Title: The Mind's Truth: Epilogue 3
Author: neekabe
Warnings: PG-13 for strangeness... slight language.
A/N: Have you read the note at then end of chapter 6 ? If so, continue….. If not take a quick look to see what you're getting into. Second, this chapter is for Katie, this is the happy ending you've been looking for ^_^
Epilogue 3
Erie green light illuminated the faces of the men as they stared at the screens in front of them. Fingers flew over the keyboards and all you could hear was the tapping of the keys as they worked on. In the middle of the circle created by their workstations, was a table. And on that table lay a figure.
Every once in a while one of them would look up to see how the figure was reacting, then quickly go back to their work.
A pang of guilt for what they were doing surfaced now and then, but was quickly replaced by anger. They had seen the room, filled with failed experiments, and they had seen the recording of their 'sessions'. The subjects: they had just been children.
The human mind just wasn't equipped to deal with certain things. VR was one of them. Even the pilots, hardened by war and confidant in themselves would not soon forget what they had seen there.
Two wrongs don't make a right, but two wrongs can give way to justice.
****
I really don't know how I would react to this but I think it would be similar to how I 'did' react. Because 'I' did what I was thinking as I saw the images. What I thought my fingers made happen.
I was watching the simulations I would have been put through had things worked out as they had planed. I saw then and knew horror. They were good I had to admit. It all looked real, felt real. Even watching it on the screen it could have been real. But the I realized that if it bothered me, hardened by war, what had it done to the test subjects? They had had them made before we even gotten here, then had perfected them on the children. These children lived in worlds that horrified me. What had it done to their minds? I felt no guilt for what I was doing. This was just the consequence of the actions he chose.
So I was to begin the process. I showed him to expect the unexpected. We were not the easy targets these had been tested on. This was not going to be an easy fight for him to win.
****
Yes, I was messing with his head. I knew their back up plans and what they would do when I 'did' certain things. Then I made my story as horrible as possible. I made him think that he had me… then I stole myself back. I showed him hat even when he thought he had total control, he didn't. I 'broke' myself so that he would know that we fight back even when we don't know who we are. There's a part of us that will never give in. I wanted him to know that he'd failed complete and utterly.
They were just children he used. And that was why I was doing this. They had just been street kids… Like I had once been. He may have though that it didn't matter, that no one cared. But Fate has a sense of humor, when you got right down to it I was his master. (1)
****
I was surprised when I first saw her. Then angry at them for daring to use her against me, angry at whoever it was that had betrayed her memory to them. But once she started talking, my anger dissolved. They had obviously found out the basics from old news reports of our wedding and just guessed at the rest. After all she had been a female growing up in a highly patriarchal society. And not just any woman, but a Lady. Surely she must had been the pinnacle of femininity.
I was still the only one alive that knew her for who she was. Stubborn and strong.
So I flaunted their lack of preparation. I showed them how little they knew and how useless their tactics were.
You can beat a body all you want but you can't touch the mind unless you are allowed in. You cannot chase someone who won't run.
****
There was no way around this. I knew that. Death was just too good for him, who had done so much. If we killed him he would be dead and that would be it. This way we could show him just how wrong he was. We can show him that even if we had been caught, he wouldn't have won.
We've just seen too much to be broken by scenes of war. I hadn't wanted to relive my insanity. It was a part of my life that I don't like remembering, but it was the only way. He needed to know that even if we do break, it may not be the way he wanted.
I was to show him that. Show him that you cannot even begin to predict how we would react. You might think you've won, but beware. We are soldiers to the core, and won't give in just to end suffering.
We five are strong, strong to the point that we cannot break. Either we live on, or we shatter beyond repair.
****
It had been decided beforehand that I would be the one to follow him. That I would be the one to 'break', and in doing that show him our last point. I had no problems with that. We didn't know how much he knew of each of us, but even if he just knew the basics I would be the logical choice. Through the wars I was the one that switched sides most often, for less reasons than he gave. Or at least that was how it would appear to someone who did not know.
But I would be the one to show, with Heero's help, that some things can't be forgotten. That some things are stronger than programming.
Also we had the final job. We were to 'destroy' his base. To finalize his devastation.
****
"Are we ready?" Four assenting nods were seen from the corners of the room. Heero moved to the figure on that table in the middle of the room they had been working in, carefully filling a syringe before sliding it into Erlking's arm. Then he watched as the man's movements slowed, then stopped. After checking that the pulse was still strong he looked up to the others and then took the motionless terrorist out of the base as Duo prepared the last of the explosives.
They had cleared everyone out of the base right off, before they had started on their revenge. Anyone that fought back was killed; anyone that knew what Erlking had been doing was disposed of as well. All the others had been given the chance to leave before the five pilots had put Erlking into the VR system he had designed for them.
The explosion was bright, scorching and immensely satisfying.
****
Once the flames had died down to the point where it was safe to approach, Wufei and Duo picked up Erlking and placed him by the smoldering ruins of the compound.
He would wake in a couple of hours, believing that what he had seen within the VR to be truth. He had lost all five of the pilots. He had had five chances, and failed every time. So close to success he was first denied his prize, then he had lost everything else.
"What now?" Quatre's question broke the silence as the five of them watched the last of the flames flicker.
"We leave him," Trowa responded.
Heero nodded. "He thinks you all died and he lost everything. He's relatively harmless now."
"But if he decides to try again?" asked Wufei.
Heero looked over at the Chinese man as he spoke, acknowledging his concern. "We'll be monitoring him closely."
Duo smiled his Shinigami smile then, adding the final point. "And even then, wouldn't he be surprised to see the five of us standing against him, once again."
***end***
(1)Duo's refering to Erlkings name. 'Erlking' is a giant from Teutonic folklore who lures people, especially lures little children, to the land of the dead. If an erlkings duty was to bring people to the land of the dead then he must be an underling to the keeper of the land of the dead, the God of Death….yeah it's a little vague but once I realized that I had to put it in somewhere
