Chapter 5
three years later...
Relena wearily glanced at herself in the hallway mirror. "Tomorrow is my three year
wedding anniversary, and the beginning of yet another struggle...I'm so scared. What a fine
way for the date of my wedding to go down in history."
"Mommy?" said a small voice, and Relena looked down at two year old Mariko Yuy.
"What is it sweetie?"
"Mommy, why is everyone so sad?" the perceptive child asked.
"Why does she have to be smart?" Relena thought, half with pride, half with regret.
"Why does she have to have her child-like innocence gone so soon?" Relena thought with envy of
little Jerry. No, not so little anymore. Jerry was now six, as were Reena and Aelis. But
even now, Jerry hadn't lost his cheerful personality. "Just like his father," Relena thought
ruefully. "That's good; we'll need someone to cheer us up from now on."
"Why mommy?"
Relena swore inside her mind. "Damn! Did I just say that out loud?" she thought
wearily. "This stress is definitely getting to me." But she shook herself out of her daze and
reached out for her child, who snuggled against her.
"Things are going to be a little difficult from now on, Riko. But you don't worry about
it okay? Let Daddy and me take care of it?
"Will you and Daddy be okay?"
Relena hesitated, then forced a fake smile, "Of course sweetie, of course."
elsewhere...
"So what do you think? Good thing we have all this technology now, or there's no way
I could have finished all your gundams in time, eh?" Howard said, wiping sweat from his brow.
Heero didn't look at his old friend but continued to study the lined-up suits. He listed them
mentally in his mind: Wing Gundam II, Deathscythe II, Heavyarms II, Sandrock II, Altron II, and
Epyon II.
"I know the names aren't exactly original, but hey, that's the least of our concerns
huh?" Howard said apologetically, trying to jar the younger man out of his daydream. "Hey
Heero, you still there?"
"Did you install the Zero system in all of them?"
"WHAT?! Are you insane?" Howard howled. "Sure, I installed them in Wing II and Epyon
II, but you know what the Zero system did to the rest of you guys, right? It nearly drove
them nuts! Plus, none of you have handled a MS in four years...right?" he finished, throwing
Heero a suspicious glance.
"Do it anyway," Heero said flatly. "We don't have a choice."
"Fine fine," Howard muttered, turning back to the gundams. "Heero, you really believe
this guy's serious? I mean okay!" he said, throwing up his hands in defense when Heero fixed
him with a glare. "Sure they blew up a satellite with civilians on it, and sure they've got
firepower, but how powerful is the PILOT? A mobile suit is no good without a good pilot, as
I'm sure you know."
"Just trust me on this one Howard. This guy's good."
Howard heaved a sigh. "Okay Heero. Whatever you say. I'll install the Zero systems."
Heero nodded, and turned to leave, then hesitated.
"Howard, what improvements did you make on the gundams?"
Howard shrugged and said, "Sorry Heero, I couldn't really do much, not in three years. Remember,
Relena's disarmament plan included the destruction of all the data on the gundams. So
basically, I had to wing it, and my memory's not so good these days you know...But I
did add a nifty little function that would disable the Zero system with a push of a button," he
said smugly. "And besides, it's probably better if you six are fighting gundams you are all
familiar with. I made these guys carbon copies of the originals."
Heero stopped, thought for a moment, and then left.
elsewhere...
"Trowa, you will be careful won't you? You won't try to self-detonate again right?"
Cathrine asked anxiously, helping Trowa move the last of his things into Quatre's private
home in space. Trowa didn't respond. Cathrine sighed, then said, "Okay Trowa, I know that's
probably too much to ask from you, but at leat, will you make sure not to self-detonate until
you know you have no other choice whatsoever?"
Trowa paused in his work and turned to regard the woman he had come to think of as a
sister, then nodded. Cathrine smiled in relief. "Well, that's good. I guess that's the most
I'll be able to get out of you anyway."
elsewhere...
"Dorothy, are you sure you want to come? It's dangerous, you're pregnant, and-" Quatre
faded as Dorothy shot him a nasty look. "Well," he said lamely, "don't you care about the
baby?" As soon as those words were out Quatre regretted it instantly. Dorothy flew at him
furiously.
"Quatre Raberba Winner! Don't you DARE patronize me! And don't you dare bring the
baby into this mess! I've been carrying it for 8 months; I know EXACTLY how to handle it!
Dorothy finished belligerently, daring Quatre to argue.
Needless to say, Quatre gave up.
elsewhere...
"Hey Dad! Can I pilot your suit? Huh? Can I? It looks so awesome!"
"Jericho Maxwell! Get back here!"
"But Mo-om..."
"NOW!!!"
Duo winced. He had never seen Hilde this angry. "I guess this can get to even the
most relaxed of us," he thought wearily. He still couldn't believe the hectic three years
were over, and tomorrow was the day. All during those three years, they'd been franctically
planning, getting back into shape, re-memorizing the various codes, digging up old
documents...And it didn't help that the general public was in a frenzy. Relena spent almost
no time at home. She was either appealing to the people to remain calm or helping Dorothy
prepare the space station for their base. "It's a wonder we all haven't gone gray
overnight," Duo thought.
Next to him, Hilde ran her hand through her hair and tried to ignore the sulky looks of
her son. "I don't even know myself anymore," she sighed to herself. "I can't believe this is
really happening. For the past three years, I've been hoping I would wake up from this
nightmare, but now, seeing these gundams, I know that this is no dream."
elsewhere...
Wufei was meditating in a clearing. He had moved his belongings up to the station a
long time ago, and had already tested his new suit, which had already been christened Nataku,
just like his previous two mobile suits. Though he appeared calm on the outside, inside, he
was full of rage. He hadn't been the same since the day he found out Sally Po had been on that
satellite, and had obviously died when it exploded. From then, he had sworn to kill the
mysterious pilot responsible for her death. Even though they had separated a long time ago,
Sally finding his chauvanistic ideas just too difficult to deal with, he still felt an
attachment to her. He could remember how he had raged at the pilot at first, then fractically
joined the other Preventers in an effort to find out any information about this organization.
When that failed, he quit his job and instead spent the rest of his time honing his skills.
Plus, Wufei had a nagging feeling about the other mobile suit that just wouldn't go away.
"It's called Phoenix..." Wufei mused, and shuddered. Just the name of the suit was
enough to bring back memories he had forgotten, memories he hadn't ever shared with anyone, not
even Sally.
"I'll make you pay!" he exploded, jerking himself out of his comatose state. "For what
you've done, I swear I will kill you!"
elsewhere...
"Mariemaia! You are NOT coming with me!"
"Oh yes I am!"
"NO!"
"YES!"
"Mariemaia, I'm your mother now!" Lady Une exploded. "For your safety, listen to me
and STAY HERE!"
"Yes, you're my mother now; I don't deny that. But that doesn't mean you always know
what's best for me! And what's best for me right now is to be able to go with you!" Mariemaia
shot back with clenched fists.
Lady Une massaged her temples; they had begun arguing about this issue ever since the
day the speaker had issued his challenge. "Mariemaia," she began calmly, but was abruptly cut
off.
"LISTEN TO ME! I'm NOT a little girl anymore! I'm a teenager; I know exactly what's
going on! Staying here on Earth isn't going to help; I'll just worry myself sick! Don't you
want me to be as happy as possible?! Don't you want me to be by your side?!" Mariemaia
finished as the first tears began squeezing out of her eyes.
"Mariemaia..."
"I WANT TO GO!! I can take care of myself; you made sure of that. I can use firearms,
I can even pilot a Taurus mobile suit. I can outrun most people, and not just in my own
age group. And I've also been getting myself into shape for these past years! PLEASE! Let...
me...GO!"
Finally, Lady Une couldn't take it anymore. She broke down crying, just like her
daughter, who dove into her arms. "Fine," she choked through her tears. "Fine, you win. I'll
let you go."
elsewhere...
"Zechs, is it really best for Reena and Aelis to come?" Noin began worridly. "They're
only six years old."
Glancing up from packing, Zechs said, somewhat ruefully, "Haven't you seen Mariemaia
argue with Lady Une? You know Reena and Aelis are just as strong-willed."
"But Mariemaia is fifteen. She's nearly three times their age."
"What else CAN we do? We don't know if they'll attack the Earth when we're in space.
Chances are, the twins are safer with us."
Noin sighed. "I know that you're right, but I'm so worried! What if they attack the
space station when we're not there?"
Zechs stood up. "What if this, what if that. There are thousands of things that could
happen, all of which would endanger the twins. Yes, they could attack the station; they could
infect it with viruses for all I know. Really Lucrezia, I'm speaking hypothetically!" he said
when he saw the shocked expression on her face. "All I'm saying is that the twins will be
SOMEWHAT safer in space with us rather than Earth away from us, where we'd have no idea what'd
be going on. Try to calm down," he said, going over to massage her shoulders. "We still have
one day."
The Gundam pilots and their friends weren't the only ones preparing. Somewhere, hidden
in space, the mysterious pilot was staring at the Phoenix. "Let the games begin Phoenix," the
figure whispered.
Chapter 6
The fateful day had finally arrived. All the Gundam pilots and their friends and family had
moved up to the space station, and all were anxiously watching the clock.
"The wedding finished at noon," Dorothy said quietly. "The pilot delivered his message
at approximately 1:05. We have...ten minutes." she finished grimly. The others continued
staring at the clock. No one budged, not even Jerry. It seemed as if the seriousness of the
situation had finally been perceived by him. Mariko was clinging to her mother's skirt and
shifting her gaze from person to person with wide eyes. Reena and Aelis stood quietly by their
parents. Serious by nature, and remarkably intelligent, just like Mariko, both had understood
the situation a long time ago, and even as Relena glanced at her nieces, she was amazed at how
quickly both had grown up. Mariemaia stood by Lady Une. Now that she had actually been allowed
to come, the other aspects of the situation had sunk in. "We're dealing with our future right
now," she thought. "It's all going to come true in five...four...three...two...one..."
Suddenly a monitor flickered. Simultaneously, the entire group turned to it, and just like
three years ago, the same figure appeared. It did a mental headcount, then nodded.
"I greet you. I see you have all come, and on time. At this time, please shift your
attention out the window behind you."
The group turned around, and despite Mariemaia's composure, her jaw dropped. In front of
them was an asteroid, common enough, only this asteroid was opening up. Inside was a massive
structure, a space battleship.
"That is our base," the figure continued tonelessly. "We give you fifteen minutes to
prepare. At the end of fifteen minutes, meet me in between our station and yours. The battle
will commence there." The screen blinked out.
The pilots lost no time. Kissing Hilde on the forehead, Duo grimly followed the rest of
his companions who were filing out of the room. Heero, Zechs, and Quatre did the same, and they
all walked out to where Howard and the gundams were waiting. No one said a word; they all
knew that their fate would be determined in fifteen minutes. Trowa finally broke the silence.
"Howard, did you install the Zero systems in all the suits?"
"Weell..." Howard stalled, and then shot a look to Heero. But Trowa needed no answer.
"I understand," he said, then turned to his suit.
As Wufei jumped into his suit, he ran his hands over the once-familar consoles and
buttons. "Hello Nataku," he said softly. Just like before, Wufei always felt that his late
wife Meiran was present whenever he piloted his suit. "Lend me your fighting spirit once again,
and then you can rest."
Quatre entered his suit. "Dear Sandrock, we meet again." Quatre couldn't really
believe that he was doing this. "I thought we had finally obtained peace; I really did!"
Quatre couldn't help but cry as he vented his frustration. "Why can't some people
realize that life is the most precious thing in the universe?"
Trowa entered his suit silently. "I'm no longer nameless again. I'm Trowa Barton
again. No," he said, shaking himself mentally. "I chose to give myself this name. This will
be my first battle when I am fighting with my true name, the name I gave myself."
"Here comes the God of Death," Duo thought grimly as he vaulted into his suit. "But
it has been so long; will I be the one to meet my Maker when I go out there today, or the other
way around, like it used it be?"
As Heero entered his suit, he thought, "Before, when I thought, I was not human. I
had no feelings, no emotions. But now, I'm alive. I'm fighting not just for the freedom of
the general public. I have a wife and child to think about now. Can I still be the Perfect
Soldier?"
Finally, Zechs entered his suit. "Treize fought with honor," he said, remembering his
former and late friend. "Will this pilot do the same?"
Finally, each pilot was in position. With their friends and relatives watching
anxiously from the window, Howard opened the door, and each pilot jumped into space, ready to
face whatever challenge lay ahead.
Chapter 7
As the pilots flew out to meet their challenger, the figure of a lone mobile suit appeared. It
was in a humanoid shape, but it seemed to have wings on the back that resembled a cross between
a bird and an angel. The head was also in the shape of a fierce bird of prey's. It was holding
a long metal rod, and there was a large beam gun mounted on its side. But the most shocking
aspect about it was soon to come, because as it came closer, Quatre choked a shocking revelation.
"What the...?! That's not a gundam?! What is it then?!"
Each pilot checked its stats; each computer confirmed the same. The mobile suit heading for them
was definitely not made of gundamium; rather, it was much stronger than gundamium and not much
denser.
"We're screwed..." Duo muttered. "That's it, we are all dead."
"Not yet," Wufei said grimly. "Let's see what the pilot can do first."
The lone suit flew towards them, then slowed and stopped.
"I acknowledge you once again. The battle will now begin."
Suddenly, the metal rod the suit was holding changed into a double headed thermal weapon. On
one end it was in the shape of a huge double headed axe. On the other end, it was a large hooked
scythe much like the one on the Deathscythe, but more curved down rather than long. The pilot
swung it a few times, then charged.
"If you expect us to run, they you're MISTAKEN!" Zechs snarled as he hurled himself
forward. "Stay back everyone! We have to see what this guy can do first." As the others
complied, he turned to his opponent...but it was no longer there. "What?! And why isn't it
showing up on my heat sensors?"
"Zechs! Above you!" Quatre shouted. Zechs looked up, but it was too late. The pilot
smashed the weapon...flat side now...on Epyon's head.
"He didn't kill him..." Wufei wondered. "But Epyon is definitely out of the game."
Wufei's observation was true: during the time it took for Zechs to recover, the other
pilot had knocked away his beam sword, and then used it to slice through Epyon's arms,
incapacitating it. Due to the attacks, Epyon completely shut down.
"Did he strike there on purpose? Did he know exactly how to completely incapacitate
Epyon?"
"That was fast," Heero acknowledged to himself. "But I can't turn on the Zero system
yet...have to save it."
"So you're gonna try and imitate me huh? Well, let's see how well you do agaisnt the
original God of Death!" Duo growled and jumped in.
Duo and the other pilot exchanged fierce blows. "Not that good are you?" Duo
smirked. "Heero! Try to get this guy from behind!"
But as Heero moved to fire his buster rifle as the Phoenix's back was turned, the Phoenix
suddenly moved to the side and shoved Duo forward, flipping the Deathscythe over, and using it
as a shield.
"Hey! What the?!" Duo fumed...then realized, "Well well well, this guy can intercept our
calls can't he. Huh, this makes things more difficult."
But during this time, the Phoenix had already dived out of reach and circled back at
Duo as he was struggled to regain his balance. Before he could do anything, the pilot brought
the scythe down and knocked away Duo's scythe. The second blow severed it in half.
"That does it!" Quatre shouted. "Everyone, attack at once!"
"NO!" Duo shouted. "Not yet! Deathscythe and I aren't finished yet!"
But apparently they were. As Duo fired his buster shield at the Phoenix, the pilot swung
at the projectile...and sent it straight back at Duo. When he moved to get out of the way, it
hit one of his suit's arms and crippled it.
"Duo, you can't do anything at this point," Wufei said grimly. "I'm going in."
"So am I!" Quatre said.
The two pilots warily circled the Phoenix, who, Wufei noted darkly, had the audacity to look
bored. "Wufei, lets try to drive this guy into a box," Quatre suggested.
"Uh, you guys? I think you should know he can intercept your calls," Duo's voice
crackled over the speaker.
Wufei ground his teeth in irritation. Fine, so they'd have to wing it. That suited him
just fine. Hoping to gain the element of surprise, Wufei lunged, brandishing his trident.
The other pilot responded by grabbing his trident instead of using the scythe. Wufei
quickly used his Double Dragon fang in hopes of hitting the other suits head, but suddenly the
Phoenix ducked and Wufei hit Quatre, whose heavy suit made him unable to dodge as quickly.
The other pilot had also succeeded in grabbing his trident. Suddenly, Duo came up from behind
and using his one good arm, grabbed the Phoenix around the waist.
"Get him now Wufei," Duo called, not caring if the other pilot could hear or not. But
it was not a wise move on his part. Using both the Phoenix's own weapon and Wufei's stolen
trident, the pilot jabbed the trident into Deathscythe, then cut off the good arm with the
scythe. In order not to hit Duo, Wufei jerked the Dragon Fang away at the last moment.
Though Duo was not hit, the flash temporarily blinded the pilots and the other pilot ducked out
of view again.
Trowa finally spoke up. "Duo, you and Quatre help Zechs and move off to the side.
Wufei, you, along with Heero and I, we should activate the Zero system now."
"Agreed," Wufei said. The loss of his trident had rankled his pride, and he was
determined to defeat this unknown pilot.
"Activating Zero system now," Heero said.
With three gundams using the Zero system, the Phoenix seemed to be at the disadvantage.
The three gave no quarter, Trowa firing relentlessly with his gatling gun, making it difficult
for the Phoenix to recover, and Heero hacking away with his beam saber on one side and Wufei
striking with his Dragon fang on the other.
"We've got you now," Wufei said, aiming his Dragon Fang.
But unbeknownst to the pilots, a light had flickered on in the Phoenix's cockpit as soon as the
Zero systems were activated, and though the pilot had not originally wished to use it, there was
no other option, and the pilot tapped in the code words ANTI ZERO.
Suddenly, the three pilots started experiencing excruciating head pain. "What's going on in
there!" Quatre shouted. "Zero...system...being...overloaded...kills..." Heero managed to say,
holding his head in pain, his training and discipline keeping him from screaming out in pain.
"I'm...disabling..."Trowa gasped, and immediately pressed the abort key, grateful that
Howard had insisted on adding that function when he had rebuilt their gundams. But even so, the
three pilots were in no shape to fight. The overloading of the Zero system had completely
skewed half of the functions of each of the three mobile suits. All six of them looked at the
Phoenix, who seemed to be regarding them curiously.
"Quatre," Duo's voice crackled over the speaker, "What would happen if we all self
detonated simulataneously?"
"Not much," Quatre said. "Zech's suit has completely shut down, and the self-detonation
devices on Heero's, Trowa's, and Wufei's suits have been incapacitated during the overload, so
only you and I are left. But it'll take several seconds for our suits to gather enough
energy to detonate, and judging from this guy's speed, he'll probably get away. There isn't
much we can do."
"Go ahead...finish us..." Wufei managed dully. "We've failed..."
The pilot seemed to consider this, then suddenly, it flung Wufei's trident back at him, and,
turning around, left, leaving behind six pilots, their gundams damaged and prides crushed.
Chapter 8
"Why didn't you finish them?" a voice demanded.
Removing the helmet, the pilot said, "I'm interested in making this last as long as possible;
have some fun in the process. Besides, those suits interest me. They may not be made of
X-Gundamium, as Phoenix is, but they are a good source of raw materials, materials you will
need.
The first speaker seemed to consider this, then nodded. "Yes, you are right. You truly have
become the perfect fighting machine."
Bowing, the pilot said, "All thanks to you. If you excuse me, I would like to take a quick
shower."
on the space station...
"HEERO! Heero, oh God, what HAPPENED out there? Suddenly you and Wufei and Trowa just froze!
What the heck happened to you three? Heero, what's the matter with your head?!" Relena blurted
as she hurried down to help her husband out of his suit. Zechs emerged from his suit, unhurt,
but furious, his pride injured. "I can't believe I was defeated so early!" he fumed.
Wufei was not in better shape. Disoriented from the head pain, and shamed, he could only
murmer as he forced himself out of his suit, "I'm sorry, Nataku, I'm not worthy," before he
collapsed, gasping for breath. A shaky Quatre was helped by a frantic Dorothy, and Trowa was
aided by Cathrine, who was almost crying. Duo was dragged out by Hilde. The pilots regarded
each other silently for a moment, until Duo broke the silence.
"What did I tell you? We're screwed."
"No, no," Hilde said firmly. "You've survived one battle; improvements can be made on
the Gundams, you can fight again!"
"Again?" Zechs barked. "That pilot knew us and our suits weaknesses perfectly. Plus,
we can't use the Zero system at all. We'd have to develop something new, and that takes time,
which is something we don't have."
"We could try to steal information from their station," Quatre suggested. "That pilot
was too good. He had to been using SOME sort of system similar to the Zero but not the same,
or he would have been affected too."
"Good idea...theorectically," Duo said. "Just look at that station; it's a fortress.
It's got mobile dolls surrounding the whole thing; we can't hack into their main computer; and
we have no idea what defenses they have on it."
"So now what?" Relena said fearfully.
Heero stared at the floor. "I don't know..."
Suddenly one of the technicians called to them.
"You guys better look at this! That guy's back!"
Wearily, they looked at each other. Finally, Duo sighed.
"We don't have much of a choice. Ready to be humiliated again?"
As they gathered around the screen, the look on the pilot's face was clearly disgust.
"That...Was...Pathetic," the pilot said loudly and clearly, enunciating each word.
"I had doubts about your abilites three years ago, but this exceeds my doubts. That wasn't
even a battle."
"And your point is..." Wufei said wearily.
"My point is, there's no point in fighting you. You can be written off, since the six of
you certainly are no obstacle. However, your suits are of interest to me..."
"Me? Oh, so you're referring to yourself now, instead of 'they'?" Duo said somewhat
sarcastically.
"Yes, me. Of course, my superiors are in favor of destroying you, but I told them that
I wished to fight with honor. Therefore, they will not be wiping out you and your pathetic
little resistance group. But I think your gundams will come in handy, as far as raw materials
are concerned..."
"RAW MATERIALS?!" Zechs roared.
"You must learn to control your temper, Mr. Merquise. It is a sign of weakness."
"I NEED NO ADVICE FROM YOU, YOU FUCKING SON OF A BITCH!"
"Tsk tsk. As I was saying, I intend on obtaining your gundams. To do that, I will need
to eliminate you, but in the most honorable way possible. So...I advise that you each watch
your backs. I have no desire to become a thief, but if the owners are out of the way..." and the
speaker let it hang.
"Your technology is far superior than ours. Why do you need the materials?" Trowa said
in a very controlled voice.
"Though gundamium is nothing compared to what Phoenix is made of, raw materials are raw
materials, and will come in handy. However, the other reason I'm interested in obtaining your
gundams is because you have all failed me on the battlefield. Face to face, however, I
wonder if the outcome will be different."
"So you want to fight us, face to face, is that right?"
"Yes. Now if you'll excuse me, I have other issues to attend to."
And with that, the screen went blank.
Chapter 9
"THAT BASTARD! WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS?!?!?!?" Zechs ranted and raved, even as Noin was
washing his wounds.
"Zechs!" she said sharply, "Stop it! You'll frighten the children!"
This stopped Zechs in mid-rant, and he shot a sheepish sideways glance at the various children.
But even though Jerry and Mariko looked rather subdued from his outburst, Reena and Aelis were
not. Walking up to their parents, Reena took one hand and Aelis the other.
"It's alright, Father," the taciturn Aelis said. "We understand."
"That man was very rude wasn't he?" Reena stated. "He deserves to be yelled at."
Smiling at his girls, he kissed each one on top on the head.
"Daddy is sorry. You should not imitate his example."
"It's okay," Aelis said, just as Reena said, "That's why we have mother," hoping to get
her father to smile. Aelis jabbed her twin, and Reena stuck out her tongue, causing both
parents to give out feeble laughs.
Heero, meanwhile, was brooding in the room he and Relena shared. Relena walked in, trailed by
Mariko, who promptly attached herself to her father, and turning around, said accusingly, "You
told me everything was going to be okay!"
Relena looked like she had been slapped, but Heero took the child firmly and said, "Your mommy
did the best she could, just like your daddy. But your parents won't always be right, as much
as we try to be. Remember that, Riko."
The child was puzzled by his words, but nodded obediently and went over to Relena and, hugging
her leg, said, "I'm sorry Mommy. I was a meanie." Relena, who was trying not to cry, just bent
down to hug her daughter.
Later that evening, after the children were asleep, the pilots had a quick meeting.
"I hate to be the one to say this, but what do we do now?" Hilde said.
Rubbing his temples wearily in an effort to rid himself of the aftermaths of the pain,
Heero said, "Nothing, except to make sure that no one is alone...ANYTIME. This includes the
children especially. In an effort to obtain the gundams, that pilot, or whoever he works for,
may attempt to capture the children to use as pawns.
Mariemaia shuddered, knowing how that felt.
Heero continued, "We should also try to find this pilot. We don't know a thing about
him, and we have to find out as much as we can about him. Therefore, the most we can really do
is attempt to hack into their computers and look up data about him. Other than that..." and
Heero trailed off. Relena couldn't believe how old and defeated Heero looked. "I've never
seen him like this," she thought. "Do we even have the ability to protect the peace we have
finally achieved?"
next day...
"Duo, wake up!"
Duo was promptly jarred from his dream when Hilde shook him awake.
"Duo, there's a message from that pilot!"
That was enought to wake him up. Throwing on some clothes, he sprinted to the control room.
Sure enough, on the screen, a message blinked: I will be on the moon today, in the main shopping
district. I will be stay on the first floor of the main shopping complex. Meet me, if you dare.
The pilots stared at the rude message for a moment, then Quatre said, "I'll go."
"I'm coming with you," Dorothy said immediately.
"But your safety-" Quatre began, but Dorothy silenced him with one look.
Duo laughed ruefully. "It's nice to know some things will never change."
Chapter 10
Finally, it was Quatre and Dorothy and Duo and Hilde who decided to answer the pilot's challenge.
"For heaven's sake, be careful, all of you," a worried Cathrine said. "I know I don't
know too much about this, but just watch okay?"
"Don't worry so much Cathrine," Hilde said, trying to cheer her up. "We know how to
take care of ourselves.
Cathrine nodded uncertainly, but inside, she thought, "But if you know how to take care of
yourselves, why did last night happen?"
at the moon...
"I still remember how I came here to pick up Relena's wedding present," Dorothy said
wistfully. "That seems so long ago now."
Quatre nodded absently, but was scanning the crowd more than he was listening to his wife. He
really doubted that scanning the crowd would give him any hint of who the pilot was, but it was
either that or drive himself insane with apprehension. He also kept checking the device on his
wrist every few seconds. They had all agreed to not only bring weapons, but to wear tracers.
That way, if any of them disappeared, they would know where. So far, he counted four blinking
dots. Quatre allowed himself a small sigh of relief, then turned his attention back to Dorothy.
"Let's go there," Dorothy said, tugging on his arm. Seeing her husband hesitate, she
smiled sadly. "I know, it sounds shallow, but we need to act normal don't we? Plus, I'll go
crazy just standing here, waiting for something or someone to swoop down on me." Quatre smiled,
and nodded. Putting his arm around her, he said, "Alright, let's go."
elsewhere...
"Duo, checking that thing every five seconds is not going to help!" an exasperated
Hilde said. "I mean, I know we should be cautious, but we stick out like sore thumbs here, just
standing around!"
Duo glanced at his wife, sighed, and said, "Okay, you win. Let me just talk to Quatre, and we'll
go and try to look normal, okay?"
in a store...
"Quatre? Hey Quatre, you there?"
Quatre jumped at the sound of Duo's voice, nearly dropping the crystal vase he was holding.
"Yes what is it?!" he said franctically. "Is Hilde okay? Are you okay? Oh no, don't
tell me..."
"Quatre! Relax! I'm just checking to see if you're okay, and since you obviously are,
I am now going to pretend to go shopping with my lovely wife like any other guy, okay?"
Quatre breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, that's fine...I'm doing the same right now."
"Okay man. Over and out."
Quatre sighed. "Whew," he thought. "I nearly just had a heart attack."
"Quatre! Come over here!" Dorothy called.
"Okay," Quatre said, and started to make his way through the crowded store. As he
fought his way through the mob, he felt something prick him. Too late, he realized that he had
just been injected with something, and he sagged down, and was promptly dragged through a door.
The figure found the tracer, plucked it off, and disabled it. Then the figure looked at the
device on his wrist and noted the positions of the other dots.
"Quatre? Oh, where did he disappear to?" Dorothy said in an exasperated voice. As soon
as the words were out of her mouth, Dorothy's heart gave a lurch and she franctically checked
her tracing device. Her face drained of blood when she only counted three dots.
in another store...
"Duo! DUO!"
At the sound of the voice, Duo quickly turned from the drill he was admiring and dove into a
corner. "Dorothy?"
"Oh God Duo! Quatre's gone!"
"Shit," Duo breathed, checking his tracing device. Sure enough, there were only three
dots. "Okay, Duo, breathe in, breathe out," he told himself, then went back to Dorothy.
"Dorothy, I want you out of there pronto! Get yourself in this store okay? Use the tracers!"
"Okay, okay," Dorothy sobbed. "Oh my God, they got Quatre!"
"Dorothy! Listen to me! You can't do anything for Quatre right now; just get your
butt over here now!"
That unpleasant exchange over, Duo hurridly found Hilde, and filled her in on what had just
happened. Hilde's face drained of blood, just as Dorothy's had done.
"Oh my God, now what do we do?"
"We stick together, that's what," Duo said grimly, linking his arm through Hilde's.
"And we wait for Dorothy. Then we stay with people and hope that when this guy comes back
for the second round, one of us sees him and finishes him."
"Duo, I am so scared!"
"I understand perfectly..."
It wasn't easy passing time. Both Duo and Hilde periodically checked their devices to make sure
Dorothy was on her way. Sure enough, soon her golden haired head was visible through the mob.
"Dorothy!" Hilde cried, running to embrace her, and then leading her over to the nearest
bench.
Dorothy was shaking, her face pale and her hands clenched. She was repeating "Oh my God" over
and over again. Hilde didn't know what to do; she felt the exact same way. Glancing over to
Duo, she could see fear in his eyes, but also blazing anger.
"I can't believe the nerve of this guy," he said furiously. But at the same time, he
was thinking, "This guy's efficient. He abducted Quatre right under our noses. Who's next?"
Hilde shoved a water bottle at Dorothy. "Drink this," she ordered, but Dorothy's hand was
shaking too much to hold the bottle. Duo in the meantime was trying to tweak with the device
to figure out if he could activate Quatre's tracer again. Suddenly, there was static on the
devices, and a voice floated over.
"I have neutralized Quatre Raberba Winner. One down, five to go."
"Neutralized?!" Dorothy gasped, her already pale fale turning paler.
"He is still alive, Mrs. Winner," the voice continued. "Over and out."
And that was all.
"Okay, we're out of here!" Duo said firmly. "I'm tired of playing this guy's game."
Hilde nodded, and helped a shaky Dorothy to her feet. "Dorothy, please be strong," Hilde urged.
"You need to be strong if you are to help Quatre."
Dorothy nodded, and, shoving aside Hilde's arm, stood up. "Alright everyone," she said in a
weak but clear voice, "let's go."
Hurrying out, the trio caught the nearest shuttle to the station, where their shuttle was
waiting, courtesy of Quatre's incredible wealth. Hilde shoved Dorothy on the shuttle first and
told her to sit down, then went back out to join Duo, who had hesistated at the door.
Duo was staring into space, a glazed look on his eyes. Laying a hand on his arm, Hilde said,
"Let's go Duo. We can't do anything..."
"I know," he said dully, "But still! I feel like we let Quatre down, like-"
Duo's words were cut off by the sudden ignition of their shuttle. "What?" he said, spinning
around. Suddenly, things got chaotic. First Duo saw Dorothy pounding at the window, and the
look on her face told him that the shuttle had started itself, and there was nothing she could
do about it. The next glance told him that the shuttle doors were locked. Then, he heard a
choked cry. Whirling around, he saw a cloaked figure who had a gun to Hilde's head. Duo
reached for his own gun, but the figure said, "You have a choice. Come with me, and both you
and your wife will be treated courteously. Or I can kill you both right here, right now.
Either way, my objective will be completed. Your friend in there can tell your comrades what
happened."
Glowering at the speaker, Duo flung his gun to the ground, and raised his arms in surrender.
"Good," the figure said briskly. "Now, follow me." Helpless and enraged, Duo could only
comply, while Dorothy screamed as the shuttle lifted off.
Chapter 11
"They got Quatre, Hilde, and Duo!" were the first words out of Dorothy's mouth after
Zechs and Heero had broken down the door to the shuttle. Dorothy immediately collapsed,
sobbing.
Relena hurried forward. "Dorothy, you must be strong! You must try!"
"That's what Hilde said before she was taken!"
"Dorothy! Please! This can't be good for the baby!"
At mention to the baby, Dorothy subsided, but the occasional sob still escaped her lips. Relena
looked desperately to her husband and brother. "What now?"
Heero was already at the control panel, resolutely typing. "We managed to hack our way into a
part of their computer today, though I suspect that it was because they allowed us to.
Whatever the case, it will give us a means of communicating with them. Ah..." he said, as a
reply immediately popped up.
"What does it say?" Zechs asked, coming over. Heero waved to the screen.
"Mr. Winner, along with Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell, are alive." Zechs read. "That's it?!"
Heero shrugged, and typed in a message.
"Meet...us...so...we...can...face...you...face...to...face...? You're challenging him?"
Heero nodded.
"Challenge...accepted...will...meet...on...Earth...former...site...of...Washington...DC."
"Well then," Zechs said. "I'm going this time."
"So am I."
"If that's the case, then I'm going too!" Relena said rising.
"NO!" both Heero and Zechs shouted simultaneously.
"You shouldn't go," Dorothy said weakly. "Remember, he used Hilde to force Duo into
going with him. He'll do it again."
Relena started to protest, then subsided. "Very well, I will stay here, but I'm NOT happy
with this arrangement." With that, she turned around and left the room.
Heero and Zechs glanced at each other, and Heero shrugged. "She's been...moody...recently,"
Heero said by means of explanation.
"Moody, is it?" Dorothy asked. "Don't tell me you got her pregnant again."
Heero paled, and Zechs turned to him furiously.
"At a time like this, you're having sex with my sister, and getting her pregnant?!" he
bellowed, furious.
Giving him a sideways glance, Heero said flatly, "Don't tell me that you, as a married man,
aren't doing the same with Miss Noin. Though I admit, I didn't foresee getting Relena
pregnant again."
Zechs opened him mouth to protest, but closed it. Giving Heero a nasty glare, he turned to leave
and called over his shoulder, "I'll be ready in ten minutes. Hurry up."
Dorothy looked from one to the other, and shrugged helplessly. "It's just like Duo said
earlier," she thought wearily. "Some things will never change."
ten minutes later...
Heero walked into the shuttle, where Zechs was already waiting. Not acknowledging him, Zechs
simply started the engine. Just then, Relena came into view. Jumping out, Heero demanded,
"Relena, just what are you doing?"
Giving him an icy look, Relena said, "Well, since I'm not allowed to go with you, I'm going down
to Earth on my own to get some fresh air."
Heero started to protest about her going alone, then thought better of it, and went back into the
shuttle.
Zechs glanced at him. "What was that about?"
"Relena's going down to Earth for some fresh air."
"Alone?"
"Apparently."
Zechs hesitated, then sighed and threw up his hands. "Fine then, let's go."
an hour later...
"You didn't happen to set up a rendezvous point with this guy didn't you?" Zechs demanded.
"I tried. The exact response was 'I will find you.'"
Zechs snorted. "This guy is too confident."
The two men wandered around aimlessly for a while, then Heero's sharp eyes spotted a figure
standing in an alley. Motioning to Zechs, the two of them drew their weapons and walked
towards the figure. Once in the alley, both aimed their weapons at the figure.
"Stupid move," Zechs said. "You aren't even armed."
The pilot didn't seem worried. "Oh, but I am." Reaching into the cloak, the pilot drew out
a small screen. "Observe."
Zechs and Heero, not putting down their weapons, inched towards the screen. On the screen was
Relena, standing at a dock and staring moodily at the ocean.
Heero stifled a roar of outrage and instead glared at the speaker. "So now what?"
"Relena hasn't been harmed," the speaker remarked drolly. "She doesn't even know that she is
being watched. However, should either of you men refuse to cooperate..."
"How do we know that that is Relena?" Zechs said, hoping to call the pilot's bluff.
Even cloaked, the pilot gave them what seemed to be an amused look. "Are you daring me to
order one of my people to shoot her?"
Both Heero and Zechs subsided, though Heero was planning a way to quickly shoot the figure
fatally so he couldn't give the order to harm Relena. But the figure seemed to guess his
thoughts, for the bland response that came from the depths of the hood was, "Oh, yes, you
could shoot me right now, but what if I dodge the bullet? And also, the communication on this
screen is two-way. If one of my people hears a gunshot and if I don't respond immediately, they
have been given orders to seize her. You wouldn't want that, now would you, and not if she is
pregnant now would you?"
Both men stared. "How did they know that?" they both thought simultaneously.
But the pilot had gotten impatient. "You both know the situation now. What is your choice?"
the pilot said briskly. Glowering at the mysterious figure in front of them, both men dropped
their weapons.
Chapter 12
Trowa's eyes hadn't left the screen since Heero and Zechs left. As soon as the message
appeared, he quickly read it and called Wufei over.
"No need to alarm the others," he told Wufei. "What do you think?"
Wufei glared at the message, wishing he could break something. Still, he forced himself to
think rationally. "Everything that has happened so far has played right into their hands." he
said. "He challenges us, he wins. We challenge him, he wins. What's next?"
"Still, this IS unusual...a challenge to YOU, Wufei? You specifically? But then he
adds that he wants me to come...but he won't fight me, but I'm supposed to stay out of it."
"I don't know any better than you do Trowa. This pilot is asking for a real duel, and
with me...could he be trying to humiliate me, trying to replay my duel with Treize eight years
ago?"
"Possibly. We know this guy likes to humiliate us."
"But still, this is an odd request, but look here, he's wagering so much: if you emerge
victorious, I will spare your companions...AND your suits. Why? Why is he wagering so much?
"Maybe he thinks he will definitely emerge victorious."
Wufei snorted. "This guy is much too confident. If my pride will be my downfall, his confidence
will be his."
"Well, do we go? It says here to bring our suits with us."
Wufei shrugged fatalistically. "We have no choice."
30 minutes later...
"Are you sure you want to just sneak out there, without telling anyone?"
"Better this way. As soon as they see the message, they'll know."
Trowa shrugged, then jumped into his suit. "Wufei," he called. "Do you really want me to
stay out of this duel? There rarely is honor in war."
"Yes. Watch us over the monitor, and be ready to back me up should I fail, but do not
interfere with the duel itself."
The two remaining pilots quietly maneuvered themselves out of the station, then turned towards
the fortress. Then a message blinked on their screens.
"Go in the east entrance?" Trowa read.
"May as well," Wufei said. "I have an odd feeling that our little friend did not tell
his superiors he was inviting us over."
The two altered their courses, and went in the side entrance. Sure enough, there seemed to
be no security measures on this said whatsoever. "He's removed them all, just for us," Wufei
thought mildly. "Maybe he does have honor after all..."
As soon as the pilots entered the fortress, they saw another message: Trowa Barton and the suits
stay here. Chang Wufei, go into the door in front of you, turn right, and then into the third
doorway on the right in the hallway you will enter.
"Is it a go?" Trowa called.
Wufei nodded.
"Good luck to you then."
Wufei nodded, then started to run through the doorway.
"Hey Wufei! Check this out," Trowa called.
Turning, Wufei stared. There, in the shadows, was the Phoenix mobile suit.
"What is this guy doing?!" he thought.
"Should we just forget this and destroy it?"
"No," Wufei said, hoping he wasn't making a mistake. "Everything that's supposed to
happen has happened so far. I think he's trying to prove to us that he does intend to fight
this duel with honor after all. Why else would he put his suit in the same location as ours,
in plain sight?"
Turning, Wufei entered the doorway.
Chapter 13
As Wufei entered the first doorway, he noticed the entrance to the fortress was closing. But
before he could do anything, the door of the entrance he had just entered closed also. Wufei
hesitated, then steeled himself and ran on. As soon he had entered the last doorway, that
entrance sealed and the room lit up.
"Hey Wufei!"
Wufei followed the sound of the voice, and saw Duo, sitting in a cage and firmly bolted to the
ground. He looked around and saw similar arrangement for everyone else in the room, though
Hilde had been spared the humiliation of being bolted. Wufei noted that Zechs and Heero seemed
to have thicker metal straps than the others.
"So, have you come to rescue us, knight in shining armor?" Duo asked? "And while we're
on the subject, what's with sword? Don't tell me you guys are having a duel? YOU ARE?!" he
sputtered, when he saw the look on Wufei's face. "Oh please..."
"Something wrong, Duo?"
Everyone in the room turned towards the sound of the voice. From the shadows emerged the all
too familiar cloaked figure.
"I see nothing wrong in duels. Yes, they are somewhat archaic, but effiecient," the
figure continued.
Wufei said nothing, but he drew his sword and held it out in front of him grimly.
The figure looked at him, and nodded. "Yes, you were right when you figured I did not tell my
superiors about this. Quite perceptive, but to be expected from someone descended from the
Changs."
"Oh, so you didn't tell your superiors about this huh?" Duo jeered. "Well then, I guess
all WE have to do is make a lot of noise and then, poof, there you go!"
The figure turned to regard Duo with a disgusted look. "Make all the noise you want; these
walls are soundproof." Turning back to Wufei, the figure continued, "Besides, Wufei wouldn't
allow it. His sense of honor is too strong."
"Can we get on with this?" Wufei demanded harshly.
The figure nodded, and with one stroke, tore off the cloak.
There was a gasp from Wufei, for standing in front of him was not a man, as he
had expected, but a petite Asian girl, who was wearing a black turtleneck, a short pleated
dark purple skirt with a matching sweater vest, and black leggings. On her feet she had on black
shoes with no heel. Her hair was as long as Relena's, but her bangs were the same length as the
rest of her hair, and were braided on each side.
She regarded him with scorn.
"Did you expect a male?" she said cooly.
Wufei didn't answer; he was too shocked.
Smirking, she looked at Wufei. "Yes, you are shocked," she said looking at him. "Typical
chauvanistic Chang," she mocked.
Her words jarred Wufei back into reality. "Let's begin," he said harshly.
The girl squared herself and drew her own sword. Smiling coldly, she said, "Yes, let's."
"Wait," he said. Half stalling, trying to discover something, anything, about
his opponent, he asked, "What is your name?"
Raising an eyebrow delicately, she said, "My name? You may call me Lillith."
"Is that your real name?"
"What do you think?"
"What is your REAL name?"
"It is of no concern to you. You are stalling. Let's begin."
three years later...
Relena wearily glanced at herself in the hallway mirror. "Tomorrow is my three year
wedding anniversary, and the beginning of yet another struggle...I'm so scared. What a fine
way for the date of my wedding to go down in history."
"Mommy?" said a small voice, and Relena looked down at two year old Mariko Yuy.
"What is it sweetie?"
"Mommy, why is everyone so sad?" the perceptive child asked.
"Why does she have to be smart?" Relena thought, half with pride, half with regret.
"Why does she have to have her child-like innocence gone so soon?" Relena thought with envy of
little Jerry. No, not so little anymore. Jerry was now six, as were Reena and Aelis. But
even now, Jerry hadn't lost his cheerful personality. "Just like his father," Relena thought
ruefully. "That's good; we'll need someone to cheer us up from now on."
"Why mommy?"
Relena swore inside her mind. "Damn! Did I just say that out loud?" she thought
wearily. "This stress is definitely getting to me." But she shook herself out of her daze and
reached out for her child, who snuggled against her.
"Things are going to be a little difficult from now on, Riko. But you don't worry about
it okay? Let Daddy and me take care of it?
"Will you and Daddy be okay?"
Relena hesitated, then forced a fake smile, "Of course sweetie, of course."
elsewhere...
"So what do you think? Good thing we have all this technology now, or there's no way
I could have finished all your gundams in time, eh?" Howard said, wiping sweat from his brow.
Heero didn't look at his old friend but continued to study the lined-up suits. He listed them
mentally in his mind: Wing Gundam II, Deathscythe II, Heavyarms II, Sandrock II, Altron II, and
Epyon II.
"I know the names aren't exactly original, but hey, that's the least of our concerns
huh?" Howard said apologetically, trying to jar the younger man out of his daydream. "Hey
Heero, you still there?"
"Did you install the Zero system in all of them?"
"WHAT?! Are you insane?" Howard howled. "Sure, I installed them in Wing II and Epyon
II, but you know what the Zero system did to the rest of you guys, right? It nearly drove
them nuts! Plus, none of you have handled a MS in four years...right?" he finished, throwing
Heero a suspicious glance.
"Do it anyway," Heero said flatly. "We don't have a choice."
"Fine fine," Howard muttered, turning back to the gundams. "Heero, you really believe
this guy's serious? I mean okay!" he said, throwing up his hands in defense when Heero fixed
him with a glare. "Sure they blew up a satellite with civilians on it, and sure they've got
firepower, but how powerful is the PILOT? A mobile suit is no good without a good pilot, as
I'm sure you know."
"Just trust me on this one Howard. This guy's good."
Howard heaved a sigh. "Okay Heero. Whatever you say. I'll install the Zero systems."
Heero nodded, and turned to leave, then hesitated.
"Howard, what improvements did you make on the gundams?"
Howard shrugged and said, "Sorry Heero, I couldn't really do much, not in three years. Remember,
Relena's disarmament plan included the destruction of all the data on the gundams. So
basically, I had to wing it, and my memory's not so good these days you know...But I
did add a nifty little function that would disable the Zero system with a push of a button," he
said smugly. "And besides, it's probably better if you six are fighting gundams you are all
familiar with. I made these guys carbon copies of the originals."
Heero stopped, thought for a moment, and then left.
elsewhere...
"Trowa, you will be careful won't you? You won't try to self-detonate again right?"
Cathrine asked anxiously, helping Trowa move the last of his things into Quatre's private
home in space. Trowa didn't respond. Cathrine sighed, then said, "Okay Trowa, I know that's
probably too much to ask from you, but at leat, will you make sure not to self-detonate until
you know you have no other choice whatsoever?"
Trowa paused in his work and turned to regard the woman he had come to think of as a
sister, then nodded. Cathrine smiled in relief. "Well, that's good. I guess that's the most
I'll be able to get out of you anyway."
elsewhere...
"Dorothy, are you sure you want to come? It's dangerous, you're pregnant, and-" Quatre
faded as Dorothy shot him a nasty look. "Well," he said lamely, "don't you care about the
baby?" As soon as those words were out Quatre regretted it instantly. Dorothy flew at him
furiously.
"Quatre Raberba Winner! Don't you DARE patronize me! And don't you dare bring the
baby into this mess! I've been carrying it for 8 months; I know EXACTLY how to handle it!
Dorothy finished belligerently, daring Quatre to argue.
Needless to say, Quatre gave up.
elsewhere...
"Hey Dad! Can I pilot your suit? Huh? Can I? It looks so awesome!"
"Jericho Maxwell! Get back here!"
"But Mo-om..."
"NOW!!!"
Duo winced. He had never seen Hilde this angry. "I guess this can get to even the
most relaxed of us," he thought wearily. He still couldn't believe the hectic three years
were over, and tomorrow was the day. All during those three years, they'd been franctically
planning, getting back into shape, re-memorizing the various codes, digging up old
documents...And it didn't help that the general public was in a frenzy. Relena spent almost
no time at home. She was either appealing to the people to remain calm or helping Dorothy
prepare the space station for their base. "It's a wonder we all haven't gone gray
overnight," Duo thought.
Next to him, Hilde ran her hand through her hair and tried to ignore the sulky looks of
her son. "I don't even know myself anymore," she sighed to herself. "I can't believe this is
really happening. For the past three years, I've been hoping I would wake up from this
nightmare, but now, seeing these gundams, I know that this is no dream."
elsewhere...
Wufei was meditating in a clearing. He had moved his belongings up to the station a
long time ago, and had already tested his new suit, which had already been christened Nataku,
just like his previous two mobile suits. Though he appeared calm on the outside, inside, he
was full of rage. He hadn't been the same since the day he found out Sally Po had been on that
satellite, and had obviously died when it exploded. From then, he had sworn to kill the
mysterious pilot responsible for her death. Even though they had separated a long time ago,
Sally finding his chauvanistic ideas just too difficult to deal with, he still felt an
attachment to her. He could remember how he had raged at the pilot at first, then fractically
joined the other Preventers in an effort to find out any information about this organization.
When that failed, he quit his job and instead spent the rest of his time honing his skills.
Plus, Wufei had a nagging feeling about the other mobile suit that just wouldn't go away.
"It's called Phoenix..." Wufei mused, and shuddered. Just the name of the suit was
enough to bring back memories he had forgotten, memories he hadn't ever shared with anyone, not
even Sally.
"I'll make you pay!" he exploded, jerking himself out of his comatose state. "For what
you've done, I swear I will kill you!"
elsewhere...
"Mariemaia! You are NOT coming with me!"
"Oh yes I am!"
"NO!"
"YES!"
"Mariemaia, I'm your mother now!" Lady Une exploded. "For your safety, listen to me
and STAY HERE!"
"Yes, you're my mother now; I don't deny that. But that doesn't mean you always know
what's best for me! And what's best for me right now is to be able to go with you!" Mariemaia
shot back with clenched fists.
Lady Une massaged her temples; they had begun arguing about this issue ever since the
day the speaker had issued his challenge. "Mariemaia," she began calmly, but was abruptly cut
off.
"LISTEN TO ME! I'm NOT a little girl anymore! I'm a teenager; I know exactly what's
going on! Staying here on Earth isn't going to help; I'll just worry myself sick! Don't you
want me to be as happy as possible?! Don't you want me to be by your side?!" Mariemaia
finished as the first tears began squeezing out of her eyes.
"Mariemaia..."
"I WANT TO GO!! I can take care of myself; you made sure of that. I can use firearms,
I can even pilot a Taurus mobile suit. I can outrun most people, and not just in my own
age group. And I've also been getting myself into shape for these past years! PLEASE! Let...
me...GO!"
Finally, Lady Une couldn't take it anymore. She broke down crying, just like her
daughter, who dove into her arms. "Fine," she choked through her tears. "Fine, you win. I'll
let you go."
elsewhere...
"Zechs, is it really best for Reena and Aelis to come?" Noin began worridly. "They're
only six years old."
Glancing up from packing, Zechs said, somewhat ruefully, "Haven't you seen Mariemaia
argue with Lady Une? You know Reena and Aelis are just as strong-willed."
"But Mariemaia is fifteen. She's nearly three times their age."
"What else CAN we do? We don't know if they'll attack the Earth when we're in space.
Chances are, the twins are safer with us."
Noin sighed. "I know that you're right, but I'm so worried! What if they attack the
space station when we're not there?"
Zechs stood up. "What if this, what if that. There are thousands of things that could
happen, all of which would endanger the twins. Yes, they could attack the station; they could
infect it with viruses for all I know. Really Lucrezia, I'm speaking hypothetically!" he said
when he saw the shocked expression on her face. "All I'm saying is that the twins will be
SOMEWHAT safer in space with us rather than Earth away from us, where we'd have no idea what'd
be going on. Try to calm down," he said, going over to massage her shoulders. "We still have
one day."
The Gundam pilots and their friends weren't the only ones preparing. Somewhere, hidden
in space, the mysterious pilot was staring at the Phoenix. "Let the games begin Phoenix," the
figure whispered.
Chapter 6
The fateful day had finally arrived. All the Gundam pilots and their friends and family had
moved up to the space station, and all were anxiously watching the clock.
"The wedding finished at noon," Dorothy said quietly. "The pilot delivered his message
at approximately 1:05. We have...ten minutes." she finished grimly. The others continued
staring at the clock. No one budged, not even Jerry. It seemed as if the seriousness of the
situation had finally been perceived by him. Mariko was clinging to her mother's skirt and
shifting her gaze from person to person with wide eyes. Reena and Aelis stood quietly by their
parents. Serious by nature, and remarkably intelligent, just like Mariko, both had understood
the situation a long time ago, and even as Relena glanced at her nieces, she was amazed at how
quickly both had grown up. Mariemaia stood by Lady Une. Now that she had actually been allowed
to come, the other aspects of the situation had sunk in. "We're dealing with our future right
now," she thought. "It's all going to come true in five...four...three...two...one..."
Suddenly a monitor flickered. Simultaneously, the entire group turned to it, and just like
three years ago, the same figure appeared. It did a mental headcount, then nodded.
"I greet you. I see you have all come, and on time. At this time, please shift your
attention out the window behind you."
The group turned around, and despite Mariemaia's composure, her jaw dropped. In front of
them was an asteroid, common enough, only this asteroid was opening up. Inside was a massive
structure, a space battleship.
"That is our base," the figure continued tonelessly. "We give you fifteen minutes to
prepare. At the end of fifteen minutes, meet me in between our station and yours. The battle
will commence there." The screen blinked out.
The pilots lost no time. Kissing Hilde on the forehead, Duo grimly followed the rest of
his companions who were filing out of the room. Heero, Zechs, and Quatre did the same, and they
all walked out to where Howard and the gundams were waiting. No one said a word; they all
knew that their fate would be determined in fifteen minutes. Trowa finally broke the silence.
"Howard, did you install the Zero systems in all the suits?"
"Weell..." Howard stalled, and then shot a look to Heero. But Trowa needed no answer.
"I understand," he said, then turned to his suit.
As Wufei jumped into his suit, he ran his hands over the once-familar consoles and
buttons. "Hello Nataku," he said softly. Just like before, Wufei always felt that his late
wife Meiran was present whenever he piloted his suit. "Lend me your fighting spirit once again,
and then you can rest."
Quatre entered his suit. "Dear Sandrock, we meet again." Quatre couldn't really
believe that he was doing this. "I thought we had finally obtained peace; I really did!"
Quatre couldn't help but cry as he vented his frustration. "Why can't some people
realize that life is the most precious thing in the universe?"
Trowa entered his suit silently. "I'm no longer nameless again. I'm Trowa Barton
again. No," he said, shaking himself mentally. "I chose to give myself this name. This will
be my first battle when I am fighting with my true name, the name I gave myself."
"Here comes the God of Death," Duo thought grimly as he vaulted into his suit. "But
it has been so long; will I be the one to meet my Maker when I go out there today, or the other
way around, like it used it be?"
As Heero entered his suit, he thought, "Before, when I thought, I was not human. I
had no feelings, no emotions. But now, I'm alive. I'm fighting not just for the freedom of
the general public. I have a wife and child to think about now. Can I still be the Perfect
Soldier?"
Finally, Zechs entered his suit. "Treize fought with honor," he said, remembering his
former and late friend. "Will this pilot do the same?"
Finally, each pilot was in position. With their friends and relatives watching
anxiously from the window, Howard opened the door, and each pilot jumped into space, ready to
face whatever challenge lay ahead.
Chapter 7
As the pilots flew out to meet their challenger, the figure of a lone mobile suit appeared. It
was in a humanoid shape, but it seemed to have wings on the back that resembled a cross between
a bird and an angel. The head was also in the shape of a fierce bird of prey's. It was holding
a long metal rod, and there was a large beam gun mounted on its side. But the most shocking
aspect about it was soon to come, because as it came closer, Quatre choked a shocking revelation.
"What the...?! That's not a gundam?! What is it then?!"
Each pilot checked its stats; each computer confirmed the same. The mobile suit heading for them
was definitely not made of gundamium; rather, it was much stronger than gundamium and not much
denser.
"We're screwed..." Duo muttered. "That's it, we are all dead."
"Not yet," Wufei said grimly. "Let's see what the pilot can do first."
The lone suit flew towards them, then slowed and stopped.
"I acknowledge you once again. The battle will now begin."
Suddenly, the metal rod the suit was holding changed into a double headed thermal weapon. On
one end it was in the shape of a huge double headed axe. On the other end, it was a large hooked
scythe much like the one on the Deathscythe, but more curved down rather than long. The pilot
swung it a few times, then charged.
"If you expect us to run, they you're MISTAKEN!" Zechs snarled as he hurled himself
forward. "Stay back everyone! We have to see what this guy can do first." As the others
complied, he turned to his opponent...but it was no longer there. "What?! And why isn't it
showing up on my heat sensors?"
"Zechs! Above you!" Quatre shouted. Zechs looked up, but it was too late. The pilot
smashed the weapon...flat side now...on Epyon's head.
"He didn't kill him..." Wufei wondered. "But Epyon is definitely out of the game."
Wufei's observation was true: during the time it took for Zechs to recover, the other
pilot had knocked away his beam sword, and then used it to slice through Epyon's arms,
incapacitating it. Due to the attacks, Epyon completely shut down.
"Did he strike there on purpose? Did he know exactly how to completely incapacitate
Epyon?"
"That was fast," Heero acknowledged to himself. "But I can't turn on the Zero system
yet...have to save it."
"So you're gonna try and imitate me huh? Well, let's see how well you do agaisnt the
original God of Death!" Duo growled and jumped in.
Duo and the other pilot exchanged fierce blows. "Not that good are you?" Duo
smirked. "Heero! Try to get this guy from behind!"
But as Heero moved to fire his buster rifle as the Phoenix's back was turned, the Phoenix
suddenly moved to the side and shoved Duo forward, flipping the Deathscythe over, and using it
as a shield.
"Hey! What the?!" Duo fumed...then realized, "Well well well, this guy can intercept our
calls can't he. Huh, this makes things more difficult."
But during this time, the Phoenix had already dived out of reach and circled back at
Duo as he was struggled to regain his balance. Before he could do anything, the pilot brought
the scythe down and knocked away Duo's scythe. The second blow severed it in half.
"That does it!" Quatre shouted. "Everyone, attack at once!"
"NO!" Duo shouted. "Not yet! Deathscythe and I aren't finished yet!"
But apparently they were. As Duo fired his buster shield at the Phoenix, the pilot swung
at the projectile...and sent it straight back at Duo. When he moved to get out of the way, it
hit one of his suit's arms and crippled it.
"Duo, you can't do anything at this point," Wufei said grimly. "I'm going in."
"So am I!" Quatre said.
The two pilots warily circled the Phoenix, who, Wufei noted darkly, had the audacity to look
bored. "Wufei, lets try to drive this guy into a box," Quatre suggested.
"Uh, you guys? I think you should know he can intercept your calls," Duo's voice
crackled over the speaker.
Wufei ground his teeth in irritation. Fine, so they'd have to wing it. That suited him
just fine. Hoping to gain the element of surprise, Wufei lunged, brandishing his trident.
The other pilot responded by grabbing his trident instead of using the scythe. Wufei
quickly used his Double Dragon fang in hopes of hitting the other suits head, but suddenly the
Phoenix ducked and Wufei hit Quatre, whose heavy suit made him unable to dodge as quickly.
The other pilot had also succeeded in grabbing his trident. Suddenly, Duo came up from behind
and using his one good arm, grabbed the Phoenix around the waist.
"Get him now Wufei," Duo called, not caring if the other pilot could hear or not. But
it was not a wise move on his part. Using both the Phoenix's own weapon and Wufei's stolen
trident, the pilot jabbed the trident into Deathscythe, then cut off the good arm with the
scythe. In order not to hit Duo, Wufei jerked the Dragon Fang away at the last moment.
Though Duo was not hit, the flash temporarily blinded the pilots and the other pilot ducked out
of view again.
Trowa finally spoke up. "Duo, you and Quatre help Zechs and move off to the side.
Wufei, you, along with Heero and I, we should activate the Zero system now."
"Agreed," Wufei said. The loss of his trident had rankled his pride, and he was
determined to defeat this unknown pilot.
"Activating Zero system now," Heero said.
With three gundams using the Zero system, the Phoenix seemed to be at the disadvantage.
The three gave no quarter, Trowa firing relentlessly with his gatling gun, making it difficult
for the Phoenix to recover, and Heero hacking away with his beam saber on one side and Wufei
striking with his Dragon fang on the other.
"We've got you now," Wufei said, aiming his Dragon Fang.
But unbeknownst to the pilots, a light had flickered on in the Phoenix's cockpit as soon as the
Zero systems were activated, and though the pilot had not originally wished to use it, there was
no other option, and the pilot tapped in the code words ANTI ZERO.
Suddenly, the three pilots started experiencing excruciating head pain. "What's going on in
there!" Quatre shouted. "Zero...system...being...overloaded...kills..." Heero managed to say,
holding his head in pain, his training and discipline keeping him from screaming out in pain.
"I'm...disabling..."Trowa gasped, and immediately pressed the abort key, grateful that
Howard had insisted on adding that function when he had rebuilt their gundams. But even so, the
three pilots were in no shape to fight. The overloading of the Zero system had completely
skewed half of the functions of each of the three mobile suits. All six of them looked at the
Phoenix, who seemed to be regarding them curiously.
"Quatre," Duo's voice crackled over the speaker, "What would happen if we all self
detonated simulataneously?"
"Not much," Quatre said. "Zech's suit has completely shut down, and the self-detonation
devices on Heero's, Trowa's, and Wufei's suits have been incapacitated during the overload, so
only you and I are left. But it'll take several seconds for our suits to gather enough
energy to detonate, and judging from this guy's speed, he'll probably get away. There isn't
much we can do."
"Go ahead...finish us..." Wufei managed dully. "We've failed..."
The pilot seemed to consider this, then suddenly, it flung Wufei's trident back at him, and,
turning around, left, leaving behind six pilots, their gundams damaged and prides crushed.
Chapter 8
"Why didn't you finish them?" a voice demanded.
Removing the helmet, the pilot said, "I'm interested in making this last as long as possible;
have some fun in the process. Besides, those suits interest me. They may not be made of
X-Gundamium, as Phoenix is, but they are a good source of raw materials, materials you will
need.
The first speaker seemed to consider this, then nodded. "Yes, you are right. You truly have
become the perfect fighting machine."
Bowing, the pilot said, "All thanks to you. If you excuse me, I would like to take a quick
shower."
on the space station...
"HEERO! Heero, oh God, what HAPPENED out there? Suddenly you and Wufei and Trowa just froze!
What the heck happened to you three? Heero, what's the matter with your head?!" Relena blurted
as she hurried down to help her husband out of his suit. Zechs emerged from his suit, unhurt,
but furious, his pride injured. "I can't believe I was defeated so early!" he fumed.
Wufei was not in better shape. Disoriented from the head pain, and shamed, he could only
murmer as he forced himself out of his suit, "I'm sorry, Nataku, I'm not worthy," before he
collapsed, gasping for breath. A shaky Quatre was helped by a frantic Dorothy, and Trowa was
aided by Cathrine, who was almost crying. Duo was dragged out by Hilde. The pilots regarded
each other silently for a moment, until Duo broke the silence.
"What did I tell you? We're screwed."
"No, no," Hilde said firmly. "You've survived one battle; improvements can be made on
the Gundams, you can fight again!"
"Again?" Zechs barked. "That pilot knew us and our suits weaknesses perfectly. Plus,
we can't use the Zero system at all. We'd have to develop something new, and that takes time,
which is something we don't have."
"We could try to steal information from their station," Quatre suggested. "That pilot
was too good. He had to been using SOME sort of system similar to the Zero but not the same,
or he would have been affected too."
"Good idea...theorectically," Duo said. "Just look at that station; it's a fortress.
It's got mobile dolls surrounding the whole thing; we can't hack into their main computer; and
we have no idea what defenses they have on it."
"So now what?" Relena said fearfully.
Heero stared at the floor. "I don't know..."
Suddenly one of the technicians called to them.
"You guys better look at this! That guy's back!"
Wearily, they looked at each other. Finally, Duo sighed.
"We don't have much of a choice. Ready to be humiliated again?"
As they gathered around the screen, the look on the pilot's face was clearly disgust.
"That...Was...Pathetic," the pilot said loudly and clearly, enunciating each word.
"I had doubts about your abilites three years ago, but this exceeds my doubts. That wasn't
even a battle."
"And your point is..." Wufei said wearily.
"My point is, there's no point in fighting you. You can be written off, since the six of
you certainly are no obstacle. However, your suits are of interest to me..."
"Me? Oh, so you're referring to yourself now, instead of 'they'?" Duo said somewhat
sarcastically.
"Yes, me. Of course, my superiors are in favor of destroying you, but I told them that
I wished to fight with honor. Therefore, they will not be wiping out you and your pathetic
little resistance group. But I think your gundams will come in handy, as far as raw materials
are concerned..."
"RAW MATERIALS?!" Zechs roared.
"You must learn to control your temper, Mr. Merquise. It is a sign of weakness."
"I NEED NO ADVICE FROM YOU, YOU FUCKING SON OF A BITCH!"
"Tsk tsk. As I was saying, I intend on obtaining your gundams. To do that, I will need
to eliminate you, but in the most honorable way possible. So...I advise that you each watch
your backs. I have no desire to become a thief, but if the owners are out of the way..." and the
speaker let it hang.
"Your technology is far superior than ours. Why do you need the materials?" Trowa said
in a very controlled voice.
"Though gundamium is nothing compared to what Phoenix is made of, raw materials are raw
materials, and will come in handy. However, the other reason I'm interested in obtaining your
gundams is because you have all failed me on the battlefield. Face to face, however, I
wonder if the outcome will be different."
"So you want to fight us, face to face, is that right?"
"Yes. Now if you'll excuse me, I have other issues to attend to."
And with that, the screen went blank.
Chapter 9
"THAT BASTARD! WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS?!?!?!?" Zechs ranted and raved, even as Noin was
washing his wounds.
"Zechs!" she said sharply, "Stop it! You'll frighten the children!"
This stopped Zechs in mid-rant, and he shot a sheepish sideways glance at the various children.
But even though Jerry and Mariko looked rather subdued from his outburst, Reena and Aelis were
not. Walking up to their parents, Reena took one hand and Aelis the other.
"It's alright, Father," the taciturn Aelis said. "We understand."
"That man was very rude wasn't he?" Reena stated. "He deserves to be yelled at."
Smiling at his girls, he kissed each one on top on the head.
"Daddy is sorry. You should not imitate his example."
"It's okay," Aelis said, just as Reena said, "That's why we have mother," hoping to get
her father to smile. Aelis jabbed her twin, and Reena stuck out her tongue, causing both
parents to give out feeble laughs.
Heero, meanwhile, was brooding in the room he and Relena shared. Relena walked in, trailed by
Mariko, who promptly attached herself to her father, and turning around, said accusingly, "You
told me everything was going to be okay!"
Relena looked like she had been slapped, but Heero took the child firmly and said, "Your mommy
did the best she could, just like your daddy. But your parents won't always be right, as much
as we try to be. Remember that, Riko."
The child was puzzled by his words, but nodded obediently and went over to Relena and, hugging
her leg, said, "I'm sorry Mommy. I was a meanie." Relena, who was trying not to cry, just bent
down to hug her daughter.
Later that evening, after the children were asleep, the pilots had a quick meeting.
"I hate to be the one to say this, but what do we do now?" Hilde said.
Rubbing his temples wearily in an effort to rid himself of the aftermaths of the pain,
Heero said, "Nothing, except to make sure that no one is alone...ANYTIME. This includes the
children especially. In an effort to obtain the gundams, that pilot, or whoever he works for,
may attempt to capture the children to use as pawns.
Mariemaia shuddered, knowing how that felt.
Heero continued, "We should also try to find this pilot. We don't know a thing about
him, and we have to find out as much as we can about him. Therefore, the most we can really do
is attempt to hack into their computers and look up data about him. Other than that..." and
Heero trailed off. Relena couldn't believe how old and defeated Heero looked. "I've never
seen him like this," she thought. "Do we even have the ability to protect the peace we have
finally achieved?"
next day...
"Duo, wake up!"
Duo was promptly jarred from his dream when Hilde shook him awake.
"Duo, there's a message from that pilot!"
That was enought to wake him up. Throwing on some clothes, he sprinted to the control room.
Sure enough, on the screen, a message blinked: I will be on the moon today, in the main shopping
district. I will be stay on the first floor of the main shopping complex. Meet me, if you dare.
The pilots stared at the rude message for a moment, then Quatre said, "I'll go."
"I'm coming with you," Dorothy said immediately.
"But your safety-" Quatre began, but Dorothy silenced him with one look.
Duo laughed ruefully. "It's nice to know some things will never change."
Chapter 10
Finally, it was Quatre and Dorothy and Duo and Hilde who decided to answer the pilot's challenge.
"For heaven's sake, be careful, all of you," a worried Cathrine said. "I know I don't
know too much about this, but just watch okay?"
"Don't worry so much Cathrine," Hilde said, trying to cheer her up. "We know how to
take care of ourselves.
Cathrine nodded uncertainly, but inside, she thought, "But if you know how to take care of
yourselves, why did last night happen?"
at the moon...
"I still remember how I came here to pick up Relena's wedding present," Dorothy said
wistfully. "That seems so long ago now."
Quatre nodded absently, but was scanning the crowd more than he was listening to his wife. He
really doubted that scanning the crowd would give him any hint of who the pilot was, but it was
either that or drive himself insane with apprehension. He also kept checking the device on his
wrist every few seconds. They had all agreed to not only bring weapons, but to wear tracers.
That way, if any of them disappeared, they would know where. So far, he counted four blinking
dots. Quatre allowed himself a small sigh of relief, then turned his attention back to Dorothy.
"Let's go there," Dorothy said, tugging on his arm. Seeing her husband hesitate, she
smiled sadly. "I know, it sounds shallow, but we need to act normal don't we? Plus, I'll go
crazy just standing here, waiting for something or someone to swoop down on me." Quatre smiled,
and nodded. Putting his arm around her, he said, "Alright, let's go."
elsewhere...
"Duo, checking that thing every five seconds is not going to help!" an exasperated
Hilde said. "I mean, I know we should be cautious, but we stick out like sore thumbs here, just
standing around!"
Duo glanced at his wife, sighed, and said, "Okay, you win. Let me just talk to Quatre, and we'll
go and try to look normal, okay?"
in a store...
"Quatre? Hey Quatre, you there?"
Quatre jumped at the sound of Duo's voice, nearly dropping the crystal vase he was holding.
"Yes what is it?!" he said franctically. "Is Hilde okay? Are you okay? Oh no, don't
tell me..."
"Quatre! Relax! I'm just checking to see if you're okay, and since you obviously are,
I am now going to pretend to go shopping with my lovely wife like any other guy, okay?"
Quatre breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, that's fine...I'm doing the same right now."
"Okay man. Over and out."
Quatre sighed. "Whew," he thought. "I nearly just had a heart attack."
"Quatre! Come over here!" Dorothy called.
"Okay," Quatre said, and started to make his way through the crowded store. As he
fought his way through the mob, he felt something prick him. Too late, he realized that he had
just been injected with something, and he sagged down, and was promptly dragged through a door.
The figure found the tracer, plucked it off, and disabled it. Then the figure looked at the
device on his wrist and noted the positions of the other dots.
"Quatre? Oh, where did he disappear to?" Dorothy said in an exasperated voice. As soon
as the words were out of her mouth, Dorothy's heart gave a lurch and she franctically checked
her tracing device. Her face drained of blood when she only counted three dots.
in another store...
"Duo! DUO!"
At the sound of the voice, Duo quickly turned from the drill he was admiring and dove into a
corner. "Dorothy?"
"Oh God Duo! Quatre's gone!"
"Shit," Duo breathed, checking his tracing device. Sure enough, there were only three
dots. "Okay, Duo, breathe in, breathe out," he told himself, then went back to Dorothy.
"Dorothy, I want you out of there pronto! Get yourself in this store okay? Use the tracers!"
"Okay, okay," Dorothy sobbed. "Oh my God, they got Quatre!"
"Dorothy! Listen to me! You can't do anything for Quatre right now; just get your
butt over here now!"
That unpleasant exchange over, Duo hurridly found Hilde, and filled her in on what had just
happened. Hilde's face drained of blood, just as Dorothy's had done.
"Oh my God, now what do we do?"
"We stick together, that's what," Duo said grimly, linking his arm through Hilde's.
"And we wait for Dorothy. Then we stay with people and hope that when this guy comes back
for the second round, one of us sees him and finishes him."
"Duo, I am so scared!"
"I understand perfectly..."
It wasn't easy passing time. Both Duo and Hilde periodically checked their devices to make sure
Dorothy was on her way. Sure enough, soon her golden haired head was visible through the mob.
"Dorothy!" Hilde cried, running to embrace her, and then leading her over to the nearest
bench.
Dorothy was shaking, her face pale and her hands clenched. She was repeating "Oh my God" over
and over again. Hilde didn't know what to do; she felt the exact same way. Glancing over to
Duo, she could see fear in his eyes, but also blazing anger.
"I can't believe the nerve of this guy," he said furiously. But at the same time, he
was thinking, "This guy's efficient. He abducted Quatre right under our noses. Who's next?"
Hilde shoved a water bottle at Dorothy. "Drink this," she ordered, but Dorothy's hand was
shaking too much to hold the bottle. Duo in the meantime was trying to tweak with the device
to figure out if he could activate Quatre's tracer again. Suddenly, there was static on the
devices, and a voice floated over.
"I have neutralized Quatre Raberba Winner. One down, five to go."
"Neutralized?!" Dorothy gasped, her already pale fale turning paler.
"He is still alive, Mrs. Winner," the voice continued. "Over and out."
And that was all.
"Okay, we're out of here!" Duo said firmly. "I'm tired of playing this guy's game."
Hilde nodded, and helped a shaky Dorothy to her feet. "Dorothy, please be strong," Hilde urged.
"You need to be strong if you are to help Quatre."
Dorothy nodded, and, shoving aside Hilde's arm, stood up. "Alright everyone," she said in a
weak but clear voice, "let's go."
Hurrying out, the trio caught the nearest shuttle to the station, where their shuttle was
waiting, courtesy of Quatre's incredible wealth. Hilde shoved Dorothy on the shuttle first and
told her to sit down, then went back out to join Duo, who had hesistated at the door.
Duo was staring into space, a glazed look on his eyes. Laying a hand on his arm, Hilde said,
"Let's go Duo. We can't do anything..."
"I know," he said dully, "But still! I feel like we let Quatre down, like-"
Duo's words were cut off by the sudden ignition of their shuttle. "What?" he said, spinning
around. Suddenly, things got chaotic. First Duo saw Dorothy pounding at the window, and the
look on her face told him that the shuttle had started itself, and there was nothing she could
do about it. The next glance told him that the shuttle doors were locked. Then, he heard a
choked cry. Whirling around, he saw a cloaked figure who had a gun to Hilde's head. Duo
reached for his own gun, but the figure said, "You have a choice. Come with me, and both you
and your wife will be treated courteously. Or I can kill you both right here, right now.
Either way, my objective will be completed. Your friend in there can tell your comrades what
happened."
Glowering at the speaker, Duo flung his gun to the ground, and raised his arms in surrender.
"Good," the figure said briskly. "Now, follow me." Helpless and enraged, Duo could only
comply, while Dorothy screamed as the shuttle lifted off.
Chapter 11
"They got Quatre, Hilde, and Duo!" were the first words out of Dorothy's mouth after
Zechs and Heero had broken down the door to the shuttle. Dorothy immediately collapsed,
sobbing.
Relena hurried forward. "Dorothy, you must be strong! You must try!"
"That's what Hilde said before she was taken!"
"Dorothy! Please! This can't be good for the baby!"
At mention to the baby, Dorothy subsided, but the occasional sob still escaped her lips. Relena
looked desperately to her husband and brother. "What now?"
Heero was already at the control panel, resolutely typing. "We managed to hack our way into a
part of their computer today, though I suspect that it was because they allowed us to.
Whatever the case, it will give us a means of communicating with them. Ah..." he said, as a
reply immediately popped up.
"What does it say?" Zechs asked, coming over. Heero waved to the screen.
"Mr. Winner, along with Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell, are alive." Zechs read. "That's it?!"
Heero shrugged, and typed in a message.
"Meet...us...so...we...can...face...you...face...to...face...? You're challenging him?"
Heero nodded.
"Challenge...accepted...will...meet...on...Earth...former...site...of...Washington...DC."
"Well then," Zechs said. "I'm going this time."
"So am I."
"If that's the case, then I'm going too!" Relena said rising.
"NO!" both Heero and Zechs shouted simultaneously.
"You shouldn't go," Dorothy said weakly. "Remember, he used Hilde to force Duo into
going with him. He'll do it again."
Relena started to protest, then subsided. "Very well, I will stay here, but I'm NOT happy
with this arrangement." With that, she turned around and left the room.
Heero and Zechs glanced at each other, and Heero shrugged. "She's been...moody...recently,"
Heero said by means of explanation.
"Moody, is it?" Dorothy asked. "Don't tell me you got her pregnant again."
Heero paled, and Zechs turned to him furiously.
"At a time like this, you're having sex with my sister, and getting her pregnant?!" he
bellowed, furious.
Giving him a sideways glance, Heero said flatly, "Don't tell me that you, as a married man,
aren't doing the same with Miss Noin. Though I admit, I didn't foresee getting Relena
pregnant again."
Zechs opened him mouth to protest, but closed it. Giving Heero a nasty glare, he turned to leave
and called over his shoulder, "I'll be ready in ten minutes. Hurry up."
Dorothy looked from one to the other, and shrugged helplessly. "It's just like Duo said
earlier," she thought wearily. "Some things will never change."
ten minutes later...
Heero walked into the shuttle, where Zechs was already waiting. Not acknowledging him, Zechs
simply started the engine. Just then, Relena came into view. Jumping out, Heero demanded,
"Relena, just what are you doing?"
Giving him an icy look, Relena said, "Well, since I'm not allowed to go with you, I'm going down
to Earth on my own to get some fresh air."
Heero started to protest about her going alone, then thought better of it, and went back into the
shuttle.
Zechs glanced at him. "What was that about?"
"Relena's going down to Earth for some fresh air."
"Alone?"
"Apparently."
Zechs hesitated, then sighed and threw up his hands. "Fine then, let's go."
an hour later...
"You didn't happen to set up a rendezvous point with this guy didn't you?" Zechs demanded.
"I tried. The exact response was 'I will find you.'"
Zechs snorted. "This guy is too confident."
The two men wandered around aimlessly for a while, then Heero's sharp eyes spotted a figure
standing in an alley. Motioning to Zechs, the two of them drew their weapons and walked
towards the figure. Once in the alley, both aimed their weapons at the figure.
"Stupid move," Zechs said. "You aren't even armed."
The pilot didn't seem worried. "Oh, but I am." Reaching into the cloak, the pilot drew out
a small screen. "Observe."
Zechs and Heero, not putting down their weapons, inched towards the screen. On the screen was
Relena, standing at a dock and staring moodily at the ocean.
Heero stifled a roar of outrage and instead glared at the speaker. "So now what?"
"Relena hasn't been harmed," the speaker remarked drolly. "She doesn't even know that she is
being watched. However, should either of you men refuse to cooperate..."
"How do we know that that is Relena?" Zechs said, hoping to call the pilot's bluff.
Even cloaked, the pilot gave them what seemed to be an amused look. "Are you daring me to
order one of my people to shoot her?"
Both Heero and Zechs subsided, though Heero was planning a way to quickly shoot the figure
fatally so he couldn't give the order to harm Relena. But the figure seemed to guess his
thoughts, for the bland response that came from the depths of the hood was, "Oh, yes, you
could shoot me right now, but what if I dodge the bullet? And also, the communication on this
screen is two-way. If one of my people hears a gunshot and if I don't respond immediately, they
have been given orders to seize her. You wouldn't want that, now would you, and not if she is
pregnant now would you?"
Both men stared. "How did they know that?" they both thought simultaneously.
But the pilot had gotten impatient. "You both know the situation now. What is your choice?"
the pilot said briskly. Glowering at the mysterious figure in front of them, both men dropped
their weapons.
Chapter 12
Trowa's eyes hadn't left the screen since Heero and Zechs left. As soon as the message
appeared, he quickly read it and called Wufei over.
"No need to alarm the others," he told Wufei. "What do you think?"
Wufei glared at the message, wishing he could break something. Still, he forced himself to
think rationally. "Everything that has happened so far has played right into their hands." he
said. "He challenges us, he wins. We challenge him, he wins. What's next?"
"Still, this IS unusual...a challenge to YOU, Wufei? You specifically? But then he
adds that he wants me to come...but he won't fight me, but I'm supposed to stay out of it."
"I don't know any better than you do Trowa. This pilot is asking for a real duel, and
with me...could he be trying to humiliate me, trying to replay my duel with Treize eight years
ago?"
"Possibly. We know this guy likes to humiliate us."
"But still, this is an odd request, but look here, he's wagering so much: if you emerge
victorious, I will spare your companions...AND your suits. Why? Why is he wagering so much?
"Maybe he thinks he will definitely emerge victorious."
Wufei snorted. "This guy is much too confident. If my pride will be my downfall, his confidence
will be his."
"Well, do we go? It says here to bring our suits with us."
Wufei shrugged fatalistically. "We have no choice."
30 minutes later...
"Are you sure you want to just sneak out there, without telling anyone?"
"Better this way. As soon as they see the message, they'll know."
Trowa shrugged, then jumped into his suit. "Wufei," he called. "Do you really want me to
stay out of this duel? There rarely is honor in war."
"Yes. Watch us over the monitor, and be ready to back me up should I fail, but do not
interfere with the duel itself."
The two remaining pilots quietly maneuvered themselves out of the station, then turned towards
the fortress. Then a message blinked on their screens.
"Go in the east entrance?" Trowa read.
"May as well," Wufei said. "I have an odd feeling that our little friend did not tell
his superiors he was inviting us over."
The two altered their courses, and went in the side entrance. Sure enough, there seemed to
be no security measures on this said whatsoever. "He's removed them all, just for us," Wufei
thought mildly. "Maybe he does have honor after all..."
As soon as the pilots entered the fortress, they saw another message: Trowa Barton and the suits
stay here. Chang Wufei, go into the door in front of you, turn right, and then into the third
doorway on the right in the hallway you will enter.
"Is it a go?" Trowa called.
Wufei nodded.
"Good luck to you then."
Wufei nodded, then started to run through the doorway.
"Hey Wufei! Check this out," Trowa called.
Turning, Wufei stared. There, in the shadows, was the Phoenix mobile suit.
"What is this guy doing?!" he thought.
"Should we just forget this and destroy it?"
"No," Wufei said, hoping he wasn't making a mistake. "Everything that's supposed to
happen has happened so far. I think he's trying to prove to us that he does intend to fight
this duel with honor after all. Why else would he put his suit in the same location as ours,
in plain sight?"
Turning, Wufei entered the doorway.
Chapter 13
As Wufei entered the first doorway, he noticed the entrance to the fortress was closing. But
before he could do anything, the door of the entrance he had just entered closed also. Wufei
hesitated, then steeled himself and ran on. As soon he had entered the last doorway, that
entrance sealed and the room lit up.
"Hey Wufei!"
Wufei followed the sound of the voice, and saw Duo, sitting in a cage and firmly bolted to the
ground. He looked around and saw similar arrangement for everyone else in the room, though
Hilde had been spared the humiliation of being bolted. Wufei noted that Zechs and Heero seemed
to have thicker metal straps than the others.
"So, have you come to rescue us, knight in shining armor?" Duo asked? "And while we're
on the subject, what's with sword? Don't tell me you guys are having a duel? YOU ARE?!" he
sputtered, when he saw the look on Wufei's face. "Oh please..."
"Something wrong, Duo?"
Everyone in the room turned towards the sound of the voice. From the shadows emerged the all
too familiar cloaked figure.
"I see nothing wrong in duels. Yes, they are somewhat archaic, but effiecient," the
figure continued.
Wufei said nothing, but he drew his sword and held it out in front of him grimly.
The figure looked at him, and nodded. "Yes, you were right when you figured I did not tell my
superiors about this. Quite perceptive, but to be expected from someone descended from the
Changs."
"Oh, so you didn't tell your superiors about this huh?" Duo jeered. "Well then, I guess
all WE have to do is make a lot of noise and then, poof, there you go!"
The figure turned to regard Duo with a disgusted look. "Make all the noise you want; these
walls are soundproof." Turning back to Wufei, the figure continued, "Besides, Wufei wouldn't
allow it. His sense of honor is too strong."
"Can we get on with this?" Wufei demanded harshly.
The figure nodded, and with one stroke, tore off the cloak.
There was a gasp from Wufei, for standing in front of him was not a man, as he
had expected, but a petite Asian girl, who was wearing a black turtleneck, a short pleated
dark purple skirt with a matching sweater vest, and black leggings. On her feet she had on black
shoes with no heel. Her hair was as long as Relena's, but her bangs were the same length as the
rest of her hair, and were braided on each side.
She regarded him with scorn.
"Did you expect a male?" she said cooly.
Wufei didn't answer; he was too shocked.
Smirking, she looked at Wufei. "Yes, you are shocked," she said looking at him. "Typical
chauvanistic Chang," she mocked.
Her words jarred Wufei back into reality. "Let's begin," he said harshly.
The girl squared herself and drew her own sword. Smiling coldly, she said, "Yes, let's."
"Wait," he said. Half stalling, trying to discover something, anything, about
his opponent, he asked, "What is your name?"
Raising an eyebrow delicately, she said, "My name? You may call me Lillith."
"Is that your real name?"
"What do you think?"
"What is your REAL name?"
"It is of no concern to you. You are stalling. Let's begin."
