Title: "Scars"
Author: Demeter
Disclaimer: All rights and privileges to Shin Kidousenki Gundam Wing are trademarks and property of Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency, and associated parties. The author claims no legal responsibility for problems associated with using this work. The story, the relationships, and original characters within the fic are copyright of the author Demeter.
Part Thirteen: Milk Does A Body Good
Finally, the meeting between Trowa and the Trio has happened. Next along, they're sent on missions that they may never return from. The perils of trying to hunt Lady Une and Quatre Raberba Winner…
~*~*~*~*~*~
Sight ran a dirty hand through her ragged hair, releasing a sigh that seemed to come up from the very pits of her stomach. She was laboriously reviewing all the videos of their fight with the outer L3 colony. There was something that nagged her about that annoyingly stoic pilot.
Trowa Barton.
Something which pulled at the edges of her psyche. Her instincts knew. There was something particular about that boy. Something special.
She just had no clue what it was. And Sight was very frustrated. It was rare, even impossible that she had no idea what her instincts were telling her. Every nuance of that body just screamed, "Look at me!". Which meant that either he was someone acquainted with their past, or he had appeared somewhere else in their memories.
Looking through more files, her eyes narrowed. Odd, she felt. Little to no information was found on their computers about the Gundam pilots. It was almost as if they had completely disappeared from mind's eye. Leaning back in her rusty chair, she contemplated the computer in front of her.
Something smelled fishy.
There was almost a stink of someone messing behind their back. Obviously, the pilots were more famous than this… hell, even Treize was mentioned more than any of the pilots. And she knew how ostracized he was within the average public reporter. He was almost forbidden material… and the pilot's, the savior's of the world, were hardly mentioned at all…
Curious.
There was some data missing here and there… but their computers were unsurpassed by… well, they were unbeatable to say the least. If anything, she had to have found something, anything.
But nothing.
And it bothered her intensely for some odd reason.
By nature, Sight was an inquisitive woman; she hated leaving stones unturned in the possible light of an excavation. Within the DREAMERS, her skills with the computer were pretty much at the top of the brass with Shade, Snow, Silk and Shadow. Even if she hadn't really seen Shadow at work…
Which made everything all that more mystifying. If there was information missing, clues deleted, files hacked into, surely Silk or Shadow would have noticed. They would have alerted the rest of the group and had a mass search for the perpetrator. They were not likely to have just let it all go.
Sight pursed her cracking lips and took a swig of beer. The burning alcohol hit her system like an elephant and she dived back into cracking the codes for the Preventer Base as securely and gently as she could. They weren't an elite team for nothing after all.
Lost in her mystifying thoughts, she didn't notice the door open slightly and then close with barely a whisper of air.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Silk looked around the hall, her striking eyes turning icy. She shut the door behind her softly, disturbed by what she had just witnessed.
Apparently, one of the little wild cards were getting a head start in finding out the truth. She was slightly surprised it was Sight; she and Shadow had a bet that it would be Shade to start questioning the roles of DREAMERS. But, it wasn't a complete disappointment. Sight was just as good of any candidate. After all, she was the daughter of those two vile…
Mustn't think about it, she scolded herself.
Without turning around, she stared thoughtfully at the room where Sight was busily working her magic for a few more minutes. Coming to a decision, Silk jogged briskly toward Shadow's quarters.
Time for the pace to speed up.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Snow was doing a similar search in her room. She had gotten a little glimpse of the pilot… and that one image had seared itself within her memory banks. As much as she hated to admit it, he had affected her in a way she couldn't quite understand. Of course, she knew that she didn't have the same reason as Sight for searching information on him. Quite the opposite… he was someone that intrigued her in a sense entirely different from lust or love.
She remembered the inaudible gasp of pain that had accompanied his image.
That pilot.
She knew him.
Snow was nearly shaking with anger. It wasn't just KNOWING. There was something, a button, a switch within her, which if she pushed or tugged, she knew, she just KNEW, the truth about her would be revealed. She had always asked herself, who she was. All she got were uneasy self-assurances and empty ideas.
But that wasn't enough.
All she knew from her life was DREAMERS. There had been nothing, nothing else she could remember. Other than hazy images of… as silly as it sounded, water. Of all she could remember was water. She had some idea, gathered from Silk that she hadn't exactly been born. The General had candidly informed her that her parents were long dead and that she shouldn't think about it anymore.
And mostly, she didn't even bother to try. After all, her goal was to work in DREAMERS. To succeed as a pilot. To start a war that would end all wars. That was the price she had agreed to pay in order for the peace that the Generals dreamed of. No matter what happened, she had always figured that the General's war was the most important.
Then why.
Why in the hell was she so attracted to that blasted pilot?
Snow gave an ineffective snarl and threw her paper weight against the cushioned walls, waiting for that interminable crack that would most likely appear with such a gesture. Hearing the satisfying crunch of concrete, metal, and soldered glass, she went back to her search, intent on finding… well, finding the past of that green-eyed, uni-banged man that had bothered her so immensely.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Silk entered Shadow's room with a graceful ease, handing the General a brief smile before tossing a stack of papers onto the desk. "One of them has started to question."
There was an interminable pause and Shadow then fingered the pile before clearing her throat. "Who?"
"Sight."
"Ah."
"So, what are we to do?"
"What else? Quicken what we have planned."
Silk nodded slowly. It was as she expected. However… "Are you sure? Is there ample time to set the motions in order?"
The rustle of papers indicated Shadow was listening. Silk pushed on. "I venture that they only have the parts and none of the pieces."
Shadow leaned forward onto her desk, her hands tented below her chin. Her eyes were thoughtful and grave, hinting at the trouble that was to come. "I do not think that the truth will hide itself much longer. Those three are the key to this entire operation. As long as we keep secrets, there will always be the slim chance that we will fail." She paused, her eyes darkening to black. "And. We. Cannot. Fail," she whispered, enunciating every word.
Silk regarded her with a considering gaze. "Of course we can't fail. However, to complete what we're setting out to do, it's time to have Shade meet more than one or two of the pilots. It's time she met them all."
With a nod, the silver-haired woman stood and saluted. Walking from the room, she could almost taste the anticipation of what would happen. Finally, Shadow's revenge would come to root, her ideal would prevail, and she wouldn't have to watch her niece forego the rightful place in the hierarchy she deserve. After all, Marimeia was Treize Khushrenada's daughter. The only heir. The only rightful Queen who should rule.
And Silk planned to let her take that spot.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Shade?"
The aforementioned woman looked up from her report and saw Silk standing in the doorway, her slender frame relaxed. There was a tiny smile on her face and she held a disk in her hand. With a flourish, she handed the order to Shade and waited for the younger pilot to review the case. With a quick glance at Silk, Shade inserted the disk and scanned the information that appeared on her screen.
She hesitated. "Are you sure General Shadow wants this? It seems rather hasty to me."
"Don't worry. Shadow knows exactly what she's doing. And she wants it done. Now." Silk gave her protégé a beatific smile. "Unless you're not up to it?"
Shade bristled. "Of course I am! It's just that we just attacked the colony, and now Shadow wants me," she paused as she cast another glance at the brightly lit screen again, "and Snow to infiltrate the Preventer building and seek Lady Une? Silk, that's the person in charge of the Preventers. That's not going to be easy. Not at all."
The silver-haired women only grinned a feral grin. "Even more of a reason, pet."
Shade examined the older woman. There were alarms going off on all her senses, but she didn't have a clue why… With a brusque nod, she accepted the mission for her and Snow. Snow would do anything she asked her to do.
"Perfect! Now all that's left is for me to give Sight her own mission. She has a rather special one also. If not as busy as yours. It'll be the most perfect coup d'etat that the world has ever seen!"
"You sound almost as if you're having an orgasm over it."
Silk's black eyes glittered. "Perhaps I am."
~*~*~*~*~*~
"General? You asked to see me?" Sight walked respectfully into the darkened room and Shadow indicated for her to sit. Sight sat herself into the high-backed chair and awaited for whatever news or mission Shadow would send her on. It was rare that the General ordered someone into her private quarters.
"Sight. Welcome. I can see that you have successfully accomplished what Shade, Snow, and you were set out to do. Well done."
"It was my duty, General."
"Was it? Excellent response. However, I have a personal mission for you to bring about, without Shade or Snow."
Sight barely managed to conceal her surprise. Everyone knew that the three worked best together, even if they fought a lot. To send her on a private mission meant that it wasn't the average, hey-joe ones that they usually took on. "And that is?"
"I want you to render Quatre Raberba Winner incapable of joining the battle."
"What?"
Shadow allowed a humorless grin. "He, of all the pilots, is the strategic one. He is also who I consider the closest to the heart of the group. With him gone, the others cannot operate at full capacity."
Sight felt a bit reluctant. This was rather low of the DREAMERS, wasn't it? To attack the enemy before fully declaring war? "Excuse my ignorance, General. But is it not honorable to attack him before they even know we are the enemy?"
"No, it is not honorable. However, for what I consider, for what the DREAMERS consider is the greater good, he must be taken out."
"I agree with that. But Winner is a well-protected politician. He has another pilot, Barton, by him always. Would it be… near impossible to harm him?"
"I have considered that. Which is why I have sent Shade and Snow on a different mission."
"And that would be?"
"To take prisoner Lady Une."
"The leader of the Preventers!"
"Yes. With her gone, undoubtedly, Barton would be distracted by those events. I want you to strike as soon as you hear the word of her abduction."
Sight stared at her superior, her mind running on high-speed. Weighing the different pros and cons, she nodded slightly to show that she accepted the mission. Standing up fluidly, they exchanged no more words as Shadow passed her the disk that would contain all the information she would need.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Shade gave a low whistle. "Is that what the General really wants?"
Sight nodded, her blue eyes troubled. "It's not going be to effortless. And mentioning easy, taking Lady Une, the legendary Duchess, won't be trouble-free either. What a coup! How am I going to render him useless? I mean, what do I do? Poison him? Snap his neck? Break a few bones?" She shuddered at the last thought. "Strike that."
Snow was lifting weights in the corner and she spoke without looking up. "It's orders. No need to question them. I'm sure General Shadow and Silk know what they're doing."
There was an echoing nod from Shade, but she was obviously troubled. "It's not the mission that bothers me. There's something else… never mind. It's probably nothing." With a sigh, she talked to the two for several more minutes before leaving and prepping for the hardcore mission left on the shelves. Snow continued to lift her weights, her mind on the mission ahead.
It wouldn't be everyday that they had to attack the person who had created the very idea of anti-terrorism.
~*~*~*~*~*~
In the heart of the Peacecraft mansion, a group of people, all connected by the AC 195 war, were sitting around a table, heatedly discussing the events of the past week. There was Milliardo Peacecraft, the current King of the Sank Kingdom. Lucrezia Noin, his wife, therefore, Queen of the Sank Kingdom. Quatre Raberba Winner, the owner of the Winner Corporation and diplomat from the L4 colony. Trowa Barton, his consul and consort, an ambassador from the L4 colony.
Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, Chang Wufei, and Sally Po, the Preventers. Lady Une, leader of the Preventers. Dorothy Catalonia, the ambassador, diplomat and soldier advocate. Only Hilde and Marimeia held no official position in the room; they were there because of the very root of the rumor they had heard from Quatre.
Relena Peacecraft apparently, was alive.
"Which, for all reasons, has to be impossible." Lady Une was short and to the point. "She has been missing for seven years, which no trace, no rumor, no clue was indicating that she had survived the abduction."
"And yet, no body was ever found." Dorothy was quick to point out. The hope in that gesture was heart-rendingly honest. She wanted Relena to be alive with every fiber of her being. "No body, which means no death was officially recorded."
There was a flash of annoyance in Lady Une's face. "And that matters how? There were hundreds of soldiers who don't have bodies and they're still listed dead." Her short words indicated in more than one way, that she was thinking of Treize.
Once again, Quatre acted as the peacekeeper, silencing both women with a quelling glance. He turned to Zechs and Noin, the two who would be most effected by the rumor. Surprisingly, they hadn't developed any sort of reaction beyond shock so far. He could relate.
All he wanted to do was drown himself in the nearest vat of water.
Having this sort of rumor swirl in, when the world was already messy enough, it seemed like fate was trying its damndest to harm them where it would hurt the worst. And from his point of view, it really couldn't get any worse than this.
And then there was Heero and Duo. The pair was quietly involved in conversation, apparently at a point of disagreement. There was a poignant pause as the rage on Heero's face had gone from annoyance to boiling. Without another word, he stood and stalked from the room, leaving Duo white-faced and the others gaping.
Hilde held her head in her hands, as if the very scene pained her. "For god's sake. Can the two of you not talk about Relena once, just once, and not get into a FUCKING ARGUMENT?" The last words were nearly shrieked and she was about to rant more when Trowa touched her on the shoulder and shook her head at her, his green eyes flickering to the grief-stricken expression on Duo's face.
Her anger temporarily stoppered (Trowa had a tendency to do that to people), she swiftly turned back to the quiet Quatre and demanded, her voice hard, "So? Are we going to do anything or just sit on our arses and watch the only lead we've had in years sweep us by?"
Zechs jerked his head up and for the first time, something akin to panic dotted his pale face. "Of course! We're going to throw all our resources into this! I don't care how much time or money we spend!"
Lady Une held up a hand, her face set in stone. "No, Zechs. We don't want any of the media finding out what happened. Not only would this fragile hold on peace we have be shattered… I won't even try to imagine the panic. Somebody who should have died seven years ago, to suddenly have her appear again, that would agitate all the diplomats."
Wufei nodded in agreement, adding his own comments. "And besides, none of us are sure whether that was Relena or not. Quatre might have been mistaken." He jerked his head toward the fourth pilot and Quatre bristled slightly.
"Wufei, I might have left the battlefield, but I still remember faces! Especially hers." His voice quieted. "How could I forget *hers*. It would be like forgetting one of you… or myself." He shuddered and wrapped his arms around his torso. It had been a long week and so far, it didn't seem like it would get any easier.
Glaring, Sally nodded in agreement. "I believe that also. Quatre's not old enough to become senile," She ignored the snort that provoked and continued, "And if he saw Relena, then I think she, or at least someone who looks like her, is out there."
"Granted that we can even find her." Duo finally spoke. His usually jovial voice had darkened considerably and he refused to look at any of them in the eye. There was a cloud of pain that seemed to wrap it's misty arms around the braided pilot and refused to relinquish its death hold.
Finally, a silence.
Dorothy stood and then commanded their attention by tossing a packet of papers onto the table. "An…. An information source of mine I contacted yesterday gave me this. He thinks it might help our search. Someone… a new rebel group he believes that was partially active during the time Relena disappeared. Also, he has definite info that the woman who took Relena may belong to that group. They go by the name DREAMERS…"
~*~ Part Thirteen ~*~
~*~ FINIS ~*~
I know it's been a long time between this chapter and the last chapter, but I got caught up in doing things. My summer was an awful one with my grandfather being diagnosed with sarcoma and then spending almost the entire time in the hospital. Then I started college and I was stressed about different things related to that. And part thirteen just didn't come out until now. I promise however, that fourteen and fifteen should be out at the same time and that there will be finally action!
A/N Notes: Yes, I'm still writing this fic. I reedited all the chapters and did some reformatting. This was done February 25, 2002. Hopefully, this will make it slightly more readable. Thanks for those who are still supporting me about this fic; I will finish it, come high or hell!
Demeter
