Shattered Reality Part 24
Journey's End
By
Sailor Janus
Deidra stared in horror at the sky as more fragments of the Perfect Suit rained down upon then them. Her jade green eyes were wide with disbelief and terror, but no matter how badly she wanted to, she could not find her voice to say a word or even scream.
"Deidra!" Duo yelled, trying to catch her attention before he shoved her hard to the left, protecting her from being crushed by the dismembered hand that was crashing to the ground. Heero's Perfect Suit however, blocked it, shoving it haphazardly in the opposite direction.
The burgundy haired girl fell to the hard earth and looked up in fear. She turned her gaze from the hand to Duo who was kneeling next to her as Heero landed his suit a short distance from them and climbed out. "Duo."
The braided haired teen gave her a small smile despite the pain which was shooting through his left leg. Deidra crawled closer to him, and allowed for him to lean on her to take some of the pressure off his injury. Despite the thunder-like crashing of the pieces of the destroyed mobile suit, the two teens could hear Heero mutter curses as he glared at the sky. "Heero?"
The Perfect Soldier didn't answer. Instead he stood motionlessly as if waiting for something.
"She didn't self-destruct, did she?" Deidra softly asked, after a moment of hesitation.
"Yes," Heero replied, his voice void of emotion. "But whether it was her decision, I don't know."
"Somehow, I think not," Duo shakily said as he stumbled to his feet then began pulling Deidra to hers as well.
"Why?" Deidra asked, close to tears.
Duo gulped and pointed to Heero's Perfect Suit. "Because correct me if I'm wrong, but the other suit is gonna blow too."
Deidra and Heero whipped their heads and discovered the once inactive machine was now flashing with bright red warning lights.
"Oh no!" the L2 girl squeaked, as she began backing up.
"We have to get out of here," Heero said, directing his focus to the nervous couple.
"No shit, Heero! Move your feet!" Duo shouted as he grabbed Deidra's hand and took off running as fast as he could, but unfortunately, his legs gave out due to too much pressure. "Damnit!"
The Perfect Soldier bolted towards his down comrade and took Duo's broken left arm. "Deidra, take his right. Both of you move as fast as you can," he ordered.
Wordlessly the girl obliged and the three half-walked half-ran as fast as they could while still trying to remain upright as the earth shuddered under the impact of the solid metal collapsing on it.
"We're not going to get away in time," Deidra said, fear very evident in her jade green eyes.
"Don't talk. Keep moving," Heero growled, as he tried to maintain an even pace with the other two.
Duo shook his head. "Sorry, guys. I didn't know I'd end up being the damn anchor."
"Duo, don't talk like that," Deidra argued. However she too wondered how they could possibly escape the explosion in time.
Suddenly an ear piercing siren blared from the detonating Mobile Suit. The three pilots cringed at the noise but continued on. Finally it beeped what sounded like a count down.
"Shit! We're not going to make it!" Duo yelled, wincing from the pain in both his leg and head.
Heero narrowed his eyes. "Shut up, Duo. We will."
"HOW?!"
Heero never got to answer because once he opened his mouth a loud booming sound rocked the ground, throwing him and the others from their feet as the Perfect Suit exploded.
The thick branches of the trees swayed heavily at the sound of an explosion, as birds fluttered away in fear. Trowa scanned through the foliage as he searched for Trista's fallen Timewarp Gundam. The Heavyarms pilot sighed as searched through his estimations of where he expected her to have landed but found nothing.
'Where is she? She has to be here somewhere,' He thought, pursing his lips in frustration. Finally, after returning to the previous area he had searched, he found the missing gundam. The metal was badly scarred and hidden under broken tree branches, but sure enough, it was Timewarp flat on its back.
Trowa quickly took off at a sprint towards the mobile suit and climbed up the side, sliding momentarily but managed to maintain a grip. Finally he approached the hatch of the cockpit.
"Trista," Trowa called out, banging his fist against the heavy metal but it wouldn't budge. "Open up, Trista. It's Trowa."
Still, the metal door remained unmoved. Gritting his teeth, he grasped the edges and with all his strength, pulled it apart. Inside he found Trista still strapped to her seat with a thick line of blood trickling from her head. Her eyes were closed, and she was very still.
"Trista?" Carefully the L3 pilot crept inside and touched her neck, checking for a pulse. He closed his eyes briefly. "Faint, but it's still there."
He looked at her face trying to decide what would be the best course of action. He didn't know if she had hurt herself worse than merely being knocked out and couldn't worsening those injuries that he didn't know about. After a moment of thought he decided the best thing he could do is stay with her and try to radio for help to the other gundams from the Timewarp. After that step was achieved, he could plan the next.
With that settled in his mind, he sent a coded distress signal to the others.
Quatre glance at the message Towa sent with a worried expression on his face. It seemed as though things have gone from bad to worse. The likelihood of any of them surviving at this point was slim to none. He sighed deeply and redirected Sandrock to the coordinates that Trowa had sent.
"Winner, did you receive a message from Barton as well," Wufei's voice questioned from over the intercom.
"Yes and I'm taking Sandrock over there right now."
"Then I'll follow you. Any word from Yuy, Tomoe, Maxwell or Robert?"
Quatre shook his head. "No. The last I heard from Heero was when he ordered us to descend. You?"
"Nothing. Yuy better know what he is doing. Especially with Tomoe possibly still under the influence of Iron Fist's controls."
"All we can do at this point, Wufei is wait." Quatre pursed his lips as he landed Sandrock near Trowa's abandoned gundam, silently wishing everyone to be all right.
The wind blew softly, rustling leaves from the branches of the trees. A few birds chirped softly as Hotaru groaned, pressing a hand to her forehead. She gasped as white, hot pain flashed in her head and a sticky substance smeared on her fingertips. She drew a breath and looked at her hand, knowing that she probably had a large gash on her head.
"What hap-" she began then realized she knew the answer. Her gundam somehow blew up. Hotaru gritted her teeth as she forced herself to her knees. How the hell she actually survived the explosion was beyond her. For one thing, she was amazed to still be alive. "Stanz."
With that name she pushed herself to her feet. He had to pay for all he had done immediately. No longer could she allow herself to be manipulated like some damn puppet. His control had to come to an end.
Suddenly, a Perfect Doll landed at her feet. Her violet eyes instantly darkened at the sight of the lone machine of destruction. There had to be someway to render it usable as a mobile suit. If only she could make it inside the cockpit. 'Think, Hotaru. Think. You have the brain power, but how the hell can it be done?' Hotaru pursed her lips as another doll landed on the opposite side of her. A smirk curved on her face as she finally came up with a plan.
"STANZ, IS AN EGOTISTICAL BASTARD! AND I WILL KILL HIM! YOU HEAR ME, STANZ? I WILL KILL YOU!" Hotaru stood in front of the first mobile doll as she flicked off the second one. Almost automatically, its radar zeroed in on her and fired, missing the laughing girl by seconds as she leaped over the edge of a hill for protection from the blast.
An explosion next rocked the earth and the first mobile doll was blown up, sending shards of metal back towards the other doll, damaging its control system.
Hotaru waited a minute then peered back over the edge of the hill. She smirked in satisfaction over the fact that her plan succeeded. Quickly she scampered back over to the damaged mobile doll and began her climb towards the cockpit. If she knew one thing, it was that the new metal they used was indeed not gundanium or even of a compound of it. It was strong, but not strong enough. Once she pried open the cockpit, Hotaru rubbed her hands together then set to work.
Heero lifted his head, puzzled by the fact that he was lying face down on a metallic floor. Shouldn't he have been blown to bits?
"How did we get here?" Deidra frowned as she too looked around at the large metal room they were in.
"Maybe we died and this is what heaven looks like for gundam pilots." Duo shrugged then winced as he sat up. "The least they could do was take the pain away. I think my leg hurts worse than it did before we were alive."
"You're not dead," a voice said from the shadows.
Duo groaned. "Not another mysterious person hidden in the dark thing."
Another voiced chuckled deeply. "The least you three could do is thank us."
"After all, this isn't the first time we've saved you," yet another voice smugly said.
"I think I'm going to have nightmares about this," Deidra said dryly.
Duo nodded, "I'd bet you anything that it's the scientists again. They seem to have a habit of showing up in the weirdest places."
"Very good, Duo. Still as sharp as ever I see," Dr. E praised as the lights flicked on.
The three gundam pilots winced from the harsh lighting, shielding their eyes as they glanced around the cold metal room. "Where are we?" Heero inquired, rising to his feet.
"An underground shelter. You were lucky to have fallen in this location before the mobile suit exploded. Very faulty piece of machinery if you ask me." Prof. I nodded.
Heero frowned as he considered the turn of events. "What about the others and Iron Fist? Do they know we have survived?"
"That we do not know." Master M shook his head.
"Well, then what the hell do you know because I'm getting sick and tired of being yanked around like a fucking yoyo!" Deidra snapped, glaring coldly at the scientists. "I'm bleeding, burnt, and have a monster of a migraine so unless you have something useful to say then shut. Up."
Duo blinked at the L2 girl, amazed by the amount of fury radiating off her. "I guess having a bad day doesn't qualify, huh."
Her face softened when she looked at him and leaned her head against his shoulder. "Sorry. I'm tired of this. I want it over with."
Duo nodded and wrapped his good arm across her back. "I know. Me too."
Dr. E chuckled. "Very well then. Where shall we begin?"
Quatre raced up to the Timewarp gundam and sucked in a breath as he took in account how badly damaged it was. He had to admit, Trista was very lucky to still be alive. Quickly, he climbed on the gundam, Wufei a few feet behind.
The Chinese Preventer took one look at the gundam and shook his head then followed Quatre on the gundam. Quatre rapped at the cockpit hatch and slowly it opened, allowing both teens the ability to see a slightly panicked Trowa.
Trowa nodded at his comrades, his eyes were slightly wider than usual as if in shock. "Quatre, I don't know what to do about her. If I should move her or not."
Quatre nodded in understanding. "I'm not exactly a medical expert, but I'll do what I can." Trowa moved aside allowing the blonde entry into the gundam.
Wufei pursed his lips and studied his friend. "You really do care for her."
Trowa blinked, realizing that Wufei was not questioning but stating the fact. He drew a breath and nodded. "I don't know how to explain it, but I feel drawn to her."
"Then it isn't infatuation after all. That's the way it should be."
"What do you mean?"
Wufei shook his head. "It's the same as with Yuy towards Tomoe and I suppose Maxwell as well concerning that Robert girl. Maxwell I can see falling for any pretty girl that walks in the room. However, you and Yuy are different. It takes more, much more."
Trowa closed his eyes briefly. "I see. Though I have a feeling you may be underestimating Duo. He hasn't actually fallen for a girl until now, and even now, he still keeps his distance as if afraid of something."
"You may be right, Barton. We'll just have to wait and see." The two exchanged silent nods. A second later Quatre reappeared from the cockpit.
"She seems stable, so I guess we can move her, but more than likely she'll need to see a doctor. Her arm may be broken and she may have cracked so ribs," Quatre said grimly. He paused a moment and scratched his head. "The question however is where we can take her?"
"How about to the grave?" Nitol Stanz said from behind a group of armed Iron Fist soldiers.
The three gundam pilots looked around and realized that they were surrounded. With heavy hearts they raised their hands over their heads in surrender.
Hotaru worked effortlessly on the mobile doll. It only sparked a few times until she finally turned it into a fully operational mobile suit. She ignored the burns on her hands, closed the cockpit hatch and fired it up.
She had to find the others before Stanz did. There was no telling what he would do to get her back under his thumb. "Heero, where are you? And where are the others?" Hotaru cursed under her breath and took off.
The suit functioned without too much difficulty, jerking only occasionally as if trying to resist her orders. The only issue at the moment was trying to remember where exactly the base was located. Her memory thanks to the brainwashing was not it's best, given that she had rejected everything they incorporated into her mind.
Hotaru quickly entered an order to return to home coordinates into the suit in hopes that it had an automatic recall if damaged. If she was going to save everyone, she'd have to do it fast before Stanz realizes that the pawn on his chess table had just turned into the opposing queen, and was plotting a way to checkmate.
Heero leaned against the cool steel wall with his arms crossed as the doctors worked on bandaging Duo and Deidra. At that moment without his gundam he felt utterly useless. The others were out their somewhere and may be in danger yet there was nothing he could do about it. Especially for Hotaru, that is if she was still alive.
Dr E chuckled. "You three should thank your lucky stars that we just so happened to be here."
"Yeah, yeah. And where is the so called valuable information you said you'd give us?" Duo scoffed as Master M made quick work of his arm.
"We wished for you not to bleed on our clean floor as we told you," Prof. I laughed.
"How considerate," Deidra said dryly. She jumped a bit as the elderly bald man dabbed antiseptic on her wounds. "Owie, that stings."
"You see, we need to stop what's going to come; World domination in the worst degree. It'll make what you experienced in AC 196 look like a tea party," Pr. F nodded, a serious look in his dark eyes. "A world run with fear, and he plans to execute each of you in that process."
Heero and Duo looked up and narrowed his eyes. Deidra gulped and shrank back a bit.
"They want to kill us? Not that it should surprise me, but I still think that's a bit extreme," Deidra said nervously.
"No, they want to toy with us too." Heero shook his head. "Torment us the best way they know how by alienating us, and using us to their benefit. Then and only then they will go for the kill."
"How wise of you, Heero Yuy," Stanz chuckled as his soldiers opened fire.
Deidra screamed and Duo dove to her, throwing his full weight at her as he shoved her out of the way and rolled her to the safety of the corner of the room.
"Damnit," he cursed through the rain of bullets as Deidra clung helplessly to him, burying her face in his shirt.
Heero glanced at his friends briefly as the scientists were gunned down then fled towards the metal door. However before he could push the door open, a large heavy metallic ceiling panel fell and crashed down upon him.
A few moments later the shower of bullets ceased. One soldier approached the sheet of metal that had fallen on the Perfect Solider then gave it a kick. "Sir, what should we do about Yuy?"
Stanz snorted. "Nothing. The fool has been crushed and poor little Hotaru will be so heartbroken. Grab the other two. They will make excellent bargaining chips before we execute them as while.
Four soldiers roughly hauled Duo and Deidra to their feet and snapped a pair of handcuffs on their wrists. They took pride in their work as the two gundam pilots lowered their heads in defeat and closed their eyes to shield them against the sight of the blood staining the floors.
Author's Notes: Almost done. Next Chapter will be out before Christmas Day. Until then.