Legal disclaimer: Yeah yeah yeah, I *unfortunetly* don't own any of the G-Wing chars....
Summary: Takes place after Endless Waltz. My first Gundam fic, so please R+R! By the way, if you have any suggestions for me, please tell me!!! I know it must suck, but ... well, here goes nothing:


Dark Shadows
Chapter Six: The Promise
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Duo lead the way into the fierce battle. He wipped his scythe around as if he knew the gundam for years. He was marveled at the speed and the firepower of the Neo Gundam, playing with al the new gadgets like a kid in a toy store.

Trowa was more determined then Duo. He launched into the batle, gattlings blazing, surrounded by explosions. The firepower impressed him, but he held back his awe with restraint.This was just another Gundam.

Wufei roared as he laept in with the others, spinning his beam trident like a spinning wheel of death. His twin beam cannons on his back fired repeatedly at any mobile suits he couldn't reach. And when they were just in range, he launched his dragonfang, the symbol of this Neo Gundam. It was more powerful then his original Gundam, but he ignored it. This was not his Gundam. This was not Nataku.

Quatre followed more relunctantly then the others, hanging back a bit to get a feel for this Gundam. It was impressive, but it was not his Sandrock. He longed to have his friend by his side in this battle, but the Neo Gundam Sandstorm would have to do.

Heero watched as the others flew into the midst of the battle. His grip tightened on the controls for Vertigo as memories rushed back to haunt him. The night, a month, maybe two ago, where he had made his promise never to kill again. Even farther to the first Eve Wars when he was supposed to be part of operation Meteor. He fought for defence, true, but he had killed.

His mind drifted further back to a memory that had given him nightmares for so long. He closed his eyes, lost in the torrent of remembrance. The girl... her dog.... His mission, which had gone terribly wrong. He watched as the flaming Leo mobile suit plunged into the apartment. Watched as the building caught fire and exploded. Watched helplessly as the building collapsed in on itself, forever ending the life of the poor girl within.

Back to reality, he felt his hands slip from the controls. He felt the Vertigo shut down around him. He felt blasts impact on the Gundam. He felt daeath, a familiar sensation for him. And as he sat there, in the dark, eyes closed, he shook. Not from anger or fear, but from pain. Not physical, but emotional. And it was there that the Perfect Soldier, for the first time in his life, wept for the lives he took.



"Heero! God damnit Heero, answer me! Your gonna get killed!" Duo screamed over the comline. Heero's Gundam just sat there, lifeless, taking the hits the enemies were throwing at him. The Gundam wouldn't hold up much longer. Duo angryly turned back to his own battle, cursing at the hard time he was having with the mobil dolls. He just couldn't avoid all of them!

"there's too many of them!" Quatre yelled to all of them over the comline. "We can't win! Even with these new Gundams!"
Wufei ignored him and kept fighting. "No! We will win! Justice will be served!"
Trowa fired off a burst of missiles. "Quatre's right! We can't handle all of them without help!"

"Then try and get Heero to actually do something!" Duo shouted back.
Trowa scowled. "Heero won't fight! He he amde a promise and he intends to keep it!"
Duo blinked, having never been told of Heero's promice. He suddenly regreted yelling at Heero.
"Then let's protect Heero. At least until he regains enough sense to leave the battlefield" Quatre said, taking off to gaurd Heero.

"I second that!" Duo said, taking off after Quatre. Wufei and Trowa followed, blasting away any enemies trying to stop them.
they formed a circle around Heero, firing and attacking any suits that came too near. But they were fighting a losing battle. Sooner or later they'd have to fold.
"Looks like this is it..." Duo muttered to himself. "I'm seriously regreting coming here in the first place..."

Their thoughts were interupted when a huge beam of energy wipped past them, destroying a dozen mobile suits. Four heads turned to see what caused it.
Floating in space, the sun behind it, stood a large mobile suit, larger then a normal model. Two huge engines were mounted on it's back and a whip twisted and turned restlessly. A huge beam cannon was held in one arm, charging up for another attack. As the blast took off, they got a clear view of the mobile suit: Tallgeese 3.

"If you pilots cant hold them off anymore," rasped the hoarse voice of Preventer Wind, a.k.a. Milliardo Peacecraft, a.k.a. Zechs Marquise,"...then get away while you can."
Wufei laughed. "If you think I'm going to give up that easily, then your mistaken!" With that he lurched forward, his dragonfang arching out and destroyed an enemy mobile suit.
"Ditto with me!" called Duo as he leapt forward and sliced another in half.

With renewed hope, the Gundam pilots resumed the fight, now with Tallgeese on their side. But, as they fought, the Vertigo remained still, the pilot inside silent. Fire resumed on the Gundam, knocking it arounhd while the others shouted warnings through the comline. Without the pilot's notice, the Gundam began to start up again. Heero shook, not with sadness, but with rage. The screens lit up and drenched the cockpit with white light as one word printed across the screen:

Vertigo

Heero opened up his eyes.