Silence.
Rain
Dreary.
The country side was worn and tired after a day of disaster.
Tragedy struck again.
Hunger. The ferocious lioness was on the prowl after the same prey. Human kind.
For years there had been war, chaos, and treachery. Decades, centuries long despair.
His own clan had been shipped to a desolate colony, as far away from the earth as possible. People were weak. Power hungry. Greedy.
Leaders only wanted to be put down in history books. There were recorded in the World's Database, only to be wiped away by their successor.
The cycle was endless and the wars caused by such ambition destroyed all hope of the people of the Earth Sphere. Before long the colonies were isolated even from each other and the earth was powerful. But it's power came from weak sources and changed hands many times over the course of only a couple of years.
Then, peace riddled the land. The people of the Earth's Sphere could smile again. But that peace could not touch him. He was a traitor. He fought to defeat OZ, for his home and for reasons of his own. He had sought revenge for the destruction of a civilian shuttle--for the murder of his wife. But, not long after he'd avenged his Nataku, he'd lost himself and turned to the only place he could fight. And he fought. He fought evil to find himself. He'd been wrong, and his fight was pointless. The loss of the war left him evn more of a criminal that he'd started out being.
Mercy had been given to him by the government, by Une, by Sally, and by Nataku. He'd been forgiven and cleansed, but still he would not let earth's peace touch him now.
The position he held was a prestigious one. It was one that he did not fully deserve, but his mind told him it was right. His heart had always told him it was wrong. For the years he'd worked, Wufei pondered the reasons he'd felt so miserable. The Preventor's job was an envied one, and hard to obtain. Since Meiran's return, he'dknown that he'd been fighting a lie for years. his lie was caused by her. She was the cause of all his trouble. Without her he would be fine. Still, without her he would not have become the person he was. She was a terror, but still it was his duty to watch over her and take care of her.
The young man's mind had resolved itself over the night. If Meiran truly was the leader of the rebel reinforcements she would have to be watched. Of course, she did need to be watched, but he admitted to himself that his reasons weren't what he would voice to the other preventors. He did want to stay with her. He wanted to stay by her side and make sure that she wasn't taken away from him again. If she was taritorous, she could be forgiven like he had been.
The clock showed 5:30. Only half an hour to get to the meeting and Sally hadn't shown. Duo stood at Meiran's bedside while Hilde scurried about the kitchen. Wufei was perched at the window, watching for the doctor.
"You know, we should probably notify Meilun's husband. I'm betting he's pretty worried about her."
Heero took care of all dealing as far as Miss To is concerned." Wufei said grimly, his eyes showing no emotion.
"So where is the guy? You'd think he'd be dying to find his wife.--To make sure she's alive and well..."
Wufei's eyes turned cold as he glowered at his braided comrade.
"Not every relationship is like your Duo," came the disembodied voice of "Odin".
The two men turned and Meiran stirred in her sleep. Heero stepped from the shadowed corner with a file folder in his hand.
"The girl's husband has been notified on all points concerning her condition. It is now is responsibility to come and claim her. Until that time she is to remain under the care of the preventors." Heero said, pointedly looking at Wufei, as he handed him the folder.
"This sounds like some sort of crummy husband..." Duo muttered. Wufei growled lowly, narrowing his eyes. He felt a restraining hand on his arm.
"Wu Fei," Odin murmured in warning. Black crashed with blue as the two pilots exchanged lookes.
The doorbell rang.
=--------
The men were off, doing their duty. maintaining peace. Always, she was left behind to take care of the house and the business.
Oh, she'd fought Duo to let her come along during that year after the Eve Wars. He'd come and gone throughout that year. His absence though, ever more present than he.
She couldn't blame him for leaving, but she missed him. She wished she could accompany him, but her short fallings as a soldier held her back. The incident between Libra and Peacemillion still haunted her. She'd been strong, and helpful. Her actions were vital to the mission, but she only ended up getting in the way. Still though, if she had to, she could fight.
...Flashback....
"So I guess things are starting to get worse again," Duo said.
"Really Duo, has it ever really gotten better?"
"Well, we aren't at war anymore at least."
"But Duo, how can it truly be peace if people are still fighting? You've barely been home a month this year."
"Maintaining peace is just as hard as attaining it," Duo shrugged, wrapping his arms around his precious Hilde.
"I could assist you couldn't I?"
"No," he said firmly, his eyes connecting with hers, begging her to stay where she was.
"Duo, I can't stand staying here when you're gone. I hate just sitting back and not doing anything!"
"I guess that's just the price you have to pay for being involved with the great Shinigami," Duo joked.
Hilde turned around, crossing her arms, her face serious. "I don't know Shinigami. I know a boy who's afraid to let me go out because of an incident that happened a year ago!" Hilde was upset by his comments, and by her own.
"You can't fight because you'll be more of a bother to us all. We don't need anybody extra to hang around, especially since we are in a time of peace Hilde. There is nothing to fight!"
"You're spending too much time..." but Hilde didn't finish her thought. "What if a rebellion did take place?"
"Then I would expect you to stay here like a good little girl."
"And what if I don't want to?" She asked defiantly.
"Would it matter any if I wanted you to? You're so small Hilde... I just don't want anything to happen to you." Duo tried to end the argument before it blew up, knowing he would have to leave the next day.
Hilde, on the other hand had taken offense, and continued indignantly. "I'm not that little! And I've grown a lot stronger in the past few moths."
"You're fifteen Hilde!" Duo exclaimed.
"I'm fifteen!" Hilde hollered. "When you were fifteen you were literally taking on the world. You were fighting, and in a Gundam no less! You forget that I have worked out there, worked for the same people you fought since I was eleven years old!"
"You were a fucking fooling."
"Well, I didn't have anybody to take me in like you did. I had to take care of myself, and if that meant working for the morons that killed my parents, then I did it."
"At least you have memories of you parents..."
"Duo...."
The argument had progressed from there, turning to subjects that weren't hardly relevant to what the two had begun their conversation with. Finally she'd let Duo win, deciding it fo r the best to stay with their business. Someone had to watch over it then....
But now, here she was stuck on Earth with disaster impending, a hurt friend, and a seemingly single-minded boyfriend (once again). She worried about the events on L2 and was tempted to call, but a call from the Earth to the colonies cost more than was respectable while a guest in someone else's home.
--------
In the main office of the preventor's floor, the ten of them gathered (Zechs and Noin connected by vid-phones). The couple had been back on the Earth for only a few hours and were appalled to hear what had transpired in their absence.
Together, the twelve discussed the events of the past two days. Beginning with small talk about Miss Po's patient.
"So far my patient seems to be quite stable and able to heal quickly. She only spent a few hours in an unconscious state, and when she awoke, she seemed just as aware as I was. Also, most people in her position would have spent their time sleeping, but as far as I can tell Miss To has had little sleep since coming out of her brief coma."
"What about her injuries?" The ever serious Odin asked.
"Well, most of the minor injuries have healed considerably in the past eighteen hours. Of course, she must still recover from the broken bones, and heal from the surgery she went through."
"How long before she is on her feet?" Wufei asked emotionlessly.
"Hard to say. But I wouldn't say more than a few weeks. Her leg may still be weak."
"Excuse me," Noin interrupted," but why is the health of this girl relevant to what is happening on the earth?"
"Yes Wufei," Trowa nodded. "Why don't you explain to Mrs. Marquise why it is that Meiran is relevant to our briefing."
Wufei started, then replayed the sentence back in his mind. The quiet pilot had indeed said the name Meiran and not Meilun. Was it a mistake? NO. But how could he know?
"She is believed to be the head of the rebellion," Wufei choked out hoarsely.
A gasp was heard from those in the room who did not know the woman's true identity.
Heero pick up where Wufei had left off. "Miss To is believed to be the leader of the Earth's Life Forces," he began. "the organization was started in AC 195 during the Eve Wars. Miss To, the founder of the organization, created it to preserve the history and traditions of the people of the Earth Sphere. For a few month the ELF prospered in it's pure state, though in the first month of AC 196 the little elves began a new objective.
"Apparently Miss To and her little helpers began to see the wars as the tradition of human kind. peace was nice and all, but the battles between humans are the ones that warriors thrive on.
"Many of her followers were a part of the Mariemaia group, though she, herself, stayed in her position doing research for the Terra Forming project," Heero finished.
Zechs grunted in annoyance and confused understanding. He understood that she felt she needed to fight for the things she believe in. Though, fighting for the right to fight was pointless. Again, working on the Terra formation project did not quite coincide with her ideas.
"Recently though," Heero continued, "it seems that the power has switched hands within the organization, showing us that we are not as lucky as we once thought we were." He stopped, and preventors looked at him, confused.
"The latest orders have been coming from the L2 colony cluster."
"Jonathan Phoenix..." Duo muttered.
"Phoenix?" Pal Legion asked, trying to hold back his shock.
"Yes. Jonathan Phoenix," Heero confirmed. "CEO of the Phoenix Shipping Company. Also, Duo's boss."
The eyes of the room turned to Duo, who sat rigidly, stoically out of character. "I work for the man," he said. His eyes hardened, angry at himself, and his boss.
"As of late," Heero tried to continue, "I have been tracing calls from the PSC offices to offices here in Constance. I assume that these calls are being transferred to Miss To's computer."
"Phoenix is definitely as snake," Duo said. "I could have told you that, but I didn't think that he was capable of...." he didn't finish.
"What I want to know is," Quatre started, "why Duo is working for him the first place. What happened to the salvage yard Duo?"
"It's still there...." Duo said, but did not go further, thinking the topic more personal than business.
"If you needed money you could have called Duo.."
"Is this all we know about the ELF?" Legion broke in, becoming impatient.
"I know also, that Miss To was one of the largest advocates for the protection of the World's Database right before she left her job two months ago. It was three months ago that the calls had started coming from L2."
"So then," Relena said quietly, "It seems that Miss To notified her second in command when she was prepared to leave. But why is she here?"
Wufei was struggling to hold in his feelings of anger and betrayal. His own wife was advocating another war. His own wife, the one who wanted so badly to end the oppression that was forced upon her as a child. She was trying to mix up the winds of rage and he was lost in the middle of it.
"She came," Odin said softly, making sure not to look at Wufei. "She came, to honor the commitment she made four years ago to her husband."
"That sounds out of character," Zechs murmured wryly.
Wufei glared at the screen that held Zechs's face, and stood. Coldly he turned and left the room, walking evenly, with clenched fists, jaws set tight, and his eyes clouded.
The rooms occupants watched and Sally rose to follow him. Lady Une placed a hand on her shoulder. "Let him go," she whispered.
Okay, so this is getting harder and harder to write.
Wufei: Well what did you expect. you're a fantasy writer woman.
Hey, I can try my hand at this war Utopia/science fiction/historic stuff can't I?
Wufei: You can try.
Oh thanks. That makes me feel good.
Wufei: All I am saying is that is...
Meiran: You better stop before you stick your foot in you mouth any more Wu-chan.
Wufei: What do you mean by that Onna?
She means that I am the author, therefore I hold your fate in my hand. Wufei: But I thought that the ELF was going to...
Meiran: Chang Wufei! Do not give away the ending.
Thank you Meiran. Besides Chang, I can always change my mind and....*whispers into Meiran's ear*
Meiran: *giggles*
Wufei: *glares at the laughing teenagers* Women!
*****I don't own any of this, etc, etc, standard disclaimer stuff.*/****
Rain
Dreary.
The country side was worn and tired after a day of disaster.
Tragedy struck again.
Hunger. The ferocious lioness was on the prowl after the same prey. Human kind.
For years there had been war, chaos, and treachery. Decades, centuries long despair.
His own clan had been shipped to a desolate colony, as far away from the earth as possible. People were weak. Power hungry. Greedy.
Leaders only wanted to be put down in history books. There were recorded in the World's Database, only to be wiped away by their successor.
The cycle was endless and the wars caused by such ambition destroyed all hope of the people of the Earth Sphere. Before long the colonies were isolated even from each other and the earth was powerful. But it's power came from weak sources and changed hands many times over the course of only a couple of years.
Then, peace riddled the land. The people of the Earth's Sphere could smile again. But that peace could not touch him. He was a traitor. He fought to defeat OZ, for his home and for reasons of his own. He had sought revenge for the destruction of a civilian shuttle--for the murder of his wife. But, not long after he'd avenged his Nataku, he'd lost himself and turned to the only place he could fight. And he fought. He fought evil to find himself. He'd been wrong, and his fight was pointless. The loss of the war left him evn more of a criminal that he'd started out being.
Mercy had been given to him by the government, by Une, by Sally, and by Nataku. He'd been forgiven and cleansed, but still he would not let earth's peace touch him now.
The position he held was a prestigious one. It was one that he did not fully deserve, but his mind told him it was right. His heart had always told him it was wrong. For the years he'd worked, Wufei pondered the reasons he'd felt so miserable. The Preventor's job was an envied one, and hard to obtain. Since Meiran's return, he'dknown that he'd been fighting a lie for years. his lie was caused by her. She was the cause of all his trouble. Without her he would be fine. Still, without her he would not have become the person he was. She was a terror, but still it was his duty to watch over her and take care of her.
The young man's mind had resolved itself over the night. If Meiran truly was the leader of the rebel reinforcements she would have to be watched. Of course, she did need to be watched, but he admitted to himself that his reasons weren't what he would voice to the other preventors. He did want to stay with her. He wanted to stay by her side and make sure that she wasn't taken away from him again. If she was taritorous, she could be forgiven like he had been.
The clock showed 5:30. Only half an hour to get to the meeting and Sally hadn't shown. Duo stood at Meiran's bedside while Hilde scurried about the kitchen. Wufei was perched at the window, watching for the doctor.
"You know, we should probably notify Meilun's husband. I'm betting he's pretty worried about her."
Heero took care of all dealing as far as Miss To is concerned." Wufei said grimly, his eyes showing no emotion.
"So where is the guy? You'd think he'd be dying to find his wife.--To make sure she's alive and well..."
Wufei's eyes turned cold as he glowered at his braided comrade.
"Not every relationship is like your Duo," came the disembodied voice of "Odin".
The two men turned and Meiran stirred in her sleep. Heero stepped from the shadowed corner with a file folder in his hand.
"The girl's husband has been notified on all points concerning her condition. It is now is responsibility to come and claim her. Until that time she is to remain under the care of the preventors." Heero said, pointedly looking at Wufei, as he handed him the folder.
"This sounds like some sort of crummy husband..." Duo muttered. Wufei growled lowly, narrowing his eyes. He felt a restraining hand on his arm.
"Wu Fei," Odin murmured in warning. Black crashed with blue as the two pilots exchanged lookes.
The doorbell rang.
=--------
The men were off, doing their duty. maintaining peace. Always, she was left behind to take care of the house and the business.
Oh, she'd fought Duo to let her come along during that year after the Eve Wars. He'd come and gone throughout that year. His absence though, ever more present than he.
She couldn't blame him for leaving, but she missed him. She wished she could accompany him, but her short fallings as a soldier held her back. The incident between Libra and Peacemillion still haunted her. She'd been strong, and helpful. Her actions were vital to the mission, but she only ended up getting in the way. Still though, if she had to, she could fight.
...Flashback....
"So I guess things are starting to get worse again," Duo said.
"Really Duo, has it ever really gotten better?"
"Well, we aren't at war anymore at least."
"But Duo, how can it truly be peace if people are still fighting? You've barely been home a month this year."
"Maintaining peace is just as hard as attaining it," Duo shrugged, wrapping his arms around his precious Hilde.
"I could assist you couldn't I?"
"No," he said firmly, his eyes connecting with hers, begging her to stay where she was.
"Duo, I can't stand staying here when you're gone. I hate just sitting back and not doing anything!"
"I guess that's just the price you have to pay for being involved with the great Shinigami," Duo joked.
Hilde turned around, crossing her arms, her face serious. "I don't know Shinigami. I know a boy who's afraid to let me go out because of an incident that happened a year ago!" Hilde was upset by his comments, and by her own.
"You can't fight because you'll be more of a bother to us all. We don't need anybody extra to hang around, especially since we are in a time of peace Hilde. There is nothing to fight!"
"You're spending too much time..." but Hilde didn't finish her thought. "What if a rebellion did take place?"
"Then I would expect you to stay here like a good little girl."
"And what if I don't want to?" She asked defiantly.
"Would it matter any if I wanted you to? You're so small Hilde... I just don't want anything to happen to you." Duo tried to end the argument before it blew up, knowing he would have to leave the next day.
Hilde, on the other hand had taken offense, and continued indignantly. "I'm not that little! And I've grown a lot stronger in the past few moths."
"You're fifteen Hilde!" Duo exclaimed.
"I'm fifteen!" Hilde hollered. "When you were fifteen you were literally taking on the world. You were fighting, and in a Gundam no less! You forget that I have worked out there, worked for the same people you fought since I was eleven years old!"
"You were a fucking fooling."
"Well, I didn't have anybody to take me in like you did. I had to take care of myself, and if that meant working for the morons that killed my parents, then I did it."
"At least you have memories of you parents..."
"Duo...."
The argument had progressed from there, turning to subjects that weren't hardly relevant to what the two had begun their conversation with. Finally she'd let Duo win, deciding it fo r the best to stay with their business. Someone had to watch over it then....
But now, here she was stuck on Earth with disaster impending, a hurt friend, and a seemingly single-minded boyfriend (once again). She worried about the events on L2 and was tempted to call, but a call from the Earth to the colonies cost more than was respectable while a guest in someone else's home.
--------
In the main office of the preventor's floor, the ten of them gathered (Zechs and Noin connected by vid-phones). The couple had been back on the Earth for only a few hours and were appalled to hear what had transpired in their absence.
Together, the twelve discussed the events of the past two days. Beginning with small talk about Miss Po's patient.
"So far my patient seems to be quite stable and able to heal quickly. She only spent a few hours in an unconscious state, and when she awoke, she seemed just as aware as I was. Also, most people in her position would have spent their time sleeping, but as far as I can tell Miss To has had little sleep since coming out of her brief coma."
"What about her injuries?" The ever serious Odin asked.
"Well, most of the minor injuries have healed considerably in the past eighteen hours. Of course, she must still recover from the broken bones, and heal from the surgery she went through."
"How long before she is on her feet?" Wufei asked emotionlessly.
"Hard to say. But I wouldn't say more than a few weeks. Her leg may still be weak."
"Excuse me," Noin interrupted," but why is the health of this girl relevant to what is happening on the earth?"
"Yes Wufei," Trowa nodded. "Why don't you explain to Mrs. Marquise why it is that Meiran is relevant to our briefing."
Wufei started, then replayed the sentence back in his mind. The quiet pilot had indeed said the name Meiran and not Meilun. Was it a mistake? NO. But how could he know?
"She is believed to be the head of the rebellion," Wufei choked out hoarsely.
A gasp was heard from those in the room who did not know the woman's true identity.
Heero pick up where Wufei had left off. "Miss To is believed to be the leader of the Earth's Life Forces," he began. "the organization was started in AC 195 during the Eve Wars. Miss To, the founder of the organization, created it to preserve the history and traditions of the people of the Earth Sphere. For a few month the ELF prospered in it's pure state, though in the first month of AC 196 the little elves began a new objective.
"Apparently Miss To and her little helpers began to see the wars as the tradition of human kind. peace was nice and all, but the battles between humans are the ones that warriors thrive on.
"Many of her followers were a part of the Mariemaia group, though she, herself, stayed in her position doing research for the Terra Forming project," Heero finished.
Zechs grunted in annoyance and confused understanding. He understood that she felt she needed to fight for the things she believe in. Though, fighting for the right to fight was pointless. Again, working on the Terra formation project did not quite coincide with her ideas.
"Recently though," Heero continued, "it seems that the power has switched hands within the organization, showing us that we are not as lucky as we once thought we were." He stopped, and preventors looked at him, confused.
"The latest orders have been coming from the L2 colony cluster."
"Jonathan Phoenix..." Duo muttered.
"Phoenix?" Pal Legion asked, trying to hold back his shock.
"Yes. Jonathan Phoenix," Heero confirmed. "CEO of the Phoenix Shipping Company. Also, Duo's boss."
The eyes of the room turned to Duo, who sat rigidly, stoically out of character. "I work for the man," he said. His eyes hardened, angry at himself, and his boss.
"As of late," Heero tried to continue, "I have been tracing calls from the PSC offices to offices here in Constance. I assume that these calls are being transferred to Miss To's computer."
"Phoenix is definitely as snake," Duo said. "I could have told you that, but I didn't think that he was capable of...." he didn't finish.
"What I want to know is," Quatre started, "why Duo is working for him the first place. What happened to the salvage yard Duo?"
"It's still there...." Duo said, but did not go further, thinking the topic more personal than business.
"If you needed money you could have called Duo.."
"Is this all we know about the ELF?" Legion broke in, becoming impatient.
"I know also, that Miss To was one of the largest advocates for the protection of the World's Database right before she left her job two months ago. It was three months ago that the calls had started coming from L2."
"So then," Relena said quietly, "It seems that Miss To notified her second in command when she was prepared to leave. But why is she here?"
Wufei was struggling to hold in his feelings of anger and betrayal. His own wife was advocating another war. His own wife, the one who wanted so badly to end the oppression that was forced upon her as a child. She was trying to mix up the winds of rage and he was lost in the middle of it.
"She came," Odin said softly, making sure not to look at Wufei. "She came, to honor the commitment she made four years ago to her husband."
"That sounds out of character," Zechs murmured wryly.
Wufei glared at the screen that held Zechs's face, and stood. Coldly he turned and left the room, walking evenly, with clenched fists, jaws set tight, and his eyes clouded.
The rooms occupants watched and Sally rose to follow him. Lady Une placed a hand on her shoulder. "Let him go," she whispered.
Okay, so this is getting harder and harder to write.
Wufei: Well what did you expect. you're a fantasy writer woman.
Hey, I can try my hand at this war Utopia/science fiction/historic stuff can't I?
Wufei: You can try.
Oh thanks. That makes me feel good.
Wufei: All I am saying is that is...
Meiran: You better stop before you stick your foot in you mouth any more Wu-chan.
Wufei: What do you mean by that Onna?
She means that I am the author, therefore I hold your fate in my hand. Wufei: But I thought that the ELF was going to...
Meiran: Chang Wufei! Do not give away the ending.
Thank you Meiran. Besides Chang, I can always change my mind and....*whispers into Meiran's ear*
Meiran: *giggles*
Wufei: *glares at the laughing teenagers* Women!
*****I don't own any of this, etc, etc, standard disclaimer stuff.*/****