Magatama Chapter 14: Quiet to Forgiveness

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and it's characters do not belong to me.

It's here, just like I promised. It took me a month. (I started actually writing it on 3.18, even though I'd been planning it for a month before that.) I hope it's good enough to make up for a few months without updating it.

I'll shut up and just get to it.

Thud


Crack....Thud


It was quiet at first, but as the coming army descended further, the louder their disruption became.

He crouched in the lower branches of a fur tree, awaiting the coming battle.

He prayed:

"'I call to you, God, and you answer me. Listen to me now. Hear what I say.'"

His soft voice was drowned out by the gunfire and screams he heard.

The battle was drawing nearer.

"'Your love wonderful. By your power protect me as you would your own eye.'"

He peered, cautiously between the thick branches.

He could see no one yet. His radio clicked twice and he tightened his grip on his gun.

"'Protect me as a bird hides her young under her wings.'"

Trowa heard a great crack of a fallen branch ten yards in front of his perch and moved his weapon into position, rustling the branches.

"'Keep me from the wicked who attack me.'"

The lone man spat with a cocky grin and signaled for his comrades to follow.

"'Protect me from my enemies who surround me.

Twenty-five men, all bearing weapons now stood in the area. Each one had their gun ready to shoot at the sign of any movement.

They descended further. Trowa signaled to his camouflaged team to ready themselves for an attack.

"'They are selfish. They brag about themselves. They have chased me. Now they surround me.'"

As the enemy closed in on all sides of Trowa's tree, he gave the final warning for his men to ready themselves.

'"They plan to throw me to the ground.'"

He rose in his spot and the sudden movement made the enemy soldiers drop, with their guns raised, protecting themselves.

They are like lions ready to kill,'"


Bitter.

Discontent.
Insulted.

Jealous.




The emotions that radiated from Odin Lowe were obvious. he didn't feel them. All he knew was, that his position had been given to the enemy.

She was the enemy. If it had not been for her--he may not have been here. His meditations would not have been interupted.

How did she know? She knew where to find him. It had to have been her who awoke him in the middle of the night with a beeping computer--telling him of the coming plan to bomb the University.

But if she had known, why was she there? Why had she allowed herself to be so severely injured? Was it guilt? Self-punishment? Suicide?

She troubled him. Odin couldn't decide what she was up to. He didn't understand her. She wasn't predictable, not like her husband. She was sly--like a fox. She was a deceiving fox of a woman...

"This is Preventor Chang! Does anyone read this transmission?" Wufei's voice came calmly over the radio. he repeated himself in a few different languages, his voice more urgent with every repetition.

"Preventor Chang, this is comm. base, we read you. What is your situation?" Meiran said.

"I was separated from my men in a brief fight. I haven't been able to contact them since."

Meiran tapped at her keyboard, causing the attached screen to hone in on her husband's men.

"They're all still online, Sir. Perhaps it's your equipment?"

She started tuping frantically, checking the position of Wufei in relation to his men.

"Preventor Chang, your people are about a mile down the mountain to your east. The enemy is headed that direction. There are also some enemy vehicles near you, Sir."

"My equipment...it's going be...I'll try to me with...get home...."

His comm. cut out and his dot disappeared from the screen.

"Damn.." Meiran whispered, taking off her headset and dropping it to her lap.

He hands shook.

"What the hell just happened Chang?" Une snapped.

"It seems that the ELF just isolated Chang," Odin announced. "I wonder why that happened?" He shot a glance at Meiran.

"Are you suggesting that I--"

"I only suggest what I know Ms. Chang."

"What do you know?"

"You're the enemy--or a traitor. Either way you're not to be trusted. You're also Wufei's wife. You're family. You shouldn't be here. It's too fucking close for you as his enemy and his wife. You can't handle it."

Meiran stood, he injureis screaming.

Her eyes sparkled with proud maliciousness as she stood directly in front of Heero, whom dwarfed her.

"I am not weak," she said. Then slammed her fist into his face so hard that he was thrown to the floor.

Exhausted from exerting her recuperating body so, Meiran fell in a heap on the floor. Tears formed in her eyes, but she would not let them fall. No weaknesses could be shown the that Bastard.

"You're not the soldier you once were," she scoffed.

"Hn.." He snorted.

"You've grown weaker over time as well." He opened the door to leave. "You'll lose no matter what the out come."

"And no matter the out come," Meiran said, "you'll continue to let yourself waste away."

It's May. May AC 198. It's been almost three years since I met Duo. Three yeas since the beginning.

Two and a half years ago I fought my way through Libra. Duo saved me then, but I fought bravely.

December 195 saw me strong.

\ I was a warrior.

Two and a half years is a long time to spend living a normal life. It's a short time to work through a lot of shit.

Duo and I nursed each other's injuries--my leg still bothers me from time to time.

We comforted each other from our nightmares, and worked side by side.

I gave him my strength.


Now, here I sit in an obscure room at the comm. base. It's dark and tears stream down my face. I put myself here.

I let myself get weak because I though it might help Duo.

I was a soldier, trained in combat--and I let myself forget that.

Not anymore.

"I will be weak no longer."


--------


Hilde set out at a run. Pumping her arms and legs for all her worth.

Her throat stung with dryness and her broken throbbed.

It wasn't her good arm anyway. It was only a week until the cast came off.

Her striedes brought her to Wufei's house, where she'd formed a strategy.

Weapons=fight

There was a pistol hidden in Duo's suitcase, beneath his underwear.

She climbed the stairs and dumped Duo's luggage over the bed, rummaging until she found the gun and a bit of extra ammunition.

One weapon would be enough.

Always carry a spare.

She took a moment to thing of where Wufei's weapons might be hidden. Her body turned in circles until her eyes narrowed on the closet. In the back she found a dusty rack, housing four different swords.

Hilde grabbed the one she'd had the most experience with: a long machete sword with a plain black hilt and scabbard to match.

Hastily, she strapped it around her thin hips.

"Entschuldigen mir bitte Wufei(1)," she whispered before setting off again.

The battle was happening in the mountains behind Wufei's house. It was obvious that they were very close.

To an outsider, it could have been a drill put on by the Preventors.

It wasn't

Hilde scaled the slopes, desperately trying to reach the battle.

The smell of blood and gun powder permeated down wind. The reality of the sobriety of this fight hit her and her leg gave out underneath her.

Hilde slid twenty feet, grunting, not allowing her tears of pain to fall. She wouldn't cry this time.

Her black pants were ripped and her cast slammed into a rock as she attempted to stand.

She heard a battle cry from the west.

"Duo?" she asked the wind, shaking her head.

"Hey Quatre man, we're getting pushed a little far down the rock," Duo said into his radio.

"We're still holding our ground, Duo," Quatre responded.

"Hey, just wanted to call your attention to how close we're getting to level ground, but I suppose you've noticed that, being commanding officer and all..."

Duo rustled slightly as he quieted his voice. He strained his senses. The sound of approaching troops tickled his ears.

So far, combat hadn't been to close, but it had involved heavy crossfire.



He was confused and not sure why he was fighting. These people were a threat. They'd bombed four civilian habitations within two days. They'd killed hundreds of innocents, so why shouldn't he be upset? Something didn't seem right about this battle. There was some animosity missing. The enemy soldiers weren't the ones lacking, he was.

Man to man combat is so psychologically different from mech-on-mech warfare, but no less traumatizing.

He'd done his fair share, especially on that damned mountain, but it felt that he was fighting only to sav his life. Was that right? He'd put himself there hadn't he?

A bullet struck the tree to his right. It was only about two feet away from his shrubbery. His eyes scanned the area, immediately transforming back to his battle more.

There were so many more of them than there were left in his troop.

So many...

Another shot iwas fired from the other side and Quatre gave the ok to head into combat. "Stay concealed," he'd said.

The crossfire was rapid, but they didn't progress much, only enough to make the no man's land miniscule.

One of Duo's bullets lodged itself in an opposing soldier's camouflage-clad chest. The blood splurted and splattered and dripped as the young man crumpled to the ground.

A retaliatory bullet crashed through his shrubbery, missing his head only by inches.

A grenade landed itself fifty feet to his left and exploded, killing and injuring at lest eight men. The tree closest to the area wore a large black singe, sprayed with the sticky blood of dead men. Munitions were low and most men had only their side arms and/or knives left.

Close combat.

A Preventor issue ground-war machine gun flew through the air, followed by the war yawp of Duo Maxwell.

Meeting the challenge, the soldiers of the ELF stepped out into the small clearing, bearing knives.

He stood, sliding his knife out of it hiding place near his waist. Many of his comrades followed suit, including Quatre.

The enemy stood in contemplation for a moment, deciding how the massacre would begin and end.

Blood.

Much more blood would be spilled, and swiftly at that.

Two birds chirped and flew from a large Swiss Oak tree as soon as they had settled there. As the ELF men watched the distracting creatures, six shots rang out from that same tree. Four ELF soldiers fell, and six more shots were fired. Five more collapsed. Two other, who had been hit as well, sat.

Confusion.



Duo watched a small figure with a sword shimmy down the round tree trunk and the corner of his lips turned up in recognition.

Three of the other men surrounded her maliciously, threatening he. She pulled out her machete, and held it like a pro.

She was soaked in blood as she spun to face Duo. All three soldiers fell to the ground, cut down by the blade in Hilde's hand.

He cast was crimson.

"Hilde," he and Quatre said at the same time.

Quatre stepped toward the stained woman, trying to take command. A pistol released a charge that streamlined for Quatre. He gasped as he was hit and fell to his knees.

"Fight..." he choked before fainting. His olive shirt black with blood.

Hilde, only further enraged, turned her sword upon the injured man, who she'd already shot, and hack off his hands. his screams and gushing blood infuriated his comrades and they let out outrages yelps and attacked the Preventor force with fervor.

Duo and Hilde made momentary eye contact, and the God and Goddess of Death made a triumphant return. For, no man can escape their glistening blades.


Trowa stood, watching as the soldiers of the ELF turned tail and ran.

Retreating.

"As for the deeds of men--"

He cast his weapon aside. Blood was scarce. His men were all still alive. No blood stained his clothes, but his hands seemed to be glowing with the liquid.

"By the word of your lips, I have kept myself from the ways of the violent."

He dropped to his knees in exhaustion, leaving crimson stains in the grass.
B "My steps have held to your paths; my feet have not slipped," he repeated.

He wiped his hands on the land, uselessly. There was no way they could become clean.

"Forgive me..." he whispered as the battle closed.



(1)Please forgive me Wufei--formal

When Trowa is speaking (in italics) at the beginning of the chapter it is Psalms 17:6-12. When Trowa is speaking at the end of the chapter it is from Psalms 17: 4 &5.

Well, there it is, finally done. I hope you all enjoyed it. I will answer the stuff about the two Treizes in next chapter, as well as explain what happened to Wufei. That information just didn't seem to fit in this chapter, which was strictly battles. (and there was way more than one)....

Thank you guys so much for waiting for me for so long!