There Goes the World: Chapter 3: Conspiracies and Deterioration
Author's note: Same as the first chapter and it will be the same for the duration of this story.
Quatre's flight to L201 had been smooth and uneventful. Unfortunately, so had his meeting. The representatives of 01 feared that 05 would attempt to take control of one of the Winner resource meteors, and although they calmed when Quatre assured them security was tight enough to prevent that, he could not convince them to move on to more important matters. He never understood how Relena managed to get people to listen, but he often wished he could do what she did. He felt like he never had any real authority, that the clients only listened to him because he was a 'war orphan'. Although, he had to admit that oftentimes they took his ideas into consideration, which was really all he could hope for in the end. Still he wished people—maybe not everyone, but someone somewhere—loved him as Relena was loved. Was the life of a Gundam Pilot really destined to be cold and lonely? Quatre didn't think it was destiny so much as it was choice for the others. But he didn't want to choose their way. He desired a life with love and warmth and purpose. But then he hated himself for not loving what he had. After all, it had been his choice to join the war with Sandrock despite his father's warnings. No one had forced him.
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Duo was there when Quatre's flight landed on 05. But the blonde didn't know, or at least didn't show he knew. Duo had disguised himself well; sitting in a chair in the next module's waiting area, wearing a janitor's jumpsuit and a hat, with his long mane wrapped up and hidden under it. As he spotted the blonde, hr faked a cough, bringing his hand up to his mouth.
"Quatre's here," he muttered. He stood up, but instead of following Quatre, he walked to the bathroom. It was up to the others to keep tabs on him now. He knew Trowa was somewhere in the terminal, and no matter how much Trowa pretended not to care, Duo knew he would watch after Quatre. Of course, they'd all need to stick close to the blonde, since he was a prominent figure. And those controlling 05 would surely put up the red flags once they noticed his arrival. He took one more look around the terminal, looking for any suspicious characters, but he could spot any, and so turned his back to the mass of people and entered the bathroom. He hoped someone kept an eye on Quatre, because Duo would never forgive himself if something happened to the blonde. In Duo's opinion, Quatre had suffered enough. However, Duo had been the only one to voice any objection to Quatre being the one working stealth on this mission. The Winner name was one of recognition no matter where it was said, and since Mr. Winner had died during the war, Quatre had become somewhat of a tragic celebrity. Everyone knew his face; it was that familiarity that made it difficult for the blonde to work stealth on any mission. Yet, for reasons Duo barely understood or agreed with, Quatre always ended up doing the 'undercover' work when, next to Duo, he was the most unacceptable of all the Gundam pilots for that type of job. Sometimes Duo believed, and mentally accused, Heero and Trowa (and sometimes Wufei) of purposely putting Quatre in harm's way. He didn't know what they tried to accomplish by putting Quatre through such risks, but Duo hoped they knew what they were doing. Because he sure didn't.
He slipped off the janitor's uniform easily enough in one of the stalls, and then opened the duffel bag he had placed there earlier with a disguise to get him out.
"What the-?" He muttered as he pulled out a red dress and heels. Apparently Heero or Trowa had switched disguises without Duo noticing.
"Damn you! I'll get you for this, Heero!" Duo called to the empty bathroom, knowing Heero just wanted to get a kick out of him crossdressing. He begrudgingly changed into the disguise, grateful for coed bathrooms.
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Quatre exited the spaceport and squinted in the artificial sunlight that filled L205. Immediately he felt like someone was watching his every move. His first instinct told him to turn around and get lost in the crowded spaceport, but he knew he couldn't do that. If he did, it would only have the affect of him appearing more suspicious to the people who supposedly controlled 05. With his mission in mind, he started down the street. Thankfully, nearly every colony was set up the same, with the official government building in the center of the 'city'. So, Quatre had very little trouble looking inconspicuous. However, as he approached, he felt a strange amount of fear wrap its cold steel fist around his stomach. The closer he got to the center of the city, the fewer people there seemed to be. All the housing developments seemed almost dank; unused and decrepit. But still the blonde walked purposefully, trying not to look intimidated or frightened. He couldn't help but notice that the artificial sunlight seemed to stop before it hit the top of the houses, casting everything in an eerie light.
"Oh, stop it. You're being paranoid and scaring yourself." He whispered, laughing a little. The depressing atmosphere threatened to crash in on Quatre's determined mind; it threatened to squeeze his comfort right out of him. Is this Hell? he thought as he turned down a side street. Every horrible event that had ever occurred in his life now seemed to come back to him, one glaring mistake or tragedy after another. He tried not to focus on them, and slowly they melted away into the present task, but they left him with a feeling that some of his sanity had been lost in the war.
"Quatre Raberba Winner, is that you?" Quatre spun around at the sound of his name.
"Dorothy Catalonia?" He said, unable to hide his utter shock. She nodded and approached him, smiling. Quatre smiled back, albeit wary. Had she been following him all this time? He looked around and was once again met with a surprise. The streets were not even close to empty, as he had seen them just moments before. Why didn't his memory seem to match reality? Hadn't he bee the only one on the streets just minutes ago?
"I was wondering when I'd see you again," she said, pausing for a moment to consider the confused look upon Quatre's face. "Are you alright?"
"Me? Oh, I'm fine. Just daydreaming." He said with a smile. "Why don't you walk with me?" She accepted, and the two of them started forward once again. "How have you been, Dorothy?" Despite his polite attitude, he remained apprehensive.
"What brings you to L205, Quatre?" She asked, and the blonde's red flags went up. For some reason, he had a feeling that Dorothy was involved in whatever was going wrong on the colony.
"Business if L205 wants to sever ties to everything else, I'll need to come up with an agreement concerning the use of my resource satellite." Now he understood the reason why the other pilots always made him perform the stealth missions.
"Ah. You've certainly matured, Quatre. But I think it would be best if you headed home as soon as possible once your business is done here. And then I'd advise you to forget about 05 completely." Quatre stopped in his tracks. Well, now there was no doubt that she certainly had something up her sleeve. "If you'll excuse me, Quatre, I've got an appointment." She departed, knowing the blonde was lying through his teeth.
Quatre watched silently as she walked off in the direction they had been coming from.