Face of the Enemy

Chapter 10

Heero sat on a crate, his arms folded across his chest. He had his eyes closed. Relena stood nearby, just watching him. Arys was across the room, judging how best to take the two men down standing on the catwalk above them if the three teenagers were noticed. She was nervously running her thumb across the barrel of her PP7.

Relena glanced at Arys, wondering why the girl had come. Relena looked back at Heero.

"Heero..."

The dark-haired pilot did not open his eyes, but he still replied. "I'm staying here until this fight is settled."

"Huh?" Relena asked.

Arys looked almost disappointed as the two men standing above them walked away, their boots banging loudly against the metal grid they stood on. She holstered her gun and came over to Heero and Relena. She leaned against one of the columns of stacked crates and closed her eyes wearily.

"Treize will find it hard to sink the Libra," Heero replied. "And when he tries, I'll destroy this ship from within."

"I still think this war can be stopped... The idea that bloodshed is needed to achieve peace is the logic of a despot."

"Those two are fighting with the purpose of shedding blood... Which is why I have no intention of stopping this fight."

"One must die..." Arys murmured softly.

Both Heero and Relena glanced at her, surprised. The girl had not spoken for the past half an hour. Apparently, the encounter with Zechs had rattled her. Arys had been acting strange ever since their conversation with the White Fang leader in the stargazer room.

"Arys?" Heero asked, looking at her worriedly. He couldn't understand what was wrong with her.

When Arys said nothing more, Relena spoke to Heero again. "But..."

"You're staying here." Heero told her forcefully.

"Why are you protecting me, Heero?"

"I don't want to feel indebted to Zechs when we meet again."

Relena sat down next to Heero. "If this ship goes down, then you and my brother will no longer have a reason to fight."

On the bridge of the Peacemillion, the remaining four Gundam pilots were watching the battle between the World Nation and White Fang forces. Howard, the Peacemillion's resident mobile suit mechanic, shook his head as flashes of light erupted all over the viewscreen.

"They seem to be rather well-matched. So which side do we deal with?" Howard asked.

Trowa spoke up from his position by the wall. "They appear to be well-matched only because the Libra's main cannon is down."

Duo grinned widely. "Every time they shoot the thing, it seems to break down." He shrugged. "Thanks to that, we're safe. But when they get it fixed, the battle should swing in favor of the White Fang."

Quatre crossed his arms over his chest and scanned the console in front of him. "The White Fang represent only a small portion of the opinions of the colonists. They can never represent the whole. Most of the colonists must want peace."

Wufei glanced up from his staring contest with the floor. "Does that mean that helping Treize would be acting in accordance with the wishes of the colonists?"

"Treize is fighting the Libra and its mobile dolls, not the colonies."

Trowa nodded. "The current menace is the Libra."

"Good enough. That thing is too powerful," Wufei agreed.

"But what about Heero, Arys, and Relena? They're still on the Libra," Sally said.

Duo waved off her question. He rolled his eyes. "Heero'll figure out something. The guy's full of surprises."

Howard broke in again. "So, it's settled?"

"Yes. Please set a course for the Libra." Quatre glanced back at the viewscreen, his blue eyes regretful.

"Picking up the Peacemillion! They're risking the battle zone and heading for our coordinates!" A crewman exclaimed. His voice pierced the relative silence of the Libra's bridge.

Quinze pushed up his glasses. "Do they still consider us the enemy?"

Dorothy laughed at him. "Naturally... They consider anything with power to be a threat."

Quinze glared at Dorothy. "This is no laughing matter! We can't use all our mobile dolls at once."

Zechs stood up from his command chair. "I'm going out."

Quinze looked surprised as Zechs headed for the door. "Commander?"

Zechs paused in the doorway. "I need three Virgos."

"Only three? That's..."

"More than enough to stay alive." Zechs disappeared from the doorway.

"Commander Milliardo?" Quinze peered into the hallway to see that the man was gone.

He walked back onto the bridge. His face was surly with displeasure. "Isn't that main array repaired yet?"

Five mobile suits launched from the Peacemillion's main hangar bay. Four of the Gundams and Noin in her Taurus suit formed up a safe distance away from the ship.

"Noin, can you serve as backup for the Peacemillion? Your Taurus suit will be a constant target for the enemy if you come with us," Quatre, who had been nominated to be in charge again by his fellow pilots, spoke up on the comm.

Noin smiled. She did not mind. "Roger that." Noin fell back as the Gundams continued toward the approaching Eypon.

"There he is... He's got only three Virgos with him. This'll be easy." Duo rubbed his hands together gleefully before placing them on his controls.

Zechs' face showed up on their comm screen. He looked insulted. "I'll show you the full potential of a mobile doll." The three Gundams lined up on one side while Zechs with the dolls waited on the other.

Duo throttled forward. "Here goes!"

"Hold on, Duo!" Quatre yelled.

Duo hit the brakes abruptly. "What's the matter!" He sounded a bit annoyed. The Virgos took this opportunity to fire off a few rounds at the Deathscythe. A few hit.

Duo grunted. "This better be important, Quatre."

"We have to fight together! That's the only way we'll win! Trowa! Wufei! Are you with me?" Wufei and Trowa answered affirmatively. The four charged into the battle. The mobile dolls were quicker and stronger than the others they had fought. The pilots learned that soon enough.

"Anyone else notice something different about these dolls?" Duo asked.

Wufei spoke up. "They seem to have improved shielding."

"They're a lot faster, too" Trowa added.

The Epyon had joined the fight, but it didn't acknowledge the other Gundams. All except for Quatre's. Zechs had taken every chance to beat up on the Sandrock.

Duo looked totally confused. "Why's he targeting Quatre so much?"

Quatre whirled his Gundam around to face the Eypon. The red-and-black Gundam seemed to glower at him menacingly. Quatre suppressed a shiver. "I know you'd like to cut down our numbers, but do you consider me the easiest target?"

Zechs' answer was brusque. "First, I want to eliminate the head."

Quatre pursed his lips together as he clamped his hands harder around his controls. "Fine, then. I'll take you on!" The Virgos kept the others busy, so there was no way for them to help Quatre in his fight against Zechs. Sandrock and Epyon squared off. They charged.

Duo watched the fight between Quatre and Zechs out of the corner of his eye.

"The Libra is leaving the area and heading for MO-II." A crewman spoke up from his station.

Howard scratched his goatee thoughtfully. "There's hardly any forces left at MO-II. The Libra must be planning to skirk MO-II and head on towards earth."

Sally glanced up at the main viewscreen. "Let's pursue them."

The same crewman who had informed them of Libra's movement spoke up again. "But... even if we do, we don't have any weapons capable of taking on the Libra."

"This ship has a means to destroy the Libra's main array."

The crewman looked shaken. "You don't mean..."

Sally turned to Howard. "Remove all non-combatants. MO-II should receive them."

Howard nodded. "Yeah, it's the only way to destroy the Libra. Transfer to the sub-bridge!"

The battle paused for a moment as the two teams fell back and regrouped. Quatre had put up a good fight against Zechs, but the Virgo mobile dolls were still intact.

"Of course... this is a natural reaction. But I can't let you destroy the Libra." Zechs had noticed the Peacemillion's course change and put in a course heading toward the Peacemillion.

Duo glanced down at his comm screen to confer with his friends. "The Peacemillion... We can't let him."

Wufei was getting frustrated as he attempted to blast away the three Virgos hovering in a sphere across the blackness of space. They made no attempt to move. "Nataku's attacks keep being deflected!"

Quatre shook his head sadly. "It's hopeless. The three Virgos are working in unison and have formed a powerful shield. We'll have to get in close for an attack. Once we destroy them, we can go after the Eypon."

"I have an idea." Trowa's face appeared on everyone's viewscreen. "Just like our strength comes from our fighting together, our greatest weakness is fighting apart. I'd say the same applies to those three dolls over there."

"Trowa is right. We must single out one of them." Wufei scanned the enemy.

"How do we do that? The shield covers all of them." Duo's confused face came up on the screen.

Quatre's voice was void of emotion. "We stab them in the back. Wufei, Trowa and I will distract the mobile suit on the left. Make sure you unload everything on it and stay in front of it. Duo, act like you're chasing after the Epyon. Then, turn on your active cloak and head back toward us. Stab the Virgo we're attacking from behind. Be quick, Duo. Hopefully, they won't see you."

Duo smiled as he flew off toward the Epyon. "Any strategy involving extreme speed is all right with me."

"OK, let's do it!" Sandrock, Altron, and Heavyarms proceeded to attack the suit on the left. Every Gundam fired its vulcan cannons and any other available weapon. The dolls compensated for the mass amount of firepower directed at the suit on the left by strengthening the shield in that area.

"Hurry, Duo." Quatre was nearly out of ammo.

Duo thumbed a switch on his flightstick. "Active cloak on. Here we go!" Duo thrusted back toward his friends at full power. Duo came into range of the Virgos and jetted straight to the doll on the right. Duo lifted his scythe ready to attack.

Quatre fired another burst at the mobile doll. His question was answered by the sight of a beam scythe being driven through the Virgo on the right. The one they weren't attacking. The Virgo exploded and the silhouette of the Deathscythe took its place. The other Virgos turned to fire on Duo. Wufei leaned back and fired his double dragon arms at the dolls. They connected. Wufei dragged the dolls toward him, and activated his scorpion tail cannon. As the dolls flew toward him, Wufei unloaded the cannon's double barrels into them. The bullets blew off the legs of the Virgos, and Wufei was left holding the upper torsos of each mobile doll. Wufei smiled.

Quatre sat back in his seat. The equally relieved faces of the other three pilots appeared on his viewscreen.

Duo leaned back in his seat and put his arms behind his head. "How'd you like that attack, Quatre?"

Quatre frowned at him. "Duo, you were supposed to attack the one on the left."

Duo returned Quatre's frown. "Well, it worked. Didn't it? Wufei's holding the proof." The Nataku was still holding the Virgo torsos. Wufei threw one towards Quatre. He caught it.

Quatre looked at the lifeless metal torso in Sandrock's hands. "I guess you're right." He smiled at Duo. "I do find it kind of disturbing that a pilot of one of the deadliest mobile suits can't tell his left from his right."

Duo's face returned to its usual friendly expression. "Stop whining, Rich Boy."

A Taurus suit flew in front of the Eypon, blocking its path to the Peacemillion.

Zechs' voice was commanding. "Noin, get out of the way."

"Zechs, I don't want to fight you, but..."

Zechs leaned forward to glare at Noin's image on his screen. "Noin. Pull back, now."

The ex-OZ soldier shook her head emphatically. "I won't. Even if you kill me."

Zechs lost his temper. Why didn't she just leave him alone? Deep down, he had no wish to kill her, but if she forced him to... "Noin!"

The Eypon raised its beam sword, preparing to bring it down on the Taurus suit hovering in front of it. Noin watched her death rise above her. Her expression was sorrowful.

"Zechs..." She whispered softly.

Quatre noticed that Noin had encountered the Eypon and he feared for her life. She had no weapons aimed at the Epyon. It was almost as if she were going to allow the Eypon to slice her Taurus suit in half. "Noin!"

Duo watched the face-off, an incredulous look on his face. "What's she doing?"

Wufei slammed a hand down on his console. "What're you doing? Fire!" He urged Noin.

Quatre tried to get Noin's attention again. "Noin!"

Noin closed her eyes and leaned back, ready to face her death. Zechs stared at her, his icy eyes unreadable. Zechs shook his head. He leaned back with a groan and had the Epyon lower its beam sword. The Eypon blasted away, leaving the Taurus suit floating in space, unharmed.

"Why? Why was I so weak?" Zechs growled to himself.

Noin opened her eyes, saw that she was still alive, and sighed. "Zechs..."

"The Peacemillion is heading straight for us!"

Quinze turned to the crewman. "What! Can we change course?"

"No! There's no time!"

"Then, use the beam guns! Stop them at all costs!" Quinze strode forward, his eyes flashing angrily. "Are they crazy?"

"The beam guns aren't working, sir. Impact in five seconds..."

Quinze ducked to the ground, and covered his head, bracing himself for the collision. "They're going to ram us!"

"Cut the engines! Everyone brace for impact!" Dorothy grabbed onto a nearby console as she waited for the ground to shift beneath her.

Heero's head jerked up as he heard sirens ringing in a distant part of the Libra. Arys glanced at him, hearing the alarms as well. They both stopped walking. Relena came up behind them, wondering why they had paused in the middle of the hallway.

"What is it?" Arys asked quietly.

"Get down, both of you. Cover your heads." Heero grabbed both Arys' and Relena's arms. "The Peacemillion's going to ram Libra."

"What?" Relena asked in disbelief.

A loud boom rattled the entire space fortress like a tin can. The world turned upside down. Arys fell to the ground, reaching out for Relena as she did so. Heero threw himself over both of them as the fortress righted itself, dumping the ceiling on top of them. As soon as the shaking ceased, Heero shoved off the plaster that had fallen on top of them and staggered to his feet, pulling the two girls to their feet as he did so. Arys ran her fingers through her hair, then looked at her hands in disgust when she saw the plaster that covered them.

Heero stood motionless for a moment, his gaze darting about the hallway. Particles of dust still floated in the air from the collision. He brushed a hand across one of his arms, and Arys drew in a sharp breath when she saw that his fingers were smeared with blood.

"You're hurt!" Relena exclaimed.

"It's nothing." Heero wiped his hand on his pants, spreading a crimson streak across his thigh.

Arys grabbed his hand and untied the white handkerchief around her neck. Heero watched her impassively as she cleaned off his hand and then proceeded to find the wound on his arm. Without a word, she pulled out a clean cloth from one of her pockets and wrapped the cloth around his arm. She stepped back, placing the bloody handkerchief into a pants pocket. She had taken care of his wound without looking him in the eye once.

"Thank you," Arys whispered, her head down. Then, her face became blank once again.

Heero studied her for a few moments, silent. Then, he turned to Relena. "This means that Zechs won't get the victory he hoped for."

"The victory... he hoped for?"

Arys spoke up again, her voice low. "The Peacemillion's destroyed the Libra's main array. Now, the World Nation and the White Fang are evenly matched. Your brother will not win this war."

"But... the Zero is now needed," Heero said.

"Whoa. It's pretty well embedded in there, isn't it?" Duo observed to his fellow pilots. The four Gundams were hovering near the section of the Libra where the Peacemillion had rammed.

"It would have been difficult to destroy only the Libra, but now..." Trowa began.

Sally's voice suddenly came over the comm. "This is Peacemillion. There's no threat of explosion, however, our engines are dead."

Quatre nodded. "Understood. We'll try to seize control of the Libra from within. We'll destroy their Mobile Doll operating system and call for the White Fang's surrender. And there's still the matter of Relena, Arys, and Heero..."

Duo smiled. "Demolitions, huh? It'll be just like old times..."

The Altron veered away suddenly.

Duo glanced at Wufei's face on his screen. "Hey, Wufei! Where are you going?"

"I"m leaving it up to you," Wufei said. His frequency went silent.

"Wufei!" Duo called in vain.

"Let him go," Trowa told Duo. "It seems that he has an appointment to keep."

"Eh?"

Quatre touched a key on his console. "Let's hurry to the Libra."

Noin's Taurus suit veered away as well, breaking off from the remaining three Gundams' formation.

"Noin?"

A sob could be heard over the comm. "I'm sorry, but I... I..."

Quatre's eyes softened. "Please, go then, Noin."

Duo had a grave expression on his face. "Looks like it's up to us now."

The three Gundams blew open a hangar bay door and entered the Libra through the gaping hole left there. Once inside, they split up to accomplish their individual missions.

Duo eyed the soldiers passing underneath the beams he was hiding in. He listened to their conversation closely. He had left his Gundam in an empty hangar bay, hoping that no one would take it. But he figured that things were so confusing aboard the Libra right now that no one would dare steal it.