Chapter 5
Heero's eyes opened, and he stretched, a little painfully. He was laid out on his bed, still fully clothed. He sighed and got up, walking into the blue bathroom. He stripped off and stepped into the shower. He turned it to cold, and felt the frigid water coursing all over him, waking his whole body up in seconds. He never took hot showers; he wasn't used to them. He rubbed some shampoo into his hair and rubbed soap all over before coming out and grabbing a towel from the rack. It was wonderfully soft.
He had been told the day before to come to the briefing room in his working uniform, so he went over the lounge into the study. He pressed a few buttons on his keyboard and heard the wall slide up into the ceiling. The towel wrapped around his hips, he walked into the wardrobe, and dressed in the uniform, looking at his reflection in the full-length mirror. He didn't look at himself that often, didn't think it was necessary, but he did now. The working uniform for them was mid-green combats that hung on the heavy black boots they wore on their feet. Luckily, he had a green top he was allowed to wear, and so he shoved one of his many green tank tops on. Over that was a combat jacket. It was mid-green at the top, but changed to a deep blue at the shoulder with a white dividing line. On his left breast pocket was an identity badge, and there were many pockets in it. The collar was blue, and the sleeves were long and had no cuffs, not really. He looked at himself, not really judging, just looking. He had never tried to tame the shock of messy dark brown hair that was on his head and wasn't going to try now. He took a look at his face, and turned away almost immediately. He couldn't make eye contact with himself; he never had been able to, not after…then. He hated their dead look, and feared what he would see if he stared into them long enough.
He came out, shutting the door and wall behind him and hung his towel up before collecting his key and locking his flat door as he came out. He was up quite early, well, late for him, about eight thirty, but there was still no sound from the pilot's corridor. He walked all the way down and went into the lift, pressing for the ground floor. The lift came out into the ornate corridor and then he went off through the little wooden door on the right. He came into the small passage he had first entered this place through, and then went out into the morning air.
The crunch of his boots on the gravel seemed to be the only sound apart from a few birds. The fresh morning air filled his nostrils with a sharp tang, the slightly salty smell of the lake mingled with the freshness of the pine forest. He crunched over the gravel, past Duo's car and onto the dirt path that led to the lake. He walked over the slight shingle beach and stopped just before the waves started lapping at the pebbles, just looking. The lake, light blue, reflecting the puffy clouds in the sky, the sun still being behind the house, looked so different than it had the night before. Then it had been a thing of beauty, of danger, and of something he couldn't grasp, but felt through the whole of his body. It was a lot less menacing now, with a few birds flying over it, reflecting in the deep blue of Heero's eyes that spoke of waters much deeper, greater and more powerful than this. Heero let the light breeze make his hair wave a little in the wind, and relaxed his whole body, his eyes letting go for a minute, just taking in the beauty that was all around him. I belong here now, he thought to himself, this is my home.
He got control of his body and the perfect soldier face snapped back on as he heard the back door open and close, and the crunch of heavy boots over gravel. He turned, and saw Duo walking over the gravel towards him. He was in the same uniform as Heero, green combats, black boots and combat jacket with identity tag, but he was wearing a collared shirt, grey/green in colour, the collar buttoned down and a dark green tie running down his chest. Heero saw him grimace as he caught him looking at it.
"They said the tops I chose weren't good enough so chucked me in this thing." He called out as he got on the dirt path. His clear voice rang out over the valley, adding a human sound, but not disturbing the peace. Heero simply grunted, and turned back to the lake as Duo came up by his side. "Gorgeous, isn't it?" Duo said, simply, smiling beside Heero. Heero didn't reply, simply stood and watched as some sort of sea bird dived at the lake, disappeared and came up, a helpless fish flapping in its talons. "Makes you feel kinda sorry for the fish, huh?" Duo said, turning to Heero and grinning. Heero simply nodded. "Come on, let's go eat." Duo said, putting a hand on Heero's arm and steering him round. "I'm famished!"
"You just got up." Heero said as they walked back.
"That's one thing you gotta learn about me, man. I eat all the time." Duo said.
"That would be one more thing I have to learn about you, then?" Heero said. Duo beamed at him.
"I'm not so shallow as all that, you know?" he said, proudly.
"I always knew that." Heero replied, quietly, and held the door open for him, shutting out the cold air behind him as the walked up the passage.
"So, sleep ok last night?" Duo asked.
"Well I didn't get a visit from you so I guess, yes." Heero replied, getting a grin.
"I was just looking out for you, you know." He said as they headed off down the ornate corridor, "I mean, you were yelling and moaning and as I didn't think you were that kind of guy I was worried."
"What do you mean by "that kind of guy"?" Heero asked as they entered the canteen.
"You know perfectly well what I mean." Duo said, grinning lecherously and going to the food bar. Heero sighed loudly and followed him.
"Duo, you here already?" the woman behind the counter asked him.
"Oh, you know me, Vi." Duo said. "I'll have the biggest thing going."
"Thought you would." Vi said, rolling her eyes at him in Heero's direction. "You new?" she asked him, smiling at him strangely. He nodded. "What can I do you?"
"Just a coffee, thanks." He said. She gave him that strange smile again and disappeared into the kitchens. Duo turned to him, a slightly disbelieving frown on his face.
"You do it on purpose, don't you?" he asked.
"What?"
"She was flirting with you, man. Vi was flirting with you. Vi was flirting full stop!" he added, a disgusted look on his face. "I'm gonna be mentally scarred for life!"
Heero could help letting his eyes glint with amusement at Duo's face. He glowed inside as Duo's grin turned into a smile as he saw it. He was the only person Heero knew that noticed, and it almost made him feel special that he tried so hard. In answer to Duo's warm smile, he warmed his eyes a little, and the glow grew as Duo's eyes lit up.
"Here you go, boys." Vi said, coming back. She handed Duo a massive tray of food with just enough room for Heero's coffee in the corner. "Enjoy." She said, giving Heero that smile again. Heero elbowed Duo quite hard in the ribs as he grinned at him. The boy's face twisted in an over-dramatic howl of pain.
"Ow!" he yelled, "Watch it, Superman, you'll break me!"
"Tell me which part of that is a bad thing." Heero muttered, picking the tray up and taking it over to a table. Part of him was shocked. He was having a normal, guy argument. He didn't do that, did he? He did now, he decided. He was too busy to notice the warm, slightly surprised but beaming face of Duo behind him. Heero was being almost warm, to him. Why did that make him feel so special again? Oh yeah, cause he was supposed to be "perfect soldier". Or something.
They sat at the table, and Duo shovelled the whole plate of food down his throat before Heero had finished his coffee.
"You have it black?" Duo asked, once.
"Yup."
"Sugar?"
"Nope."
"Just plain?"
"Yup."
"Ok."
So they ate or drank in comfortable silence, not needing to talk really. At about nine, Trowa and Quatre cam in closely followed by Wufei. They were all in working uniform. Trowa had the same shirt and tie on as Duo, as did Quatre, but Wufei had a deep blue tank top, a bit like Heero's but blue not green. They all got a smallish breakfast and came and sat at the table.
"Morning guys." Trowa said as he tucked into a slice of toast.
"Morning." Duo said, having just finished. "Ow!" he cried, as Wufei sharply hit his hand when he tried to steal some toast.
"You're still hungry?" Heero asked, and only Duo was trained enough to see the slight disbelief in his face. He just grinned, and nodded. Heero closed his eyes and shook his head, getting a chuckle from Trowa.
"You still have to get used to Duo's eating habits." He said. "Which are mainly: all the time."
"Oh, shut up guys, I just have high metabolism, or is it low?" Duo asked.
"High, if you had low you'd probably get stuck in the door." Heero replied, and the others laughed.
"He does anyway, doesn't he?" Quatre asked, and Duo scowled at him, playfully.
"When do we have to go?" Wufei asked, finished.
"Eleven," Trowa said, "We still have two hours."
"Well, why don't we show Heero the Gundams?" Duo asked. "I guess he should see it before he's asked to use it."
"Sounds like fun." Trowa said. "Quatre?"
"Sure."
"I'm up for it." Wufei said.
"Sound good to you?" Duo asked Heero, and he nodded. He wanted to see what he was expected to pilot.
The five pilots got up, thanked Vi and then went back out to the corridor. They squeezed into the lift, and the others laughed as Duo told them about Vi flirting with Heero. They laughed even more and started congratulating him when Duo told them about the girls the day before. Heero, for one of the first times in his life, felt part of something. They were laughing, with him if he laughed, and including him in everything.
They went down, further than the briefing room, to somewhere he'd never been. When the lift opened, they were in a large hanger with scientists buzzing around. Heero froze. This was too much like home, he didn't like it. Metal walls meant metal labs, scientists meant experiments, experiments meant pain…
"Heero?" It was Duo's voice, soft, worried, far away. "Heero, what is it?" Heero felt a hand on his own, and the physical contact brought him rushing back to reality. The others had gone, and Duo was standing next to him, his hand on Heero's own. Heero frowned and shook his head.
"Nothing." He said, quickly, and stepped onto the bridge around the top of the room, trying not to let Duo see how scared he was. Duo walked behind him, frowning in worry at the boy walking in front of him. He had just faded out. Duo knew that Heero was scared, and could see how much it was taking to walk through this place, but he didn't know why. What had Heero gone through in places like this to make him so scared? His experimental lab theory was quickly becoming dangerously possible.
They went through a door, and Heero stopped with the rest of them, looking around in awe. The room itself was massive, and there were five docks around the room with huge numbers over the head of each one. The one on their left had the number 5 on the top. All of the massive robots were over one hundred feet tall and humanoid. This one had great silver legs, blue belt and arms and huge silver and blue shoulder pads that went way out. On one arm was a round shield, yellow on blue, and its chest was red, stuck out where the pilot went. On its other arm was some kind of propelling device that looked like it was for disks. Across its back was a huge staff that was longer than the robot itself. Like the others, its head was relatively small, and almost round, with two eyes that were now dead looking. On top was a sort of crown with what looked like lightning bolts coming out of the forehead, and tiny wing like things for ears. It was magnificent.
"That," Wufei said, as Heero looked it up and down, "Is Shenlong, my Gundam. I call it my Nataku."
Heero nodded and moved on top the next Gundam. Number 4. This Gundam had almost white legs and upper arms; its shoulder pads shaped like feathery wings, a black chest and lower arms. On one arm was a hexagonal black shield with red eyes and gold all around, two strong looking a tooth coming out of the bottom. The other hand seemed free. The head had the dull green eyes of all the Gundams, and the pilot's seat was just below its chin. It had a crown in the shape of a mohekan, and two stabs of gold, one short, one long stabbed out from its forehead up and pointing towards the back of the massive machine.
"Sandrock," Quatre said, proudly, "My Gundam." Again, Heero moved onto the next, number 3.
This Gundam was more heavily built than the others, its massive dark silver legs carrying what looked like concealed weapons. Great, red plates covered its thighs, chest, shoulder pads and lower arms. The lower arms of this Gundam were absolutely huge. One massive black hand held a short sword, and the other held a machine gun about the size of a lorry. The bulging chest showed where the pilot sat, and the shoulder pads looked like they had even more ammo or guns hidden in them. The top half of the skull was the deep red, the gold crown in a wide "Y" position on its forehead. Two stripes of dark blue covered the silver pilot's cabin, and there was a huge, rectangular shield over the machine gun.
"That is my Gundam." Trowa said, quietly, but proudly. "He is called Heavyarms."
Next was number 2, and this Gundam looked the scariest out of them. It was almost all black, apart from a few joints. Sometimes, the linings would be gold, but apart from that, the green of the eyes and the small and few red points, there was no other colour. In, like the others, the left arm, there was a smallish shield. It was black, red and gold, and had three dangerous looking silver spikes right on the end. The head was mostly black, only the face silver, the gold crown a rough, wide "W" shape and the pilot's cabin was just under the chin. Under the huge, curved shoulder pads, Heero could just see the barrels of guns, but it was what the right arm held that confused him. A black staff, as long as Shenlong's, but at the end it was square, and looked like two things fitted right into the slots there.
"Deathscythe," Duo breathed beside him. "That's where I got my nickname, you know."
"Nickname?" Heero asked.
"For those that he saves, and those he kills." Trowa explained, "They call him the God of Death."
Heero was a little thrown. Out of all the pilots, the one he would choose as being the one who drove this fearful thing and the one being called that was not the bubbly, happy-go-lucky boy he knew that Duo was. But then again, there was always his past…
"What's the staff?" he asked.
"No staff." Duo said, "Scythe. You'll see when we go into battle in these babies."
Finally, Heero looked at the last, number 1, which must be his, he thought. He had been told that his was the leader, the strongest all round, and it certainly looked the part. It was slightly bigger than the rest of them by a few tens of feet. The bottoms of its massive feet were red, and its huge legs were all silver, gleaming. He could see guns in the feet, and there were probably more concealed away somewhere. Its torso was deep blue, with red lining, and in the middle was a sphere of green, see through substance with a gold lining, which Heero guessed was the cabin. The upper arms were silver, the lower that deep blue again. In the right had was a huge shield in a sort of kite shape, red and silver. The shoulder pads were blue and silver, guns almost certainly concealed in them. Sticking out at the back looked like two huge aeroplane wings. In the right hand was a massive ray gun, as big as Heavyarm's machine-gun, but scarier. The head was white silver, the crown like a red jewel with two thin, straight wings coming out either side, white flaps as ears. It was magnificent.
"That's Wing." Duo whispered, by his ear, "It can transform into a plane if you want it to. They saw it's one of the most powerful. And they chose you to pilot it, Heero, either it or you has to be pretty special, probably both."
As what Duo had just said started to sink in, there was a shout from the door, and they all spun round. Treize, Noin, Une and Zechs had all sprinted into the hanger, panting from running all the way. Their eyes were wide and urgent, and they sprinted up to the boys.
"What the hell's got you lot going?" Duo asked.
"An attack." Treize said, "On the city. Five motion dolls are headed this way."
"Five what?" Heero asked.
"We'll tell you boys, get up and going. No, Heero!" Heero stopped as Treize called him. "You're not going."
"What?!" Duo yelled, skidding to a halt, "But we need him!"
"No!" Treize shouted, "He doesn't know what he's doing yet; he could hold you down. Now get moving."
"Sir, I…" Heero started.
"What?!" Treize interrupted.
"I think it would be good if I went, I would even out the numbers."
"No, Yuy, you are staying here. That is an order!" he yelled, as Heero opened his mouth again. He shut it, glaring at the man. It was an order; there was nothing he could do about it.
"Heero, this way." Zechs, said, and put an arm on his shoulders, guiding him up into a lift with the other four. They went up to a room with televisions, monitoring equipment and communications in it. It was glass all the way around so that the whole of the hanger could be seen. Heero watched as Trowa, Quatre, Wufei and Duo climbed up the ladders that led to the hatches. Treize, who was sitting next to a whole side of buttons and levers, pressed one, and four out of the five hatches opened. In front of Noin were the televisions in the cabins, and Heero watched as the four pilots got strapped in. It looked tight, and compact, but he didn't care. He wanted to be out there.
Next to Noin's space was Lady Une, in front of the monitoring equipment. One quick look told Heero they had all the latest equipment to check up on all the Gundams to the tiniest detail. Next to her sat Zechs, head phones on his head and sitting in front of the communications.
"Make us hear them, Zechs." Treize said and Zechs pulled a button. There was nothing for a minute until Heero saw the pilots put a set of headphones on their heads and press a button on the dashboard of the Gundam.
"This is Lightning to pilots. Do you read me?" Zechs asked, loudly and clearly.
"Pilot 02, affirmative." Duo said, his voice still clear.
"Pilot 03, affirmative." Trowa echoed.
"Pilot 04, affirmative." Quatre called.
"Pilot 05, affirmative." Wufei finished.
"Right, boys, do your own checks." Zechs ordered.
"Ok, guys." Duo said. "Say "hey!" if you can here me."
"Hey!"
"Hey!"
"Hey!"
"Thanks, Duo. Just say yes, guys."
"Yup!"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
"You know me, everybody." Quatre said.
"D!"
"T!"
"W!"
"And again, men."
"D!"
"T!"
"Q!"
"Done!" Duo said, into the microphone.
"Alright, boys, now your body checks. Get those Gundams in action. One by one, we're opening the hatch once you're done." Zechs told them. Heero watched, as Duo pressed a few buttons. Suddenly, Deathscythe's eyes gleamed a brilliant green, and it stepped away from the wall, its foot landing on the floor with a boom. Apart from that, it was silent. No sounds of machinery, no whirrs, just silence. Duo did the usual checks, and Deathscythe moved all its limbs, but there wasn't much room for movement.
"Hey, Zechs." Came the slightly electronic voice of Duo. "Can you let me go out last?"
"Why?"
"I gotta show the new boy why Deathscythe has its name." came the reply, and Heero found himself smiling inside. Duo grinned up at the camera before clicking and winking at it. Heero jumped a little as Heavyarms eyes glowed that brilliant green and it thumped out of its dock. It moved around too, silently, if not for the sounds of metal against metal when this occurred.
"It feels good to be in here again." He heard Trowa say, and wished he was. Then, Sandrock, who was actually dainty compared to the first three, stepped out with a clang, and wriggled about.
"Whee!" came a sweet little cry, and Noin and Une gave each other the "oh, he's so sweet!" look, the men rolling their eyes, and Zechs smiling at Heero. Finally, Shenlong came out from the wall, and swung the stick around a little. To Heero's amazement, the other three all ducked and maneuvered themselves so that they dodged it.
"Woohoo! Come on reflexes!" yelled Duo.
"Don't think you're going to catch us out that easily." Trowa said, and Wufei chuckled a little.
"Right, opening hatch now. Exit in reverse numerical order." Zechs ordered, and nodded at Treize, who pulled a lever.
Heero watched in awe as the top of the hanger split in the middle, and a shaft of light struck the awaiting Gundams. They really were the most magnificent things he had ever seen in his life. Finally, with a clunk, the doors were finally open.
"Gundam 05, away!" Zechs cried. From the smallish blue pack on the back of Shenlong, there was a sudden oiling of the air beneath it, and the Gundam slowly rose from the floor, its head looking up, posing slightly.
"Oh, get out of it, Nataku, he's just the new boy." They heard Wufei mutter, and the man and women in the control room smiled a little, well, inside in Heero's case. "He's such a show-off, sorry Heero." He apologized, looking up at the camera. "Ok. Gundam 05 out. Waiting for back up."
"Gundam 04, away!" Zechs called. From the black pack on Sandrock's back came the oiling of air beneath it, the two long guns sticking out of the top, and it too, rose up. It struck an even more dramatic pose than Shenlong, and the control room was filled with Quatre's sweet laughter.
"Oh, Shenlong, you've got them into a competition. Heero, I wish I was you right now."
I don't, Heero said to himself, watching him wistfully as Sandrock disappeared through the hole. "Gundam 04 out."
"Gundam 03, away!" Zechs ordered. Heavy arms dramatically put its clenched fisted arms out to the sides as the oiliness came from behind it, and rose off the floor, head looking up. They heard Trowa laugh.
"Yes, you're doing absolutely great now just concentrate on the battle. Gundams." He said, looking up and rolling his eyes. Now, there was only Deathscythe left. "Gundam 03 out."
"Go for it, Maxwell!" Zechs said, and Duo grinned up at the camera.
"Go for it, Deathscythe." He muttered. Deathscythe leapt up a few feet and landed in the middle, the staff in both hands. Duo pressed a button, and Heero's eyes widened. Now he understood. From the two slots on either side of the end, now came two huge, curved scythes of bright green light. "Laser technology, Heero, isn't it the best?!" Duo asked. Heero had to admit he was impressed. That sort of weapon looked to be deadly. Now, there was a loud blast as Deathscythe's huge silver backpack flared up, and he rose from the floor, being very careful with the scythe.
"Right boys, you know what's you're doing. No flying, keep on the ground and get moving! Treize wants these things destroyed by yesterday!" Zechs ordered.
"Right on!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Away we go!"
"Come on, men!"
Then, Heero heard the thumps of Gundam meeting floor, and then echoing booms as the four massive humanoid robots with their young pilots ran out of wherever they were and closer to the city. They were the most amazing things he had ever seen, and he was piloting one. Well, nearly, apart from the fact that he wasn't, and that made him angry. But he couldn't disobey orders, that was unheard of, so he stood, watching the TV screens that showed the cabins, listening to the conversations the pilots were having, and watching a few of the other screens that were coming from cameras planted on the tops of the skyscrapers in the city. Good luck, he thought, and meant it.