Heero sat on the ledge of the balcony, staring into the starry night sky. When was the last time he had gaze into the stars, admiring their beauty? He took out the white tablet from his pocket and fingered it. He felt close to it, as if this Wing Zero is meant to be his. He could feel a bond with it. It was exactly the same feeling he had when he was first taught to use a gun. He knew it was his destiny, he understood he was born to be different from normal kids and he had no regrets.
He turned the tablet over and inscribed on the back were the words The Heart of the Universe. What does it means? Is this the formula to learning the magic? If so, how come it has only one line? It looked more like a sentence to him, rather than a magical formula. The Heart of the Universe. Could it have something to do with the universe? Why is the tablet white in colour? Why are the tablets in five different colours? Could the colour be some form of clue? White represents purity and innocence. The universe is dark in colour. Is it supposed to be a contrast? What was WindSong thinking when she was making these?
Soft footsteps came from behind him. He turned.
" Can't sleep?" Quatre asked him. He leaned on the ledge beside his friend. Seeing Heero's tablet, Quatre took out his. " Figure out anything?"
Heero shook his head. " You?"
" Nothing."
" What are your words?"
Quatre turned his yellow tablet and showed it to him. " The Love of Elements. I think it has something to do with the elements in the world. I don't think I can sleep tonight. Duo and the rest are sleeping rather peacefully. I wonder how they can sleep."
" Do you think the colour means anything?"
" I don't know. I keep thinking of yellow as sunlight. After WindSong's lover was killed, I doubt that was ever sunlight again in her life. I keep thinking of it as her hope, a hope to find sunlight again in her life."
Heero frowned. " Yellow – sunlight. White – purity. Black – darkness. Red – blood. Green – "
" Hope," Quatre answered it for Heero. " I always thought of green as a symbol of hope. Like grass and trees. They grow on earth with the hope to live only."
There was a pause. Then both of them burst out, " I got it!!!"
" You first," Quatre said eagerly.
" Take mine as a start. My tablet is white and the words are The Heart of the Universe. White represents purity. And what kind of purity can be found in the universe? Light. White light. The sun," Heero started.
" Sun is a yellow-orangey ball of fire," Quatre went on. " It gives life to everything on earth. In magic, we learn that everything is made up of elements. The sun helps elements to grow, like wood and the grass on earth."
" But not everything is pure on earth," Heero stared into space thoughtfully. " We have our dark moments. And eventually, everyone and everything will have to die. When we die, we go to hell. Hell is dark."
Quatre nodded. " Right. Humans have blood. So do plants and animals. It represents life, the power to live. But some people find that the power to live is not enough. They want more. More power. And in the process, precious blood is lost. Other people's blood and theirs too. Then comes revenge. The debt gets heavier, dirtying everything, making all darker to live in."
" All of us have hopes. Bad hopes, good hopes. Your hopes can be different from mine. It all depends on the person. To a sick man, he can either hope to find an elixir so he can continue living or just die quickly to lessen his pains. An orphan only hopes to have some parental love. A lonely widow hopes she can bring her husband back to life. For someone who is down, he hopes there is a god to help him. For a son who wants revenge, he harbours hopes to take revenge. Our tablets are actually inter-related," concluded Heero.
" No wonder Mr J said having one tablet means having the other four. Now I understand," Quatre smiled.
And their tablets glowed. Softly. Magically.
And from a room, a door burst opened and the other three boys rushed out to the balcony, holding out their tablets to show the two.
And all five announced loudly, " Our tablets glowed!"
There was a slight pause. " I thought you were asleep?" Quatre asked.
Duo grinned. " We can't sleep. So after you went out, we began to discuss."
" And I suppose all of us have seen the light now." Trowa looked from one boy to the other.
" Looks like we are meant to learn the Gundam Magic," Wufei said. His Shenlong tablet had the words God is as you see it. " Mine is hope. The magic of hope."
Quatre presented his neatly on his palm. " Mine is elements. The magic of elements."
A Debt of Blood, the words behind Heavyarms, belonged to Trowa. " Mine is power. The magic of power, blood."
Duo proudly held his Deathscythe tablet out with a malicious grin. " Death, Angel of Darkness," he told his mates. " Mine is death, darkness. The magic of darkness. God of Death."
Heero regarded his contemporaries for a moment and smiled. A little. Briefly. The owner of Light, The Heart of the Universe said, " Mine is light. The magic of light."
Mr J learned about it the first thing tomorrow morning. It was Friday and many students could not wait for the weekend to start. The school was noisy as usual and Mr J could only listened with his mouth gaping to what the five boys have to say. And of course, they got to keep the tablets.
After school that day, they stayed back to practice the Gundam Magic in the school grounds. Mr J supervised them, along with Miss Une. Miss Une had called Mr J earlier to inform him of OZ and the danger the boys will be facing. She was surprised to learn that they had already told him and even more to hear that they were the ones destined to have the tablets. The two watched in amazement as the boys displayed the secret they had obtained from the tablets and how it helped to enhance their magical abilities to a greater level, surpassing them.
*************************************************************
Noin appeared in a flash of light just in front of Treize and Zechs. The three were outside Magic Town, on the green hill. Noin gave a slight bow. " Master says to only go after Relena Peacecraft."
" Why?" Zechs asked.
" The other two will die soon. They are no longer of a threat."
" Another dream?"
" Yes."
" Anything else?"
Noin stiffened. " Yes," she replied. " Master wants us to attack all the magical realms. I don't understand why. I thought we are suppose to destroy the children?"
Treize turned to her. " We were suppose to start our conquer when the dream interrupted it. I think he wants to test the abilities of the children, see what makes them fit to challenge the great one."
Zechs nodded in agreement. " Not to mention the impatience behind it. When do we start Treize?"
" Three days from today. We need time to prepare the army."
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Une left the Gundam Boys' Magic School with many thoughts in her mind. She was very surprised to discover the fact that the five boys were the owners of the Gundam tablets. The principle behind the tablets was profound and she herself would never figure it out even if she was given a lifetime. Deeply, she admired them, that they were able to possess one of the world most powerful magic. Une admit silently to herself the tinge of jealousy in her heart. Given the chance, she herself would gladly love to possess such ultimate strength. Oh well!
Treize came into her mind, his image filling up her eyes. Where can he be? No matter how strong he is, she doubt he can ever defeat the boys now, not when they have now learnt the secret of Gundam Magic. A few more practice and the boys would be invincible, undisputed.
A surge of anxiety and fear washed all over Une and she shivered in the sudden gust of cold, merciless wind. She pulled her red jacket closer to her body and brushed her messy hair aside. She has to find him. Urgently. Quickly. Fast. But where can he be? If he was here in town…no, he cannot be here in town. Strangers like him would certainly attract some attention, especially good-looking and mysterious ones like him. If her intuition served her right, he must be somewhere near the town and the nearest landscape to this town would be the hills.
Upon realizing this, Une's feet took over. She ran as fast as she could out of town and over to the hills. There are several luscious, evergreen hills surrounding Magic Town. If Treize remained the same Treize she had known, he will have chosen the most beautiful piece of all for he was a man who valued Mother Nature's beauty. Une ran and ran.
" We have company," Treize told his allies. All three spun round to greet their newcomer. It was Une, a panting Une who had ran non-stop to confirm her suspicions of where her childhood mate would be.
Noin held out an arm in precaution. " You," she said to Une. Their last battle flashed across her mind. Une was a tough woman.
Une approached them slowly, her forehead covered with sweat despite the obvious signs of cooler weather.
" I…I need to talk to you, Treize."
" Back off!" Noin warned her. Zechs stepped forward to assist her.
" Zechs, Noin, leave us for a moment. I need to speak to her in private," Treize ordered.
" Mr Treize!" Noin cried in disbelief.
" She is an enemy," Zechs argued.
Treize merely laughed and said amiably, " Lady Une is an old friend of mine, in fact, my first best friend. It has been ages since we last met and have a good chat. Leave us alone I pray you. Une will never harm me. Right, my Lady?"
Une looked at him and her eyes watered. " Yes, I will never wish to harm you." Unless you are no longer the good-natured Treize I knew, she added in silence.
Of the three OZ members, Treize has the highest authority and the two have no choice but to obey him. Soldiers do not ask, they obey orders. After Zechs and Noin have left them, Treize and Une was surrounded with an uncomfortable stillness. Suddenly, our Lady Une was speechless. She could not find any words to fill in between them. She struggled to speak and what came out was a hoarse, "Why?"
Treize gazed at her steadily. " Why? Why am I in OZ? There is a story behind it. After my parents moved away, after I reluctantly left you, we went to live in the Land of Miracles. As you know, my mother was ill and my father wished that the doctors there could heal her. But four days after we arrived, she passed away in her sleep. My father was devastated and he died of misery a year later. I was left alone with all my family's fortunes. I had no relatives and no friends. So I decided to come back to you. But halfway through my return journey, a wicked witch attacked me. She wanted all my family fortune. At this critical moment, OZ saved me and took me in. I was badly injured and they nursed me back to health. OZ taught me magic and they treated me well. I very much admire their ideas and attitude.
" And I saw war for the first time. It was not here in any of the magic realms but on earth. I saw how people of different ethnic groups fight for stupid reasons, how an airy word sparks off a war, how the strong ones always win, how different ideas lead to more fighting. Suddenly, all the ugly sides to a human were presented straight into my face. Shocked, I was brought in to see Master for the first time. He talked to me for a long time and behind his veil I could sense a powerful and extraordinary being. He wanted to unite all the magical realms. He told me about previous wars in the different magical realms, how we must fight to protect our loved ones and everything we treasure. In the process however, we might lose something we love but we can find it again, plant it into the ground and grow it once more.
" And Master is right. I thought to myself, people would only realize how wrong and pathetic they are when they are suffering. After they see how painful a war is and experience it themselves, they will repent. However in some cases, the ones with fiery souls, with a nature so wild to tame may never see it. They think they are right, that the country is theirs only and refuses to see how sometimes help from an outsider can make the country a better place to live in. Rather than let the people suffer again, we kill them. But perhaps in the battling process they might see the light again and change for the better. Une, can't you see the beauty of war? How it changes one person?"
Une shook her head. " Treize, war is not beautiful. It is cruel and I don't want you to get hurt in it. Please, leave OZ. Please."
" I know you care about me, you have always care about me but I know what I want."
" Wake up, Treize! OZ is a cult! If it is really so good, why would it resort to such unscrupulous methods to get what it wants?" Une raised her voice.
To her amazement, her friend agreed with her. " Yes, it is rather unscrupulous but this is war, a battle and only the stronger party wins. I feel sorry for their deaths but this is for peace, for the entire human race. We sacrifice a little but we can gain tremendous rewards. Humans will never be the same again."
And Une became confused. She could not seem to fathom any of it but yet she felt as if she understood Treize all along. She clutched her head in anguish. Who is right? What is wrong?
" Une? Une, are you okay?" Treize ran to her side.
" I don't know…" she mumbled. " I don't know what's right or wrong anymore…I don't want anyone to get hurt…I don't want you to get hurt…"
" Didn't you once say that no matter what I do you'll always be behind me, supporting me? I am not wrong, Une. I believe in all that I believe in and I don't believe in all that I don't believe in. I am not wrong."
" Well-said," a voice praised Treize out of nowhere. It was deep and sonorous, but so discorded like a broken radio that no one can tell whether the speaker is a male or female. One can only guess. Treize however recognized that voice.
" Master!" he said to the air. Une looked about warily but could see no one.
" Is she your friend, my loyal subordinate?" the voice asked.
" My first best friend," Treize answered truthfully.
" Do you want her to be by your side forever?"
" I never want to force anyone."
Une opened her mouth to speak but suddenly, her mind went blank and the world before her spun in vertigo. She tried to grasp onto something but failed. Treize grabbed her just as she fell. There was nothing in front of Une, only darkness and a strange sensation. Something was not right, changing, manipulating, tossing her aboard, controlling her every movement and thought, changing…
" Une! Can you hear me? Une, answer me!" Treize begged frantically.
" She'll be all right. She's just – confused. She needs to straighten her thoughts," the voice replied soothingly.
The last sentence penetrated into Treize and he froze for a brief second. " No, Master you cannot do this. She does not want to."
The voice laughed, amused. " Treize darling, your Lady Une is not working for me. She is working for you. Isn't that what you want, her by your side? From now on, she will serve you only. This is your reward for all your efforts and loyalty."
As soon as "Master" finished, Une opened her eyes abruptly, as if she was a vampire called awake by a priest. In her life, there was no longer anything that mattered to her but Treize. He shall be her life. " Mr Treize," Une said as she stood up and saluted. " I have straightened it out. I shall follow you."
"Master" laughed again. " Congratulations on your new member on the team, Treize."
And he was gone.
Treize stared at Une and she stared back in answer. He knew he cannot defy his orders. As long as he is around, he will see that no harm shall befall on his Lady Une. There is little he can do except to accept the new Une.
" Come, let's introduce you to Zechs and Noin. We have work to do."
News of the conquer of several magical realms reached Magic Town. Out of their 22 realms, 3 have ceased to exist while 4 have joined OZ. The speed was incredible and their efficiency was terrifying. OZ does not care. They only win and winning is what they do best. They are impervious to the countless of blood shed and lives lost to the God of Death. OZ is out to create hell for all.
