Military Leave
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Disclaimer:
I do not own "Gundam Wing" nor "Endless Waltz" nor Gundams, Zechs, Treize, Une, or any of the characters of the series. I also do not know any of the series' Seiyuu or English Dub actors, though... Brian Drummond is my HERO! Drummond Rocks My Socks!!!
Summary:
What really happened to Zechs between "Gundam Wing" and "Endless Waltz".
Rating:
PG-13 for violence. Though, it may actually really be more along the lines of PG.
Note:
I am taking the fact that Zechs changed his mind in "Endless Waltz" and telling why this happened. Lady Une, who does not have a first name, does so for this story. Her name will come later. Mara Une is an original character, the identical twin of Colonel Une. This is not a romance, so do not look for Mara and Zechs to get together. I strongly support the pairing of Zechs and Noin, though there may be a tad bit of romance involving Noin at some late point. This story is also not very long and if my first "Gundam Wing" fanfiction. To Merry, who I know will see this story, I already wrote this a long time ago and am just deciding to type it up finally. Thank you all and have fun reading! Don't forget to review and I will reply to all of your reviews when I post up the next chapter.
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Chapter 1: What Have I Done?
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"So, how long has he been asleep?"
"Within the hour will make six days. It is a shame that he did not witness the peace between Earth and the Colonies."
"I know. That was something no one will ever forget. Did you do an I.D. check on him?"
"No. After I bandaged his wounds, I browsed through the population files for both Earth and the Colonies. No one matched his description. At least, no one still alive."
"Do you think he might have been thought dead?"
"I can not tell. I would have to get in touch with higher authorities to be certain."
"He must be military of some sort and high ranking. Oh! Did you hear who was killed in the battle last week?"
"Who?"
"Colonel Treize Khushrenada and Zechs Merquise. Both of their Mobile Suits were destroyed by Gundam pilots."
"No..."
"Yeah. I heard that the funeral ceremonies were yesterday."
"I wonder how Une is taking all of this... I should go visit her."
"Your sister is fine, Mara. She is a military officer after all, though it still must be tragic for her."
"Yes... but I can still worry for her. I remember when she first told me about Colonel Treize. He wanted to bring peace and, in a way, he has."
"She had feelings for him, didn't she?"
"Yes, she loved him very much actually. Where did you learn this from?"
"You do not watch the late night news much, do you? It has been one of the highest rated stories in years."
"Oh... I never knew. But, I think that..."
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Milliardo Peacecraft awoke with the worst headache he had ever had in his life. He noticed his jacket, put aside on a chair just next to the bed, as well as his space suit. His helmet was set on the floor beside the chair.
Sitting up, the young man felt the pain of broken ribs and a strange dizziness. He put a hand to his head, feeling a bandage near his temple.
"That explains the dizziness..." Milliardo whispered, looking about him. "But where am I?"
The room was large and expensively furnished, but lit only by the light of one small lamp. The man's shadow was cast upon the wall and it towered over him, nearly reaching the ceiling. Not far away, he noticed that the only other light came from a small crack in a nearby door.
Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, the man once known as Zechs Merquise stood, albeit shakily, and slowly walked to the dresser next to the clothes clad chair. There was a mirror there, and as he looked in it, he saw his reflection starring back at him.
His shirt was gone, that much he had figured out from earlier, and bright white bandages decorated his torso, left shoulder, and upper arm. Along with the scrape to his head, the man looked like he had been taken care of by an experienced physician.
Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, Milliardo saw the door to his dimly lit room open and he turned to face the newcomer.
"I am glad you are finally awake." the young woman remarked.
A double take would have been an adequate response from the eldest Peacecraft, for this lady looked exactly like Treize's right hand assistant, Colonel Une.
"Thank you for helping me." Milliardo replied as he recalled the woman mentioning her relationship to Lady Une shortly before he had blacked out.
It was a thing, the young man believed, that had happened to him many times since his last Gundam battle.
The woman bowed, "My pleasure. Most people who are as badly injured as yourself would not have survived. I am quite surprised by your recovery, actually."
"Yes, well, I have had my own share of close calls over the years. Tell me, what is your name? I seem to recall you telling me once, but I do not remember."
"Une. Mara Une. And you would be the recently deceased Zechs Merquise, or would you prefer Milliardo Peacecraft?" Mara asked with a slightly angry tone to her voice.
Zechs could not blame her for being upset. His own actions against the Earth had nearly destroyed the planet... and many people along with it.
"Milliardo is fine, but why did you lie earlier?" he asked, "I heard you on the phone, for it woke me, and you lied about who I truly am."
Mara turned, walking into the room and bringing up the lights, "So you were awake yesterday?" she asked, sitting down and offering a chair to the man.
"Yesterday?" Had it truly been that long, he thought.
"I was." Milliardo replied. "But not enough to either remain so nor to even regain the full use of my senses."
"I see." She looked up at him quickly, "I have not let anyone know who you are, not one soul. I strongly disapprove of your past actions with White Fang, but that does not mean I will not give you a choice." Mara smiled slightly, "You are supposed to be dead, Mr. Peacecraft, and as far as I am concerned, you are. I believe, however, that if others knew you lived, you would be the most wanted person throughout known space." she looked down, her hands folded in her lap. "It is not my place to judge the actions of others for peace with their own lives. If word got out, you would be killed and I would thus feel guilty for handing you over to the authorities." Mara's eyes locked with Zechs' own once more, "I suggest you stay here, until things cool down about last week's events. Let my sister sort it out. Let your sister work for the peace she has so strongly wish to come. Let the Gundam pilots help keep that peace. If you leave, I believe, you would be found before you could even leave this Colony."
Zechs looked at her for a long moment. She did not wear the glasses that Une was famous for, nor her hair in the same fashion. However, behind her eyes she was hiding something, and Zechs was not about to let her hide it for long.
"I will be going now for I have some pressing business to attend to."
As Mara stood however, Zechs grabbed her by the arm.
"You are hiding something from me. I would like to know what that something is." he said, watching her expression closely.
To his surprise, the woman's eyes turned harshly cold.
"As I have said, I have pressing business." she reached up, squeezing his left shoulder tightly. "If you would kindly let go of me, I will be leaving."
Zech's face went white with pain and he grimaced. Though he held his grip, it did not last long and the agony of his wounds caused the man to pull his arm away, releasing Mara.
She turned to him once more, "I have to meet with my sister, and we are going to try and sort this mess, that you have made, out." Turning, Mara tried to take her leave once more.
However, Zechs still harbored another question. "I am sorry about the grief I have caused, but I have one last question." he waited for her response.
Mara stopped just in the doorway and looked back over her shoulder, waiting.
"What happened to Treize Khushrenada?"
The woman's eyes traveled to the ground in front of her, before returning back to glance angrily into Milliardo's own blue eyes. "He is dead, no thanks to you. One of the Gundam pilots killed him, or so I have heard. He died trying to protect the world that you sought to destroy."
As Mara left the man to himself, Zechs collapsed into a high backed chair. He sat, starring at his own shaking hands for a long time. The reality of how many lives he had destroyed... of all the pain and the anger he had caused... everything came crashing down upon him as it finally sunk in.
In a whisper tinged with grief, Milliardo put his head in his hands and shuddered, "What have I done?"
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TBC...