Coalition Base
"It's time to go."
Trynity stood at the base of the Shadowhawk, her eyes shifting from the door of the hanger to the observation deck above. She had gone to her father's lab before coming here, but he was not there. One of the technicians informed her that he was making adjustments to the cloaking net he had created for the Sagitarien force. Although the opposing gundams would likely be able to find the Shadowhawk were it cloaked alone, their sensors would fail against the net devised around the Sagitariens. Behind them she would follow in the Shadowhawk with Lars in the Artemis.
Lars was waiting at her side. "He is not coming. We have to go."
She was heartbroken and tried not to show it, but a tear slid down her cheek. Trynity felt as if her father had abandoned her. She hadn't expected his approval, but she was going into battle and they might never see each other again.
Lars wiped the tear away with his then, then took her face in his hands to raise it to his. "He would be here, if he could. Now we have to go." Trynity didn't react when he leaned down to kiss her. She just didn't feel anything but sadness. "It is time to become a soldier, Itsy Bitsy," Lars whispered in her ear.
Trynity sighed and looked at his face. The concern he showed her was genuine, and she realized that she was foolish to expect Ivan Stryfe to see her off on a mission of killing. He had done his part by provided her with the weapon and adequate protection, but he could never condone the path her life had taken.
"I will see you in space," she said to Lars, then hopped on the cable lift to her gundam cockpit. As she rose, she bent forward to kiss him on the lips. Trynity laughed at the expression on his face. "Don't make an ass of yourself, Captain Nelson."
When she reached the opening to the cockpit, she stepped inside. After pulling on her space suit, she settled into the seat and strapped herself in. All systems were at their optimum, so she activated the Shadowhawk. She noticed that Lars had gotten into the Artemis as well. He was the commanding officer, so she waited for him to exit first, and when he did, she followed. They blasted up and away from the base together. They would not be competing today.
Although the odds were stacked against the gundams, Trynity knew they would go down kicking and screaming, so she knew that in order to survive, she must team up with Lars. Since his brother's call, they had trained relentlessly until his shots did not stray the mark and she had learned to handle the staff with ease and precision. Until she met gundam 02, however, she would use the bow, flail and heaven's tears to decimate the ranks of the enemy.
The cloak net engaged almost immediately and Trynity felt pride her father's genius as the army of the Sagitariens disappeared behind the Taurus suits. The fleet from Earth was approaching without taking formation, a sign that they had not discovered anything but the Taurus suits and did not perceive them as a threat. Trynity searched the radio frequencies to hear their communications, but they were fuzzy and far away because of the interference caused by the energy field.
"Do you see the Shadowhawk?"
"I see nothing but Taurus."
"This is child's play."
"I am picking up some abnormal readings ahead."
Trynity watched in her viewing screen as gundam 03, otherwise known as Heavyarms, began to fire on the approaching Taurus suits. They did not realize that the mobile dolls were decoys, their purpose solely to use up the gundams' firepower. Gundam 04, Sandrock, was slicing away with is heat shotels, and Wing gundams was flying about like a bird picking worms from the ground, taking out suits with merciless precision.
But the Sagitariens did not appear until the last of the Taurus suits had been destroyed, and then Trynity smiled to hear the string of foul language coming from the gundam pilots as they fought to protect themselves from the storm of crossbolts and rounds from beam rifles. Behind Trynity, the transport ships began to arrive, expecting a quick battle, after which they would collect the gundams and haul them back to the Coalition base.
"Are you ready, lieutenant?" asked Lars.
In answer, she de-cloaked the Shadowhawk just as the mobile dolls behind the gundams began to attack. She soared downward with her bow nocked and sent an arrow sailing at the Sandrock gundam as its attention was diverted to fighting a Sagitarien and two Taurus mobile dolls that had accompanied them into space. The gundam shuddered for a moment after the arrow hit, then became dark before beginning to drift. The Heavyarms gundam came at the Shadowhawk, firing missiles that she dived to avoid just as the Artemis flew in from above, sending two glowing arrows at the gundam. Heavyarms sent out one last round of missiles before falling as dark and silent as Sandrock.
As they both turned their attention to the Wing gundam, mobile suits fought around them. The manned suits sent from the Cinq Kingdom fought valiantly, but were not match for the mobile dolls and the forces sent from the Coalition base. Trynity noted on her communicator that Colonel Nelson had already sent the order for the remaining two gundams to join the fight. Trynity was so intent on awaiting gundam 02 that she didn't realize Wing gundam was flying straight at her until it crashed into the Shadowhawk. They tumbled together, smashing into other mobile suits, friend and foe alike. Trynity guessed the astute pilot realized that he would not be fired upon by the arrow while he was connected to the Shadowhawk. Trynity hoped Lars realized that hitting the Wing gundam also meant hitting her. They wrestled then, Trynity trying to throw off the Wing gundam, the Wing gundam refusing to be shaken.
Finaly the Artemis flew towards them with the beam saber activated, and Wing zero had no choice but to defend itself. When it raised its shield, Trynity flung out the energy stars, knocking backward into the Artemis' assault. They dueled with beam sabers as Trynity nocked two arrows. The Wing gundam fell like a downed bird, and Lars unloaded another arrow at it as it tried to regain control.
Tough bird, thought Trynity. A worthy opponent.
"Gundam 02 is approaching," warned Lars.
Trynity checked her radar and saw nothing. She quickly changed to visual and saw the ghastly vision fast approaching with its scythe raised, its dark bat wings unfolded. Trynity had been in this position before, but this time she doubted it would lose power and allow her to escape. Although her heart was racing as she watched the macabre gundam draw nearer, she forced her hand to be still on the controls. When it was almost upon her, she hit the boosters and accelerated away at high velocity, wings drawn back to increase speed. When she reached the full height of her climb, she threw on the cloak and turned to view the battlefield. Gundam 05 was fighting the Artemis, and the mobile suits were still engaged in a pitched battle that would ultimately lead to victory for the superior force of the Coalition. Where was gundam 02? She didn't see it anywhere.
**********
"Looky, looky, what I found!"
Duo was snickering about the ease in which he was going to decapitate the Shadowhawk. This was easier than he thought it would be. The pilot hadn't even realized that he followed it, and he was glad Sam had cranked the power in his accelerating systems. That dude was going to get a well deserved high-five. Duo had even overshot the gundam, but now it worked to his advantage as he hovered above it. He could not see it except on the energy scope Howard had installed for just such a purpose, but Duo knew it was right below him, a helpless little bird. He was so close he could reach out and give it a little tap with Deathscythe's foot. Instead he drew back the scythe to strike.
But his attack was stalled when the Shadowhawk spun around, materialized and his scythe was hug up on what appeared to be a double-edge beam saber, very similar to the one used by the Valkyrie. Duo tried to get a reading on the energy levels of the weapon, but his scan was jammed. Frowning, he spun around and attacked again, but the Shadowhawk stopped his deadly scythe. This time he was thrown back and treated to a colorful display as the Shadowhawk twirled the beam saber, and he was so mesmerized y the pinwheel effect that he didn't notice the attack until the arm of his gundam was trembling with energy surges. He quickly fired missiles before the energy surge detonated them and blew the arm of his gundam. Sam wouldn't like that! The Shadowhawk took the missile hit on a shield, but it flew back, and Deathscythe pursued. Damn, this was as tough as fighting Noin. Damn good thing he went on that little training mission with her. He doubted he would be congratulated on his foresight.
Duo could see around him that the battle was lost. The mobile suits were no match for the treachery of Colonel Nelson, and he felt anger that men had lost their lives to the mobile dolls controlled by the traitor. He saw the transport ships loading the deactivated gundams as if they were dead bodies, and he despaired for his friends and fellow pilots, his family, as Heero had said. Were they alive in those gundams? They were surely unconscious or they would have detonated the gundams rather than let them fall into the hands of the enemy.
He attacked the Shadowhawk with fury, slashing and hacking, and each attack met with the parry of the beam saber. The pilot was skilled, but he was surely tiring. Duo didn't know how much longer he could continue the fight. The energy levels were beginning to run low, due in no small part to that little boost to acceleration. He could see that the Altron was hit, but the mobile suit that had attacked him on his last trip into space was not moving to assist the Shadowhawk. So they wanted an honorable duel? Well, he was not an honorable guy!
Duo hacked away for a few more minutes, then used what remained of his energy to boost towards Earth. "I may run and hide," he began with a snicker, then didn't finish. That was exactly what he was going to do. He would come back to fight another day. Next time with Zechs Merquise and Lucrezia Noin.
He assumed that the Shadowhawk would not pursue him to Earth, but he was wrong. Duo could not believe the audacity of the Coalition pilot, but he shouldn't have been surprised. Now he knew he was in for another battle. He barely had time to locate a deserted area in the Southern Hemisphere where few, if any civilians, would either witness or become victims of the combat between the two gundams. When he landed on the small island, the Shadowhawk landed nearby.
Now what? They stood facing each other for several minutes before Duo raised the scythe and activated the beams. It was flickering. After uttering several words that would blister Mrs. Drivel's ears, he noted that the double-beam was also losing power. They stood ready to fight, but suddenly the Shadowhawk deactivated the beam saber and dropped it on the sandy beach. Duo raised the scythe, and with an evil smile, attacked, but the beam died and he felt like a fool hitting the Shadowhawk with the handle. He had no more power and no more weaponry.
The Shadowhawk drew the flail. A few whacks with that and Duo knew he would have another headache. Good thing he was strapped in this time and already on the ground. But the Shadowhawk dropped the mace on the ground beside the beam saber. Duo knew it meant the pilot planned to fight one of those ridiculous duels. He wasn't really up to that, so he tried to smash Shadowhawk again, but the gundam caught the handle of the scythe in both hands. Now Duo couldn't move. But then, in this position, the Shadowhawk couldn't use that damn bow.
Congratulating himself on what he perceived was a victory, Duo unbuckled, shrugged out of his space suit and picked up his gun, ignoring the sword issued by the Cinq Kingdom. He had every intention of putting a bullet right between the eyes of the Shadowhawk pilot. Screw the sword fight. He didn't know how to use the fancy toothpick anyway. The Shadowhawk pilot would be expecting the sword, these honorable types did, and by its reluctance to finish him off, he knew the pilot was one of those. He wouldn't be expecting bullets. Duo checked to make sure the gundam was loaded, then opened the door to the cockpit and stepped out. There was a warm breeze, and the sun was setting. Duo had little doubt the pilot would swagger out carrying a sword. Duo preferred the swift end. A bit messier, but very effective.
The door to the Shadowhawk opened slowly. Duo watched it with fascination until it came to a stop. His gun was behind his back, tucked now in his waistband. He started to raise his hands to surrender, but his eyes were drawn up the length of the door until he came to the feet of his opponent, the stealthy pilot of the Shadowhawk. At first he couldn't comprehend what he was seeing, then it hit him like an arrow straight through the heart. Those shoes! They were untied!
His head snapped up to see the tangled red and orange curls to confirm what could not be true. Then he saw the gun, pointing straight at him, and any words he might have said were cut off by the report of the gun. Duo hit the deck out of instinct and he felt the bullet whiz past his head. Damn! She was trying to kill him!
She shot again, and Duo rolled, barely catching hold of the edge of the door, and the hot bullet ricocheted several times before disappearing. His own gun slipped from his waistband and fell into the sand below. He twisted to look at her and saw that she was trying to get better aim as he dangled. Duo was a sitting duck until he realized that the cable to descend had automatically engaged when the door opened. He swung back and forth, then leapt the distance, grabbing it in his hands and holding desperately. Duo then quickly scrambled down the cable and when his feet hit the sand, he dived for his gun.
But the barrel of a pistol was in his face as his hand touched it.
"Don't bother." Her voice was as cold and deadly as her gun. He should have known she would find the easiest way to the bottom. His hand was itching to grab his own gun. But Duo didn't know if he could actually shoot Trynity Stryfe. She certainly didn't seem to have any qualms about unloading hot lead into him!
He laughed nervous as he slowly moved his hand away. "Hey, listen, Trynity, if this is about the dance…"
She didn't give him a chance to finish. She kicked out and her foot caught him in the chin, throwing him back. He tasted blood in his numb mouth and his neck hurt. "Shut up, Duo Maxwell." The gun was still pointing at his head. He could see that she was blazing with fury.
Duo reached up to wipe the blood from his lip with the back of his hand. "This is uncalled for, Trynity. You didn't have to go through all this trouble to show me how pissed you were about that dance."
"You ass!" She tried to kick him again, but Duo grabbed her ankle and tripped her. The gun fired, and he felt the bullet graze his ribs. The pain was intense, but Duo had to think fast. He threw a handful of sand into her face, then released her leg and charged away. Ducking behind a tree, he was barely flattened behind it when a bullet tore a huge chunk away.
So Miss Trynity Stryfe wasn't in the joking mood. She was just damn lucky his gun was behind her. That bitch! She had been lying from the start, pretending to be something she was not! All the time he had been feeling sorry for her and defending her, Trynity had been attacking the Cinq Kingdom. Everything she had told him in confidence had been a lie to cover her mission. Why hadn't he seen through her? Why hadn't any of them seen the signs? Sure, Wufei suspected her father, but Trynity? She couldn't tie her damn shoes! He glanced out now and saw that she had kicked off her shoes. Smart girl! He might step on the strings and she would be at his feet again. He'd know what to do with her then, and it wouldn't be sweet little kisses under the stars.
Where was she?
The gun against the back of his head was his answer. "Mr. Maxwell," she said quietly. "You disappoint me. I expected more from the pilot of gundam 02."
Duo chuckled. "We haven't even begun, Miss Stryfe. I know you haven't been formally introduced, but my gundam's name is Deathscythe Hell, and I am the god of death."
She seized his braid in her fist and knocked his face into the tree. Although he was reeling with pain and more than a little stunned, he jerked back his elbow and caught her in the belly, Trynity doubled over, coughing, but when he tried to get her gun, he fell prey to defensive move number one.
He fell to the ground, pain blinding him, reaching the ends of every nerve in his body. "Hell, Trynity!" he gasped. "That was not nice!" All he could see was red and white. "That puts a damper on any fun we could have had."
She kicked him again, but this time the effect was minimal. Even in his pain-induced haze he saw her hop on the foot she hadn't used, and he almost found it funny that she had hurt herself.
"Get up!"
"I can't!" he snapped. The pain to the private parts of him hadn't subsided. She didn't care. Grabbing his hair by the scalp, she began to drag him from his hiding place. "Hey, that hurts!"
"Shut up!" When they reached the sand, she released him at the foot of his gundam, then picked up his gun and turned to fling it into the jungle.
"I have had that gun for a long time," he muttered hoarsely. When would the pain end? "I will expect you to replace it."
Trynity scowled at him. Her gun was still train on him. Duo took the opportunity to look her over. Glasses gone, her hair tied efficiently back, she little resembled the thistle-girl now. She was dressed in some tight, short black dress over which she wore a red jacket decorated with insignias from which hung her ID: Lieutenant Trynity Stryfe. Pilot. How she must have laughed about her stay at Seaside! Did she know about the gundams? No, she couldn't have! Now that was amusing.
"What are you laughing about?" she demanded. She swiped a curl from her eyes.
"Hey, I was just thinking how we fooled you, Lieutenant Stryfe. All that time you were hunting our gundams, they were right under your nose."
Her green eyes glittered and narrowed at him. "Where?"
"Lower level," he said with a smirk, enjoying her anger. "Right below the lab, and the hanger opens onto the beach. Sally Po isn't our guardian. She is our commanding officer. Seaside Lab isn't an orphanage. It's a gundam base."
Something he said infuriated her, because she struck at him with the gun, and everything went black. The last thing he saw, was Trynity Stryfe shaking with anger and some other emotion he could not put a name to.
When he came to, the beach was dark but for the moonlight. His head was pounding, his face throbbing and their was searing pain radiating out from his ribs, not to mention other parts of his body that still suffered from her vicious blow. He reached up to his wound, but his arms wouldn't budge. His hands were tied behind him, and his ankles were tied together as well. He was trussed like pig ready to be stuck on a spit. So what was Trynity Stryfe going to do with him? Where was she?
He twisted around the best he could to find her.
"Don't move, you will make your wound bleed again."
The voice came from the shoreline several feet away. Trynity was sitting with her back to him, her arms wrapped around her knees as she pushed her toes into the wet sand, her face pointed to the moon. The water lapped up to her feet. Her jacket was discarded, and Duo noticed how delicate her bare arms looked despite the strength she demonstrated when they had struggled for her gun. He thought of the contest on the archery range between her and Wufei. They should have realized then who she was, but they wouldn't look past the fact that she was a girl. Duo couldn't have seen past her façade of a lost, lonely girl. Even now she seemed to be unhappy even thought she had triumphed over them all.
"Hey, I am thirsty!" he called out to her.
She reluctantly stood, and brushing sand off her, walked toward the gundams. After picking up a canteen, she came to him. She had never looked this good in her school clothes, thought Duo as his gaze traveled the length of her. Damn, she was a sight! That night of the dance he had gotten a hint of what she had been hiding, especially when he held her in his arms and they floated together with the music. Now he couldn't help but look to see what the shadows revealed where she had unzipped her dress down as a concession to the heat. The moonlight gave him a pleasant view that made parts of him forget defensive move number one. As she leaned over him and raised his head to put the canteen to his lips, he almost choked on the water when he noticed the chain around her neck, the golden scythe dangling above her heart.
Trynity took the canteen from him.
He tried to smile, but his face hurt too much and he realized he had a split lip. "So what is the plan, Miss Stryfe."
She raised a brow. "Those that gaze upon…"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. I heard you a couple of months ago. I have one of those phrases too. All of us from Operation Meteor do. Too bad you didn't join that party as planned. Things might have worked out differently."
"I'm not one of you!" She started to get up.
"Don't go!" Duo struggled ignobly to sit, then was surprised when she helped him. Even more surprised that she lifted his shirt to check a bandage she must have applied to it while he was unconscious. "That was very humane of you, Miss Stryfe."
"My mission is to capture the gundams and their pilots, not to kill them or let them bleed to death."
Duo smiled, but his attempt at charm was wasted when she didn't look at his face. "Then I guess I am safe for now. Hey, you were shooting at me! You could have killed me!"
"If I had wanted to kill you, you would be dead."
"Good point, Miss Stryfe." He chuckled. "So you were just having a little fun with me?"
"Were you having fun?"
He snorted. "Not really, but I guess you were."
Trynity's brows drew together. "That sounds like something you would do. Were you planning to shoot me with that gun you were hiding?"
"Right between the eyes," he admitted unabashedly.
Trynity didn't smile. "Why did you stop fighting in space?"
"Are you a little pissed that you couldn't beat me there?"
"Yes," she affirmed.
Duo almost laughed, but she was dead serious. "You're so much like Heero that it's scary. Sorry I spoiled your fun."
"It wasn't fun. My mission was to defeat gundam 02. I spent hours and hours training with Lars, hours wasted because you are a coward."
Duo glanced at the dark shapes of the gundams, the Deathscythe's arms still raised with the handle of the scythe, the Shadowhawk still holding it. "Looks like a draw."
"Not quite. The Shadowhawk has been outfitted with solar panels and by tomorrow afternoon will have collected enough energy to be recharged."
"That explains how you were able to operate it on Earth without the benefit of a home base." Duo thought that Ivan Stryfe must be very clever. He had likely anticipated that the gundam would have to go long periods without a place to recharge. "So where di you hide the damn thing?"
"On the rocks down from the beach," she told him. She snatched up her jacket, and after putting it on, sat back and wrapped her arms around her drawn up knees. Darn, thought Duo. He lost the view of the best thing he'd seen in a long time. She must have noticed his eyes going to that mysterious place where the scythe was hanging. Girls seemed to have that kind of radar. And there was no doubt in his mind that she was a girl.
"And when you were on the beach…"
"I was coming back from working on it. I took some damage from gundam 03 which had to be repaired, and I made adjustments on the cloak and the system that controls the pulses in the arrows."
Duo felt like a fool. He thought he had been comforting her when all along her hands were dirty from tinkering onher gundam. Well, to be fair, he had been tinkering with his own, too. "Were you working on Nelson's orders all along?"
"Yes."
"He ordered you to kill Noin?"
Trynity didn't respond immediately. So she did have a conscience! "My first order was to destroy the Epyon and Wing zero, both having been classified as a priority threat to the Coalition."
Duo would never forget that night. "Is that why you didn't destroy Deathscythe?"
"I had no orders concerning your gundam." Now she smiled, but it was a smile that made him feel an inche tall. "It woul dhave been so easy."
"We weren't planning to fight. Noin didn't even power up her weapon."
"Why would anybody get into a gundam if they aren't planning to destroy?" Trynity looked over her shoulder at the Shadowhawk. "It isn't good for anything else."
Duo had an argument for that, but he knew she wouldn't listen. She wouldn't understand that they could help maintain peace. "And when Nelson discovered that Noin wasn't dead, he sent you out again."
"My original mission, apparently, was to kill Lucrezia Noin. After that, he wanted information on the gundams. Now he simply wants them. You pilots are going to be given the opportunity to fight for him or die by execution."
Duo winced. "We won't fight for him. He's a traitor."
"Prince Miliardo Peacecraft isn't a traitor," she commented sarcastically. "Not to the ideals of the cinq Kingdom, and certainly not to the World and Space Alliance, not to his people who believe he will bring them peace when all along he is hiding the ultimate fighting machines."
Duo made a sound of disgust. "You believe all that you have been told? You are one of them?"
"I don't consider myself on anybody's side. I have no choice in what I do. What do you believe in, Duo Maxwell?"
"I believe in me." He used to believe something about Trynity Stryfe, but she wasn't the girl he had come to know. His heart ached from the loss of that prickly thistle. "The side I choose to fight on is the right side."
"There is no right or wrong. There is only strong and weak."
"You've been listening to Chang Wufei."
She was quiet for a moment, then asked, "Which gundam is his?"
"The Altron. Gundam 03. He calls it Nataku."
That information did not please her, no doubt because the Altron had damaged her precious Shadowhawk. "I defeated him in the end."
"You usually do."
To his surprise, Trynity laughed softly. "He is quite the stubborn fool."
"You are too." She looked at him with a raised brow. Duo decided to chance returning to a subject that was unpleasant to her. "Did you really think I would lose to Chang Wufei?"
Her hand was quivering when she raised it to touch the necklace. Duo felt his own heart do a flip as he realized just how hurt she had been by the events of the Stardust Ball. That she still wore his gift proved to him that she had feelings for him.
But she jerked on the chain, breaking it and threw it in his face. She was deeply hurt; he could see her eyes glistening. His throat tightened in response, but he said, "I didn't lose, Trynity," he said gently, his voice cracking. "I let him think he had won, but I was the winner."
Trynity jumped to her feet and stalked away. He watched her sit by the water again, but instead of looking up at the moon as she had before, she buried her face in her arms. Her shoulders shook, and although she tried to muffle them, her sobs carried on the breeze. Trynity's tears affected him so much that he had to bit back his own. He worked at the bindings at his writs, and although she had done a darn good job, there wasn't anything made that could hold him. Within seconds he was free, but he had to grit his teeth when he flexed his sore muscles. The pain from his ribs was sharp as he leaned forward to undo the binding at his ankles.
Trynity was still crying. It would be so easy to take the gun she had left behind and make his escape. He could steal the Shadowhawk and return to Seaside. There they would dissect Ivan Stryfe's work and use it against the Coalition.
But Duo couldn't do it. Instead of grabbing the gun, he searched for the necklace she had thrown at him, then went to Trynity. Dropping to his knees behind her, he put his arms around her and rested his head on her trembling back. "Don't cry, Trynity." She tried to move, but he tightened his grip. It occurred to Duo that she didn't want to hear that he cared. Perhaps some of what she had told him about her father was true. Trynity was the thistle, protecting herself with thorns. But Duo rather liked the fuzzy purple flowers they produced.
Finally she relaxed, then turned around to face him. When she raised her hands, Duo was half-afraid she was going inflict more pain, and he really was in no position to defend himself. But she took his face in her hands and lowered her head. The kiss began as sweet and innocent as the ones in the garden at the dance, but soon developed into something deeper. Duo didn't want to wonder where she had learned to kiss like that.
She broke off the kiss and looked down into his eyes. "Let's not be enemies, Duo Maxwell."
"I could never by your enemy, Trynity Stryfe." He pulled her into his arms again, and they fell into the sand together. Whoever had taught her to kiss, hadn't taught her anything else and Duo was glad. She would never forget this night. Neither would he.
As the sun started to rise the following morning, she was snuggled against him, her head on his shoulder and Duo started to ask himself serious questions that needed answers now. What had he done? Had he given up to her? Was he on her side or was she on his? That particular detail hadn't come up during the night, but now as daylight approached, he realized a decision had to be made. Given that Ivan Stryfe was likely connected to the Coalition, Duo had no choice but to accept that she was his enemy.
Gently, he moved her head from his shoulder. He could still get the Shadowhawk and escape, then return to find her. As he pulled on his clothing, she remained sleeping. Damn, his Trynity was beautiful in the first rays of the sun! He wished he could wake up like this every day, except maybe the sand. After a moment of watching her sleep, he quietly crossed the beach. He looked around for the gun, but it was missing. He must not have remembered where she had put it, but then again, she had been somewhat distracting. Too distracting, he thought with a grin as he approached the Shadowhawk. He stared up at the beast for a moment, wondering how Trynity Stryfe piloted it. She was pretty damn ruthless.
When he reached for the cable to take him up to the cockpit, he heard and gunshot and a bullet whizzed past his ear.
He turned to see that Trynity had hastily pulled on her dress and was aiming the gun at his heart. "Don't move."
"You aren't going to shoot me, are you?"
The stony features woman aiming at him wasn't the same one who had spent the night in his arms under the stars. "I should let you try to take my gundam, just to allow you to experience the unique safety feature that prohibits theft. The last pilot who tried to fly it lingered in an infirmary for three days before mercifully expiring."
Duo looked up at the gundam before turning back to her. He scratched his head. "I suppose I owe you my life."
"Don't speak too soon." A warning began to sound from inside the Shadowhawk while Deathscythe's own warning sounding like a moaning kitten. She did not look up, but Duo did and watched as a bright light appeared, and as it came closer to the surface, took the shape of a transport.
He looked at her. "Did you call for them?"
"While you were sleeping," she confessed as the transport ship landed on the beach where they had lain together.
Duo shouldn't have been hurt that she had turned him in, since he had planned to betray her. But he was hurt. His pride suffered from the fact that after what had happened between them didn't seem to mean as much to her as it did to him. They had both lost their innocence on the beach.
Trynity looked briefly away from him.
But when the huge transport door opened, and as men spilled out with cables, Trynity turned back to keep the gun on Duo. He watched as they hooked up the Deathscythe to give it enough power to move it onto the transport. He didn't see the tall man approach until he was beside Trynity and Duo wasn't surprised to recognize Lars Nelson. When he slid a familiar arm around Trynity's waist, Duo knew where she had learned to kiss so well. Too bad, Nelson, thought Duo as the other man leaned down to kiss her, she completed her training with him.
"I worried about you," he heard Nelson say softly in her ear.
"Why?" She handed her gun to Nelson who slipped it into his belt. "I had everything under control."
Not everything, thought Duo with grim satisfaction as he thought of her responses to him. He managed to grin at the couple before him. "Is this the part where I surrender?"
Nelson took his eyes off Trynity and fixed them on Duo. "Duo Maxwell! Well, well, well, so you did learn to pilot a gundam."
Trynity folded her arms over her chest. "He is the god of death." Her expression told him she lacked respect for his title.
"I should have expected it." Nelson was smiling. "Now I know why you were looking for Trynity. You must have realized that she was the pilot of the Shadowhawk."
Duo shrugged and looked at Trynity. "What other reason would there be?"
She turned and walked away. Duo watched her pick up her shoes, her jacket, then she began to dig around in the sand where she had left him tied. He did not dare to hope she was looking for her necklace. But as she continued, now kneeling, sifting the sand with her hands, he knew that she was. She wouldn't find it. It was safe in his pocket.
Nelson grabbed his arm. "Let's go. I'm sure your companions are worried about you." He shoved Duo to two other guards who grabbed his arms and hauled him away to the transport ship.
The last he saw of Trynity, she was still searching in the sand.
Lars Nelson bent to put his hands around her waist to pull her into his arms. She didn't protest his kiss, even seemed to enjoy it.
Duo sighed. Another beach with spoiled memories.