Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or Episode Zero. I do own Lenx, Kri, Reiko, Hokiboshi, Aki, and Sasori.
Me: Hello again! Sorry this took so long for me to get out. I had bad writers block. *sweatdrop* Anyways, I now have a muse, Hokiboshi, that will be helping me with Battle of the Heart. BTW, Hokiboshi is a fox, but he can speak.
Hokiboshi: Nice to meet you, now can we get on with the fic?
Me: Keep your pants on! *stops* Nevermind.
Battle of the Heart
Chapter Fifteen: Duo's Past
Lenx yawned as she sat on her bed, staring blankly out the window. I am so bored. Our last mission from Dr. J was three weeks ago, and Aki arrived one week ago. Those are practically the only exciting things that have happened. But I have a bad feeling that something will happen soon... Lenx abruptly sat up when her door slammed open. Kri came in with a grin on her face, Reiko, Cathrine, Sally, and Noin coming in after her.
"Hello dear Lenx! We have some important business to discuss with you!" Kri sang out. Lenx's left eyebrow rose as she stood up and shut her door.
"And what would that be?" She asked cautiously. Kri and Reiko glanced at each other out of the corner of their eyes before turning serious.
"Well, we would like to find out more about the guy's pasts."
"And why would you want to know that?" Lenx asked her with a 'don't-lie-to-me-because-I-can-tell' look.
"Uh, because we're curious?" She supplied with a weak smile. Lenx stared at her blankly before grinning as well.
"Okay! I'm in!" Everyone smiled at Lenx's decision.
"Great. Now, Lenx will have Duo, Reiko will have Trowa, Cathrine will have Quatre, I will have Heero, Sally will have Wufei, and Noin will make sure the guys don't catch on to what we are doing. She will also supply us with as much information she knows about Zechs and Relena's pasts. Lenx will also tell us of Aki's past, interviewing him if needed. Got it? Good. Get to work ladies!" Kri ordered and everyone slowly left Lenx's room. She sighed and shook her head while grinning.
"What did I get myself in to?" She muttered and lay back on her bed. Suddenly she jumped up again when her door was slammed open yet a second time. This time it was Duo.
"What is the deal with everyone slamming open my door!" Lenx screeched as she glared at Duo who grinned sheepishly.
"Um, I saw all of the girls leaving your room, so I thought I would come and check it out." He said and sat on a chair by the window.
"You mean spy don't you?" Lenx said teasingly and Duo stuck his tongue out at her. Suddenly Lenx grew serious. Well, it's now or never. She thought and stared at Duo.
"Duo, what was your past like?" Lenx asked quietly. Duo studied her for a minute before a sad look came to his eyes. He sighed and looked out of the window.
"Well, I was a war orphan and I stole food with other war orphans to survive." (We are going into the past now)
~~~~~~~~~~~~A.C. 187~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey! Damned brats!" A man yelled as a few boys stole his food. A boy with long hair looked back and chuckled.
"You can send the bill to the alliance!" He called back but quickly looked up when he ran into someone.
"Itai." He mumbled.
"Oh, I'm sorry." A priest said as he tried to help Duo up.
"Hold it!" Someone yelled at the two.
"Uh-oh." The boy said and hopped over the priests' head.
"Sorry!" He yelled back as he ran away. The priest just looked at him with a surprised face.
"Oh brother. They did it again." The man that had yelled at the boys earlier said.
"I do feel sorry for these war orphans, but their always doing this..." Another man said as he helped the priest up.
"That went well, huh, Duo?" One of the boys that stole the food said to the long haired boy.
"Yeah! And tomorrow we'll sneak into the military warehouse!" Duo answered as he munched on an apple.
"Nani!? Isn't that kinda..."
"If they catch us, we're toast!" Some of the boys argued.
"Hmph! It's just a fluke that we've lasted this long anyway. We might as well go all the way!" Duo growled.
"Run! RUN!" The boys screamed as they ran away from firing soldiers.
"Firing without warning...Are those guys nuts?!" Duo shouted as he ran away.
"Soldiers don't care about women and kids!" One of his friends cried.
"Stop it! What'd we ever do to you?!" Duo said as a group of people who the group had previously stole from destroyed the boys' home.
"Don't give me that crap! I can't believe you idiots actually went after the alliance's food stores!" A man yelled.
"But...but this is our home! If you bust it up, where are we supposed to go?!" One of the boys cried.
"The Maxwell Church has offered to take you in. Be grateful!" The same man yelled at the boys.
"A...church?" Duo mumbled.
"Don't! I said quit it!" Duo yelled.
"What's going on?" Father Maxwell asked as he walked into the room where Sister Helen and Duo were.
"This boy...he won't let me cut his hair." Sister Helen said as she tried to hold Duo down and cut his hair at the same time.
"Well duh! Bad enough I gotta wear these weird clothes...I can't let you cut my hair as well..." Duo cried.
"But it's all scraggly and tangled. It's unhygienic." Sister Helen argued.
"I like it like this!" Duo argued back.
"Sister Helen, let Duo have his way." Father Maxwell intervened.
"But..." Sister Helen said but Father Maxwell just gave a small nod to her. Ten minutes later Duo stood up with his hair now in a braid.
"So...there you go. No complaints, right?" Sister Helen said as Duo swung his new braid around.
"Heh, heh! Yeah! Makes it much easier to move around. It won't get in my way when I steal stuff!" Duo said happily.
"Are you still talking like that?" Sister Helen asked and Father Maxwell laughed.
"Duo...there's no need for you to steal as long as you're here." He said.
"Oh, that's right! I'm supposed to be begging now, not stealing." Duo said thoughtfully.
"Begging?" Father Maxwell asked.
"Isn't that how it works? I mean, a church is kept up by the townspeople's donations..." Duo said as he put his arms behind his head.
"Oh my, for a child...!" Sister Helen said.
"You're right, it's just as you say." Father Maxwell said as he smiled at Duo.
"Yeah! So don't get all high and mighty!" Duo said. Sister Helen and Father Maxwell looked at each other and smiled at Duo's words.
"You say there's no God?" Father Maxwell asked.
"Yeah! If there really was a God, then wouldn't he make it so there weren't any more wars? And if there were no wars, there wouldn't be any more orphans like me." Duo said as he sat on Father Maxwell's lap.
"Duo...wars aren't started by God...but by people. What people begin...people must end for themselves." Father Maxwell said.
"Hmmm. So it doesn't matter if God exists or not?" Duo asked.
"Th-that's not so!" Sister Helen said quickly.
"Then the only God in this world is the God of Death." Duo said.
"Duo, you don't believe in God, but you believe in the God of Death?" Sister Helen asked.
"Yeah! I've never seen any miracles, but I've sure seen lots of dead people!" Duo said. Father Maxwell and Sister Helen were speechless for a moment before they started to laugh.
"Dear me, it's hard to argue with you." Sister Helen said.
"You say the strangest things." Father Maxwell said as the group laughed.
Duo stared as more injured soldiers were brought into the church. He turned a corner and listened to what one of them was saying.
"No matter what...we've got to capture the base at point G2! That's the only option we have left!" He said and a round of 'Yes sir!' chorused around the room. It's starting all over again. We were living happily until just yesterday. Duo thought sadly.
"Just one mobile suit! If we can get that, then freedom will be ours!" The captain said.
"Haven't we heard enough of this...?" Father Maxwell asked as he walked towards the captain.
"What did you say?!" The captain shouted angrily.
"Didn't Heero Yuy once say..."We, the people of the colonies, didn't come to live in space so we could fight"... No matter what happens, we must not fight." Father Maxwell said.
"Bastard! I dare you to say that again!" The captain yelled.
"I'll keep saying it over and over. We must not fight." Father Maxwell replied calmly.
"Shut up!" The captain said and knocked Father Maxwell to the floor.
"Hey!" Duo shouted as Sister Helen ran over to the fallen priest.
"Stop it! Please! Please, no more." Sister Helen begged. The general, a woman, walked over to Sister Helen and smacked her.
"Shut up! We've got to have total solidarity! Why are you confusing people with useless talk of peace at a time like this?!" She shouted angrily.
"They might be alliance spies..." The captain said.
"Hm, it's possible." The general replied back.
"B-but..." Sister Helen stuttered.
"Shall we make 'em confess?" A soldier asked the captain.
"Hey, wait!" Duo screamed as he ran into the room. All eyes turned to him as he spoke.
"All you want's one mobile suit?! I'll go steal one for you! And in return, I want you guys to get out of here! This is supposed to be a peaceful place!" Duo yelled at them.
"Hmph. The brat's talking nonsense." The captain smirked.
"I may run, and I may hide, but I don't tell lies like you guys." Duo said angrily.
"Say what!" The captain shouted.
"Duo! Don't..." Sister Helen said.
"One mobile suit! Coming right up!" Duo said as he ran out of the Church.
"Duo!" Sister Helen cried desperately.
"Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Why?! They all used to hate war just the other day! Why go start another one?!" Duo said angrily as he jumped the wall.
"Intruder!" A soldier yelled.
"I hate the alliance too! But...but still!" Duo mumbled as he kept running.
"Stop! Stop or we'll shoot!" Two soldiers yelled at Duo as he ran past them.
"If you want a war so much...then why don't you jerks go fight each other!" Duo yelled. One of the soldiers started firing, but the other grabbed his shoulder.
"S-stop, he's only a kid!" He said.
"Yeah, so what? All the colonists are our enemies!" The one that was firing said. They keep making orphans like me...! Duo thought as he looked around. There! He thought as he saw a truck with a mobile suit strapped to the back.
"Huh?" The guard said as Duo ran past.
"Hey! Who's in there?!" He shouted as Duo jumped into the truck, starting it up as more soldiers came running. He quickly stepped on the gas pedal and drove out.
"Don't let him get away! Fire!" The soldiers yelled. Duo swerved and tried to avoid the bullets as best as he could.
"I'm only alive through luck anyway. If someone's gonna do the dirty work, it should be me..." Duo said as he drove back towards the church.
Duo stared at the broken remains of the Maxwell Church.
"No..this...can't be..." He said quietly.
"D-Duo" Sister Helen's weak voice reached Duo's ears and he ran to where she lay on the ground, covered in blood.
"I'm glad...you're safe." She said and coughed up some blood.
"Sister!" Duo cried.
"Don't make us worry like that. Father was...worried about you...even to the end..." She muttered.
"I-I'll go get a doctor!" Duo cried.
"Th-the alliance came...and attacked. But we...couldn't leave...the church." She said.
"W-was it my fault?! Because I stole the mobile suit from the alliance?!" Duo asked.
"F-Father was so noble. H-he kept...preaching peace..."
"That's not noble! That's just dumb! What's the point if he's dead now!" Sister Helen reached up and put a hand on Duo's cheek.
"Duo...m-may you...have God's...blessing." Sister Helen said and her eyes slowly shut while her hand fell to the ground with a thump. Duo stared at her dead body as tears streamed down his face. Suddenly he let out scream.
245 people were killed. The colony's rebellion was suppressed by the Alliance and OZ's crack troops. People came to call this incident "The Maxwell Church Tragedy."
"Hey, didya know that kid's a Maxwell Church survivor?" A soldier asked another as he pointed back into the cell where Duo sat.
"Wow...guess he cut a deal with death, huh?" The soldier replied.
~~~~~~~~~~~A.C. 192~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"With this spaceship, we could've gone beyond the solar system." A man in a spacesuit said as he walked with his partner.
"But it's of no use to us now. We'll just let it sleep until it's day comes." He continued.
"So, where is it?" His partner asked.
"Back to Earth. I want to relax, lulled by the ocean waves." The first man said.
"Hmph. Sounds like just your thing." His partner said.
"Yep. So long Professor G." The first man said as he waved and left.
"Yeah..." Professor G muttered.
"Leggo! Lemme go!!" Duo yelled as the guards held him.
"Let him go." Professor G commanded.
"But..." The guard argued.
"Just let him go." G said again and when the guards had left, turned to Duo.
"Kid...I'm impressed you were able to sneak aboard. My security system should've been perfect. How did you do it?" G asked.
"That's a trade secret. But if it helps your pride, I'll say it was pretty tough." Duo said.
You're an interesting kid." Professor G said as he laughed.
"I'm no kid! My name's Duo. Duo Maxwell, who may run and hide, but never tells a lie." Duo said.
"Maxwell...? Heh, heh. Like Maxwell's demon, eh?" G said.
"Nope, not just a demon. I'm the God of Death!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lenx stared at Duo as he finished his tale.
"Wow. You went through a lot." She said and Duo smirked at her.
"Yeah. It was pretty tough. But I don't think it's as bad as your past." He said and Lenx stared at him sadly.
"Whatever Duo. How about we stop talking about sad things and go get something to eat? I'm starving." Lenx said as her stomach growled. Seconds later Duo's growled as well.
"Yeah. Let's go. I think I saw a pizza in the fridge." Duo said and stood up. Lenx followed him out of her door and the two went to eat downstairs.
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End! I thought that was pretty good. Of course most of the chapter was just taken out of the Episode Zero manga. Ja ne and please review! *Shiroi Hikari*