Disclaimer: I do not own the copyrights to Gundam Wing, Endless Waltz, any other Gundam Series or any of the songs that are used in this story. All copyrights belong to their respective owners.

Readers Note: This is a re-post

Gundam Wing

Gundam Pirates

G

Chapter 5:

Victory?

G

Victory: The outcome or winning of a struggle or conflict.

The outcome of this struggle will now be settled in space between mobile suits.

Johan and Heero looked at each other and said the signature phrase.

"Mission accepted."

The two of them dashed to the door, but Johan was stopped at the door by Kazuki's voice.

"What are you going to do?" He asked

Johan slowly turned around while Heero's loud footsteps from his running could be clearly heard through the bridge.

"I'm going to serve out justice." He said, "Stay here Kazuki, I'm going to need your help later."

He turned and dashed after Heero.

Johan ran until his muscles began to feel warm under his clothes as he caught up to Heero. Though thanks to his years of training there's no feeling of being winded within Johan as well as Heero.

"You know the situation." Johan stated to Heero, but Heero said nothing, "But you know what is necessary."

Heero looked at him, he understood what he meant by what is necessary.

After a short elevator ride and a great deal of twists and turns through the hallways they came back to the mobile suit bay. The two of them dashed into the mobile suit bay like hasty rats in a maze. They expected to see their beloved suits stolen or damaged from the numerous enemies that were on the Eldridge. Instead they were still there standing just as they always did when they boarded.

The pilots boarded their Gundams and prepared for launch. The doors to their cockpits closed and their cockpit systems came online like a computer monitor that was being turned on for it's first time.

When those lights came on, it reminded Heero of the Zero system, even though he had gotten used to it he was expecting that he would go out of control and destroy every single mobile suit that was out there and perhaps the Eldridge along with it. But now it was just he and Midas in that cockpit.

Inside the suit, Heero turned the Vindicator around and looked at the door.

"I'm going to make an exit this time." He stated

"I would not do that if I were you." Midas advised

Heero grind his teeth still as if saying (like a child) no one will let me have any fun.

"Midas is right." Johan called from Ryu in its Dragon form, "We don't have to force our way out now." He reached down to his COM system and opened up a channel to Kazuki at the bridge.

"Kazuki." He called, "can you hear me?"
He paused for a moment.

"Yeah I hear you." Kazuki called, "You said you needed my help. What do you need my help with?"

"I need you to open the mobile suit bay door." Johan requested

Another momentary pause.

"Just a moment." Kazuki said

Johan watched the mobile suit bay doors open.

"See." Johan pointed out, "Wasn't that a lot simpler."

Heero grind his teeth again in slight irritation, although for anyone who knows Heero that would really be an understatement. Though he decided to take out his frustration on the battlefield, so he fired up the engines and blasted his way out onto the battlefield.

Johan shrugged, "Good Luck Heero Yuy."

G

Back in space the Gundams were fighting extremely hard. Even though now the mobile suit count of the Desbats was down to 50 suits, they were running out of ammunition and time.

Trowa pressed vigorously at the fire command and within only a few minutes he had drained most of the bullets and missiles out of the Heavyarms. He only had one spare gattling left.

As his Heavyarms switched guns he thought, "One should never give up until the end. Heavyarms did teach me that, but I only have one Gattling left. I have to make it count."

Alexandria on the other hand was having a similar problem; her suit, The Clockwork, had run out of missiles and bullets. Though she did have the spare gattling left. She began to switch the gattling as well as the music in the cockpit, and while she did that she began to sing.

It was actually amazing that no one was attacking her while she did this, the signing and the exchanging of music and the gattling.

She sang:

I'm singing in the rain

Just signing in the rain

What a glorious feeling

I'm happy again.

The music she put on was Beethoven again, this time it was the fifth Symphony.

"Viddy well droogs." She smiled again, "Viddy well."

She opened fire while the trumpets of the fifth symphony blared through the narrow area of the cockpit, Da, da, da, daa.

As she fired at any enemy suit that came even within range of her she began talking to the others.

"Well, me droogs." She opened, "How does it viddy?"

Duo responded, 'If you're asking how it looks, it doesn't look good. The enemy count is down to only 45 suits and a lot of us are running out of ammo."

"That's what they want." Quatre said, "They haven't attacked us yet because they want us to deplete our resources, so we'll be vulnerable."

"Then I say we go hand to hand!" Wufei shouted as the long arm of the Nataku Gundam stretched and reached out with open fangs at one of the Desbats suits and rushed it within it's yellow jaw and red teeth.

"Master Quatre." Rashim called, "Do you think we should retreat?"

"Retreat?" Alexandria asked flabbergasted, "You spineless jelly thou! I say we fight 'till we snuff it."

Quatre interpreted, even though Johan isn't there to be the intermediary, "I don't know what she said," he responded, "but I think she means we stay here and fight to the death."

"But dying here would be meaningless." Rashim pleaded

Milliardo, in the Tallgeese III thought about this, "Desbats, The Eldridge, Kazuki Peacecraft. Where's Johan and Heero at a time like this?"

When the thought crossed his mind, he saw a light speck come from the Eldridge and followed by another. He turned his head and looked out and saw the two lights streaking towards the battlefield like shooting stars.

"Heero and Johan." He whispered, "Thank God."
The other Gundams saw them coming.

"Here comes the cavalry." Duo smiled

G

Heero sped along in the Gundam Vindicator.

"What is the mobile suit count?" Heero asked Midas

"Mobile suit count is 44." Midas reported, "Tactics level cleared."
"Commence Destruction."

"Let's rock." Johan smiled while he pressed the play button on the cockpit stereo and took control of the Gundams reigns again. The music started, though it wasn't' the typical Rage Against the Machine. The music was different this time, its name: Rhythm Emotion.

I just feel Rhythm Emotion

Kono mune no kodou wa

Anata e to tsuzuite 'ru So far away

Johan stepped on the accelerator hard enough to feel the thrust backwards in the cockpit. The force wasn't that hard against him, though it was enough to make his feet feel uneasy. He steadied his feet and brought his thoughts back to the matter at hand.

"You know what is necessary." He told Heero, but Johan's going to have to watch himself on this matter.

Suddenly a thought came to Johan's mind, a memory or rather it was a reminder.

"What am I thinking?" He asked himself, "Heero and I are alike. What we think is necessary is usually the most flashiest."

The next verse continued as the Gundam Ryu's heat rod tongue came slithering out of the end of the buster shield, it slipped back along the sides of the Gundanium Dragon's neck like a dogs tongue out of a window. As it slithered and wriggled along side of the buster shield it began to glow red-hot again and the song continued.

Mou kizutsuite mo ii hitomi wo sorasazu ni
Atsuku hageshiku ikite itai

Akiramenai tsuyosa wo kureru anata kara dakishimetai

I just feel "Rhythm Emotion"
Ayamachi mo itami mo
Azayaka na isshun no hikari e to michibiite
I just feel "Rhythm Emotion"
Kono mune no kodou wa
Anata e to tsuzuite 'ru So far away...

The heat rod tongue of the Gundam Ryu sliced its way through all of the Desbats mobile suits that came within it's path like a destructive typhoon. It's head swung from legs to right while the heat rod followed it.

At the same time the Gundam Vindicator launched nearly half of it's payload at the Desbats, blowing up mobile suits like toy soldiers with firecrackers. Yet through all of this destruction caused by the Gundams, somehow or another the pilots of the Desbats mobile suits somehow managed to escape their suits before they blew up. That would explain why they've been running low on ammunition, they've been trying to destroy mobile suits without killing the pilots.

"What is the mobile suit count?" Heero asked Midas

"Mobile suit count is down to 15." Midas reported

"Understood."

Heero continued to unleash the power of the Gundam Vindicator, like the Gundam Clockwork, it was like a combination of the Wing Gundam, Wing Zero, and Heavyarms. It is a bit of an odd combination but it has helped reduce the mobile suit number drastically. Though on the other side of the battlefield they had the opposing viewpoint.

"Damn it!" Gandor cursed as he slammed his fist on a hard surface. He was careful to make sure he didn't break anything when he slammed his fist down.

"What are your orders?" Laramie asked

"Keep fighting!" Gandor shouted,

"But sir we're down to fifteen mobile suits, even if all our pilots are the best trained in Desbats it's still not enough against eight Gundams."
"Do you want to die?" Gandor asked

"No sir!"

"Then keep fighting."

He looked out into space and saw that strange Gundam come into view. At first his heart jumped to his throat because he thought that the Gundam might kill him. But it didn't, he saw its heat rod tongue slip back into its buster shield head.

Suddenly a transmission came through, Gandor reached out to receive the transmission. His heart was racing in his chest because he had hoped that the Gundams would surrender and then the Desbats would be victorious.

He pressed the button and that Gundam Pilot's face came up.

"This is Johan Rodriguez of the Office of Preventer calling from the Gundam Ryu. Are you Gandor?"

"I am." Gandor responded with a slight smile hoping that this Gundam was defeated

"I am here to make an offer with you."

A conditional surrender maybe, Gandor thought, maybe they'll surrender if we agree to something.

"I wish to settle this battle here with you. I challenge you Gandor of the Desbats to a duel."

Heero called Johan, "Let me take him." He asked as he piloted the Vindicator to the Ryu.

"Let's let him decide." Johan said to Heero, He looked back at Gandor's one eyed face, "Which Gundam do you choose to fight Gandor? My Gundam Ryu, or his Gundam Vindicator."

Gandor looked out at the two Gundams side by side, the tall, proud and knight-like Gundam Vindicator standing next to the Gundanium Dragon mobile suit.

Back further from the negotiations, the pilots were talking amongst themselves.

"Is he out of his gulliver?" Alexandria asked from the Clockwork

"I don't think so." Wufei responded to her question, "Johan's the kind of guy who will try to settle things one on one with someone. He's simply living up to his own sense integrity."

"But we have to remember that he's dealing with an extremely good veteran mobile suit pilot." Quatre advised with that same worried tone

Though Milliardo overheard and stepped in, "Remember, I too am a veteran pilot, yet Johan dueled with me."

"True." Duo agreed shrugging, "but there's a time for all of us. I just sure as hell hope that Johan's isn't up."

Gandor made his decision.

"I choose the Gundam Ryu." He said

"Very well." Johan said with a face that did not show any kind of emotion what so ever, a poker faced carved in marble, "Call your soldiers to stand down."

"I'll do that." Gandor agreed as he opened a channel to 'his' soldiers, "Attention Desbats, cease fire. I have decided to fight one of the Gundams in a fair duel."

"Sir!" Laramie called, "What's going to happen if you loose?"

"Let me worry about that!" Gandor shouted while he shut off the COM system to the rest of the Desbats.

Meanwhile his mobile suit (which is a Taurus suit) drew out its beam saber, at the same time Johan transformed his Ryu back into a mobile suit. It stood with its buster rifle in one hand and the shield in the other while it's green eyes flashed. He tossed the buster rifle to the Vindicator.

"Hold onto this, Heero."

With one free hand the Gundam Ryu drew out it's beam weapon and selected the beam sword. Its beam came out with that pulsating and yet somehow sickening green hue. It held the shield close to its chest while it held out the sword, ready for battle.

"Let's begin." Johan stated as he reached out for a different song this time. It was a song that was completely in Latin. He heard the first few lines only the voices of those men and women who were signing in Latin and yet no instruments like a Monastery chorus.

Fithos lusec wecos vinosec
Fithos lusec wecos vinosec
Fithos lusec wecos vinosec

He watched the Taurus with its beam weapon out and ready. Now the battle was a standoff for what have been a few minutes stretched ever outward. The two looked at each other, even though they couldn't see each others faces, they were simply looking into the glass camera eyes of their mobile suits.

It began, Gandor made the first attack swiping at the Gundam Ryu, but Johan blocked it with his buster shield and tried to make an uppercut with his beam sword, but Gandor dashed out before he could even get a chance to slice at him. It was a near miss but Gandor came right back at Johan, this time he made it look like he was going to make another swipe, identical to the one before. At the last second before the beam saber came down on the Gundam Ryu the Taurus made a kick at the Gundams chest.

Johan felt the whole suit rock backwards from the impact but he regained his balance and continued to fight. He made swipe after swipe at the Taurus.

Behind him his friends were giving him some moral support, even though they weren't telling him directly. Rather they were doing their own moral support in their minds.

"Come on, Johan." Duo pleaded, "Kick his ass!"

"Defeat him Johan." Quatre hoped

"Don't get killed." Heero thought

Even though Heero sat out on a few fights he knew how Johan had to fight. It usually just comes down to a fight between two men, two suits over one cause. Though there was that time against the Mariemaia Army when the two of them fired upon the fortress that held the leaders of the Mariemaia army.

Thinking back to that time, Heero let himself have a little smirk. Then his attention was brought back to the battlefield between the Gundam Ryu and the Taurus suit. The two suits continued to fight against each other. Neither one was loosing and at the same time no one was winning, it was equal.

Johan knew this, Ryu knew this, and so did the other Gundam pilots.

The zero system didn't turn on. It knew as well as Johan that he had to fight on his own without help from Ryu and it also knew that this fight didn't mean anything. Even though it held a decision of the outcome of who would win.

"I have to convince him to give up." Johan thought, "Otherwise he'll die for a hopeless cause."

"Why are you fighting this battle?" Johan asked Gandor

Gandor laughed, "Ha! That's the silliest question I have ever heard from a Gundam pilot. You know full well why I'm fighting you. You purposed the duel and I'm following."
"That's not what I'm asking." Johan grunted as he tried to block the beam saber, "Why are you fighting the Gundams?"

"That's simple." Gandor smirked, "I want the honor of defeating the Gundams. You Gundams may have been fighting for the colonies but you fought without any honor."
Johan laughed, "That has got to be the greatest hypocrisy I have ever heard. You were the one who took hostages, and yet you dare to call the Gundams dirty fighters?"

Gandor didn't answer

"I got you there don't I?"

"Even you of all people." Gandor started again, "You're a Peacecraft, like Milliardo. You're not supposed to fight, and even if you do you're supposed to fight with honor. Never having the upper hand, every fight should be equal."

"Like this loosing battle we're having now?" Johan asked

"That's not the point! The point is that you disgraced the Peacecrafts by being a Gundam Pilot."
Johan knew that Gandor was right, but at the same time he knew that he was right in being a Gundam pilot. If no one would fight during that time of oppression from the Alliance then who would? He had to fight, otherwise more people would suffer like the many Peacecrafts who died during its collapse because of the Alliance, as well as Johan's own family. Who would fight if no one would stand up to do so?

"If I didn't become a Gundam, then the Alliance would have made more suffer." Johan answered, "But that's over, the Alliance is gone, so is Oz and the Romafeller Foundation. We at the Office of Preventer are all the mobile suits that are left in all of the Earth Sphere and the colonies. We do not pretend to have achieved perfect peace, but if perfect peace were achieved then Preventer wouldn't be needed at all. But I should say that you too disgraced the Peacecraft name by making Kazuki into a pirate."

Gandor shouted, "That still doesn't excuse the fact that you've killed people as a result of being a Gundam pilot."

Johan thought about the hundreds of thousands who have died from that war, "You of all people should know that in war people die. Casualties are inevitable, you can not make an omelet without breaking eggs, any cook will tell you that."

"You may be right." Gandor sighed, "but I'm going to keep fighting you until I die. My death is also inevitable, I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees!"

Johan found an opening, the Taurus suit was now vulnerable. The time was now to make his move, he quickly move his controls as the song that blared through he cockpit was coming to a close.

Fithos lusec wecos vinosec
Fithos lusec wecos vinosec
Fithos lusec wecos vinosec
Fithos lusec wecos vinosec

Instead of the beam saber he whipped out the heat rod from the buster shield. It came out like the whip from the hips of Indiana Jones, and on the first pass it sliced off the arm that held the beam saber from the Taurus suit like a hot knife through butter. It then came down and sliced off the other arm like someone biting off the arm of a gingerbread man. Finally the heat rod sliced off both legs, the Taurus suit was now disabled and helpless as a defenseless child. It's sockets sparked with the wires that were once connected to limbs for their useful purpose. Now it was gone.

"I lost." Gandor sighed, "Go ahead Johan Peacecraft Rodriguez. Kill me. Do it if that'll make you feel better. Thousands have already died because of you and those other Gundams, what's one more? Just do it."

The song in the cockpit of Gundam Ryu ended; there was only the sound of silence. Thunderous silence, except when Johan made his decision. He moved the controls and the heat rod whipped out again, this time it didn't slice the Taurus suit in half like many others before it. The heat rod wrapped itself around the waist of the suit.

"I'm not going to kill you Gandor." Johan stated

"Why not?"

"I simply have no need to kill anymore. Besides no one died here today."

The statement shocked Gandor, "What?"
Johan explained, "You see, during the battle, after a mobile suit is disabled or destroyed, their pilots would eject. During that time a small rescue ship from the Office of Preventer has been picking up those ejected pilots. So most of the pilots who have lost their suits are safe and receiving medical attention as we speak. Nothing was really lost here today, except mobile suits."

Gandor laid back in his seat allowing what he heard to sink into himself, "Perhaps I was wrong about them." He thought, "Maybe they have more honor than what I've given them credit for."

Johan looked over at the Gundam Vindicator that stood next to the other mobile suits, The Clockwork, DeathScythe Hell, Heavyarms, Sandrock, Nataku, and the Tallgeese. Johan dragged the disabled Taurus suit behind him as he came over to his comrades.

"Mission Complete." Johan and Heero stated together as a new song started up in Ryu's cockpit.

I feel your love reflection
Mitsumekaesu hitomi ni
Egaite haruka na "Never ending story"

Kanashimi mo itami mo furikiru you ni habataku
Anata ga kureta tsubasa wo kono mune ni hirogete...

Aa Kakegae nai ai no kodou wo
Setsunaku kuruoshiku kanjite itai

I feel your love reflection!
Atsuku yume wo kasanete
Ayamachi osorezu ni motomeau seishun!!
I feel your love reflection
Mitsumekaesu hitomi ni
Egaite haruka na "Never ending story"

The End…?

Author's Notes: I felt that Kazuki shouldn't be held to blame for any of what has happened so all the blame goes to Gandor whose already planning to take glory for killing the Gundams. In this ending chapter I wanted to put in a few philosophical ideas of my own such as those I picked up from the duel between Quatre and Dorothy. Along with that I inserted several songs into this story, the reason is because I've always felt that music helps to intensify the story. This does apply to written stories as well as movies or without music it doesn't quite cut it. Now that this story is over now comes another crossover coming to you at a Fanfiction.net web site near you.

Come again for the next crossover of Preventer and another Anime; Gundam Wing and Trigun: Trigundam