ngg10

Scarlet pounded the comm system with her fist, growling at it as she adjusted her glasses; the situation wasn't good.

Bran's main thruster system, as well as the re-entry systems had crashed, and she would have to get out to get at it, and she wasn't in any position to leave the cockpit. She leaned back against the seat, un-clipping herself from the safety harness. She sighed as she ran a hand through her bangs, then ran a full system scan.

"So, they're getting rid of us, huh? Guess they got sick of me." She said softly. She glanced up at the pictures she kept up on the "dash board" of her Gundam.

There was one from when she was very young; she had her arms wrapped around Mr. Maxwell's neck with a big smile. It was shortly after she had the bullet removed from her head, and she was still bald from the operation, she wore a black cap that was a little too big for her backwards. They were both laughing; she was so happy back then…

She leaned her head back as an alarm came on, drifting too close to the Earth's gravitational field… she would be pulled into the atmosphere; she clipped herself back in, closing her eyes.

"So, I'm going to… this is the end…" she said softly as she felt herself slip into oblivion… the sweet, inky blackness that was her salvation in battle, but also her greatest fear.

Over a small island base, a shooting star fell over the ocean, only one person was awake to see it

*~*

He stood upon the doorway of his own house, afraid to open the door. He felt someone poke him in the back.

"Get on with it, Heero, I'm so hungry I could eat even Relena's cooking!"

Heero growled… and… rung the bell.

"GRANPA!" was all he heard before being knocked out of the way before hearing Quatre go

"James GAH!"

The sobbing 5-year-old held onto Quatre's waist,

"James… James what's wrong?" the startled grandfather said…

"Oh! Quatre!" Dorothy ran out and sobbed kneeling next to her husband, Relena came out and hugged Heero, Zechs and Lucretzia came out looking grave and very pale… and the last were the four pilots themselves. Kiyoshi bowed to his grandfather, then walked over to Duo. He handed him another picture, one that Scarlet never left home without, the one of him and her at her birthday…

"I'm sorry, Maxwell." He said…

Duo felt a cold void closing in as he heard those two words…

"Scarlet's Dead."

Duo closed his eyes, feeling the empty sorrow course through his veins; he gripped his hands, shaking slightly. He had known this sorrow before, the Maxwell Church, when Deathscythe was blown up… Lyla… now Scarlet… his pride and joy in life, the woman he helped to mold. She was so precious to him… so precious…

"No…" he breathed softly, then looked into Kiyoshi's face.

He had an emotionless mask on; even his eyes were like ice, cold, cruel. Damn him, Duo thought, damn him and those blue eyes of his, those blue eyes that scorn you… he has Heero's eyes - dead eyes.

"NO!" he cried out, falling to his knees, his hands above his head as he cried out.

"We're all sorry for your loss, Duo." Lucretzia said softly, trying to break the thick silence after the resounding cry.

"You can't be sorry! You don't understand… she… she can't die… she can't die… she's the Goddess of Death, you can't… kill what's immortal…" he said softly, then stood

"I… I got to go, I don't feel so great…"

He ran inside, and Kiyoshi meant to follow, to explain…

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to the eyes of his grandfather.

"Let him be, Kiyoshi. He's lost something that none of us could ever bare to loose. He really thought that Scarlet was immortal."

She is grandfather, Kiyoshi thought, she is my goddess…

*~*

Scorpion laughed as he came onto the video screen in every house in every city on every planet and colony, widespread Scorpion TV.

"To the people of Earth, and the Colonies, and Mars. This is the time to unite… under the rule of the final, last Colony, and its leader. My name is Scorpion, the leader of the Scorpio Colony past Mars, and I have my lasers set on each and every colony and major city on Earth. I have mobile suit dolls, and the proof that your precious Preventer organization can not overpower me is obvious. You have no protection, your precious Gundams are no where to be found… I advise you to comply… you have four hours." The screens went dark…

In the Yuy household, the Gundam pilots, both old and new, and down two, stood in shock. Lucretzia looked at Milliardo worriedly then looked at Dorothy.

The phone rang, making the group jump, Milliardo reached over and picked it up, and with a ferocious growl answered.

"What is it? Oh… Relena." He said, and handed the phone to his sister.

"Relena Yuy, yes? Oh… hello Gaston, yes, I saw… yes that was Milliardo. I understand, we'll be there as soon as possible."

She hung up, and turned to the expectant waiters.

"We are to attend a meeting of the Colony leaders… to discuss terms of surrender."

"No!" Kiyoshi shouted, pounding his fist against the wall. "We CAN'T give up! This… this is all… my fault…" he said; bowing his head, yet he did not cry.

Relena held her grandson close, and sighed

"You tried, Kiyoshi. Valiantly, but be brave, there will be, another chance." She said softly.

"Heero, Milliardo, Lucretzia, Dorothy, Quatre, come, we're needed."

*~*

And thus, the first battles ended for the New Generation Gundam Pilots… in defeat. Lyla Moore, the creator of the five New Generation Gundams is in the hands of the enemy, the Scorpion, who ruled from the mysterious Scorpion Colony beyond Mars. His two generals, Zechs Marquise and Nicholas Catalonia enforced his laws of peace and order, however loosely. They enjoyed the life of commanding officers, the best of everything.

Over the month, the colonies and the Earth changed dramatically. The monument to the First Scorpion war was torn away, the statue of the six Gundam Pilots, Heero, Duo, Trowa, Quatre, Wufei, and Lyla was dismantled. The brass melted down to create the disgusting Victory, a gross image of the Scorpion with people stomped under his boot, the very sign of oppression.

Without the help of the Gundams, the Scorpion dolls kill off any resistance.

One month has passed since Scarlet has disappeared, seemingly right off the face of the universe. She crash-landed in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, near a small, supposable un-inhabited island. However, one person who had not been seen since before Lyla's time lives upon this island, reflecting eternally on the blood red rose, upon his mistakes, and forever tortured by the souls of the people of whose blood stains his aristocrat's gloves.

*~*

It was a warm day on the islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the sun shone and the trade winds cooled the small island base. The tropical birds sung sweetly their songs in the palm trees as they swayed.

She lay on a cot in the center of the hospital hut, made of thatched bamboo with a straw roof. The white sheet covered her to the top of her chest, which was bound in medical tape. Her red braid matted as it was, drifted off the pillow and to the floor. Her eyes were closed; a pair of repaired glasses lay at the medical table to the side. Over her, holding his watch, was the man who found her.

He had bright blue eyes, intelligent and cunning, reflecting his fine education and his battle genius. He wore no fancy blue jacket, no black shining boots; there were no roses, no white kid gloves. His hair had gone gray; his eyebrows raised in suspicion, he knew the suit that the girl had flown, was that of his old enemies, the Gundams, but he, the former leader of the armies who had tried to destroy the Gundams, felt no ill will to this redheaded child.

Treize Kushrenada looked upon the sleeping beauty that lay before him, then stood and walked out of the "hospital".

He had been living alone on the island after the cockpit to the Tallgeese II had crashed here in AC 195. He had not known of his daughter's conquest, fueled by Dekem Barton's evil ways, nor of the Scorpion who even now as he walked the worn jungle path just outside, took over the colonies and the Earth.

He glanced up at the sapphire sky above, dotted here and there with feathery white clouds. The girl had been in a comatose slumber for nearly the entire time; she had awoken only once screaming in fear, calling for "Mr. Maxwell". He vaguely remembered the name of Maxwell appearing on a report from space on a captured Gundam pilot.

"So, my sleeping beauty was trained by the second Gundam Pilot. I wonder exactly how long it has been since I have last seen my dear friend, Milliardo. I wonder if he knows how sorrowful I felt that day, the day of the battle that ended Treize Kushrenada. How funny it would be, if this were Duo Maxwell's daughter. I wonder if Lieutenant Noin had married Milliardo? So many questions, yes… I have waited years to know, and I can wait for this rose to blossom, for this sleeping bud to bloom into glory. Perhaps… perhaps it is time I return to society. I wonder what Lady Une is up to…"

Treize turned around as he heard a soft moan from the hut, and he ducked back inside. The girl was sitting up, holding her head in her hands. She looked fragile, sitting there with all the tubes. Her bangs moved in the tropical breeze.

"Hello there." The strange man said to her, taking a step closer. She reached over, and felt out her glasses. She slipped them on, ignoring a crack through a lens, and looked at the stranger before her.

He once was very elegant, she thought. He now wore a simple gray shirt and a pair of what may have been suit pants. She pulled the sheet over her self, her face turning bright red.

"May I ask your name, my lady?" he asked courtly,

"S… Scarlet… who are you?"

"My name is Treize Kushrenada." He said softly. He had not talked to another person since he had talked to Chang Wufei in space, and a lady since last speaking to Lady Une… his name sounded strange to his own ears.

"Wait… Kushrenada? You mean the leader of OZ?" she asked, her eyes opened wide.

"Yes, I was the leader of OZ… could you possibly tell me what year it is?"

"The… year? Uh… last time I checked it was still 255, but been out so long…"

"A month."

"Really? A MONTH? I… I have to contact Kiyoshi! And Basim! And Max! And Lian!"

"Who are they? Your fellow pilots?"

"No… wait… yes… oh shit!" she cried out, her eyes full of terror.

"What's wrong?" Treize asked, drawing back. Scarlet went pale…

"Kiyoshi… Max, Basim, Lian… if they haven't followed me yet… the Scorpions… they must have… oh no…" she closed her eyes and held her hands to her face, taking off her glasses.

"I'm sorry, Scarlet… this is so much so soon…"

"No, I can handle it… I'm OK… I'm OK…" she said softly, and glanced up at Treize.

"Do you have any thing I could use to repair my Gundam?" she asked bleakly…

Treize smirked slightly, and the eighty-four-year-old stood stiffly.

"You put on some clothes, then, m'lady, and I will bring you to where you can repair your Gundam." He said, stood, and left the small room with the use of a bamboo cane.

*~*

Scarlet sighed, as she stood outside in the bright sunlight, blinking, and her eyes un-used to the rays of the once familiar sun. She turned to the ocean, and saw the head and part of the chest of Bran sticking out…

"Oh wow…" she breathed softly, looking at the wreckage.

The vibrant eyes of Bran now lay dim. The waves lapped at the black colored Gundanium, and she could tell part of the left arm was missing.

"It was a terrific wreck, I was surprised you were alive when I got out there. You must be as tough as the past Gundam pilots." Treize said softly, coming behind her. She rubbed her ribs slightly

"I must have passed out in re-entry…" she turned to her savior, her eyes saddened "You wouldn't happen to have a mobile suit reconstruction area would you?" she asked. Treize smiled slightly at her.

"Follow me." He said, and led Scarlet to an overgrown path. Scarlet followed, her curiosity getting the best of her as she wandered after the former leader of OZ. There was a huge metal door at the end of the path.

The door was covered with vines and other tropical plants; rust covered the thing entirely. Scarlet's eyes widened, then her brow raised.

"What's this… uh… gee I don't know what to call you." She said, rubbing the back of her bruised neck.

Kushrenada thought a moment, once re-living his past glory.

"I don't think 'Your Excellency" describes me any longer, and Mr. Treize, as Lady Une once called me is, I believe, too formal for friends. Please, just feel free to call me Treize, Scarlet." He said softly.

Scarlet nodded… and Treize went and opened a smaller door to the side, stepping inside to the gloom. Scarlet followed him, blinking again in the sudden darkness.

A bright light blared to life, and Scarlet gasped. Inside the building… a hangar… was a repair station for OZ mobile suits! It had Leo, Aires, Cancer, Pisces, everything!

"Do you think you can repair your mobile suit on this, Scarlet?" he asked, leaning hard on the bamboo cane.

Scarlet turned, looking over her shoulder through her glasses.

"I think I can work with this."