Who'd have thought, after so long I'd post another chapter. Well, to explain, I found my old notebook last night and... well... I'd already had the next two chapters done, and I read them and decided I should post them and try to continue my story where I left off. 7 Will be posted when I have time to type it.
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I always had to be strong. It was in my breeding. I couldn't affoard to be weak, even when the wars were over and I started my own projects. He always tried to convince me that there were times when I was being insane, not strong, but I never listened. Not being strong would mean I was weak. He tried so many times to convince me otherwise.
*******
A.C 198
Duo Maxwell wasn't sure what he was getting into exactly when he gave agreement to assisting in fighting off the attacking force. Though, he wasn't sure what to expect when he stepped out of the shuttle either! Everyone was saluteing and saying "Catalonia-sama" this and "Dorothy-dono" that. They were all younger people, thirteen through twenty-something, dressed in uniforms with a black and white (mostly white) color scheme. As soon as they stepped out, Relena was wisked off to that secure area, and he got to watch Dorothy issue commands left and right. After hearing someone ask which suits to deploy, he decided he wanted to interupt, "Which suit do I get?"
In response, he got a small smirk from the strange girl and she turned to her men and said, "I'll prep his suit and mine. I think we can handle it. I doubt they accounted on a Gundam pilot being here. They're having a hard enough time getting around the basic defenses."
"My suit?" Duo frowned. They'd all seemed to understand right away what she had meant by that, so it almost sounded as if she'd expected this and had a suit specifically made for him.
Again, Dorothy grinned at him, a mischevious twinkle in her eyes as she said, "This way. Unless you'd rather leave them all to me?" She almost seemed to be daring him.
"Lead the way 'roach-brow."
She grumbled something, then moved quickly down a corridor and towards a few wide doors. She punched some numbers in a keypad and then pressed her palm against a scanner. High level secruity area it seemed. The doors opened with a fast jerk, leading into a plain corridor with no apparent doors. She lead the way down it, then laid her hand on a blank panel. A sensor went off and the panel next to them slid open. Inside were large mobile suits. Three seemed to be in the modling stages, but the complete ones left him staring.
"I'm sure you can guess which one is yours."
Duo most certainly could! There was no mistaking. One of the suits was Deathscythe Hell. The other suits included Wing ZERO, Heavyarms and Sandrock. Altron was one of the suits in development, along with a Tallgeese and a Mercurius. Epyon stood out like a dark cloud in an otherwise clear day. "What the hell...?"
"Don't ask questions. Get in and get out there." Dorothy called out as she moved towardsthe Epyon. "Your DNA alone activates it. Just spit on your hand and touch the control unit. If it doesn't come on, then I'll relay the auto-unlock codes to you. But there shouldn't be any glitches." She started to asend to the cockpit of the Epyon as Duo finally started to move toward Deathscythe.
Why would she and her group build Gundams? And why would they activate with his DNA? ANd how did she get his DNA? "Oi, my brain hurts," he mumbled as he climbed up to het into the open cockpit. As he was instructed, he spit on his hand and grabbed the control unit. It automatically clicked on, door closing, systems powering up, panels lighting. Information scrolled over the main screen. "Hello, old buddy. Never thought I'd see you in a place like this." Then again, he'd hoped the Gundams wouldn't be needed again.
"Maxwell! Stop talking to your Gundam and prepare for battle!" a voice called through the com systems. Dorothy's image appeared on one of the side monitors. "The setup should be just as you had it."
"Hey, are you really going to use Epyon? It's a dangerous suit!"
"I can handle it, worry about yourself."
"All right. All right. Escuse me for being a little concerned! Hope you know what you're doing."
"And I hope you remember what to do, Shinigami-kun."
"Only if you got everything in the right place, roach-chan."
Dorothy shook her head and the image clicked off, but right before it did, he heard the beginning of a soft chuckle. He grinned himself and began to examine the controls. The personal additions he made to it to complete the unfinished Deathscythe HELL were even in place. How did she get his personal additions? He could understand the basic sckematics. She was on Libra with Dr. J and the others. She might have gotten the original designs, but he didn't stick to them completely when he finished the additions.
Wah, he had so many questions for antennae girl it wasn't funny! But for now, the God of Death had some people to scare away.
Duo activated the sensor dampanor of both visual and heat sensors, as well as everything else, and heard Dorothy order to move out, "And try not to kill anyone!" she added before Epyon vanished out of the hanger.
Try not to kill anyone? That was easier said than accomplished, but he would try.
As soon as they got out there, the battle was nearly over. It wasn't that the shuttles were disabled really, but in general, as soon as they made their presense known, the shuttles decided to be elsewhere. In short, they weren't as dumb as they looked.
"Duo," Dorothy's voice called out. "Try to disable one before it can get away. I want to question a few of them if I can."
"Hai! Hai! Just one? You sure you don't want a couple?"
"Don't get cocky, Braid-Boy. I'm not here to stroke your ego." Was it just him, or did that sound like inneuendo? Dorothy clicked off the communication and he saw the Epyon move to disable one of the fleeing shuttles. He targeted a different one.
It didn't take too long before they both had their targets down. Duo went through the trouble of trying to contact them as he dragged the shuttle back to the station.
"Hey! Why are you guys doing this? Hey, answer me!"
"So... she got a Gundam pilot..." the voice wasn't famialiar, but it sounded like a young boy. The image came on screen and the boy was wearing the same white and black uniform as Dorothy's people. With the exception of bright blue slashes along the hem of the jacket.
"What...?" Duo said, frowning. "What's going on here?"
The young boy laughed, shaking his head. "She didn't tell you what you were getting into either, did she? Not surprising. Crazy bitch."
Duo didn't know what to think. Was she trying to use him for some diabolical plot? She had sounded genuine when she said she was going to stop these attackers; she looked so sincere. That's why he agreed. "Damnit." he turned off the communication and continued leading the disabled shuttle in. If Dorothy was using him...
It wasn't much longer until the pilots of the two disabled shuttles were extracted. Dorothy was standing in front of them, speaking softly. Duo pushed past the men around them and went straight to the girl with the eyebrows. "What the hell is going on Dorothy? These are you own men, aren't they? You said the shuttle that attacked us wasn't yours. It was, wasn't it?"
Dorothy didn't look at him at first, but when she did she snapped at him, "Shut up, Maxwell."
"I don't think so," Duo grabbed her arm and pulled her to face him. "Tell me what's going on, now. I helped you and you're lying. Give me one reason not to press this button." He raised his other hand, showing that he was gripping the detatcable self-destruct swich of Deathscythe.
Clear blue eyes narrowed, but Dorothy's body froze. She had to know if he pressed it, the other suits would be damaged as well, if it didn't trigger their own self destruct. "You'd be willing to kill the people in and around that hanger?"
"To keep the Gundams out of your hands? You bet!"
Dorothy stared at him, then nodded, "Put that away, I'll explain everything."
He reached to put it away, right next to the gun he had, though he kept his hands near both. Just in case. Duo didn't like being used.
"They were my men. When they found out the true purpose of what we were doing, they defected."
"What is the true purpose?"
It didn't seem that fate was going to let her tell him just then. The two prisoners had been standing there the whole time and Dorothy's attentions, as well as most of the guards, were on Duo. One of the hadn't been checked good enough and pulled a small gun and fired. The sound drew everyone's eyes, but the braided pilot spotted Dorothy jerk suddenly. The guards had their guns in hand already, but Dup was still faster. He didn't even think about it. Instinct drove him to shoot the boy.
"Thank you, Duo." Dorothy's voice interupted the silence that followed the gunshot. Silence for him at least. He frowned at the gun, as if wondering why it was there. He was Shinigami, but he'd gotten out of the habit of killing people. Especially in defense of someone who was probably an enemy. "I'm going to have to scold the person who checked that boy..."
Duo put his gun away and looked towards the young woman. Hadn't she been hit? He was sure he saw her give a jerk. But she turned away from him and motioned the guards away, saying something about going to her quarters. It took him a moment to realize she had adjusted the jacket of her dark space suit and... her voice had been much softer than usual...
Duo pushed past the guards and went after her, "Dor? Were you hit?"
"I'm wearing a vest, Duo." she explained softly. "Don't make a scene."
"I still want to know what's going on. I just killed someone for you."
"Shut up and follow me. I said I would explain, and I will. But I want to sit down and get this vest off, if you don't mind."
Duo frowned. Her voice was just barely beginning to sound pained. "I'm not going to have to carry you there, am I?"
Dorothy snorted loudly, "If you even tried, I'd..."
"Kill me? You don't do a very good Heero impression, so don't say it." And she didn't say it. She just continued down the corridor. Luckily, he didn't have to carry her.
One thing was clear to him now. She was strong. Strong enough to hide a cracked rib from everyone else.
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Next chapter: Dorothy explains herself and something really bad happens.
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I always had to be strong. It was in my breeding. I couldn't affoard to be weak, even when the wars were over and I started my own projects. He always tried to convince me that there were times when I was being insane, not strong, but I never listened. Not being strong would mean I was weak. He tried so many times to convince me otherwise.
*******
A.C 198
Duo Maxwell wasn't sure what he was getting into exactly when he gave agreement to assisting in fighting off the attacking force. Though, he wasn't sure what to expect when he stepped out of the shuttle either! Everyone was saluteing and saying "Catalonia-sama" this and "Dorothy-dono" that. They were all younger people, thirteen through twenty-something, dressed in uniforms with a black and white (mostly white) color scheme. As soon as they stepped out, Relena was wisked off to that secure area, and he got to watch Dorothy issue commands left and right. After hearing someone ask which suits to deploy, he decided he wanted to interupt, "Which suit do I get?"
In response, he got a small smirk from the strange girl and she turned to her men and said, "I'll prep his suit and mine. I think we can handle it. I doubt they accounted on a Gundam pilot being here. They're having a hard enough time getting around the basic defenses."
"My suit?" Duo frowned. They'd all seemed to understand right away what she had meant by that, so it almost sounded as if she'd expected this and had a suit specifically made for him.
Again, Dorothy grinned at him, a mischevious twinkle in her eyes as she said, "This way. Unless you'd rather leave them all to me?" She almost seemed to be daring him.
"Lead the way 'roach-brow."
She grumbled something, then moved quickly down a corridor and towards a few wide doors. She punched some numbers in a keypad and then pressed her palm against a scanner. High level secruity area it seemed. The doors opened with a fast jerk, leading into a plain corridor with no apparent doors. She lead the way down it, then laid her hand on a blank panel. A sensor went off and the panel next to them slid open. Inside were large mobile suits. Three seemed to be in the modling stages, but the complete ones left him staring.
"I'm sure you can guess which one is yours."
Duo most certainly could! There was no mistaking. One of the suits was Deathscythe Hell. The other suits included Wing ZERO, Heavyarms and Sandrock. Altron was one of the suits in development, along with a Tallgeese and a Mercurius. Epyon stood out like a dark cloud in an otherwise clear day. "What the hell...?"
"Don't ask questions. Get in and get out there." Dorothy called out as she moved towardsthe Epyon. "Your DNA alone activates it. Just spit on your hand and touch the control unit. If it doesn't come on, then I'll relay the auto-unlock codes to you. But there shouldn't be any glitches." She started to asend to the cockpit of the Epyon as Duo finally started to move toward Deathscythe.
Why would she and her group build Gundams? And why would they activate with his DNA? ANd how did she get his DNA? "Oi, my brain hurts," he mumbled as he climbed up to het into the open cockpit. As he was instructed, he spit on his hand and grabbed the control unit. It automatically clicked on, door closing, systems powering up, panels lighting. Information scrolled over the main screen. "Hello, old buddy. Never thought I'd see you in a place like this." Then again, he'd hoped the Gundams wouldn't be needed again.
"Maxwell! Stop talking to your Gundam and prepare for battle!" a voice called through the com systems. Dorothy's image appeared on one of the side monitors. "The setup should be just as you had it."
"Hey, are you really going to use Epyon? It's a dangerous suit!"
"I can handle it, worry about yourself."
"All right. All right. Escuse me for being a little concerned! Hope you know what you're doing."
"And I hope you remember what to do, Shinigami-kun."
"Only if you got everything in the right place, roach-chan."
Dorothy shook her head and the image clicked off, but right before it did, he heard the beginning of a soft chuckle. He grinned himself and began to examine the controls. The personal additions he made to it to complete the unfinished Deathscythe HELL were even in place. How did she get his personal additions? He could understand the basic sckematics. She was on Libra with Dr. J and the others. She might have gotten the original designs, but he didn't stick to them completely when he finished the additions.
Wah, he had so many questions for antennae girl it wasn't funny! But for now, the God of Death had some people to scare away.
Duo activated the sensor dampanor of both visual and heat sensors, as well as everything else, and heard Dorothy order to move out, "And try not to kill anyone!" she added before Epyon vanished out of the hanger.
Try not to kill anyone? That was easier said than accomplished, but he would try.
As soon as they got out there, the battle was nearly over. It wasn't that the shuttles were disabled really, but in general, as soon as they made their presense known, the shuttles decided to be elsewhere. In short, they weren't as dumb as they looked.
"Duo," Dorothy's voice called out. "Try to disable one before it can get away. I want to question a few of them if I can."
"Hai! Hai! Just one? You sure you don't want a couple?"
"Don't get cocky, Braid-Boy. I'm not here to stroke your ego." Was it just him, or did that sound like inneuendo? Dorothy clicked off the communication and he saw the Epyon move to disable one of the fleeing shuttles. He targeted a different one.
It didn't take too long before they both had their targets down. Duo went through the trouble of trying to contact them as he dragged the shuttle back to the station.
"Hey! Why are you guys doing this? Hey, answer me!"
"So... she got a Gundam pilot..." the voice wasn't famialiar, but it sounded like a young boy. The image came on screen and the boy was wearing the same white and black uniform as Dorothy's people. With the exception of bright blue slashes along the hem of the jacket.
"What...?" Duo said, frowning. "What's going on here?"
The young boy laughed, shaking his head. "She didn't tell you what you were getting into either, did she? Not surprising. Crazy bitch."
Duo didn't know what to think. Was she trying to use him for some diabolical plot? She had sounded genuine when she said she was going to stop these attackers; she looked so sincere. That's why he agreed. "Damnit." he turned off the communication and continued leading the disabled shuttle in. If Dorothy was using him...
It wasn't much longer until the pilots of the two disabled shuttles were extracted. Dorothy was standing in front of them, speaking softly. Duo pushed past the men around them and went straight to the girl with the eyebrows. "What the hell is going on Dorothy? These are you own men, aren't they? You said the shuttle that attacked us wasn't yours. It was, wasn't it?"
Dorothy didn't look at him at first, but when she did she snapped at him, "Shut up, Maxwell."
"I don't think so," Duo grabbed her arm and pulled her to face him. "Tell me what's going on, now. I helped you and you're lying. Give me one reason not to press this button." He raised his other hand, showing that he was gripping the detatcable self-destruct swich of Deathscythe.
Clear blue eyes narrowed, but Dorothy's body froze. She had to know if he pressed it, the other suits would be damaged as well, if it didn't trigger their own self destruct. "You'd be willing to kill the people in and around that hanger?"
"To keep the Gundams out of your hands? You bet!"
Dorothy stared at him, then nodded, "Put that away, I'll explain everything."
He reached to put it away, right next to the gun he had, though he kept his hands near both. Just in case. Duo didn't like being used.
"They were my men. When they found out the true purpose of what we were doing, they defected."
"What is the true purpose?"
It didn't seem that fate was going to let her tell him just then. The two prisoners had been standing there the whole time and Dorothy's attentions, as well as most of the guards, were on Duo. One of the hadn't been checked good enough and pulled a small gun and fired. The sound drew everyone's eyes, but the braided pilot spotted Dorothy jerk suddenly. The guards had their guns in hand already, but Dup was still faster. He didn't even think about it. Instinct drove him to shoot the boy.
"Thank you, Duo." Dorothy's voice interupted the silence that followed the gunshot. Silence for him at least. He frowned at the gun, as if wondering why it was there. He was Shinigami, but he'd gotten out of the habit of killing people. Especially in defense of someone who was probably an enemy. "I'm going to have to scold the person who checked that boy..."
Duo put his gun away and looked towards the young woman. Hadn't she been hit? He was sure he saw her give a jerk. But she turned away from him and motioned the guards away, saying something about going to her quarters. It took him a moment to realize she had adjusted the jacket of her dark space suit and... her voice had been much softer than usual...
Duo pushed past the guards and went after her, "Dor? Were you hit?"
"I'm wearing a vest, Duo." she explained softly. "Don't make a scene."
"I still want to know what's going on. I just killed someone for you."
"Shut up and follow me. I said I would explain, and I will. But I want to sit down and get this vest off, if you don't mind."
Duo frowned. Her voice was just barely beginning to sound pained. "I'm not going to have to carry you there, am I?"
Dorothy snorted loudly, "If you even tried, I'd..."
"Kill me? You don't do a very good Heero impression, so don't say it." And she didn't say it. She just continued down the corridor. Luckily, he didn't have to carry her.
One thing was clear to him now. She was strong. Strong enough to hide a cracked rib from everyone else.
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Next chapter: Dorothy explains herself and something really bad happens.
