Soldier's Return
Tallgeese III streaked fast and low over the serene landscape of the Sanc Kingdom. In the cockpit, Zechs' mind was racing just as fast.
*Who or what is this thing? Is it really a mobile suit? I wonder if this has anything to do with the new threat. But then, why send only one?*
The beep of the communications system brought him back to reality.
"Colonel, you're getting close. Can you see it yet?"
"No, not yet. Wait. There it is."
On the horizon, he could make out an object heading his way. He increased the power to the engines after making a slight change in his heading. As he got closer, he could make out the outline of a mobile suit.
*So it is a mobile suit. And a new model, too. Damn.*
The Tallgeese pulled up and stopped, hovering in the air, mega cannon poised and ready.
"This is Colonel Zechs Merquise of the Preventers hailing the unidentified mobile suit. Stop where you are and identify yourself."
All he heard was static on the comm system and the mobile suit was still moving.
"Headquarters, I'm not getting a response. I'll proceed to fire a warning shot."
The mega cannon let out a small burst of energy that narrowly missed the other suit. At the same time, Zechs extended the heat rod and fired it up, moving toward the nameless suit.. Then, the comm system crackled to life.
"Zechs, I'd appreciate it if you didn't shoot that thing at me."
*What? That voice. It sounds familiar, but I can't place a name or a face.*
"Unidentified suit, transmit identification immediately."
"I can't. Comm system is flaky. I can barely manage this tight-beam link. I'll explain later. Just get me to your headquarters."
Zechs thought a moment before answering.
"Very well, but you will do exactly as I say."
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"So where are we going, Miss Une?"
"If I told you now it might ruin the surprise, though I'm fairly certain you'd be surprised anyway."
"I already know that there is a mobile suit hangar under the basement. That can't surprise me."
"It's not so much that it's there, but rather what is in it that is the issue."
Relena was silent as they stepped onto the elevator. She was thinking of all the things that might be in the hangar. It certainly wasn't large enough to hold many suits, so there couldn't be an army down there. Then, something popped into her mind.
*Could it be...no. That's not possible.*
She hadn't realized the elevator was moving and when the doors opened, Relena realized she was correct. She moved slowly out of the elevator and onto the walkway suspended thirty feet above the hangar floor. Her hand came up to cover her mouth and her heart threatened to pound right out of her chest. Even though she was seeing it, she still couldn't believe it. Standing right in front of her were Noin's white Taurus and four Gundams. Deathscythe Hell's wings were open, revealing the menacing form underneath. She could see Duo's legs hanging out of the cockpit as he worked on something inside. Next to the Deathscythe stood Heavyarms. Trowa was at its feet taking inventory on the dozens of crates, presumably explosives. Quatre was perched on Sandrock's right shoulder reading from a wiring diagram. Beside Sandrock was Wufei's Nataku. The dragon fans had been removed and lay on the ground in obvious need of repair. Besides Noin's white Taurus, there were two more empty places. She knew one was for her brother's Tallgeese and presumed the other was for Wing Zero, but she couldn't see Heero's Gundam anywhere.
Lady Une led her down the steps and onto the main floor. She was saying something, but Relena didn't hear her. She was still in shock. The Gundams weren't supposed to be around anymore. They had been destroyed after the incident with Mariemaia and that Barton man.
"Relena? Are you listening to me?"
"Huh? Oh. No, I wasn't. Where...where is Heero's Gundam. Where is Wing Zero?"
"Over there."
Lady Une pointed to a darkened corner of the hangar where there stood a large structure covered in a dark blue shroud. Relena slowly made her way over and stepped under the shroud, Lady Une following right behind her.
"It's waiting here if he decides to come back."
Relena smiled as she looked up at the towering form of Wing Zero.
"When, Miss Une...when he comes back. I know he will. I can feel it in my heart."
Lady Une saw the look of longing in Relena's eyes and chose that moment to make her silent exit so that Relena could be alone with her thoughts.
Even in the dim light under the shroud, Relena could clearly make out the features of the machine before her. She felt the cold, smooth metal under her fingers as she ran her hands along the angel-like wings.
*Where is he now? Where is my angel? What is he doing? Does he think about us? Does he think about me? I wonder...*
Relena closed her eyes and saw Heero in her mind.
~ Music was playing and she was dancing with this mysterious boy named Heero.
"Heero. I know too much about you. Are you still gonna kill me?"
"Yeah."
"I didn't want to die with no answers. But now it's different. Now I know how you feel when you fight."
"Huh?"
"And that's because...I'm on your side now."
"Huh? On my side?" ~
That was one of the few times she'd been close to him and been able to surprise him. Afterwards, he hadn't been able to kill her, no matter how many opportunities he'd had to do so.
Her mind drifted back again. This time she could see him preparing to fight her brother for the last time. She didn't want him to go because she feared he would never come back. All of a sudden he was so close to her again. She had only to lean forward and she could have kissed him, but she held back. If she had kissed him, he would have been too distracted from his mission and would certainly not have come back, even if he managed to survive the fight. She decided to leave well enough alone and trust him to return. And he had. He'd come back that time and when Dekim Barton threatened to rip apart the fragile peace between the Earth and the colonies. This time would be no different. Heero would return.
Relena brought herself out of her reveries and slowly ambled back toward the other Gundams. She stopped when she heard the sound of engines behind her and turned when the faint whine became and almost deafening roar. Coming through an entry tunnel was a very large, very ugly mobile suit followed by her brother's Tallgeese. The two suits came to a stop and shutdown their engines. The hatch of the Tallgeese opened and Zechs exited quickly, standing on the edge of the hatch waiting for the other pilot. Just in case, he glanced down at his belt and made sure he had his gun handy. When the other hatch finally opened and the other pilot emerged, he knew he would not need it. as a smile came to his face.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Gundam Wing. It is copyrighted by people who have a lot more money than I do. This was written for fun and for the fans of the series. All ideas concerning the storyline and new characters are mine.
NOTES: OK, the Gundams I described are the 'custom' Gundams from Endless Waltz. If you haven't seen that yet, you should do so or at least know what they look like. Oh, and every time I say 'Tallgeese' I mean Tallgeese III. It's just easier to write that way, plus it sounds better. Relena's first little flashback there is from 'Party Night' and the second is from 'Take-Off Into Confusion'...episodes 1 and 48.
Comments and criticisms are welcome. Please send them to HeeroWZero@hotmail.com and be sure to include your name so I can get back to you. Thanks for reading!