second fleet came into sight. Sweat was pouring from his face as he turned to look to the Preventers who came with them from Pulsar, the blonde pilot's eyes widened as he saw how drastically their numbers had dropped. He shouted over his transmitter, "We can't afford to stay here much longer at this rate!" Just then, the Arabian's monitors beeped to inform him that he was receiving an incoming signal. He looked to the smaller screen on his right as his eyes widened to see the image of an old friend. The blonde pilot shouted in elation, "RASHID! YOU MADE IT JUST IN TIME!"
The tall man smiled warmly to his master and replied, "I can see that, Master Quatre." He turned his focus onto the Maquanauts and the soldiers from L4 and H7. We have to split from here," he began. "The forces from H7 will help the pilots below Pulsar, and those from L4 will stay over the ship and help there. Maquanauts, spread out to the sides and go wherever someone is in need of help." Everyone understood what they needed to do and accepted with nothing more to be said as they broke apart quickly.
Sette looked to the image of her people as they took part in the fight. The queen sighed deeply at the sight of her men and women joined with the soldiers from L4. She and Delapan were not far apart now as they fought together. Looking to the redhead, the tomboy smiled, "Don't they look great together?" Catherine gave a sharp laugh and wiped some sweat from her forehead as she nodded, "You know what, they actually do." The pilots continued to fight off their enemies with a wave of a of relief over them in knowing that they now had a large support team helping them now.
While Sette and Delepan never were the closest of people, they put all of their ill feelings for one another aside during battle. Times like this, when it mattered most, they were a team that was next to impossible to stop. One pilot would set a handful of mobile suits up for the other to take out. They would switch and see that there wasn't a time when their foes would know what was coming. So, there element of surprise was never lacking in the duo.
All the while, Milliardo was never in one spot for very long. Being the most experienced of all the pilots, he never found it difficult to work his suit through the most difficult of situations. Still, Wind knew that he and all of the pilots combined could only do so much with the fact that Nebula could produce soldiers at will. By now, the sun had pushed away any cloud that had existed when the Gundam pilots first reached Nebula. It remained a witness to all that happened as it shined down on everything, causing Euphoria's golden metal to glisten in its rays.
Using his double-bladed bow, Milliardo took out OZ troops wherever he went. When the Maquanauts arrived along with their back up, the Preventer was just as reassured to see them as his comrades. The blonde pilot split his bow to form two swords and shot through the fight with agility and speed. Wind locked into his transmitter and asked, "Quatre, anything on Heero and Duo yet?" The Arabian shook his head, "I can't get anything from this side of the ship."
Zes's voice patched in as she suggested, "If Wufei can make his way back up to help Delapan and Sette over Nebula, that'll leave room for Quatre to take his place below to help Noin and Trowa. That way, Quatre would be closer to Nebula and might be able to pick something up with his Space Heart." The Chinese pilot was impressed with Relena's idea as he replied, "That's fine with me. We have to try something different." Milliardo nodded, "I'll help get Quatre down there. Good thinking, Zes." His sister's voice answered, "Just be careful. I have a bad feeling that there'll be another wave of clones coming from the carrier soon." The Preventer said quietly to himself in concern, "I was just thinking the same thing."
Trowa chimed in and warned, "We're losing a lot of our back up down here, so if anyone can get down here, we need all the help we can get." Sette remarked, "We're starting to get thinned out up here, too. We'll need Wufei to get here as soon as he can." Wufei turned to the European pilot and assured him, "I'll return here as soon as I can. With Milliardo and Quatre, you all should be alright for a little while at least." The tall pilot nodded, "Watch yourself as you head back up." The Chinese pilot nodded back and shot up through the fight overhead.
Noin fired several arrows at her adversaries as she stated into her transmitter, "Just keep your eyes open on which direction those clones fly, Zes. So far, they're only headed upward when they leave the ship." Relena responded, "Alright. I'll keep all of your informed when they make their way from the ship."
Milliardo made his way towards Sand Rock and aided his Arabian partner in destroying the OZ soldiers who were threatening the both of them. Together, they moved downward through the storm of mobile suits and lasers. With the two working together, it wasn't long before they reached the bottom of the ship as they immediately went to support Noin and Trowa. The Chinese pilot had since returned to the struggle over the OZ craft. Just as there seemed to be a chance that they would be able to reach Nebula, the Preventers and Gundam pilots watched helplessly as a third massive unit of clones soared from Nebula.
* * * * * *
On Pulsar, Lady Une's fists clenched as she growled, "They just won't let up. If someone could just break through their defenses, we would have a chance." Zes had her hands folded before her as she continued to watch helplessly. Just then, her eyes widened as she watched a the newest OZ soldiers making their way downward from the carrier, instead of upward. She shouted into her headpiece, "THEY'RE CHANGING COURSE AND MANKING THEIR WAY BELOW NEBULA!"
* * * * * *
Rashid looked though his scanners to see that there wasn't anyway he or his men would be able to reach those below the carrier in time. The clones were moving far too quickly for anyone to reach their friends in time to give the help that they needed desperately now. The tall man growled and fought even harder against the OZ soldiers who kept him at bay. The Maquanauts and those who fought beside them were all doing what they could to help their friends. They were just too far apart and the forces that they would have to fight to make it below the carrier were too great in numbers. There wasn't anything that they could do.
Noin watched as even more soldiers from the Colony's surface flew up to take part in the fight. "They waited to hit us from above and below," she said gravely as she gripped her controls tightly. Trowa piloted Heavy Arms to come and wipe out the soldiers that he could, but there were countless more on the way. With narrowed eyes and a deep growl, the tall pilot fought with everything that he had with no plans on quitting just yet. Quatre and Milliardo had the acted the same as they never allowed themselves a moment to rest.
Everything had become a violent haze of confusion as all who fought just did what they could to stay alive at this point. Reaching Nebula was all that the Gundam pilots and all of their friends wanted. However, at this rate, it would take everything in them to get out of this fight in one piece. The Preventers and Gundams below the carrier were grossly outnumbered as they were taken in by their foes. Those fighting at the sides and above the OZ craft were nearly in the same situation as OZ capitalized on their chance to kill all of them.
* * * * * *
Inside the massive ship, Lieutenant Marx entered a dimly lit laboratory along with Heero and Duo. There were several scientists from the organization working behind a large panel of controls and computers to their right. In the center of the room, there was a round, glass tube that reached from the ceiling to the metal floor. It was large enough to trap several people inside, if they were to stand in it. One of the white-coated, old men walked to the Lieutenant. Heero and Duo remained still from where they stood, not far from the glass cylinder and with their hands still joined. The Wing pilot turned to see the glass tube behind them. There were several wires that came from the ceiling inside the cylinder and stopped at different lengths.
The skinny, bald doctor said to Marx quietly with a look of great concern on his face, "Lieutenant, His Excellency said specifically that he did not want to prisoners killed. If you do this-" The old man was cut off as Marx glared to him and hissed, "I don't give a shit what Quinze wants. I want them killed and you'll obey my orders." The doctor back down at this statement and nodded, "Very well, Lieutenant. We will begin preparing for the execution, then."
Marx replied, "Good. Do we have a visual for the outside of the ship?" The scientist walked back to the control panel, where there was a large screen waiting. Turning it around so that the monitor was in plain sight for Marx and the Gundam pilots, the old man patched into the surveillance cameras that showed the battle that was still being waged. The prisoners watched with wide and concerned eyes as they saw the suits of their friends being terribly outnumbered by the OZ and A131 soldiers.
Marx chuckled deeply, "I thought that you might like to see your comrades one last time before you leave this world. But don't worry, they'll be right behind you by the time this day is over." Duo glared to the Lieutenant and hissed, "You bastards won't be able to stop them, no matter what you do to us." The tall man sneered, "Oh I beg to differ. You seem to forget that I can make fleets of willing that will come to my beck and call. Besides, once your dead, the loss will be far too great for the other pilots to make up." Heero shook his head and replied, "You're a fool if you really believe that. Your time is coming, whether you know it now or not." The Lieutenant bent at the waist to have a closer look at the Japanese pilot and said deeply, "And your time is now."
Marx turned back to his guards and ordered, "Prepare them for the execution." The soldiers came and led Heero and Duo towards the glass tube that awaited them. One of the doctors at the control panel flipped a switch that raised the glass from where it locked around its metal base. Once on the flat, metal surface, the guards took the hanging wires into their possession and hooked them onto the prisoners' bodies. They Taped and secured the wire sensors in place on the pilots' heads, arms chests after stripping them of their tops.
The lovers lever broke the focus that they eyes held on each other, silently letting their partner know how much they loved them. Once everything was in place, the soldiers removed the armcuffs of the captives and walked off the round, silver base of the laser as the glass tube fell back into place behind them. Locked inside the cylinder, Heero sighed deeply and opened his arms as the braided pilot walked towards him. There was plenty of room for the two of them to stand apart, but that wasn't an option for them as they held each other.
Duo closed his eyes and rested his head over where Heero's heat was beating after placing a gentle kiss there. The sensors and wires that were attached to them didn't matter as they remained in each other's arms. Together, they watched the screen that revealed the battle that the other Gundam pilots were putting all of their efforts into. "Stay strong, guys," Duo whispered as he watched with saddened eyes. Their embrace tightened and the Wing pilot kissed the top of his koi's head before resting his right cheek there.
Marx walked to the control panel far from the grass prison with the vile of blue liquid as he handed it to one of the scientists. The young woman accepted the tube and assured to the Lieutenant, "The process will be slow and last about fifteen minutes once the machine is activated." Marx said coldly, "I want it to be as painful for them as possible. And don't throw the switch until I say so. I want them to watch the demise of their friends before we kill them." The woman saluted with a sneer, "Yes, sir. And the procedure will be excruciating for the both of them." Marx sneered to himself as he turned back to look to the images of the struggle outside, which was still weighing heavily in OZ's favor. He then looked back to his prisoners as they continued to hold each other. "This is all too perfect," he said to himself.
* * * * * *
Sette continued to fight off as many troops as she could, screaming and shouting loudly as she did. Panting, she looked to her monitors and scanned the layout of everything that was taking place. As she did this, the corner of her eyes caught a streak that was making its way through the atmosphere. The tomboy turned fully in that direction and squinted to try and make out what it was she saw. Her eyes widened as they focused on what looked like a black shooting star. In elation, she gasped and shouted with a wide smile, "KUMI!"
Wufei shouted, "WHAT!?!" as he spun his suit in mid-struggle to look up in the direction Sette was facing. Delapan was doing the same from her place in the sky. The redhead made out Excalibur clearly as she laughed loudly in relief, "Well I'll be damned!" Wufei smiled to himself at the sight of the winged Gundam before turning back to his enemies to welcome their advances head-on. Excalibur was now just a half-mile away and showing no signs of slowing down as the pilot within punched a few commands into her system.
Kumi's monotone voice them, "Will the three of you be able to hold your own with the Preventers and Maquanauts up here for ten more minutes?" Sette looked worried as she asked, "Ten more minutes? What's going on in ten minutes?" The 'Perfect Soldier' replied, "There's no time to explain right now. Can all of you hold on for that long?" Delapan nodded, "We'll be alright, Kumi. Just get to Trowa and the others below. They're in the most trouble right now." The Japanese pilot answered, "I'm on my way there now."
In the confusion of the battle, Kumi managed to fly right through the battlefield. There were several soldiers from Colony A131 and from Nebula that managed to notice the black Gundam and attempted to stop her. However, they were destroyed with a few slashes of the pilot's sword as she shot right past them at amazing speed. Most of those who witnessed didn't know whether or not they were seeing things.
Down below, the Gundam pilots who were in the most danger never managed to hear or see the arrival of the silver-haired pilot and didn't know that she on her way. Trowa was shooting every round that he had against his opponents. It was all that he could do with no one close enough to support him. The blade on his suit's arm was a help, but the European pilot knew that his main tactic and strategy was based on the gunfire that Heavy Arms provided. Once his shells ran out, his blade would be meaningless against hundreds of mobile suits.
The inevitable happened as the bullets of Heavy Arms ran out, the guns falling silent as nothing came from the hallow gun barrels. Trowa sighed deeply to himself as he fell back into his seat, covered in sweat and exhausted as he panted. With heavy-lidded eyes, he watched as a mass of OZ troops prepared to destroy him. He sneered, "So this is how it ends for me." He flipped the cover over the self-detonation switch of his suit and waited until his foes were close enough to be taken by the blast as well. When they were just inches from Heavy Arms, Trowa closed his eyes and thought to himself, "I'm sorry, Kumi."
Trowa's hand was beginning to flip the switch when a gold beam suddenly came from above and vaporized the mobile suits before him. The tall pilot sat up instantly as he gasped and looked to his monitors with wide eyes. Looking up, he watched withed as Excalibur reached him. "Kumi," he whispered breathlessly as a warm smile crossed his lips.
The Japanese pilot sighed deeply in relief as she whispered just loud enough for him to hear, with a small smile of her own, "You scared the shit out of me, koibito."
* * * * * *
In Pulsar's control room, Zes's ears were the only other set that picked up in this as the queen's eyes widened. She whispered to herself, "Koibito?"
* * * * * *
The European pilot chuckled deeply to his lover and said quietly, "You always come just when I need you." The silver-haired pilot smirked to him and shrugged, "Just lucky, I guess." Excalibur handed a large clip of bullets to Heavy Arms for the tall pilot reloaded his Gundam. Once he was armed and ready, Trowa took off to the battle again with Kumi splitting off to help Quatre.
The Arabian smiled warmly to his silver-haired friend as she destroyed a lot of the pilots that were threatening him. The Arabian now was able to find his second wind as he fought with renewed assurance once again. Noin and Milliardo found each other and fought together as the team that they always had been. Before long, the Preventers and those Colony pilots that had been struggling to manage were now able to break through the forces against them as they knew they weren't outmatched just yet.
Sette had been watching the time as to when ten minutes was up. Licking her lips once nervously, she called, "Um… alright, Kumi. It's been almost five minutes now. What are we supposed to wait for here?" Her friend grunted as she continued to take out more opponents, "You'll see, Sette. It's something that Howard has been working on. Just worry about getting to Nebula." The tomboy smirked, "Never could get a straight answer from you." She smashed two more Space Leos.
Wufei destroyed a Taurus and two Aires suits as he continued to make his way through the skies with much more mobility now that the OZ soldiers needed to spread themselves more. Using this to his advantage, the flames from Nataku's dragon-like head were now able to spread wider and further than they had been this whole battle. The Chinese pilot made sure to help any ally that might have been in trouble as he also worried about reaching the OZ craft. As the heated battle continued and both sides were beginning to wear thin, it was more clear now than ever that they needed to reach their captured friends before it was too late.
Milliardo called to his friend, "Any sign on where Heero and Duo are yet, Quatre?" The Arabian was bracing himself after a sharp blow from a Taurus suit as he grunted and replied, "Not yet." The blonde pilot sliced through his attacker just as they were about to strike again. Wiping sweat and panting, he continued, "They're still together but I can't get much more than that right now." Kumi was a bit concerned by this news, but she continued to shoot and stab mobile suits everywhere she turned. She told the Arabian, "We'll find them, Quatre. Just keep us informed when you feel anything."
Delapan whirled three Taurus suits around her green Gundam with her whip as they remained tied within it. Releasing their damaged suits into several others belonging to their comrades, Catherine managed to destroy a good handful of soldiers in a large explosion. Breathing heavily, she turned to face the target and watched as another fleet of OZ soldiers poured from the hangers of Nebula yet again. The redhead growled deeply, "Not this again."
A small clock in Excalibur had been counting down the time that Howard's plan would unfold. There was less than one minute now and the silver-haired pilot's cobalt eyes widened when they saw this. Looking up to see past Nebula, Kumi managed to see about twelve, small Preventer carriers make their way high over the fight. She told her comrades, "We're getting a break real soon, everyone. Whatever happens, don't panic. They won't hit you since only the OZ suits and crafts have been put in their radars." Sette shouted, "What the hell are you talking about!?! What won't hit us!?!" Her Japanese partner looked to the countdown in her monitors and sneered, "You'll see in about five seconds."
The last five seconds wound down and the doors at the base of each Preventer craft opened. As they did this, silver Flare Spheres poured from within and rained down on everything below. The OZ soldier looked up to see one of their own weapons being used against them. Instantly, they screamed and shouted as they did what they could to avoid being hit. The sudden attack, however, had caught all of them off-guard as many were killed on impact, their suits being destroyed in great numbers.
Just as the 'Perfect Soldier' explained, the only things to be hit by the silver balls were the suits belonging to OZ and those who supported them. The Maguanauts and Preventers cheered loudly as they now saw the OZ force shaken greatly, being trapped between a rock and a hard place. Rashid sneered as he looked to the retreating OZ suits and shouted, "Alright! Let's finish what we started!" He and his crew pushed forward as they loudly went after those suits that managed to avoid being taken by the rain of fire what was now spreading.
The Gundam pilots were now able to see their target clearly after a long, difficult battle as the troops opposing them were scattering. Sette laughed loudly, "I'm giving Howard the biggest hug ever when we get back to Pulsar!" Milliardo shot off towards the ship as he called to their others, "We still have a lot of soldiers to fight, but we can make it through now!" With Euphoria, Excalibur, Heavy Arms, Sand Rock and Rampage all soared through the pilots that remained to stay and hold them off.
Nataku, Mason and Slither all plummeted towards the carried from where they had been struggling. While they, too had many of their own opponents that remained, their challenge was not nearly what it had been prior to the arrival of the Preventer crafts with their newest weapon. For as far as anyone could see, nearly every inch of the sky was taken covered by flames from the countless explosions, whether they were caused by the flare spheres or by hand-to-hand combat. The screams and cries from the soldiers on both sides had become deafening. Nebula was being hit left and right as the Flare Spheres continued to fall.
* * * * * *
Three of those spheres crashed into the right side of the carrier, where the laboratory was. The room shook violently enough that Heero and Duo stumbled in their glass prison. There was a loud cry from some of the guards and scientists in the room as they were jolted violently as well. The 'Perfect Soldier's' right hand shot out to hold him up as it pressed against the glass beside him while his left remained tight around Duo's waist. The braided pilot managed to keep his hold around his lover as they looked with wide eyes to the screen.
Marx got back onto his feet quickly after having been knock to the ground by the quake. He glared to the screen and screamed, "HOW THE FUCK DID THEY GET FLARE SPHERES OF THEIR OWN!?!" The screen suddenly changed to reveal the image of none other than Quinze Kushrenadah. The OZ leader's cold, green eyes looked to see the prisoners within the glass cylinder in the center of the room. Heero and Duo's eyes widened at the image but soon narrowed to glare coldly at the man responsible for this entire war. The Lieutenant stared to the screen with shock and fear as he said quietly, "Y-your Excellency." The young man growled deeply, "Marx, you have deliberately disobeyed my orders not to kill those pilots."
"Sir, I am only doing what is best for OZ," the tall soldier said with desperation in his voice. Quinze's eyes narrowed further as he asked deeply, "And how would the likes of you know what is best for OZ?" Marx held his breath at the venom in his commander's voice and the threatening stare he gave. "Sir," he began to plead, "My men can only do so much to hold the Gundam pilots and the Preventers back at this time, even with all the clones that we are sending now."
The room shook violently again as the scientists held tightly to anything that would help keep them on their feet. Marx looked back up to his superior and said sincerely, "We need any assistance that you can send us." Quinze deadpanned, "You made this grave by your actions, Lieutenant. Dig yourself out." Marx's eyes widened at this statement and the screen went black.
The monitor then went back to reveal what was taking place outside of the ship. The Gundam pilot were now getting dangerously close to reaching there target as the flames from the continuous explosions only increased. Even after two more massive fleets of clones had been sent, they wouldn't be able to hold them off forever. Heero and Duo smiled as they looked to one another, relieved in knowing that they at least knew their friends would be safe when this long battle was finally over.
Defeated and beside himself, the Lieutenant straightened his posture and walked slowly to the control panel where the doctors were still waiting for his word. Knowing that they knew they had made a terrible mistake, the scientists looked with uncertainty towards the commander of Nebula. Walking to the first man that confronted him, Marx said quietly in a deep growl, "Begin the procedure for the execution." The old man's eyes widened as he looked to him in disbelief. "What?" he asked breathlessly. "Sir, this won't save us-" his words were cut up as Marx glared directly into his eyes and said more clearly, "I said begin the goddamn procedure."
The bald doctor's disbelief turned into fear and he nodded, "Yes, sir." Quickly, we ran to the control panel and began raising the levels of the machine. His team did the same as they typed their controls in quickly. The huge machines and generators that were up against the walls of the laboratory began to hum loudly as their lights glowed and blinked as testimony that they were nearly ready.
Heero felt his lover begin in shake in his arms as they watched and heard their pending death approaching. The Wing pilot lifted Duo's face up gently by his chin and smiled lovingly to him as he caressed his cheek, avoiding the wires and sensors that were taped there. The braided pilot's shaking calmed even as the hum of the machines grew louder as he returned the same smile to his koi. They kissed sweetly and deeply, communicating their feelings and undying love through the gentle exchange.
* * * * * *
Outside, Quatre's heart was beginning to grow tight in his chest as a sharp gasp left him and his eyes widened. His hands loosened on his controls as he took in the slight pain. He managed, however, to hold his suit suspended with the slight control that he managed to keep. He was now in a dangerous situation since there were was still a great number of clones making their way towards him.
Noin looked to her comrade and shouted, "LOOK OUT!" She instantly flew over to Sand Rock and shot the mobile suits closest to him with her arrows as she joined the Arabian's side. Out of immediate danger, Noin called to the blonde pilot, "Are you alright!?!" The shaken pilot said quietly, "I can feel them." Kumi's shocked face turned to her monitors as she looked to the Arabian and asked, "Where, Quatre?" He shook his head, "I can't get an exact fix but I know something's wrong."
* * * * * *
The deep kiss ended as the lab was now fully lit and loud with humming from the machines. Gazing into his love's cobalt eyes, Heero smiled and whispered breathlessly, "Ai shiteru." The braided pilot replied the same, "I love you." Marx glared to the scientists as his patience had run out. Looking to the meter readings before him, he saw that not all of the power was being used to its full potential. Without thinking twice, the Lieutenant pressed the red button that forced the lights and hum of the monitors to rise to their fullest capacity.
The old doctor shouted with a great look of terror, "THE GENERATORS CAN'T HOLD THAT MUCH POWER!" Marx snapped, "I DON'T GIVE A SHIT! THOW THE SWITCH NOW!" Knowing that he didn't have a choice, the bald scientist walked to the large hand switch that fell in the center of the panel. Closing his eyes, he wrapped his hand around the handle and pulled it down quickly.
Instantly, the glass tube was filled with sparks of electricity that surrounded the encased pilots. At the same time, those waves were sent through the wires that were hooked onto them. Heero and Duo screamed in pain as their eyes squeezed shut. They wrapped their arms as tight as they could around their lover as they suffered the tremendous pain coursing through them.
* * * * * *
Quatre screamed loudly as he felt the initial shocks that his friends received. The little strength he had to keep his Gundam in flight was lost as his hands released the suit's controls. Kumi and Noin shouted simultaneously, "QUATRE!" The silver-haired pilot flew after the falling suit as Noin fought off the mobile suits that continued to give them a hard time.
Kumi finally caught up with her friend and Excalibur's arms wrapped around Sand Rock's waist to support him. The Arabian had his arms wrapped tightly around his waist as he struggled to cry, "They're in the ninth section of Pulsar!" Since the Gundams mapped out the entire carrier from the images they had, he and his friends knew exactly where this was. The 'Perfect Soldier' quickly typed into her system for her monitors to zoom on that section of Nebula. Locking onto it, her eyes narrowed.
Turning to her blonde comrade, the pilot asked, "Will you be alright to look after yourself now?" Quatre had been sweating badly, but managed to regain his composure as he sat up in his seat again. He nodded, "I'm alright now. Just hurry and get Herro and Duo out of there." Kumi nodded and told her friends, "I'm going to use the new modifications that Howard put into Excalibur."
Instantly, Trowa's image appeared on her screen as he shouted with a look of great concern on his face, "Kumi, it's too dangerous! There hasn't even been a test run to see if the modifications will work!" His lover replied in her usual monotone but in a soothing gentle manner, "Trowa, It's the only way we'll reach Heero and Duo in time. They're dying." Her partner sighed deeply and lowered his head, "Alright. Just be careful." The cobalt-eyes pilot gave a small smile and replied, "I will be." Just as Trowa's image disappeared, Quatre gave a small whimper and said quietly, "Hurry, Kumi. There isn't much time." The silver-haired pilot nodded and released her suit's hold around Sand Rock.
The Arabian shot back off to the fight as Kumi remained behind to strap a Gundamimum belt that matched the thick silver one that she already wore. On the front of the metal belt, there was a small black box that fell perfectly in the center between her waists. Putting her suit on autopilot and undoing her harnessed, the Gundam pilot opened her cockpit and rose from her seat.
The Japanese pilot stepped forward and stood on the edge of the platform that was made by the open hatch. Looking down, she could see that her suit was about ten thousand feet in the air. With the wind violently blowing around her, the silver-haired pilot took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she said to herself, "Let's just hope this works." Opening her eyes into thin narrow slits, Kumi dove off of the platform.
* * * * * *
In Pulsar's control room, everyone gasped and shouted as they looked to the terrifying image before them. Relena screamed, "OH MY GOD! KUMI!" Lady Une and her friends all froze in shock and terror as they witnessed their friend's plunge. The Gundam pilots screamed as they also watched in horror.
* * * * * *
Kumi had fallen more than a mile at this point, head first before she turned her body to look at the belt around her waist. Opening the cover of the black box, the red button within was revealed. Not taking another moment to wait, she pressed it as looked back to her Gundam as it shattered into pieces.
The Gundamimum then took a mind of its own, a good portion of it following the homing devise in the falling pilot's belt. Once those pieces caught up with Kumi, they attached to almost her entire body, save the joints to allow her movement, and her face. There was a silver helmet that was a part of the body gear that resembled one of the Roman soldiers (a thin line of metal at either side of the face just before the ears with a plate across the forehead) with a hole in the back for her ponytail to fly freely.
Her right hand was armed with a smaller version of her Buster Riffle that was linked as a part of her, it's cannon resting over the back of her hand. Her left hand received a laser blade similar to the one of her suit, just smaller that she could fight with for hand-to-hand combat.
As she continued to fall, Kumi shouted at the top of her lungs, "WINGS!" On her command, the straps of Gundamimum on her back released the white angel wings from her suit. While they of course were not nearly as nig as they were when they were on Excalibur, they were huge compared to her. Being able to control the wings through her helmet, Kumi brought them to catch a large gust that picked her up to return to the ship at great speed. The others remained speechless at everything that happened.
Several pieces that remained from Excalibur made their way to create more changes on the suits that bore homing devices for them as well. Trowa was watching all of this closely even as he fought and sighed deeply, falling back into his seat as he saw that his lover was safe. He then watched as several large pieces of black Gundamimum came together and attached themselves to the back of Heavy Arms.
The metal blended together to form angel wings just like the while ones that his lover's Gundam bore, same design, shape and all. This physical change not only allowed Heavy Arms to become more mobile, but it was also much faster than it had ever been it its existence. Trowa used this newest feature right away as he gave the wings a massive flap and flew off for Nebula, shooting his enemies along the way.
Milliardo was taken by surprise when several of those Gundamimum pieces wrapped around the hatch of his cockpit. He watched with wide eyes as the insides of his cockpit reacted to the change. Everything in inside gave off a bright light that disappeared as quickly as it came. Just as this happened, an Aires suit was trying to take advantage of the stunned pilot.
Milliardo's eyes narrowed as he saw them approaching and instantly thought of how he wanted to slice through them. Just as this thought entered his mind, Euphoria moved and sliced through the Aires before the Preventer used his controls. Wind looked in amazement to the explosion from the mobile suit. That shock soon faded as a sneer crossed his lips. It was now clear that his handgrip controls were to act only as a back up now that Euphoria was now acting on whatever commands he gave through his mind. With this, he took to the fight with a greater advantage in maneuvering than any Gundam or mobile suit.
Sette watched with great uncertainty as several pieces of her friends Gundam circled and took shape into something before Mason. To her amazement, the Gundamimum became her own Buster Riffle, the same size and shape as the one Excalibur had. With an elated smile and wide eyes, she shouted, "SWEET MOSES!" Taking the weapon into her suit's right hand she examined it for a brief moment. Turning to see the OZ soldier that remained frozen in terror before her, she chuckled deeply, "Let me introduce you to my new friend." Saying this, she aimed her Buster Riffle to the mobile suits as they tried to escape. The tomboy took all of them out in one large blast.
All of this happened so quickly that a anyone watching would have missed all of this if they blinked a few times. Kumi flew past the stunned OZ pilots as she shot and stabbed those closest to her while she made a desperate soar towards the section of the carrier where Heero and Duo were being killed. Euphoria, Heavy Arms and Mason managed to reach other sections of the ship on their own thanks to their newest modifications.
* * * * * *
In the lab of Nebula, the screams agony from the pilots had died to small moans as they began to slip into unconsciousness. Falling to their knees, they both remained in each other's arms as they supported each other from the waist up to endure the torture as long as possible. The generators all around the room were now beginning to spark and smoke on account of the tremendous power they were transmitting. The scientists and Marx were looking to their dying captives with mixed emotions, the Lieutenant being the most amused in seeing the pain in the faces of the pilots. Not one of them noticed any of the things that had taken place outside as they watched the execution with all of their concentration.
* * * * * *
Being the first Gundam pilot to actually make it to the target, Milliardo stabbed through the right side of Nebula, starting from the top and working his way down to the midsection, not far from where the laboratory was. This was down so that he wouldn't cause any harm to the Gundam pilots trapped within, since he didn't know what their situation was. Kumi soon joined the Preventer as she continued to fight off the clones that tried to stop the assault.
* * * * * *
Back in the laboratory, the glass case that held Heero and Duo was now glowing white from the electric waves that were being pulsated through. The Gundam pilots knew that they couldn't hold on much longer as they were no longer. Duo gave a strangled whimper and whispered brokenly, "Thank you for sticking around with me, Heero." As they began to sink into unconsciousness, the Wing pilot just managed to whisper back in time and just loud enough for his over to hear, "Thank you for loving me, Duo." Their bodies fell lifeless to the metal floor as the shock waves continued.
* * * * * *
Milliardo got his suit to pull at either side of the slit he made, widening the gap between the metal, to form a large entrance. Once that was finished, Wind turned to Kumi and said, "I'll start taking out the rest of the ship. Take care of Heero and Duo." The winged pilot nodded and shot flew through the hole that her comrade made. Once she was inside the ship, Kumi could see bright sparks of light flickering on and off in the cracks of the thick, closed door at the far end of the hall where she was now. Her cobalt eyes narrowed as she brought herself to fly in that direction.
* * * * * *
Sette shot a huge hole in the opposite side of Nebula, where she knew one of the largest hangers was. Along with Heavy Arms, Mason entered the opening that the Buster Riffle made for them. As they looked to the hanger's surroundings, Trowa and Sette gasped as they found Wing Zero and the repaired Deathscythe lying in the confines of the room. The queen smiled wickedly to them as she said in a seductive voice, "Well, hello there, boys." The tall pilot chuckled deeply to himself as he moved his winged Gundam to take hold of Wing Zero.
* * * * * *
Heero and Duo were still lying along the metal floor of the their glass prison as Marx watched. He turned his eyes from the sight and ordered to doctors through the smoke and sparks that filled the room, "GIVE THEM MORE!" The old scientist shouted over the loud explosions from all around, "IF WE KEEP THIS UP, THE ROOM WILL EXPLODE!" The Lieutenant glared to him and yelled, "I SAID-" "Omae o koruso," a deep female voice suddenly deadpanned from behind the Lieutenant.
Frozen in terror as his face turned pale, the tall man turned slowly to see an angel-winged, silver-haired young woman suited in Gundamimum as she glared to him coldly. The man's brown eyes widened as far as they could just before Kumi suddenly stabbed him through with her laser sword. He screamed in agony as he was sliced in a diagonal cut from his right shoulder through his left hip. His bloody body fell into a heap before the avenging pilot's feet. The moment he was dead, the young woman looked to the glass tube in the center of there room that encased Heero and Duo.
Instantly, Kumi took a metal beam that she broke off from one of the generators with ease and ran with it to the glass prison. Holding the beam behind her as a bat, she gave a swift and forceful blow that shattered the cell with a loud cry that escaped her. Pieces of glass flew all around upon impact. The shocks ceased to surround and enter the captives' bodies. With concerned eyes, the 'Perfect Soldier' lowered herself to her knees and checked if the fallen pilots still had pulses. Just when she was about to check on Heero, she heard something move from the back of the room.
Turning around sharply, her cobalt eyes spied a few of the white-coated doctors trying to escape from the room. They were just about to pass the control panel in effort to reach the door. Kumi's eyes narrowed into thin slits as she rose to her feet. The men and women were paralyzed under the threatening glare. Before any of them knew it, she sprang forward and landed on the control panel. The scientists there screamed and ran back from her advance. Taking her laser blade and slicing it through with a loud grunt, the silver-haired pilot sent the unit up into flames and thick smoke.
The moment the control panel was destroyed, the loud hums of the generators ended, as did the blinking of the lights. As the flames continued to rise from where the control panel once was, Kumi slowly turned her back to it. The light from the fire and the darkness from the smoke painted an eerie image as the Japanese pilot turned to face her next targets.
Kumi looked to the scientists who watched her with sickened and petrified faces as they backed and whimpered into the furthest corner they could. The 'Perfect Soldier' unleashed her fury on all of them. The screams and cries of each of them could make anyone's blood run cold. Taking her time, the winged pilot made sure that all eight of them felt the same pain that her cousin and friend had suffered.
* * * * * *
The Gundam pilots remained outside of the ship even after they had destroyed all of OZ soldiers. Not only had not only won their battle and destroyed their foes, but they also managed to cause a chain of explosions from every corner of Nebula. The spread of the flames was going to take time, but there was nothing more that could be done to change this. Breathing heavily, Milliardo called to the other, "Get as far from the ship as you can! We've destroyed all we could."
Delapan called with concern, "What about Heero, Duo and Kumi!?!" Trowa smiled and replied without any doubt in his voice, "They'll be fine. We'll wait for them on the Colony surface." Together, the pilots made their way from the craft. Heavy Arms was supporting Wing Zero while Mason did the same for Deathscythe. Behind their retreat, Nebula was facing its last moments as the explosions began to take in everything, slowly but surely.
* * * * * *
Kumi's personal attacks continued and the Wing pilot's eyes began to slowly fight to open as he took a deep breath. As the breath escaped him, Heero's cobalt eyes slowly opened. Fully regaining consciousness, he gasped as he looked up to see that he managed to survive the slow, agonizing pain from the laser. Instantly, his thoughts went to his lover as he turned to see Duo.
The braided pilot was still lying lifelessly on his left side, facing the Wing pilot. Heero called with concern in his voice, "Duo?" There was no response from the American as he remained still. The Japanese pilot's face fell deeper into despair and fear as he sat up and pulled Duo into his arms to hold him from the waist up. He began to quickly remove the sensors from his koi's body with urgency in his actions and expression.
Once his partner's limp body was freed from the wires, Heero gave him a shake and called loudly, "DUO!?!" A small groan left the pilot in his arms as his eyes fluttered open. Looking up, Duo gave a sharp gasp as he focused on the greatly worried face of his lover. "h-heero?" he asked quietly. Heero gave a very deep sigh of relief and kissed his partner's forehead. The braided pilot sat up and began to help the Wing pilot remove the sensors on his body.
Kumi remained unaware of their situation as she stabbed through the last of the scientists, his screams near deafening on top of the explosions within the room. Panting, the silver-haired pilot wiped the sweat from her brow and looked the bodies of her victims. The shirts of the two pilots were not far from where the last body fell. The Japanese pilot took them into her possession.
She gave a nod to herself after taking one last look to the dead men and women and walked through the flames. Thanks to her armor, the flames never touched her skin. As she walked through the wall of flames before her, Kumi watched as Heero and Duo walked from where they had been lying to where she was now. They were supporting each other as they made their way to her and smiled to the silver-haired pilot warmly. Their smile were returned as Kumi sighed deeply in relief.
Kumi turned her back to them and squatted. Turning her head back to face them, she smirked, "What do you say we get the hell out of here?" Heero wrapped his arms around his cousin's neck as he leaned his body against her back. He rested his head on her right shoulder as a deep sigh of exhaustion left him and as his eyes closed. Kumi kissed his head and ran a hand through his hair gently. Heero smiled with his eyes still closed as he rested his cheek against her shoulder and gave another soft sigh. Kumi lifted Duo's right arm over her shoulder as she wrapped her arm around the back of his waist to support him that way.
This was the way that they flew out of the burning room. The flames from the explosions followed their swift escape back to the hole that Milliardo had made moments ago. Reaching the opening again, Kumi looked down and told the pilots she carried, "Hang on." At this, she flew out into the skies with the pilots as she led them to safety. When they managed to get several feet from the carrier as at was soon consumed entirely by flames, the three pilots looked back for a moment while the winged pilot suspended them in midair. The sun had since begun to set as the heavens were colored in many shades from the rainbow.
* * * * * *
On Pulsar, Lady Une shouted in elation, "THEY MADE IT!" The room erupted into cheers and shouts as everyone gathered let out their relief and excitement. Zes rose from her seat as her husband came and held her tightly. Relieved beyond words, they kissed and turned to see the monitors in the front of the room. Sally and Sera hugged tightly as Makato wiped tears of relief that broke past her defense. Lady Une hugged Heero's mother as well with Lieutenant Keiser doing the same in turn as the cheers and shots around them continued and grew.
* * * * * *
On the surface of A131, the Gundam pilots were otut of their suits and celebrating, themselves, as the winged pilot landed with their rescued friends. The wings behind Kumi's back folded and hit back in the straps on her back when her feet touched the ground. Heero and Duo managed to walk on their own as they went to rejoin their friends. The pilots ran to them as they continued to cheer and shout loudly. Surrounded by their friends, Heero and Duo were greeted with hugs and kisses all around that were gratefully returned.
As the welcomed reunion continued, Nebula continued to burn in a ball of fire with no remains of the ship in sight. As several large pieces broke from the flames, they fell in burning streaks all over the colony below. The smiles on the pilots' faces as they continued to greet celebrate were brighter than the stars that were now in plain sight as the last lights of the sun faded in the distance. And the sounds of their elation were carried on the breeze for miles. It was the end of a very difficult struggle and hopefully the beginning of a chance for true peace to make itself known again.
TBC
I have to thank Traci, Sam, Beekay, Silver Star, Mylia, Ruby, D-max, GREETER 600, Lily, Ryla, Stormy, Naz, Akuma, Kai, Enigma, my entire 1x2x1 family and everyone who is enjoying this fic. This fic never would have happened without you! Everything goes out to everyone! LOVE YOU ALL!!!!
Gundam Wing: The Second Chapter
Episode 42: Vengeance's Fury
by SkyLark
In the control room of Pulsar, Lady Une was looking over the Preventers as they worked at their stations. Lieutenant Keiser, Sally Poe and Sera Makato entered the large room. Their commander smiled warmly as she walked to meet them in the back of the room, away from everyone's ears. Once they were together, Sally asked quietly, "Have you heard anything from the Colony Council about the escape yet?" Lady Une sighed deeply as she frowned, "They're sending some of their own guards here for when the pilots return."
Keiser shook his head, "I had a feeling they would hear about this before long." Sera huffed, "It isn't a surprise. They have eyes all over Space. They must have known about Kumi's escape the moment that Excalibur left Pulsar." Sally sighed deeply, "They won't do anything about it until after the battle with Nebula, since they know we need to defeat Nebula. As much as I respect the members of the Colony Council, they do have a tendency to abuse their power."
It was as Water spoke and folded her hands that Lady Une noticed a gold band on the ring finger of the braided Preventer's left hand. Had it not been for a small sparkle of gold that came from the movement, it wouldn't have been seen. Lady Une looked to the ring for a brief moment with curious eyes. Her daze was broken as the doors to the hanger opened and Howard walked in. The old man smiled to his friends as he informed them, "The Preventer crafts closest to Colony A131 have been informed of what they need to do. They're moving into position now and should be there after the Gundams initiate the fight."
Keiser turned to see one of the Gundams pilot as she worked at a computer with her headset on to contact her friends whenever needed. He walked beside the focused young woman and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. Relena jumped for a moment and a large gasp left her, on account of being broken from her concern and determination so suddenly. Turning to look up to the tall man beside her, she smiled and sighed deeply in relief. Removing her headset, she said quietly, "Sorry about that." Brian was chuckling deeply along with Keiser as the Lieutenant replied, "I'm the one who should apologize, Zes. I didn't mean to startle you."
The King of the World walked towards his wife, chuckling deeply as he smiled lovingly to her. "I know that you're anxious, sweetheart," he said soothingly as he massaged her shoulders to try and calm her nerves. "Just relax and have faith in the others." Zes kissed her husband's hand and leaned back into his chest as she sighed deeply, "I know that I shouldn't worry so much... I just can't help it." King Weatherall kissed her forehead and said gently, "You have too big of a heart to not worry."
Relena shook her head sadly, "I still can't help but wish that I was out there with them. There's only so much that I can do here, on the sidelines." Keiser smiled to Zes and assured her, "You're doing more than enough to help your friends. They need your understanding of the Gundam suits to guide them through the battle safely. By no means are you on the sidelines." The young queen's sadness vanished at these words as she returned the Lieutenant's warm smile and replied sincerely, "Thank you. You're right, Lieutenant." The tall man nodded and squeezed her right shoulder for more support.
A loud beep sounded from the computer before the queen as the monitor blinked a few times. With wide eyes, the trio looked to the screen and Zes typed a few commands into the system. Lady Une, Sera, Sally and Howard ran up from behind and huddled to see the computer. "They've reached Nebula," Zes said quietly, almost inaudibly as she continued to look to the monitor with wide eyes and her breath held within her chest.
* * * * * *
Breaking through the atmosphere of A131, Euphoria was the first to see the enormous ship that flew hundreds of miles over the Colony's surface and in the thick sea of white clouds. Milliardo shouted, "HIT THEM WITH EVERYTHING YOU HAVE!" The pilots right behind him responded with loud shouts and cries as they shot through the skies towards their target. Along with them, there was a massive fleet of over one hundred Preventers from Pulsar. They joined their comrades as they geared themselves for the attack.
* * * * * *
In Nebula's control room, the OZ soldiers within were looking to their main monitors. Lieutenant Marx was said in the back of the room, smug sneer in place as he stood straight and tall. Looking to the images of the approaching army, he ordered in a deep chuckle, "It's about time they decided to show up. I was getting tired of waiting." The suits were getting closer, though they still had a lot of ground to cover before actually reaching the OZ craft.
One of his men came to him and saluted, "Shall we send out first fleet, Sir?" Marx shook his head, "Not just yet. Give them a taste of out lasers first, then send them. Let's make this as much fun as possible." The young soldier replied, "Yes, sir." The Lieutenant looked back to the monitors and looked to the images of the Gundam suits as he hissed, "Come on, you sons of bitches. Show me what you're really made of."
* * * * * *
The lasers of Nebula were the first to greet the pilots outside as they opened fire from every direction. The Gundam pilots made sure to maneuver their suits to avoid the beams. Only a very small handful of Preventer mobile suits were not as lucky as they were taken out before they could get anywhere near the target. Locking onto their visuals and gripping their controls, every one of the soldiers focused on reaching the carrier. Knowing that the lasers were at attempt to shake their army, Trowa called to his friends, "This is one mission that we can't afford to lose so everyone remember not to let them shake you!" His friends nodded to took this to heart as they glared and growled to the ship that they were more than four miles from now.
The lasers continued to fire continuously, but never managed to stop the pursuit of the Gundams and their allies. As they were about three-and-a-half miles from the OZ craft, the first wave of soldiers poured from its hangers. Wufei sneered at the sight of them as he growled deeply in anticipation, "Here they come." The Gundam suits spread themselves to reach as much of the sky as possible, to thin out their enemies as best they could. The OZ mobile suits followed them all the same, knowing that they didn't need to worry about a lack of soldiers in their force.
Sette was the first of the Gundam pilots to be greeted by the OZ soldiers head-on. Taking her laser mallet, the queen smashed through the first three opponents that reached her with ease as she spun her suit and shot past them. Looking to her monitors, she was fully prepared for the wave of gunfire and slashes from those who had yet to face her. Sette growled deeply as she met and returned every assault without any hesitation or fear. Keeping her captured friends in mind, she remained determined mot to leave this battlefield without them.
Several hundred feet from the tomboy, Delapan was the next to face hand-to-hand combat against the OZ troops. Welcoming the fight, the redhead raised Slither's whip and wrapped it tightly around two Space Virgos. Causing the snake tail to squeeze the mobile suits tightly, Catherine crushed them effortlessly. Once those suits went up in great explosions, Delapan turned and looked to nearly thirty more OZ suits that were making their way to her. Eyes narrowed, the young pilot advanced in their direction. Moments later, she would be engaged in her own personal war, away from any of her comrades.
* * * * * *
On pulsar, Zes was watching he fight closely as she made sure that there wasn't anything wrong that her friends might have been too preoccupied to miss. In the back of the room, the Preventers were gathered as they watched the battle on the main monitors in the front of the room. Tying a few controls to have a scan of different angles on her computer, the young queen said to herself, "I know that there is something we're missing..." Just then, she linked onto a hole in the defense that gave a straightaway for anyone who tried to fly up from the Colony below. Relena's eyes widened as a sharp gasp left her. All too quickly, she knew as to what OZ's methods were.
* * * * * *
Relena's image appeared on the screens of every Preventer suit and Gundam as she announced, "There is no one from our army fighting below Nebula at this time. The OZ soldiers are trying to keep it that way by holding you where you are, above it. When their back up comes from A131, they'll be able to surround you and push you back. There's a gap in their forces that you can break through but you need to move fast!"
Noin looked to see the hole in the defenses that her sister-in-law was speaking of. When she found it, she informed there others, "I'm on my way down there now!" Trowa was only a few yards away from Rampage as he nodded, "I'm heading down there with you." Saying this, they quickly shot those troops closest to them with a spray of bullets and arrows. Trowa and Noin pushed their suits the to fly several miles below Nebula as they shot downward through the only break that allowed them to do so.
* * * * * *
Marx looked to his monitors in disbelief as he watched Rampage and Heavy Arms making their way down. "HOW THE HELL DID THEY KNOW WHERE THAT OPENING WAS!?!" he screamed in rage to his soldiers. "TELL THE SOLDIERS ON A131 TO GET UP HERE NOW!" he ordered. Looking to his second-in-command, he stated, "You are to lead them in here for the time being." The Captain saluted and nodded, "Yes, sir." Marx Glared to the image of the two Gundams as they reached below the ship and were stopped just two miles away from it's base. He growled deeply, "I've waited long enough for this." The Lieutenant left the control room quickly.
* * * * * *
The moment that they reached the bottom of the ship, Noin and Trowa spread apart to handle the OZ soldiers who prevented them from hitting Nebula from below. It was as they began this new tactic that the Gundam pilots caught their first glimpse of the A131 soldiers as they came to aid their OZ allies from far below. The European pilot warned his friends as they continued to fight above the ship, "If there's anyway some of you can get down here, we'll need all the help we can get. There's about three hundred soldiers making coming up from the Colony."
Wufei was in the middle of a heated struggle when he received Trowa's call for help. He nodded to the request and replied, "I'm on it." Sending flames ahead of him, The Chinese pilot forged his own opening through the wall of mobile suits. The journey downward was not an easy one, the raven-haired pilot soon learned as he was up against a great number of troops from Nebula. Still, Wufei plowed through with his sword and flames. One OZ soldier would have managed to shoot him down, had it not been for a Preventer who aided the Chinese pilot. With a grateful smile and wave to the young man that saved him, the Gundam pilot continued to soar downward.
* * * * * *
Meanwhile, inside Nebula, Heero and Duo were pulled from their cell, arm cuffed, and led down the halls forcefully by Marx and a small handful of his armed men. The Gundam pilots made no move to attack their captors, knowing that they would never be able to reach their suits alive if they tried to escape at this point. They walked, side-by-side and listened to the battle being waged outside. Marx would not look to his prisoners as he walked ahead. The Wing pilot turned to face his lover, who in turned looked back to him. Heero have his koi a reassuring smile and took his hand into his own. Duo smiled lovingly back and squeezed his partner's hand tightly as they continued to walk to the execution chamber.
* * * * * *
Noin and Trowa were just in the midst of fighting off the new recruits from A131 by the time Wufei managed to join them after his treacherous flight to help them. Together, the three pilots held off as many of the Colony soldiers as they could, along with handling those OZ soldiers that they had been fighting all along. As this went on, another huge swarm of cloned soldiers made their way from Nebula. Noin hissed from her cockpit, "Damn it! At this rate, they'll swallow us whole before we get anywhere near the ship."
Quatre was watching his monitors in the midst of his own battle with the OZ forces as the second fleet came into sight. Sweat was pouring from his face as he turned to look to the Preventers who came with them from Pulsar, the blonde pilot's eyes widened as he saw how drastically their numbers had dropped. He shouted over his transmitter, "We can't afford to stay here much longer at this rate!" Just then, the Arabian's monitors beeped to inform him that he was receiving an incoming signal. He looked to the smaller screen on his right as his eyes widened to see the image of an old friend. The blonde pilot shouted in elation, "RASHID! YOU MADE IT JUST IN TIME!"
The tall man smiled warmly to his master and replied, "I can see that, Master Quatre." He turned his focus onto the Maquanauts and the soldiers from L4 and H7. We have to split from here," he began. "The forces from H7 will help the pilots below Pulsar, and those from L4 will stay over the ship and help there. Maquanauts, spread out to the sides and go wherever someone is in need of help." Everyone understood what they needed to do and accepted with nothing more to be said as they broke apart quickly.
Sette looked to the image of her people as they took part in the fight. The queen sighed deeply at the sight of her men and women joined with the soldiers from L4. She and Delapan were not far apart now as they fought together. Looking to the redhead, the tomboy smiled, "Don't they look great together?" Catherine gave a sharp laugh and wiped some sweat from her forehead as she nodded, "You know what, they actually do." The pilots continued to fight off their enemies with a wave of a of relief over them in knowing that they now had a large support team helping them now.
While Sette and Delepan never were the closest of people, they put all of their ill feelings for one another aside during battle. Times like this, when it mattered most, they were a team that was next to impossible to stop. One pilot would set a handful of mobile suits up for the other to take out. They would switch and see that there wasn't a time when their foes would know what was coming. So, there element of surprise was never lacking in the duo.
All the while, Milliardo was never in one spot for very long. Being the most experienced of all the pilots, he never found it difficult to work his suit through the most difficult of situations. Still, Wind knew that he and all of the pilots combined could only do so much with the fact that Nebula could produce soldiers at will. By now, the sun had pushed away any cloud that had existed when the Gundam pilots first reached Nebula. It remained a witness to all that happened as it shined down on everything, causing Euphoria's golden metal to glisten in its rays.
Using his double-bladed bow, Milliardo took out OZ troops wherever he went. When the Maquanauts arrived along with their back up, the Preventer was just as reassured to see them as his comrades. The blonde pilot split his bow to form two swords and shot through the fight with agility and speed. Wind locked into his transmitter and asked, "Quatre, anything on Heero and Duo yet?" The Arabian shook his head, "I can't get anything from this side of the ship."
Zes's voice patched in as she suggested, "If Wufei can make his way back up to help Delapan and Sette over Nebula, that'll leave room for Quatre to take his place below to help Noin and Trowa. That way, Quatre would be closer to Nebula and might be able to pick something up with his Space Heart." The Chinese pilot was impressed with Relena's idea as he replied, "That's fine with me. We have to try something different." Milliardo nodded, "I'll help get Quatre down there. Good thinking, Zes." His sister's voice answered, "Just be careful. I have a bad feeling that there'll be another wave of clones coming from the carrier soon." The Preventer said quietly to himself in concern, "I was just thinking the same thing."
Trowa chimed in and warned, "We're losing a lot of our back up down here, so if anyone can get down here, we need all the help we can get." Sette remarked, "We're starting to get thinned out up here, too. We'll need Wufei to get here as soon as he can." Wufei turned to the European pilot and assured him, "I'll return here as soon as I can. With Milliardo and Quatre, you all should be alright for a little while at least." The tall pilot nodded, "Watch yourself as you head back up." The Chinese pilot nodded back and shot up through the fight overhead.
Noin fired several arrows at her adversaries as she stated into her transmitter, "Just keep your eyes open on which direction those clones fly, Zes. So far, they're only headed upward when they leave the ship." Relena responded, "Alright. I'll keep all of your informed when they make their way from the ship."
Milliardo made his way towards Sand Rock and aided his Arabian partner in destroying the OZ soldiers who were threatening the both of them. Together, they moved downward through the storm of mobile suits and lasers. With the two working together, it wasn't long before they reached the bottom of the ship as they immediately went to support Noin and Trowa. The Chinese pilot had since returned to the struggle over the OZ craft. Just as there seemed to be a chance that they would be able to reach Nebula, the Preventers and Gundam pilots watched helplessly as a third massive unit of clones soared from Nebula.
* * * * * *
On Pulsar, Lady Une's fists clenched as she growled, "They just won't let up. If someone could just break through their defenses, we would have a chance." Zes had her hands folded before her as she continued to watch helplessly. Just then, her eyes widened as she watched a the newest OZ soldiers making their way downward from the carrier, instead of upward. She shouted into her headpiece, "THEY'RE CHANGING COURSE AND MANKING THEIR WAY BELOW NEBULA!"
* * * * * *
Rashid looked though his scanners to see that there wasn't anyway he or his men would be able to reach those below the carrier in time. The clones were moving far too quickly for anyone to reach their friends in time to give the help that they needed desperately now. The tall man growled and fought even harder against the OZ soldiers who kept him at bay. The Maquanauts and those who fought beside them were all doing what they could to help their friends. They were just too far apart and the forces that they would have to fight to make it below the carrier were too great in numbers. There wasn't anything that they could do.
Noin watched as even more soldiers from the Colony's surface flew up to take part in the fight. "They waited to hit us from above and below," she said gravely as she gripped her controls tightly. Trowa piloted Heavy Arms to come and wipe out the soldiers that he could, but there were countless more on the way. With narrowed eyes and a deep growl, the tall pilot fought with everything that he had with no plans on quitting just yet. Quatre and Milliardo had the acted the same as they never allowed themselves a moment to rest.
Everything had become a violent haze of confusion as all who fought just did what they could to stay alive at this point. Reaching Nebula was all that the Gundam pilots and all of their friends wanted. However, at this rate, it would take everything in them to get out of this fight in one piece. The Preventers and Gundams below the carrier were grossly outnumbered as they were taken in by their foes. Those fighting at the sides and above the OZ craft were nearly in the same situation as OZ capitalized on their chance to kill all of them.
* * * * * *
Inside the massive ship, Lieutenant Marx entered a dimly lit laboratory along with Heero and Duo. There were several scientists from the organization working behind a large panel of controls and computers to their right. In the center of the room, there was a round, glass tube that reached from the ceiling to the metal floor. It was large enough to trap several people inside, if they were to stand in it. One of the white-coated, old men walked to the Lieutenant. Heero and Duo remained still from where they stood, not far from the glass cylinder and with their hands still joined. The Wing pilot turned to see the glass tube behind them. There were several wires that came from the ceiling inside the cylinder and stopped at different lengths.
The skinny, bald doctor said to Marx quietly with a look of great concern on his face, "Lieutenant, His Excellency said specifically that he did not want to prisoners killed. If you do this-" The old man was cut off as Marx glared to him and hissed, "I don't give a shit what Quinze wants. I want them killed and you'll obey my orders." The doctor back down at this statement and nodded, "Very well, Lieutenant. We will begin preparing for the execution, then."
Marx replied, "Good. Do we have a visual for the outside of the ship?" The scientist walked back to the control panel, where there was a large screen waiting. Turning it around so that the monitor was in plain sight for Marx and the Gundam pilots, the old man patched into the surveillance cameras that showed the battle that was still being waged. The prisoners watched with wide and concerned eyes as they saw the suits of their friends being terribly outnumbered by the OZ and A131 soldiers.
Marx chuckled deeply, "I thought that you might like to see your comrades one last time before you leave this world. But don't worry, they'll be right behind you by the time this day is over." Duo glared to the Lieutenant and hissed, "You bastards won't be able to stop them, no matter what you do to us." The tall man sneered, "Oh I beg to differ. You seem to forget that I can make fleets of willing that will come to my beck and call. Besides, once your dead, the loss will be far too great for the other pilots to make up." Heero shook his head and replied, "You're a fool if you really believe that. Your time is coming, whether you know it now or not." The Lieutenant bent at the waist to have a closer look at the Japanese pilot and said deeply, "And your time is now."
Marx turned back to his guards and ordered, "Prepare them for the execution." The soldiers came and led Heero and Duo towards the glass tube that awaited them. One of the doctors at the control panel flipped a switch that raised the glass from where it locked around its metal base. Once on the flat, metal surface, the guards took the hanging wires into their possession and hooked them onto the prisoners' bodies. They Taped and secured the wire sensors in place on the pilots' heads, arms chests after stripping them of their tops.
The lovers lever broke the focus that they eyes held on each other, silently letting their partner know how much they loved them. Once everything was in place, the soldiers removed the armcuffs of the captives and walked off the round, silver base of the laser as the glass tube fell back into place behind them. Locked inside the cylinder, Heero sighed deeply and opened his arms as the braided pilot walked towards him. There was plenty of room for the two of them to stand apart, but that wasn't an option for them as they held each other.
Duo closed his eyes and rested his head over where Heero's heat was beating after placing a gentle kiss there. The sensors and wires that were attached to them didn't matter as they remained in each other's arms. Together, they watched the screen that revealed the battle that the other Gundam pilots were putting all of their efforts into. "Stay strong, guys," Duo whispered as he watched with saddened eyes. Their embrace tightened and the Wing pilot kissed the top of his koi's head before resting his right cheek there.
Marx walked to the control panel far from the grass prison with the vile of blue liquid as he handed it to one of the scientists. The young woman accepted the tube and assured to the Lieutenant, "The process will be slow and last about fifteen minutes once the machine is activated." Marx said coldly, "I want it to be as painful for them as possible. And don't throw the switch until I say so. I want them to watch the demise of their friends before we kill them." The woman saluted with a sneer, "Yes, sir. And the procedure will be excruciating for the both of them." Marx sneered to himself as he turned back to look to the images of the struggle outside, which was still weighing heavily in OZ's favor. He then looked back to his prisoners as they continued to hold each other. "This is all too perfect," he said to himself.
* * * * * *
Sette continued to fight off as many troops as she could, screaming and shouting loudly as she did. Panting, she looked to her monitors and scanned the layout of everything that was taking place. As she did this, the corner of her eyes caught a streak that was making its way through the atmosphere. The tomboy turned fully in that direction and squinted to try and make out what it was she saw. Her eyes widened as they focused on what looked like a black shooting star. In elation, she gasped and shouted with a wide smile, "KUMI!"
Wufei shouted, "WHAT!?!" as he spun his suit in mid-struggle to look up in the direction Sette was facing. Delapan was doing the same from her place in the sky. The redhead made out Excalibur clearly as she laughed loudly in relief, "Well I'll be damned!" Wufei smiled to himself at the sight of the winged Gundam before turning back to his enemies to welcome their advances head-on. Excalibur was now just a half-mile away and showing no signs of slowing down as the pilot within punched a few commands into her system.
Kumi's monotone voice them, "Will the three of you be able to hold your own with the Preventers and Maquanauts up here for ten more minutes?" Sette looked worried as she asked, "Ten more minutes? What's going on in ten minutes?" The 'Perfect Soldier' replied, "There's no time to explain right now. Can all of you hold on for that long?" Delapan nodded, "We'll be alright, Kumi. Just get to Trowa and the others below. They're in the most trouble right now." The Japanese pilot answered, "I'm on my way there now."
In the confusion of the battle, Kumi managed to fly right through the battlefield. There were several soldiers from Colony A131 and from Nebula that managed to notice the black Gundam and attempted to stop her. However, they were destroyed with a few slashes of the pilot's sword as she shot right past them at amazing speed. Most of those who witnessed didn't know whether or not they were seeing things.
Down below, the Gundam pilots who were in the most danger never managed to hear or see the arrival of the silver-haired pilot and didn't know that she on her way. Trowa was shooting every round that he had against his opponents. It was all that he could do with no one close enough to support him. The blade on his suit's arm was a help, but the European pilot knew that his main tactic and strategy was based on the gunfire that Heavy Arms provided. Once his shells ran out, his blade would be meaningless against hundreds of mobile suits.
The inevitable happened as the bullets of Heavy Arms ran out, the guns falling silent as nothing came from the hallow gun barrels. Trowa sighed deeply to himself as he fell back into his seat, covered in sweat and exhausted as he panted. With heavy-lidded eyes, he watched as a mass of OZ troops prepared to destroy him. He sneered, "So this is how it ends for me." He flipped the cover over the self-detonation switch of his suit and waited until his foes were close enough to be taken by the blast as well. When they were just inches from Heavy Arms, Trowa closed his eyes and thought to himself, "I'm sorry, Kumi."
Trowa's hand was beginning to flip the switch when a gold beam suddenly came from above and vaporized the mobile suits before him. The tall pilot sat up instantly as he gasped and looked to his monitors with wide eyes. Looking up, he watched withed as Excalibur reached him. "Kumi," he whispered breathlessly as a warm smile crossed his lips.
The Japanese pilot sighed deeply in relief as she whispered just loud enough for him to hear, with a small smile of her own, "You scared the shit out of me, koibito."
* * * * * *
In Pulsar's control room, Zes's ears were the only other set that picked up in this as the queen's eyes widened. She whispered to herself, "Koibito?"
* * * * * *
The European pilot chuckled deeply to his lover and said quietly, "You always come just when I need you." The silver-haired pilot smirked to him and shrugged, "Just lucky, I guess." Excalibur handed a large clip of bullets to Heavy Arms for the tall pilot reloaded his Gundam. Once he was armed and ready, Trowa took off to the battle again with Kumi splitting off to help Quatre.
The Arabian smiled warmly to his silver-haired friend as she destroyed a lot of the pilots that were threatening him. The Arabian now was able to find his second wind as he fought with renewed assurance once again. Noin and Milliardo found each other and fought together as the team that they always had been. Before long, the Preventers and those Colony pilots that had been struggling to manage were now able to break through the forces against them as they knew they weren't outmatched just yet.
Sette had been watching the time as to when ten minutes was up. Licking her lips once nervously, she called, "Um… alright, Kumi. It's been almost five minutes now. What are we supposed to wait for here?" Her friend grunted as she continued to take out more opponents, "You'll see, Sette. It's something that Howard has been working on. Just worry about getting to Nebula." The tomboy smirked, "Never could get a straight answer from you." She smashed two more Space Leos.
Wufei destroyed a Taurus and two Aires suits as he continued to make his way through the skies with much more mobility now that the OZ soldiers needed to spread themselves more. Using this to his advantage, the flames from Nataku's dragon-like head were now able to spread wider and further than they had been this whole battle. The Chinese pilot made sure to help any ally that might have been in trouble as he also worried about reaching the OZ craft. As the heated battle continued and both sides were beginning to wear thin, it was more clear now than ever that they needed to reach their captured friends before it was too late.
Milliardo called to his friend, "Any sign on where Heero and Duo are yet, Quatre?" The Arabian was bracing himself after a sharp blow from a Taurus suit as he grunted and replied, "Not yet." The blonde pilot sliced through his attacker just as they were about to strike again. Wiping sweat and panting, he continued, "They're still together but I can't get much more than that right now." Kumi was a bit concerned by this news, but she continued to shoot and stab mobile suits everywhere she turned. She told the Arabian, "We'll find them, Quatre. Just keep us informed when you feel anything."
Delapan whirled three Taurus suits around her green Gundam with her whip as they remained tied within it. Releasing their damaged suits into several others belonging to their comrades, Catherine managed to destroy a good handful of soldiers in a large explosion. Breathing heavily, she turned to face the target and watched as another fleet of OZ soldiers poured from the hangers of Nebula yet again. The redhead growled deeply, "Not this again."
A small clock in Excalibur had been counting down the time that Howard's plan would unfold. There was less than one minute now and the silver-haired pilot's cobalt eyes widened when they saw this. Looking up to see past Nebula, Kumi managed to see about twelve, small Preventer carriers make their way high over the fight. She told her comrades, "We're getting a break real soon, everyone. Whatever happens, don't panic. They won't hit you since only the OZ suits and crafts have been put in their radars." Sette shouted, "What the hell are you talking about!?! What won't hit us!?!" Her Japanese partner looked to the countdown in her monitors and sneered, "You'll see in about five seconds."
The last five seconds wound down and the doors at the base of each Preventer craft opened. As they did this, silver Flare Spheres poured from within and rained down on everything below. The OZ soldier looked up to see one of their own weapons being used against them. Instantly, they screamed and shouted as they did what they could to avoid being hit. The sudden attack, however, had caught all of them off-guard as many were killed on impact, their suits being destroyed in great numbers.
Just as the 'Perfect Soldier' explained, the only things to be hit by the silver balls were the suits belonging to OZ and those who supported them. The Maguanauts and Preventers cheered loudly as they now saw the OZ force shaken greatly, being trapped between a rock and a hard place. Rashid sneered as he looked to the retreating OZ suits and shouted, "Alright! Let's finish what we started!" He and his crew pushed forward as they loudly went after those suits that managed to avoid being taken by the rain of fire what was now spreading.
The Gundam pilots were now able to see their target clearly after a long, difficult battle as the troops opposing them were scattering. Sette laughed loudly, "I'm giving Howard the biggest hug ever when we get back to Pulsar!" Milliardo shot off towards the ship as he called to their others, "We still have a lot of soldiers to fight, but we can make it through now!" With Euphoria, Excalibur, Heavy Arms, Sand Rock and Rampage all soared through the pilots that remained to stay and hold them off.
Nataku, Mason and Slither all plummeted towards the carried from where they had been struggling. While they, too had many of their own opponents that remained, their challenge was not nearly what it had been prior to the arrival of the Preventer crafts with their newest weapon. For as far as anyone could see, nearly every inch of the sky was taken covered by flames from the countless explosions, whether they were caused by the flare spheres or by hand-to-hand combat. The screams and cries from the soldiers on both sides had become deafening. Nebula was being hit left and right as the Flare Spheres continued to fall.
* * * * * *
Three of those spheres crashed into the right side of the carrier, where the laboratory was. The room shook violently enough that Heero and Duo stumbled in their glass prison. There was a loud cry from some of the guards and scientists in the room as they were jolted violently as well. The 'Perfect Soldier's' right hand shot out to hold him up as it pressed against the glass beside him while his left remained tight around Duo's waist. The braided pilot managed to keep his hold around his lover as they looked with wide eyes to the screen.
Marx got back onto his feet quickly after having been knock to the ground by the quake. He glared to the screen and screamed, "HOW THE FUCK DID THEY GET FLARE SPHERES OF THEIR OWN!?!" The screen suddenly changed to reveal the image of none other than Quinze Kushrenadah. The OZ leader's cold, green eyes looked to see the prisoners within the glass cylinder in the center of the room. Heero and Duo's eyes widened at the image but soon narrowed to glare coldly at the man responsible for this entire war. The Lieutenant stared to the screen with shock and fear as he said quietly, "Y-your Excellency." The young man growled deeply, "Marx, you have deliberately disobeyed my orders not to kill those pilots."
"Sir, I am only doing what is best for OZ," the tall soldier said with desperation in his voice. Quinze's eyes narrowed further as he asked deeply, "And how would the likes of you know what is best for OZ?" Marx held his breath at the venom in his commander's voice and the threatening stare he gave. "Sir," he began to plead, "My men can only do so much to hold the Gundam pilots and the Preventers back at this time, even with all the clones that we are sending now."
The room shook violently again as the scientists held tightly to anything that would help keep them on their feet. Marx looked back up to his superior and said sincerely, "We need any assistance that you can send us." Quinze deadpanned, "You made this grave by your actions, Lieutenant. Dig yourself out." Marx's eyes widened at this statement and the screen went black.
The monitor then went back to reveal what was taking place outside of the ship. The Gundam pilot were now getting dangerously close to reaching there target as the flames from the continuous explosions only increased. Even after two more massive fleets of clones had been sent, they wouldn't be able to hold them off forever. Heero and Duo smiled as they looked to one another, relieved in knowing that they at least knew their friends would be safe when this long battle was finally over.
Defeated and beside himself, the Lieutenant straightened his posture and walked slowly to the control panel where the doctors were still waiting for his word. Knowing that they knew they had made a terrible mistake, the scientists looked with uncertainty towards the commander of Nebula. Walking to the first man that confronted him, Marx said quietly in a deep growl, "Begin the procedure for the execution." The old man's eyes widened as he looked to him in disbelief. "What?" he asked breathlessly. "Sir, this won't save us-" his words were cut up as Marx glared directly into his eyes and said more clearly, "I said begin the goddamn procedure."
The bald doctor's disbelief turned into fear and he nodded, "Yes, sir." Quickly, we ran to the control panel and began raising the levels of the machine. His team did the same as they typed their controls in quickly. The huge machines and generators that were up against the walls of the laboratory began to hum loudly as their lights glowed and blinked as testimony that they were nearly ready.
Heero felt his lover begin in shake in his arms as they watched and heard their pending death approaching. The Wing pilot lifted Duo's face up gently by his chin and smiled lovingly to him as he caressed his cheek, avoiding the wires and sensors that were taped there. The braided pilot's shaking calmed even as the hum of the machines grew louder as he returned the same smile to his koi. They kissed sweetly and deeply, communicating their feelings and undying love through the gentle exchange.
* * * * * *
Outside, Quatre's heart was beginning to grow tight in his chest as a sharp gasp left him and his eyes widened. His hands loosened on his controls as he took in the slight pain. He managed, however, to hold his suit suspended with the slight control that he managed to keep. He was now in a dangerous situation since there were was still a great number of clones making their way towards him.
Noin looked to her comrade and shouted, "LOOK OUT!" She instantly flew over to Sand Rock and shot the mobile suits closest to him with her arrows as she joined the Arabian's side. Out of immediate danger, Noin called to the blonde pilot, "Are you alright!?!" The shaken pilot said quietly, "I can feel them." Kumi's shocked face turned to her monitors as she looked to the Arabian and asked, "Where, Quatre?" He shook his head, "I can't get an exact fix but I know something's wrong."
* * * * * *
The deep kiss ended as the lab was now fully lit and loud with humming from the machines. Gazing into his love's cobalt eyes, Heero smiled and whispered breathlessly, "Ai shiteru." The braided pilot replied the same, "I love you." Marx glared to the scientists as his patience had run out. Looking to the meter readings before him, he saw that not all of the power was being used to its full potential. Without thinking twice, the Lieutenant pressed the red button that forced the lights and hum of the monitors to rise to their fullest capacity.
The old doctor shouted with a great look of terror, "THE GENERATORS CAN'T HOLD THAT MUCH POWER!" Marx snapped, "I DON'T GIVE A SHIT! THOW THE SWITCH NOW!" Knowing that he didn't have a choice, the bald scientist walked to the large hand switch that fell in the center of the panel. Closing his eyes, he wrapped his hand around the handle and pulled it down quickly.
Instantly, the glass tube was filled with sparks of electricity that surrounded the encased pilots. At the same time, those waves were sent through the wires that were hooked onto them. Heero and Duo screamed in pain as their eyes squeezed shut. They wrapped their arms as tight as they could around their lover as they suffered the tremendous pain coursing through them.
* * * * * *
Quatre screamed loudly as he felt the initial shocks that his friends received. The little strength he had to keep his Gundam in flight was lost as his hands released the suit's controls. Kumi and Noin shouted simultaneously, "QUATRE!" The silver-haired pilot flew after the falling suit as Noin fought off the mobile suits that continued to give them a hard time.
Kumi finally caught up with her friend and Excalibur's arms wrapped around Sand Rock's waist to support him. The Arabian had his arms wrapped tightly around his waist as he struggled to cry, "They're in the ninth section of Pulsar!" Since the Gundams mapped out the entire carrier from the images they had, he and his friends knew exactly where this was. The 'Perfect Soldier' quickly typed into her system for her monitors to zoom on that section of Nebula. Locking onto it, her eyes narrowed.
Turning to her blonde comrade, the pilot asked, "Will you be alright to look after yourself now?" Quatre had been sweating badly, but managed to regain his composure as he sat up in his seat again. He nodded, "I'm alright now. Just hurry and get Herro and Duo out of there." Kumi nodded and told her friends, "I'm going to use the new modifications that Howard put into Excalibur."
Instantly, Trowa's image appeared on her screen as he shouted with a look of great concern on his face, "Kumi, it's too dangerous! There hasn't even been a test run to see if the modifications will work!" His lover replied in her usual monotone but in a soothing gentle manner, "Trowa, It's the only way we'll reach Heero and Duo in time. They're dying." Her partner sighed deeply and lowered his head, "Alright. Just be careful." The cobalt-eyes pilot gave a small smile and replied, "I will be." Just as Trowa's image disappeared, Quatre gave a small whimper and said quietly, "Hurry, Kumi. There isn't much time." The silver-haired pilot nodded and released her suit's hold around Sand Rock.
The Arabian shot back off to the fight as Kumi remained behind to strap a Gundamimum belt that matched the thick silver one that she already wore. On the front of the metal belt, there was a small black box that fell perfectly in the center between her waists. Putting her suit on autopilot and undoing her harnessed, the Gundam pilot opened her cockpit and rose from her seat.
The Japanese pilot stepped forward and stood on the edge of the platform that was made by the open hatch. Looking down, she could see that her suit was about ten thousand feet in the air. With the wind violently blowing around her, the silver-haired pilot took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she said to herself, "Let's just hope this works." Opening her eyes into thin narrow slits, Kumi dove off of the platform.
* * * * * *
In Pulsar's control room, everyone gasped and shouted as they looked to the terrifying image before them. Relena screamed, "OH MY GOD! KUMI!" Lady Une and her friends all froze in shock and terror as they witnessed their friend's plunge. The Gundam pilots screamed as they also watched in horror.
* * * * * *
Kumi had fallen more than a mile at this point, head first before she turned her body to look at the belt around her waist. Opening the cover of the black box, the red button within was revealed. Not taking another moment to wait, she pressed it as looked back to her Gundam as it shattered into pieces.
The Gundamimum then took a mind of its own, a good portion of it following the homing devise in the falling pilot's belt. Once those pieces caught up with Kumi, they attached to almost her entire body, save the joints to allow her movement, and her face. There was a silver helmet that was a part of the body gear that resembled one of the Roman soldiers (a thin line of metal at either side of the face just before the ears with a plate across the forehead) with a hole in the back for her ponytail to fly freely.
Her right hand was armed with a smaller version of her Buster Riffle that was linked as a part of her, it's cannon resting over the back of her hand. Her left hand received a laser blade similar to the one of her suit, just smaller that she could fight with for hand-to-hand combat.
As she continued to fall, Kumi shouted at the top of her lungs, "WINGS!" On her command, the straps of Gundamimum on her back released the white angel wings from her suit. While they of course were not nearly as nig as they were when they were on Excalibur, they were huge compared to her. Being able to control the wings through her helmet, Kumi brought them to catch a large gust that picked her up to return to the ship at great speed. The others remained speechless at everything that happened.
Several pieces that remained from Excalibur made their way to create more changes on the suits that bore homing devices for them as well. Trowa was watching all of this closely even as he fought and sighed deeply, falling back into his seat as he saw that his lover was safe. He then watched as several large pieces of black Gundamimum came together and attached themselves to the back of Heavy Arms.
The metal blended together to form angel wings just like the while ones that his lover's Gundam bore, same design, shape and all. This physical change not only allowed Heavy Arms to become more mobile, but it was also much faster than it had ever been it its existence. Trowa used this newest feature right away as he gave the wings a massive flap and flew off for Nebula, shooting his enemies along the way.
Milliardo was taken by surprise when several of those Gundamimum pieces wrapped around the hatch of his cockpit. He watched with wide eyes as the insides of his cockpit reacted to the change. Everything in inside gave off a bright light that disappeared as quickly as it came. Just as this happened, an Aires suit was trying to take advantage of the stunned pilot.
Milliardo's eyes narrowed as he saw them approaching and instantly thought of how he wanted to slice through them. Just as this thought entered his mind, Euphoria moved and sliced through the Aires before the Preventer used his controls. Wind looked in amazement to the explosion from the mobile suit. That shock soon faded as a sneer crossed his lips. It was now clear that his handgrip controls were to act only as a back up now that Euphoria was now acting on whatever commands he gave through his mind. With this, he took to the fight with a greater advantage in maneuvering than any Gundam or mobile suit.
Sette watched with great uncertainty as several pieces of her friends Gundam circled and took shape into something before Mason. To her amazement, the Gundamimum became her own Buster Riffle, the same size and shape as the one Excalibur had. With an elated smile and wide eyes, she shouted, "SWEET MOSES!" Taking the weapon into her suit's right hand she examined it for a brief moment. Turning to see the OZ soldier that remained frozen in terror before her, she chuckled deeply, "Let me introduce you to my new friend." Saying this, she aimed her Buster Riffle to the mobile suits as they tried to escape. The tomboy took all of them out in one large blast.
All of this happened so quickly that a anyone watching would have missed all of this if they blinked a few times. Kumi flew past the stunned OZ pilots as she shot and stabbed those closest to her while she made a desperate soar towards the section of the carrier where Heero and Duo were being killed. Euphoria, Heavy Arms and Mason managed to reach other sections of the ship on their own thanks to their newest modifications.
* * * * * *
In the lab of Nebula, the screams agony from the pilots had died to small moans as they began to slip into unconsciousness. Falling to their knees, they both remained in each other's arms as they supported each other from the waist up to endure the torture as long as possible. The generators all around the room were now beginning to spark and smoke on account of the tremendous power they were transmitting. The scientists and Marx were looking to their dying captives with mixed emotions, the Lieutenant being the most amused in seeing the pain in the faces of the pilots. Not one of them noticed any of the things that had taken place outside as they watched the execution with all of their concentration.
* * * * * *
Being the first Gundam pilot to actually make it to the target, Milliardo stabbed through the right side of Nebula, starting from the top and working his way down to the midsection, not far from where the laboratory was. This was down so that he wouldn't cause any harm to the Gundam pilots trapped within, since he didn't know what their situation was. Kumi soon joined the Preventer as she continued to fight off the clones that tried to stop the assault.
* * * * * *
Back in the laboratory, the glass case that held Heero and Duo was now glowing white from the electric waves that were being pulsated through. The Gundam pilots knew that they couldn't hold on much longer as they were no longer. Duo gave a strangled whimper and whispered brokenly, "Thank you for sticking around with me, Heero." As they began to sink into unconsciousness, the Wing pilot just managed to whisper back in time and just loud enough for his over to hear, "Thank you for loving me, Duo." Their bodies fell lifeless to the metal floor as the shock waves continued.
* * * * * *
Milliardo got his suit to pull at either side of the slit he made, widening the gap between the metal, to form a large entrance. Once that was finished, Wind turned to Kumi and said, "I'll start taking out the rest of the ship. Take care of Heero and Duo." The winged pilot nodded and shot flew through the hole that her comrade made. Once she was inside the ship, Kumi could see bright sparks of light flickering on and off in the cracks of the thick, closed door at the far end of the hall where she was now. Her cobalt eyes narrowed as she brought herself to fly in that direction.
* * * * * *
Sette shot a huge hole in the opposite side of Nebula, where she knew one of the largest hangers was. Along with Heavy Arms, Mason entered the opening that the Buster Riffle made for them. As they looked to the hanger's surroundings, Trowa and Sette gasped as they found Wing Zero and the repaired Deathscythe lying in the confines of the room. The queen smiled wickedly to them as she said in a seductive voice, "Well, hello there, boys." The tall pilot chuckled deeply to himself as he moved his winged Gundam to take hold of Wing Zero.
* * * * * *
Heero and Duo were still lying along the metal floor of the their glass prison as Marx watched. He turned his eyes from the sight and ordered to doctors through the smoke and sparks that filled the room, "GIVE THEM MORE!" The old scientist shouted over the loud explosions from all around, "IF WE KEEP THIS UP, THE ROOM WILL EXPLODE!" The Lieutenant glared to him and yelled, "I SAID-" "Omae o koruso," a deep female voice suddenly deadpanned from behind the Lieutenant.
Frozen in terror as his face turned pale, the tall man turned slowly to see an angel-winged, silver-haired young woman suited in Gundamimum as she glared to him coldly. The man's brown eyes widened as far as they could just before Kumi suddenly stabbed him through with her laser sword. He screamed in agony as he was sliced in a diagonal cut from his right shoulder through his left hip. His bloody body fell into a heap before the avenging pilot's feet. The moment he was dead, the young woman looked to the glass tube in the center of there room that encased Heero and Duo.
Instantly, Kumi took a metal beam that she broke off from one of the generators with ease and ran with it to the glass prison. Holding the beam behind her as a bat, she gave a swift and forceful blow that shattered the cell with a loud cry that escaped her. Pieces of glass flew all around upon impact. The shocks ceased to surround and enter the captives' bodies. With concerned eyes, the 'Perfect Soldier' lowered herself to her knees and checked if the fallen pilots still had pulses. Just when she was about to check on Heero, she heard something move from the back of the room.
Turning around sharply, her cobalt eyes spied a few of the white-coated doctors trying to escape from the room. They were just about to pass the control panel in effort to reach the door. Kumi's eyes narrowed into thin slits as she rose to her feet. The men and women were paralyzed under the threatening glare. Before any of them knew it, she sprang forward and landed on the control panel. The scientists there screamed and ran back from her advance. Taking her laser blade and slicing it through with a loud grunt, the silver-haired pilot sent the unit up into flames and thick smoke.
The moment the control panel was destroyed, the loud hums of the generators ended, as did the blinking of the lights. As the flames continued to rise from where the control panel once was, Kumi slowly turned her back to it. The light from the fire and the darkness from the smoke painted an eerie image as the Japanese pilot turned to face her next targets.
Kumi looked to the scientists who watched her with sickened and petrified faces as they backed and whimpered into the furthest corner they could. The 'Perfect Soldier' unleashed her fury on all of them. The screams and cries of each of them could make anyone's blood run cold. Taking her time, the winged pilot made sure that all eight of them felt the same pain that her cousin and friend had suffered.
* * * * * *
The Gundam pilots remained outside of the ship even after they had destroyed all of OZ soldiers. Not only had not only won their battle and destroyed their foes, but they also managed to cause a chain of explosions from every corner of Nebula. The spread of the flames was going to take time, but there was nothing more that could be done to change this. Breathing heavily, Milliardo called to the other, "Get as far from the ship as you can! We've destroyed all we could."
Delapan called with concern, "What about Heero, Duo and Kumi!?!" Trowa smiled and replied without any doubt in his voice, "They'll be fine. We'll wait for them on the Colony surface." Together, the pilots made their way from the craft. Heavy Arms was supporting Wing Zero while Mason did the same for Deathscythe. Behind their retreat, Nebula was facing its last moments as the explosions began to take in everything, slowly but surely.
* * * * * *
Kumi's personal attacks continued and the Wing pilot's eyes began to slowly fight to open as he took a deep breath. As the breath escaped him, Heero's cobalt eyes slowly opened. Fully regaining consciousness, he gasped as he looked up to see that he managed to survive the slow, agonizing pain from the laser. Instantly, his thoughts went to his lover as he turned to see Duo.
The braided pilot was still lying lifelessly on his left side, facing the Wing pilot. Heero called with concern in his voice, "Duo?" There was no response from the American as he remained still. The Japanese pilot's face fell deeper into despair and fear as he sat up and pulled Duo into his arms to hold him from the waist up. He began to quickly remove the sensors from his koi's body with urgency in his actions and expression.
Once his partner's limp body was freed from the wires, Heero gave him a shake and called loudly, "DUO!?!" A small groan left the pilot in his arms as his eyes fluttered open. Looking up, Duo gave a sharp gasp as he focused on the greatly worried face of his lover. "h-heero?" he asked quietly. Heero gave a very deep sigh of relief and kissed his partner's forehead. The braided pilot sat up and began to help the Wing pilot remove the sensors on his body.
Kumi remained unaware of their situation as she stabbed through the last of the scientists, his screams near deafening on top of the explosions within the room. Panting, the silver-haired pilot wiped the sweat from her brow and looked the bodies of her victims. The shirts of the two pilots were not far from where the last body fell. The Japanese pilot took them into her possession.
She gave a nod to herself after taking one last look to the dead men and women and walked through the flames. Thanks to her armor, the flames never touched her skin. As she walked through the wall of flames before her, Kumi watched as Heero and Duo walked from where they had been lying to where she was now. They were supporting each other as they made their way to her and smiled to the silver-haired pilot warmly. Their smile were returned as Kumi sighed deeply in relief.
Kumi turned her back to them and squatted. Turning her head back to face them, she smirked, "What do you say we get the hell out of here?" Heero wrapped his arms around his cousin's neck as he leaned his body against her back. He rested his head on her right shoulder as a deep sigh of exhaustion left him and as his eyes closed. Kumi kissed his head and ran a hand through his hair gently. Heero smiled with his eyes still closed as he rested his cheek against her shoulder and gave another soft sigh. Kumi lifted Duo's right arm over her shoulder as she wrapped her arm around the back of his waist to support him that way.
This was the way that they flew out of the burning room. The flames from the explosions followed their swift escape back to the hole that Milliardo had made moments ago. Reaching the opening again, Kumi looked down and told the pilots she carried, "Hang on." At this, she flew out into the skies with the pilots as she led them to safety. When they managed to get several feet from the carrier as at was soon consumed entirely by flames, the three pilots looked back for a moment while the winged pilot suspended them in midair. The sun had since begun to set as the heavens were colored in many shades from the rainbow.
* * * * * *
On Pulsar, Lady Une shouted in elation, "THEY MADE IT!" The room erupted into cheers and shouts as everyone gathered let out their relief and excitement. Zes rose from her seat as her husband came and held her tightly. Relieved beyond words, they kissed and turned to see the monitors in the front of the room. Sally and Sera hugged tightly as Makato wiped tears of relief that broke past her defense. Lady Une hugged Heero's mother as well with Lieutenant Keiser doing the same in turn as the cheers and shots around them continued and grew.
* * * * * *
On the surface of A131, the Gundam pilots were otut of their suits and celebrating, themselves, as the winged pilot landed with their rescued friends. The wings behind Kumi's back folded and hit back in the straps on her back when her feet touched the ground. Heero and Duo managed to walk on their own as they went to rejoin their friends. The pilots ran to them as they continued to cheer and shout loudly. Surrounded by their friends, Heero and Duo were greeted with hugs and kisses all around that were gratefully returned.
As the welcomed reunion continued, Nebula continued to burn in a ball of fire with no remains of the ship in sight. As several large pieces broke from the flames, they fell in burning streaks all over the colony below. The smiles on the pilots' faces as they continued to greet celebrate were brighter than the stars that were now in plain sight as the last lights of the sun faded in the distance. And the sounds of their elation were carried on the breeze for miles. It was the end of a very difficult struggle and hopefully the beginning of a chance for true peace to make itself known again.
TBC