Kitty-chan 1: We do...
Kitty-chan 2: not own...
Kitty-chan 3: any of...
Kitty-chan 4: the Gundam...
Kitty-chan 5: Wing Characters!
Kitty-chans: YAAAAAAAY!
Heero: 'sighs' Hopeless...
Duo: I know what you mean.
Quatre: This is getting worrysome...
Kitty-chans: 'see Quatre' CUTENESS! 'tackle Quatre'
Quatre: HEEEEEELP! SOMEONE SHOOT THEM!
Trowa: 'picks up a gun and shoots, accidentally shooting Quatre' Oops.
Quatre: Ouch.
Kitty-chans: 'see Duo's braid.' STRING!
Quatre: 'walks in from the kitchen, munching on a donut' What's going on?
Quatre 1: Oh crap...
The old Oz base was a wasteland of metal, burned uniforms, smog, and ashes. Huge chunks of destroyed mobile suits littered the grounds, a painful reminder of the war. Heero bent his steps toward the destroyed base, still firmly holding Relena's hand. "Heero, why are we here?" she wondered timidly. The grounds reminded her of a ghost town. There wasn't a person about, and it made her wonder if the souls of the killed soldiers haunted the base like they did in old movies.
"No one will look for us here." He answered, once again emotionless. Relena looked about. This graveyard was not her idea of a hideout, but it wasn't her they were trying to hide. Heero was determined not to be caught until Suuchin and Katome were dead. Heero interrupted her train of thought by speaking. "Plus, there will be plenty of computers we can try to get up and running inside."
"What will you do with them?" Catherine asked.
"We can try to hack into the government files and get the exact location of Suuchin and Katome. Plus, we need to get ahold of Maxwell and Hilde. They still think that we're at Relena's place."
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Heero knelt beside a long line of broken down computers. He, Trowa, and Quatre had spent the last two hours cleaning the place or scrap metal and bits of ceiling that had collapsed during the explosion. Luckily for them, the roof hadn't caved in. Heero plugged his laptop into the wall and typed away.
Trowa and Quatre were at other various computers, attempting to get them working. Catherine and Relena sat off to the side with the few things they had brought with them. They weren't about to go off on their own. This place was falling apart in spots, and the girls didn't want it falling apart on them. After a long silence, Quatre attempted to make conversation. "So, Heero… how'd you know about this place?"
Heero said nothing for a long time. When he did, he voice sounded distantly remorseful. "I destroyed it before I even got Zero."
"You mean this pile of rubble has been like this for over four years?" Trowa exclaimed with an odd sense of calm about him. His eye never parted with his work.
"Yes."
"Why hasn't it been renovated?" Relena asked, joining the conversation.
"This base was one of the biggest bases on earth. This city didn't, and stil doesn't have the money to clean it up." Heero explained.
"Not have the money? How could it be that big?" Catherine questioned.
"The base wasn't the only thing destroyed." Heero said, barely loud enough for the others to hear.
"Hmm? What do you mean?" Relena kept her voice down, trying to be gentle. It almost sounded like this subject was slightly painful for him.
"There was an apartment complex nearby that got caught up in the explosion. The apartment was also destroyed, adding to the rubble and the cost of clean-up." Heero answered. "Trowa, got that computer up yet?"
"Yeah, but the networking cable is shot."
"The cable itself?"
"No, the actual networking system."
"See if you can get it running, Quatre."
"All engines full." He stated, using a light tone. "You?"
"Almost done. I think. Tell me when you get a reaction on your computers." Heero commanded.
"Okay." The two answered in unison.
There was silence for a while, save for the constant tapping of keys. Finally, Heero, of all people, spoke up. "Anything?"
"No." Trowa answered bluntly.
"Nothing." Quatre confirmed.
"Hn…" Heero stood and crawled under a nearby computer, turning onto his back and plunging his adroit hands into the circuts and wires. After a few minutes, his muffled voice protruded from the under the machine. "Relena."
"Hmm?"
"Go into my bag and get my radio out. See if you and Trowa's sister can't?"
"My name's Catherine!"
"I don't give a care. See if you and Catherine can't get ahold of Maxwell and his girlfriend."
"Ok." Relena dug throught the half filled bag and eventaually produced the fist-sized, hand-held radio, setting the other object to the side. "Uh… what do I do after I turn it on?"
THUD! Heero peered out from under the computer, a hand on his head. "Turn it to frequency 02 and hold down the side button to talk." He stated as if it were the most elementary thing on the planet.
Well, it is to him. Relena sighed as she grappling with the radio controls.
"Got it!" Quatre cried as the rest of his line of computers came to life.
Trowa nodded in agreement. Heero crawled out from under the computer like a cat and knelt, once more in front of his laptop.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Heero stood on the building, the cold night air dancing about him. But the cold didn't, couldn't bother him. His watch shift wasn't over for another hour. No one had been able to contact Duo or Hilde. At one point, what sounded like a male voice had come through, but it wasn't the Deathscythe pilot. Apparently they had accidentally stumbled onto a police conversation or something of the like. They hadn't caught any of it. No sooner had the sound manifested itself, than it had been drowned in the sea of static. Oh well. We'll try again tomorrow. Heero looked out over the metal graveyard, then farther to see the apartment. That cursed apartment, in which dwelt the little girl who had haunted him for the last four years. The little girl had done nothing wrong. She gave him a flower and…
He had killed her. Brutally slain an innocent child. All for what? His mission? His mission was everything. At least it had been at that time. Now he wasn't so sure he really was obliged to have that much passion for a mission that was ignorant to the lives it took. Voices and things past said began to haunt his reverie.
This is war! Now retrain him at once! Retrain him at once! Retrain him!
Heero could still feel the pain inflicted on him in his retraining. He traced his hands along his mid-section, arms, neck and face, remembering the bruises and blood that once bathed those areas.
Our weapon has no use for human kindness! Our weapon!
Heero almost looked himself over. Their weapon. Not a human. A weapon of mass destruction. A thing to be used. A means to their end.
You're right.
Dr. J's voice echoed in his head. He was with them all along, and I didn't kill him with my own two hands. Heh. I allowed him to kill himself.
Hey, are you lost?
Heero's eyes widened as the girl's voice entered his mind. His body seemed too heavy for his legs suddenly, and he dropped to his knees. "Huh?"
I said, are you lost?
I've been lost ever since I was born.
"Ever since I was bron… and I'm still lost."
Oh, that's so sad.
She listened and cared. And I returned the favor by killing her.
Oh, Heero. That's so sad. Heero, that's so sad. Heero…
"Heero? Heero?" Relena edged her way onto the roof where Heero was staring at the rubble. But the thing that caught her eye was the fact that his weight rested not on his feet, but on his knees. His body was hunched over, his hands held out before him, as if he were examining them. "Heero?"
Heero sat back, then turned his face on her. "What? You should be in bed."
"Yeah, but… I wanted to know something, but I couldn't sleep on it." She said, clutching the small object to her chest.
Heero turned foreward again. Relena took this as an invitation. She sat down next to him, swinging her legs over the side of the building. She peeked at the object and continued. "Heero, when you told me to get your radio from your bag, I looked through it and I found this." Relena held up a small yellow flower pressed between two pieces of plastic. It looked the same as it had four years ago when the small child had handed it to him. "What is it?"
"It's a flower. What does it look like?" Heero snapped, plucking it from her fingers. Relena flinched a bit. She knew she had, in some way, made him mad.
Relena paused before speaking again. "Where did you get it?"
"None of your business." He stated coldly. Relena sweat-dropped. She was seriously getting tired of that answer. However, she could tell that she had made him angry, so she wouldn't comment on it. But she couldn't resist asking the next question.
"Why do you have it? It's not like you to keep a plant, much less a flower." Relena said, almost laughing. Heero was silent. "Heero, what's wrong?" He again said nothing. He simply stared at the rubble of the apartment building. Relena joined him in staring at the would-be apartment. Though why, she had no idea. She sat there, silently offering her comfort to the man beside her. Finally, with out a word, he got up and headed inside. Relena glanced at her watch. Heero's guard was over.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
"Have you tracked the radio signal?"
"Yes, Suuchin-sama. It's coming from a destroyed Oz base in Niigata."
"Good. Get Katome on the line!"
"Yessir!"
A man with red hair and beady gray eyes appeared on the screen. "Yes, Suuchin-san?"
"Listen. We've tracked the radio signal. I was coming to you for your advice. Ought we, personally, to go down there to arrest them?"
"Is it nessicary?"
""It might be."
"Let's try this again. Is it wise?"
"Probably not, in view of our lives."
"Then no. Let them come to us. After all, we have what they want." Katome smiled.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
"Heero! Oh, gosh! Heero! Wake up!" Relena cried frantically, violently shaking the sleeping pilot's shoulders.
"Huh?" Heero groaned, sitting up and rubbing sleep from his eyes. "What is it?"
"You've got to come see the news!" she cried, grabbing his right hand with both of hers. She expected him to violently jerk his hand away, but he didn't. He simply plastered his normal scowl to his face and allowed himself to be lead away. They ran into the computer room where Trowa and the half-awake Quatre (he had just finished his watch) were hunched over a computer which blared the news. Heero caught a bit of it as he entered the room.
"One of the infamous Gundam Pilots was captured yesterday. The pilot of 02, Deathscythe. The pilot's name; Duo Maxwell. Maxwell and an accomplice- "
Heero dashed over to where he could see the male reporter. In a corner, a picture of Duo was shown. He was being held by two guards as he tried to get at the men holding his "accomplice" (Hilde).
"- were arrested yesterday when government officials intercepted a radio transmission between him and the other Gundam Pilots. Efforts are now being made to locate the transmission's source."
"Damn. That was yesterday?" Heero said calmly, already stuffing his laptop into his black bag. He stuffed himself into his blazer and headed for the door. "They will have located us by now. Let's go."
The five teens filed out and headed for the alley that would lead them back to their vehicles.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
"This is Water. The line is secure. Go ahead."
"This is Fire and Wind. We have some bad news."
"What is it?" Thunder wondered, leaning foreward in his seat a bit.
"We've been keeping an eye on Suuchin and Katome as you requested, Wu Fei. But it seems that they've found the other pilots." Fire said solemnly.
"What? Have they been arrested?"
"No, but Suuchin and Katome's troops are on their way down there to catch them. I'll send you a recording of today's news in a minute, but there's more bad news." Wind added.
"What now?" Thunder sighed.
"Suuchin and Katome figured in the strength of you pilots when they decided on their battleplan. They've been developing special soldiers simply called, The Elite. The Elite have been trained only to fight the Gundam Pilots. We don't have a figure for how many they have, but they are very dangerous, and we need to contact Yuy and the rest of them immediately. We would have locked onto this sooner, but they have blocked out all intervention from the Preventors. There was nothing we could do." Wind explained.
Thunder rubbed his temples. "Just send me the report for now. I'll get back to this in a minute." After a few minute, Sally began to chat with Nion as Wufei watched and listened to the news. As soon as he was done, he shut the monitor off and stood. We can't warn them or help them in any way by radio. That's how they got Duo. A decision was reached in his mind and he turned fully to Water. "We're going to Earth, Sally. Right now!" he ordered.
"But… why?" Sally cried, stopping her conversation in mid sentence.
"I'll explain on the way. Set a course for earth now!"
Sally shrugged and obeyed her partner.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Relena did her best to hold onto Heero's hand as they weaved their way back through the alleyway. He wasn't moving too fast, there were just so many more people in the alley that day. The five young people dashed to and fro, trying to get to their vehicles as soon as possible.
A rush of panic and surprise swept through the crowd, halting the teens in their tracks. They were coming. The government troops were coming. He only had three shots left over in his gun from his target practice at Relena's house. That wouldn't get them anywhere, especially if they were coming with a large force. He looked over and saw many piles of crates off to the side of the alley. He made a few quick estimates, then grabbed Relena and dove off to the side. They landed behind a relatively short pile of crates, but it was the closest pile they could get to. Heero landed on his side, and Relena landed on her side as well. She was pushed up against the crates and Heero was right up against her, locking her between his body and the crates behind her. Heero made no note of their positions, but Relena sure did. She blushed a deep crimson, but stayed still. Heero wrapped an arm around her back and pulled her in close, then put his other hand on her head to pull it down to rest on his shoulder. Relena couldn't help but wonder why Heero had thrown them into such a state. She shifted her eyes to look up at the crates they were hiding behind. They were just tall enough to conceal both of them as long as her body was molded to his so. However, if they lay alongside one another, as Relena would've preferred, someone could look over the top and see them. Heero really does think about these things efforetlessly. It's amazing.
Relena's breath caught in her throat as she heard the footfalls of a trooper, their guns and weapons rattling threateningly with each one. They seemed to embody doom itself. These men were professionally trained to kill the pilots on the spot if need be. She wrapped her arms under Heero's and gripped his shoulders, hanging on for dear life. Heero ignored her and watched with baited breath as the agent looked around the alley, almost sniffing for their scent.
Heero's eyes flashed to the other three to make sure that they, too had concealed themselves. Quatre was safely curled up in a corner, and Trowa and Catherine were lying in similar positions as Heero and Relena. Trowa looked up so he could just barely see Heero. Heero bobbed his head in the foreboding agent's direction, then nodded. The angent perused the area for a minute longer, before turning and heading onward with the others. A soon as he was positive the agents were gone, he nodded again to Trowa and Quatre and released Relena. Having her so close caused his heartbeat to quicken and a feeling like electricity to shoot up his spine. He almost shook his head. What was he thinking! Relena should be the last thing on his mind right now. Killing Suuchin and Katome was the only thing that mattered. However, he couldn't ignore the way she hesitantly stood, her hands slightly tracing down his arms, and her golden locks of hair carressing his cheek. He shot to his feet and took his mind off the intimate moment by attempting to think of a plan.
Relena smiled at Quatre who was emerging and making his way over to them, as were Trowa and Catherine. Her gaze shifted to Heero who was examining the environment. He didn't do anything more before grabbing her hand and taking off in the direction of their vehicles. After a few minutes, seeming a lifetime, they reached the chained up bike and car. They undid the locks and Heero climbed on his motorcycle while Relena, Trowa, Catherine and Quatre slid into the car. They took off, Heero leading them north, toward, where Heero had found to be, Suuchin and Katome's prison. However, Trowa had no idea where they were going. He was just following Heero.
Gunshots suddenly filled the air as the government closed in behind them. Trowa moved the car into line behind Heero's bike, attempting to protect him. The three passengers ducked below their seats again as Trowa floored the accelerator, attempting to match Heero's speed.
"How's Heero doing?" Relena wondered from her place on the floor.
"He's!" Trowa stopped talking as the man before him swerved and slowed down. "Heero? Are you alright? What happened?"
"I'm fine, why?"
Trowa shook his head and answered Relena's question. "He's fine." Heero sped up again, Trowa following suit.
Thank for all the great reviews! Listen, if you hate something about teh story, tell me! Keep on reviewing:P
Kitty-chan
