Chapter Ten: Bittersweet Peace
"Why hello Miss Marquiez, what odd luck to run into you again isn't it." He said stepping closer to the pair.
"How do you know who I am?" Aries said through gritted teeth if this was indeed Rowan, that same man in her time that was responsible for her parent's death then this Rowan shouldn't know her, hell by all accounts he shouldn't be born yet.
"Please, Miss Marquiez do you think that you four are the only people able to time travel?" Rowan asked in a simpering tone.
"Where's my sister?"
"Oh your team are all right here, their little virus scheme didn't work because by the time they uploaded it I had already protected all the systems against it and set a silent alarm to notify me when it was uploaded. I couldn't have you six messing my beautiful plans for conquest twice in a row now could I?" The smirk on his face made her feel nauseated. However it didn't last long when Amanda, Noin and Zechs and Arron were brought into the room. They were a little worse for wear especially with the dark shades of purple and black that shone in Amanda's eyes.
"Oh my god." Aries surged towards her injured sister.
"Not too fast or we might just have to kill you anyway." Rowan smirked seemingly enjoying the scene before him.
"Honey, are you alright?"
"She is fine for now, she gave Commander Rowan lip so he decided to quiet her down." The guard sequestering her sister informed. From her position she could see Amanda's face noting how the skin around her eye had gone all purple and black. Rowan walked up to Aries, putting his face inches to from his, receiving an almost animal like growl from Erick.
" Why is it so important to you guys to destroy this base?" Aries just looked up at him in contempt. Growing frustrated Rowan raised his hand bringing it in contact with her smooth skin.
"Stop it!" Erick cried and began to struggle against his captors.
"Answer the question."
"We don't know we were just trying to finish what Aries' parents had started." He blurted out.
"Erick shut the hell up."
"Parents these days huh?" He stepped away from Aries and closer to Erick.
"Well weather I find out what the late Zechs and Noin were up to I still can't allow anyone of you to ruin my plans for the second time. You see I am going to fulfill my father's great dreams to unite the Earth and the colonies under my rule like he attempted to do." Leaving Erick's side Rowan strode over to Noin pulling his face and inch from hers.
"Miss Noin it is an extreme pleasure to meet you.again so sorry about the whole bullet thing last time let's hope you are smart enough to avoid the same fate as your counterpart." Getting out of Noin's face Rowan approached Zechs with a jovial smile on his lips.
"My mother has told me lot about you Zechs, how you were my fathers most trusted man and a very dedicated to him. That is until you met Miss Noin." At the end of Rowan's statement there came a roar of laughter and if Zechs hadn't see and heard it then he wouldn't have believed that kinda of laugh to escape from his beautiful wife.
"I derailed Zechs on his path to glory? That's the funniest thing I have ever heard." Noin stopped laughing, the cheerful grin replaced by a deep anger. "I can only think of one bitter, hateful woman who would say that." Angered by her derogatory comments towards his mother Rowan whipped around full in a rage.
"You dare call my mother bitter and hateful you never even knew my mother."
"What the hell? I not know Une, the constant thorn in my side during our time served together. That woman never had a nice thing to say unless it was to Treize always hanging around him hoping he would tell her she did a good job and giving her a bit of praise." A sharp crack broke the air as Rowan's hand collided with the side of Noin's face.
"How dare you talk about my parents like that!" Recoiling Noin looked up once more the bangs that always hid her face covering the tingling flesh.
"Your parents? I know Une is your mother but Treize isn't you father."
"Lucretzia." Zechs uttered gently trying to tell his wife to quit while she was ahead.
"You liar!"
"I know it is hard to believe but Treize is not your father I over heard Une telling that doctor that she had always wanted a child with Treize but was raped." Noin's body shifted slightly as Rowan struck her again. His teeth clenched Zechs scowled deeply.
"That's bullshit just because my counterpart of this world my have been brought into the world that way it doesn't meant I was as well."
"Well actually it would because this world is our world except that it isn't as far along." Amanda spoke up for the first time.
"Ah always the voice of reason and logic, unlike your twin here. I think I have had enough of this idle banter and it is time for you all to met the same fate as Aries and Amanda's late parents." And Rowan stepped back from the groups,his men that stood doing nothing took out their guns. However before they had the chance to fire the entire base shook and the lights went out. Chaos ensued by the time the ten seconds needed to activate the back up generators. The six detainees wasted no time in retaliating.
"What the hell was that?" Rowan's voice bellowed over he chaos.
"It would seem as though we have been hit." A solider answered.
"Where the hell did they get too?" Rowan scanned the room, in the half powered light it was next to impossible to detect the party hiding behind the control console.
"They probably went back to their ship, come on." The commander called leading the rest of the solder's out of the room. Hearing the footsteps leaving the room Amanda immediately jumped up to access the main computer.
"What are you doing the plan is useless now the best we can do now is to get out of here alive." Zechs voiced his thoughts.
"No there is still a way to destroy this base." She said matter of factually
"Amanda your not gonna-" Aaron tried to speak
"It will be better for all of us we don't belong here." Amanda said as she turned from the console to face her husband.
"You two had better get a move on. It's not gonna be pretty." Aries said gesturing to Erick and Arron.
"I don't know what you think but I'm not leaving you Amanda. Til death do us part remember?" He smiled weakly encircling her in his arms.
"That goes for me to you know, you aren't ditching me now." Erick said happily.
"I have disabled the shields, mom and dad it's time for you to leave." Amanda said to Zechs and Noin
"Why don't you come with us?" Noin asked timidly afraid of the reply.
"Because we don't belong in this time, the time machine was a one shot deal."
"What?! You could find a place to belong in this world. It's not worth your lives." Noin protested.
"Thanks for the thought mom but this is the right thing to do. " Aries explained
"But you can't..."
"Mom thank you for everything and Dad you guys have given us the closer me and Amanda thought we would never get. Just take care of those girls all right. And don't look so sad you'll see us again" Aries hugged her father for the last time as big letters flashed across the screen.
Setting transport coordinates
Initializing transport
The bodies of Zechs and Noin dematerialized in front of their eyes.
"It's set for five minutes, I doubt they will come back in here to look for us." Amanda spoke tiredly enjoying the feel of her husband's body against hers.
"I'm so sorry Erick." Her big sister whispered.
"For what darling?" he held her close, leaning his forehead against hers.
"For never saying how I felt towards you. Throughout this whole time you have been the one keeping me in line whenever Amanda wasn't there. I'm sorry I made so much trouble for you guys by trying to take my own life. I was just on some kind of crazy quest to relive my guilt, to find some kind of approval even if I had to go to the so called next world to find it and," she stammered as tears began to run down her swollen cheek "and I.Have loved you for so long Erick. I really always have but I was afraid of what that meant, of what we meant." She embraced her lover tightly while reaching her head upwards to claim his lips, waiting for their ultimate closer to arrive.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The former lighting count and his wife rematerialized inside the ship in the cargo bay just as they heard the voices of Rowan's men just reaching their ship.
"Damnit." Noin exclaimed as she realized where they were.
"Lucretzia, there was nothing we could do now except comply with their wishes and get back to Earth." Zechs sat down at the controls of the small ship, setting a course for Earth. As the ship cleared the planet a tremendous shockwave hit the ship bumping it along on it's way to Earth. After an hour of sitting silently down next to her husband Noin punched him solidly in the shoulder.
"What was that for Lucretzia?" Zechs took his eyes off the endless row of stars.
"They're too much like you." Noin said almost choked by her tears.
"Oh well I don't see that a bad thing." He was met by a fierce death glare " It was their choice Noin and they did complete the mission."
"Shut up about the damn Zechs! They were our children and we just let them go and blow themselves up." Zechs took Noin's hand's motioning for her to sit on his lap.
"It's what they wanted Lucretzia."
"How can they want to die?"
"When something of that caliber happens it affects a person. I know I have felt the guilt of being alive while my parents lay dead. They lived for as long as it took them to make sure that didn't happen to our children. Outside of that they had no will to live." Zechs covered her lips with his.
"They could have lived for each other you saw how in love they were."
"Sometimes love just isn't enough." He cradled his wife in his arms as she began to cry again.
~*~*~*~*~*~On Earth
After the couple landed back at the base they relayed the news about how the mission was carried out. As they told Herro and Duo about the happenings of the missions they saw two little figures running towards them.
"Mommy, Daddy." The twins screamed in harmony as they jumped in the arms of their parents.
"We missed you so much." Amanda quipped. Noin hugged her daughter tight.
"We missed you guys too." She said as Lady walked up to them.
"Une may we have a word, in private?" The ex colonel nodded curtly and followed Noin to an unoccupied room.
"What's this about Noin?" she asked as Noin shifted Amanda onto her other arm.
"This is about you, lying to your son and telling him that Treize was his father instead of telling him the truth."
"What business is it of yours what I choose to tell my son?" Said Une brisling.
"It's my business when your son tries to take over the Earth and the colonies like his 'father' had tried to do. It's my business when four very special people have to give up their lives in order to stop something you put a start to in the first place."
"But how can you possibly know what my son will grow up like?"
"Let's just say that past action are enough to tell." Noin was about to start berating Une even more when Zechs entered the room.
"Lucretzia what are you doing, this isn't Une's fault at least not yet."
"But she has to know what her lies have caused."
"I think you have already said enough, now lets get back to our ship." Zechs didn't give his wife anytime to protest as he grabbed her shoulder and steered her out of the room leaving a speechless Une in their wake.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 7 months later
After the annihilation of the Jupiter base the remaining rebels disbanded and went about their lives. Zechs was ready to go back into space, but was convinced by his wife that their daughters needed to be in a place where they could explore and still be safe. Three months after they had settled in to their new house Trowa announced that he had found the woman of his dreams and they were expecting a child. When asked about names the Bartons had decided to name their son Erick. Three months after the announcement of Trowa's new arrival the whole Gundam team were informed of the birth of Lady Une's baby boy, Rowan.
"Kind of unsettling isn't it." Zechs said to his wife as they watched Aries and Amanda play with baby Arron." That the source of the problem we were sent to fix is right here under our noses."
"Well there is no telling that this Rowan and that Rowan will turn out to be the same. Hopefully Une will take my advice for the fist time in her life and then we he won't become a problem. But we will have to keep and eye on him just encase."
"Yes we will but let's try not worry about that now in this peaceful time." Zechs kissed his wife on the forehead. They didn't know how long peace would rule their bit of the universe but for however long it would be to Zechs and Noin it would come at a high price and always be bittersweet.
The End
"Why hello Miss Marquiez, what odd luck to run into you again isn't it." He said stepping closer to the pair.
"How do you know who I am?" Aries said through gritted teeth if this was indeed Rowan, that same man in her time that was responsible for her parent's death then this Rowan shouldn't know her, hell by all accounts he shouldn't be born yet.
"Please, Miss Marquiez do you think that you four are the only people able to time travel?" Rowan asked in a simpering tone.
"Where's my sister?"
"Oh your team are all right here, their little virus scheme didn't work because by the time they uploaded it I had already protected all the systems against it and set a silent alarm to notify me when it was uploaded. I couldn't have you six messing my beautiful plans for conquest twice in a row now could I?" The smirk on his face made her feel nauseated. However it didn't last long when Amanda, Noin and Zechs and Arron were brought into the room. They were a little worse for wear especially with the dark shades of purple and black that shone in Amanda's eyes.
"Oh my god." Aries surged towards her injured sister.
"Not too fast or we might just have to kill you anyway." Rowan smirked seemingly enjoying the scene before him.
"Honey, are you alright?"
"She is fine for now, she gave Commander Rowan lip so he decided to quiet her down." The guard sequestering her sister informed. From her position she could see Amanda's face noting how the skin around her eye had gone all purple and black. Rowan walked up to Aries, putting his face inches to from his, receiving an almost animal like growl from Erick.
" Why is it so important to you guys to destroy this base?" Aries just looked up at him in contempt. Growing frustrated Rowan raised his hand bringing it in contact with her smooth skin.
"Stop it!" Erick cried and began to struggle against his captors.
"Answer the question."
"We don't know we were just trying to finish what Aries' parents had started." He blurted out.
"Erick shut the hell up."
"Parents these days huh?" He stepped away from Aries and closer to Erick.
"Well weather I find out what the late Zechs and Noin were up to I still can't allow anyone of you to ruin my plans for the second time. You see I am going to fulfill my father's great dreams to unite the Earth and the colonies under my rule like he attempted to do." Leaving Erick's side Rowan strode over to Noin pulling his face and inch from hers.
"Miss Noin it is an extreme pleasure to meet you.again so sorry about the whole bullet thing last time let's hope you are smart enough to avoid the same fate as your counterpart." Getting out of Noin's face Rowan approached Zechs with a jovial smile on his lips.
"My mother has told me lot about you Zechs, how you were my fathers most trusted man and a very dedicated to him. That is until you met Miss Noin." At the end of Rowan's statement there came a roar of laughter and if Zechs hadn't see and heard it then he wouldn't have believed that kinda of laugh to escape from his beautiful wife.
"I derailed Zechs on his path to glory? That's the funniest thing I have ever heard." Noin stopped laughing, the cheerful grin replaced by a deep anger. "I can only think of one bitter, hateful woman who would say that." Angered by her derogatory comments towards his mother Rowan whipped around full in a rage.
"You dare call my mother bitter and hateful you never even knew my mother."
"What the hell? I not know Une, the constant thorn in my side during our time served together. That woman never had a nice thing to say unless it was to Treize always hanging around him hoping he would tell her she did a good job and giving her a bit of praise." A sharp crack broke the air as Rowan's hand collided with the side of Noin's face.
"How dare you talk about my parents like that!" Recoiling Noin looked up once more the bangs that always hid her face covering the tingling flesh.
"Your parents? I know Une is your mother but Treize isn't you father."
"Lucretzia." Zechs uttered gently trying to tell his wife to quit while she was ahead.
"You liar!"
"I know it is hard to believe but Treize is not your father I over heard Une telling that doctor that she had always wanted a child with Treize but was raped." Noin's body shifted slightly as Rowan struck her again. His teeth clenched Zechs scowled deeply.
"That's bullshit just because my counterpart of this world my have been brought into the world that way it doesn't meant I was as well."
"Well actually it would because this world is our world except that it isn't as far along." Amanda spoke up for the first time.
"Ah always the voice of reason and logic, unlike your twin here. I think I have had enough of this idle banter and it is time for you all to met the same fate as Aries and Amanda's late parents." And Rowan stepped back from the groups,his men that stood doing nothing took out their guns. However before they had the chance to fire the entire base shook and the lights went out. Chaos ensued by the time the ten seconds needed to activate the back up generators. The six detainees wasted no time in retaliating.
"What the hell was that?" Rowan's voice bellowed over he chaos.
"It would seem as though we have been hit." A solider answered.
"Where the hell did they get too?" Rowan scanned the room, in the half powered light it was next to impossible to detect the party hiding behind the control console.
"They probably went back to their ship, come on." The commander called leading the rest of the solder's out of the room. Hearing the footsteps leaving the room Amanda immediately jumped up to access the main computer.
"What are you doing the plan is useless now the best we can do now is to get out of here alive." Zechs voiced his thoughts.
"No there is still a way to destroy this base." She said matter of factually
"Amanda your not gonna-" Aaron tried to speak
"It will be better for all of us we don't belong here." Amanda said as she turned from the console to face her husband.
"You two had better get a move on. It's not gonna be pretty." Aries said gesturing to Erick and Arron.
"I don't know what you think but I'm not leaving you Amanda. Til death do us part remember?" He smiled weakly encircling her in his arms.
"That goes for me to you know, you aren't ditching me now." Erick said happily.
"I have disabled the shields, mom and dad it's time for you to leave." Amanda said to Zechs and Noin
"Why don't you come with us?" Noin asked timidly afraid of the reply.
"Because we don't belong in this time, the time machine was a one shot deal."
"What?! You could find a place to belong in this world. It's not worth your lives." Noin protested.
"Thanks for the thought mom but this is the right thing to do. " Aries explained
"But you can't..."
"Mom thank you for everything and Dad you guys have given us the closer me and Amanda thought we would never get. Just take care of those girls all right. And don't look so sad you'll see us again" Aries hugged her father for the last time as big letters flashed across the screen.
Setting transport coordinates
Initializing transport
The bodies of Zechs and Noin dematerialized in front of their eyes.
"It's set for five minutes, I doubt they will come back in here to look for us." Amanda spoke tiredly enjoying the feel of her husband's body against hers.
"I'm so sorry Erick." Her big sister whispered.
"For what darling?" he held her close, leaning his forehead against hers.
"For never saying how I felt towards you. Throughout this whole time you have been the one keeping me in line whenever Amanda wasn't there. I'm sorry I made so much trouble for you guys by trying to take my own life. I was just on some kind of crazy quest to relive my guilt, to find some kind of approval even if I had to go to the so called next world to find it and," she stammered as tears began to run down her swollen cheek "and I.Have loved you for so long Erick. I really always have but I was afraid of what that meant, of what we meant." She embraced her lover tightly while reaching her head upwards to claim his lips, waiting for their ultimate closer to arrive.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The former lighting count and his wife rematerialized inside the ship in the cargo bay just as they heard the voices of Rowan's men just reaching their ship.
"Damnit." Noin exclaimed as she realized where they were.
"Lucretzia, there was nothing we could do now except comply with their wishes and get back to Earth." Zechs sat down at the controls of the small ship, setting a course for Earth. As the ship cleared the planet a tremendous shockwave hit the ship bumping it along on it's way to Earth. After an hour of sitting silently down next to her husband Noin punched him solidly in the shoulder.
"What was that for Lucretzia?" Zechs took his eyes off the endless row of stars.
"They're too much like you." Noin said almost choked by her tears.
"Oh well I don't see that a bad thing." He was met by a fierce death glare " It was their choice Noin and they did complete the mission."
"Shut up about the damn Zechs! They were our children and we just let them go and blow themselves up." Zechs took Noin's hand's motioning for her to sit on his lap.
"It's what they wanted Lucretzia."
"How can they want to die?"
"When something of that caliber happens it affects a person. I know I have felt the guilt of being alive while my parents lay dead. They lived for as long as it took them to make sure that didn't happen to our children. Outside of that they had no will to live." Zechs covered her lips with his.
"They could have lived for each other you saw how in love they were."
"Sometimes love just isn't enough." He cradled his wife in his arms as she began to cry again.
~*~*~*~*~*~On Earth
After the couple landed back at the base they relayed the news about how the mission was carried out. As they told Herro and Duo about the happenings of the missions they saw two little figures running towards them.
"Mommy, Daddy." The twins screamed in harmony as they jumped in the arms of their parents.
"We missed you so much." Amanda quipped. Noin hugged her daughter tight.
"We missed you guys too." She said as Lady walked up to them.
"Une may we have a word, in private?" The ex colonel nodded curtly and followed Noin to an unoccupied room.
"What's this about Noin?" she asked as Noin shifted Amanda onto her other arm.
"This is about you, lying to your son and telling him that Treize was his father instead of telling him the truth."
"What business is it of yours what I choose to tell my son?" Said Une brisling.
"It's my business when your son tries to take over the Earth and the colonies like his 'father' had tried to do. It's my business when four very special people have to give up their lives in order to stop something you put a start to in the first place."
"But how can you possibly know what my son will grow up like?"
"Let's just say that past action are enough to tell." Noin was about to start berating Une even more when Zechs entered the room.
"Lucretzia what are you doing, this isn't Une's fault at least not yet."
"But she has to know what her lies have caused."
"I think you have already said enough, now lets get back to our ship." Zechs didn't give his wife anytime to protest as he grabbed her shoulder and steered her out of the room leaving a speechless Une in their wake.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 7 months later
After the annihilation of the Jupiter base the remaining rebels disbanded and went about their lives. Zechs was ready to go back into space, but was convinced by his wife that their daughters needed to be in a place where they could explore and still be safe. Three months after they had settled in to their new house Trowa announced that he had found the woman of his dreams and they were expecting a child. When asked about names the Bartons had decided to name their son Erick. Three months after the announcement of Trowa's new arrival the whole Gundam team were informed of the birth of Lady Une's baby boy, Rowan.
"Kind of unsettling isn't it." Zechs said to his wife as they watched Aries and Amanda play with baby Arron." That the source of the problem we were sent to fix is right here under our noses."
"Well there is no telling that this Rowan and that Rowan will turn out to be the same. Hopefully Une will take my advice for the fist time in her life and then we he won't become a problem. But we will have to keep and eye on him just encase."
"Yes we will but let's try not worry about that now in this peaceful time." Zechs kissed his wife on the forehead. They didn't know how long peace would rule their bit of the universe but for however long it would be to Zechs and Noin it would come at a high price and always be bittersweet.
The End