Part 2: The Warning
Duo and Heero meet up in front of a military base to obtain an armored vehicle. After a bit of trouble with the engine they set off in a hummer to go to the secret lab.
Driving through the desert in silence, Duo tries to pick up a good mood by starting a conversation. "So, who is this mysterious scientist you think can rebuild our Gundams?" asks Duo.
Heero answers, hoping to shut him up for a while, "I don't think Wufei would appreciate the choice that much, but it's a woman. Her name is Tyra."
"I would think someone who could build Gundams would work for a mobile suit manufacturer. How come I've never heard of her before now?"
Heero, still trying to concentrate on the road, quickly answers, "She doesn't really present her work to the public very often. She actually did help design some mobile suits, but they were used in an underwater operation that collapsed right before the war. Anyways, she went into hiding when the war started ten years ago."
Just then, there is a bright flash followed by an explosion behind the vehicle. "What the..." Duo begins. He does not get to finish his sentence because a strange, hollow-sounding voice comes on over the radio frequency.
"The glory of battle will last forever!" the male-sounding human exulted. Heero thought that the voice was familiar, but just before he could remember, the hummer was flipped over by another blast, this time with no warning flash.
Duo, a bit shaken in the head, suddenly remembers who used to love that phrase, "Treize!? I thought you were dead. What are you shooting at us for?" "Oh, come on now. Are you really that stupid? Wufei never would have been able to kill me that easily. I knew you had all been against me, a mistake on your part, so I made a deal with the Clans."
Struggling to undo his seat belt, Duo exclaims, "We never turned against you! It was a battle that we weren't even involved in. Besides, who are these Clans that you're talking about?"
"You'll find out soon enough. Since the Clans and myself believe in being honorable, I have come to warn you, mostly out of respect. All I can tell you now is that your so-called time of peace is about to be turned into a warzone, and you can't do anything to stop them."
Finally undoing his seat belt, Duo is still confused by the jibberish, "Stop who? Treize, I don't understand. Wait! Treize!" but he had already jetted off in what appeared to be an orange-striped Gundam, but lacking in some of the distinctive features.
Duo climbs out of the upside-down vehicle. "What was that all about? Do you think these Clans and Treize have anything to do with the E-mail? And what type of mobile suit was he using? It didn't look like any design I have ever seen."
Heero climbs out of the vehicle, but does not respond. "Heero? Are you listening to me? What are we going to do?"
There is still no response from Heero, so Duo walks over to Heero and notices that he is staring at a piece of metal on the ground, with some sort of insignia painted on it. Curious, Duo walks over and picks up the piece of scrap.
As he picks it up, Heero brushes the dirt off to reveal a very clear drawing. It is a picture of a tightened fist inside a starburst, surrounded by a yellow and then a red circle.
"What do you think this is?" Duo asks. "I don't know much, but that looks like a mercenary group's symbol."
Heero, pocketing the piece, says, "I don't know either, but we have to find out what it means, if the threat of war really is true."
"Well, Treize isn't one to lie, but then again, he isn't one to try and kill us, either. What do you think his problem is?"
"Hn."
