Hey-o, and welcome to my Lil' World of Weirdness!
I state for the record that I don't own Gundam Wing, or the wonderful characters that will be gracing this story. . . I only own Faye Bloom, Chang Xiao Fao Lan and the Angels. You know the pairings, but just in case . . . You've got 1x2x1, 3x4x3, 5xMeirin, a dash of 6x9, a sprinkle of 13xUne, half a teaspoon of OdinxHelen . . . and may just a hint of DxR and Dr.JxProf.G . . . grins what can I say? I'm evil.
rubs hands together what else have we got?
Ah yes, mandatory thank you to Bluegoo, even though she is still my primary betareader, she won't be putting in as much of an appearance for this next year . . . yeah, I plan on keeping on and on for a while . . . anyway, Blue's off at uni, which is BRILLIANT! But means she won't have enough time to beta for me . . . but does that mean that I will go down hill? That my terrible typos and grammar will get out of hand! laughs Oh ho, HO! No way . . . holds up hand and falls silent ladies and gentlemen, yaoi fan girls and guys – I know you're out there - . . . there's a new Beta reader in town. My gracious thanks go out to CLOW'D9 of Cardcaptor Sakura Fanfiction Fame, for her time and her patience in this.
Also, it appears I can't use my usual formatting for thoughts and stress... irritating as hell, but never mind.
(Thinking)
"Speaking"
Stress/Emphasis
Writing/Dream sequence
Telepathic thoughts>
: Lyrics :
For The Grace Of Knights And Angels
By Doctor Megalomania
Commence
After colony Two-Zero-One . . .
The Year had ended . . . the Earth Sphere's time to prepare had finished . . . and the battle to save the Earth Sphere was about to begin. The Year had passed . . . too slowly for some, for others it passed entirely too quickly. . . The former Gundam Pilots were called upon once more to save the Earth Sphere, this time not from itself and its inhabitants . . . but from a threat far greater then they could ever have imagined.
The Future and the Past were to collide in a fashion not seen for centuries . . .
The Battle was about to commence, and this time no machine would decide the outcome. While Relena Peacecraft and the Six Gundam Scientists waited with the final escape craft; Krushrenada Treize, Lady Une, Zechs Marquise and Commander Noin were the leaders of the Earth Sphere's last great army. As they led the hastily gathered forces into battle with Tubarov's army of dead soldiers with Mobile Doll technology implanted in their skulls, the Knights of Earth's families and friends would face death, prepared to fight for the Earth Sphere's future.
Once. . . Five young boys descended on Earth with powerful machines called Gundam. . . their heroic legend became their name and a name that binded those five together. With the knowledge that one of their number had to die in order to seal the end of the battle, the five young boys resolved to fight boldly, passionately, fiercely to make that sacrifice worth every drop spilt of their comrade's blood.
As the battle commences . . . and their mirror counterparts ready to face them with the same powers, will the five young boys named Gundam win the day . . . or will the Earth Sphere fall under the cold hand of Urami and the might of the horrifyingly destructive power of the Sesshou Cannon . . .?
Is this the past beginning, or the end of the future?
Gundam
Fight boldly . . . for the future . . .
Arch Four:
Past's Beginning, Future's End.
Fight Boldly For The Future.
Chapter Thirty-One: Battle Commences
Treize swallowed.
He was scared. He was nervous as he sat in his saddle and stared out across the desert sands, staring at the enemy. He thought he could recognise a few, certainly he recognised Tubarov standing atop of a half destroyed Taurus Mobile Doll. He tipped his head up and stared at the painfully blue sky for a long moment, taking in the beauty of their Earth's sky. Whatever Heero Yuy had done with his magic had banished the night in favour of the day. He glanced to the horizon, Heero's magic hadn't banished all the night - it lingered at the very edges of the sky.
He sighed.
His horse paced, pawing at the ground as he turned it to face his troops. A sea of faces stared back at him, some used to be OZ, some used to be Federation, Romafellor, Colony Separatists, White Fang, Mariemaia Activists . . . now? Now, they were all Earth Fighters. Nothing separated them. He blinked, fighting to keep his throat from closing up at the sight.
This was what the children of the future had brought upon the earth.
This was what he had died to bring about in the first place.
Unity.
He breathed, swallowing the fear he felt.
"We go into battle now . . ." he shouted, the murmurs dying out and allowing his voice to carry across the sands. He nodded tightly, hoping he was inspiring them as much as they did him. "We fight not just for our homes . . . we fight for our friends . . ."
Sally Po glanced out of the corner of her eye down to Lady Une and Commander Noin as Treize's voice rang out.
"We fight for our lovers . . ."
Meirin tipped her head up and raised her arm. The Dragon Claw was clamped tightly to it, Wufei seeing no need for it and felt it better on her arm than his. He had kissed her, looking fiercely into her eyes that he would see her after the battle. She would do her best to see that he did.
"We fight for our families . . ."
Faye Bloom looked at her beautiful daughter and her handsome son. They had both grown up so much; she'd missed much of their lives . . . her grip tightened around her knives, her long fingernails digging into her skin. She would not miss anymore.
"But most of all . . ."
Treize turned back to the enemy and glanced at the Gundam Knights once more. He drew his sword and lofted it high above his head, preparing to give the signal to advance. Quatre Winner said something to the others and gave Treize a significant look. Duo Maxwell closed his eyes briefly, and Treize jerked slightly as the younger boy's voice filtered into his mind.
On Quatre's mark . . . We'll fly out of the way, and you lot charge . . . Got it?>
Treize nodded to show he'd understood. He watched Quatre Winner as the boy glanced around once more. Satisfied, Quatre nodded, his translucent golden wings spreading.
"FIGHT FOR THE LOVE OF OUR EARTH!"
Treize bellowed at the top of his voice, as he threw his arm forward and charged his horse. The five knights jumped out of the way instantly as a battle cry ripped loose of every man and woman on the field. The ground shook as half a million human beings pounded forward, old mobile suits roared to life and planes thundered above them all. The first shot came ringing from the gun of a man who'd seen three sons and two daughters go into battle. He'd seen only one child return with mental trauma so bad; she killed herself. The man screamed painfully as he fired the shot, revenge for his children and to put them to rest if they were amongst the enemy's number.
The no man's land rapidly disappeared, the sand was thrown up as the living and the dead clashed.
One daughter saw her father and screamed as he slashed at her with his knife, tears poured from her eyes as she felt the blade strike home in her thigh. She cried out to her long dead father for mercy, for forgiveness as she shot as many rounds into his head as she could. Elsewhere, Lady Une's horse was felled by a number of former Balji soldiers. The horse was quickly killed, trampled to death as ten of the dead scrambled over it to get to Lady Une. The air filled with bullets, striking the mobile suits as they hurled missiles at each other.
The scream of bombs dropping from the sky left very little warning those on the ground. Many of both sides were hit by shrapnel and taken out of the fight. They were soon crushed as both sides moved back and forth, waltzing with each other as they fought so piously.
Zechs drew his sword and galloped through the battlefield as best he could, cutting off as many heads as he could manage. He panted deeply, his arm a world of pain. He looked around briefly, seeing the world going crazy once more. He couldn't see Noin anywhere.
"NOIN!" Zechs bellowed, unheard as the screams and the wails continued. He shook his head, and closed his mind. He could not allow weakness on the battlefield, or they would all be lost!
Stinging cases of fire hot bullets rained down on her as she scrambled through the bloodied sand, crawling as bodies fell all around her. Sally's mobile suit had been destroyed and she'd only just managed to escape. Her honey brown hair was slick with sweat; the usually perfect curled ponytails were frazzled. She groaned painfully as her left leg bled, the deep cut almost puncturing the vein. As she rolled into a ditch, taking cover with a few others, she tried to cut off the blood.
"Sally!"
The Chinese born woman's head jerked up as Hilde dived into the bunker with her. "Are you hurt!" The younger girl screamed as the enemy's anti-aircraft cannons pumped hundreds of bright yellow streams of light into the air.
Walker gritted his teeth as the airplane beside his and Otto's was hit. It sailed out of the sky and plummeted to the earth. The pilot's last transmission screaming passionately for the protection of the earth. Walker closed his eyes briefly as the other plane impacted behind enemy lines. His hand clamped solidly on his co-pilot's arm, "Otto . . ."
"I know, Walker . . ." the older man nodded tensely, "I am willing to die, not only for the earth. . . but for Milliardo Peacecraft, once more, once again . . ." he eased the plane dangerously low, so that their bombs were guaranteed a hit.
The ground shook and Auda's mobile suit almost lost its balance. The Arabian man glanced about wildly, there were mobile suits fighting all around him. He turned his sights upward, catching a glance of the airplanes as they bombed the area again. He growled lowly as his mobile suit took another hard hit.
"To protect Master Quatre and his mission!" Rashid's voice rang out over the crackling radio; Auda looked up and felt his fear retreat. Rashid was right!
"Master Quatre must be protected!" Auda leant his voice, as he lifted his mobile suits massive hand and crushed the dark Taurus' head. He bellowed down the radio, "Without Master Quatre and the other Gundams, this earth is doomed! Fight valiantly!"
The massive black Taurus fell to its knees then fell forward, crushing several Earth Sphere and Dark Chi fighters alike. Tubarov frowned, not liking that the neo-mobile dolls of his latest creation were having such a hard time. He caressed the device in the back of his skull, his long locks having been shaven off to make room for it. In his mind's eye he could see . . . everything . . . every one of the Earth Sphere forces, through the eyes of his beautiful dolls.
There . . .
There he was . . .
Tubarov's eyes snapped open and narrowed as he hissed through the lips of one dead soldier.
"Treize Krushrenada!"
The former OZ commander spun as one of his enemies hissed his name in a very familiar tone of voice, "Tubarov . . ." the blue eyes of the General narrowed as he spun to face the faceless solider who spoke with the voice of the Mobile Doll creator. "Come to seek revenge?" Treize drew his sword and stared at the man, fancying that he could see into the eyes of the man he'd once humiliated so terribly. Tubarov was everything Treize had come to hate about the Romafellor. The Creation of the Mobile Doll, the true destruction of honour in battle. Treize hated the concept with a passion he'd rarely felt! To deprive human kind of the right and their duty to pay the price of war with their own blood, to deny soldiers, warriors the honour to die fighting? It was too much for Treize to conceive.
The faceless solider - wearing the ruins of the federation uniform - advanced toward him, his fingers nothing more than sharp talons where the bones pierced the skin. Treize shook his head, "I'm sorry, you who are the mouthpiece of this coward . . ." Treize dived forward, neatly severing the man's hands. "But to stop this madness, someone must fall!"
The dead solider stared at the stumps where his hands once were and spun with a dark growl, Tubarov's voice was enraged. "If it had not been for you, the war would have been bloodless! No more needed to die!"
"The only bloodless way out of war is peace!" Treize sliced off the mouthpiece's head and spun to face the next, "Not to create machines to fight the war while you grow old and fat!"
"You don't understand the beauty of the mobile Dolls!" Tubarov screamed through the voice of a young man, once an OZ pilot. It pained Treize as he tried to match the service number to a name, he moved with grace and ease out of the way of the young OZ pilot's hands.
"Beauty?" Treize questioned, raising his sword once more to disable the young solider, "There was no beauty I could see! The only beauty I see is in the battlefield, when man and woman find out for themselves how ugly the real fight can be! The only beauty that comes from war is when those who fight realise how meaningless it is!" He turned, cutting through the neck of the solider. "That is the only beauty that comes from such ugliness, Tubarov! Your Mobile Dolls threatened to take that away!"
"What is the point of so much killing!" Tubarov's hands tightened on the railing of the Mobile doll he stood on, "Tell me! What is the point of so much killing, so much pain, when my Dolls could have done it for us!"
"The dolls were an unfair advantage!" A group now surrounded Treize and the commander was soon in an impossible situation. He raised his sword and caught his breath, "War had to be fought by humans, by soldiers, by the people . . . by Gundam . . . only then would people realise how much every death meant! People like you and I should remember the name of every man and woman who died under our command, so we may never take arms up against each other again! The Human spirit must be—"
"SILENCE!" Tubarov's minions screamed together as the older man's rage boiled over. "YOU NEVER WOULD HAVE UNDERSTOOD THE FUTURE!"
The group jumped forward, their hands and bodies trying to rip and crush the General they had all once held such an admiration for. Treize's mouth filled with blood as a tooth was knocked out of his mouth, stars dancing before his vision. He stared up, seeing flashes of the beautiful blue sky as his attackers thundered down upon him. He was dying again. He could feel it, death called to him softly, to close his eyes and feel the bliss of slumber once more.
"THE HUMAN SPIRIT MUST NEVER BE SILENCED!"
The load upon him began to be torn away as Earth Sphere forces came to his rescue. The unmistakeable passionate tones of Dorothy Catalonia pieced death's quiet call, forcing Treize to open his eyes. A pale hand shot through the mass of soldiers and grabbed his blood soaked collar. Dorothy hauled her uncle out of the mass and raised her sword as she spat darkly at Tubarov, "Little man, fight with honour, or do not fight at all!" She spat out a mouthful of blood, wiping her mouth with her pale, trembling hand. "Remember this, your precious mobile dolls still need the human spirit to fight! They need humans to operate them!"
"No . . ."
Tubarov's hands trembled as they tightened on the railing, "You petty girl, you don't understand their beauty!" He gazed across the battlefield, "I was right, I was always right . . . but people like you, too small minded, too ignorant! People like you have forced this war upon yourselves!"
The tip of Treize's sword wavered as he raised it, pain almost overwhelming him. "We are not wrong, Tubarov. . . Gundam have shown us that . . . it is Gundam that will show you now!" He and Dorothy ran back into the fight, their swords flashing as they sliced through the enemy as they tired to ignore the fearsome grenades whistling over their heads.
Flashes of light and small explosions scattered over roiling mass of soldiers.
Relena watched with a deep cold in her heart. War. The very sight of it sickened her, yet the knowledge that this war was for the protection of the very earth she stood upon grounded a very real sense of hope into her. People were dying out there for a worthy cause, she only hoped the pieces she had to pick up after the war were not too small for her, for the new Earth Sphere Alliance. She closed her eyes tightly and raised her hands to the glass, leaning her forehead against the cool surface as some dark part of her mind whispered cruelly, (. . . or the Mars Sphere Alliance . . .)
"Miss Relena . . ."
Quatrine Winner's soft voice broke her dark contemplations, as the small woman placed her hands on Relena's shoulders. "Please, keep holding tightly to the hope. . . don't let the Dark Chi win, or all will be lost . . ."
"I . . ." Relena opened her eyes and stared at herself in the window, the little sixteen year old spoiled brat stared back at her for a moment, (None of this would ever have happened if it hadn't been for the wars!) But even Relena had had to come to admit that the wars had been necessary to make the new peace come to attainment. People had to be shown that they had to fight for their real peace. It was just . . . just so unfair! They'd come all this way and now forces beyond their control threaten to take all that away again? Cruel!
Mrs Winner's soothing hands relaxed her shoulders. "Come away from the window . . . Miss Relena, there is nothing you can do for now . . ."
Relena nodded numbly, walking back to the seating area. She paused and glanced back when she realised Mrs Winner was still standing by the window. Quatrine let tears run down her face, so much pain, she could feel it all. She could feel Rashid and his men; she could feel Quatre and his friends. They were calm, but also deeply afraid for one another . . . they couldn't let go of the fear they felt that one might die.
One might die?
Was it a worthy cause to die for? Certainly.
Was it worthy the life of one of the Gundams? Perhaps . . .
Was it worth the life of her husband?
Meirin gritted her teeth and growled loudly as she levelled her arm at a batch of dead soldiers. A long stream of orange and yellow flame twisted as it raced to them and destroyed them.
Was it worth the life of her husband?
She closed her eyes as she jumped easily over and opponent and kicked his feet from under him. She rolled and came up, levelling her arm at the next batch of soldiers. She cleared a large pathway around herself, a massive circle surrounded by dead soldiers who didn't know how to take out the small Chinese girl with fire in her hands.
Was it worthy the life of her husband? Honour and Justice demanded the answer to be a passionate 'Yes!' but her heart . . . her soul wept a resounding 'Never!' could they not take her instead? She had been dead, Wufei had learnt to live without her . . . she'd never be able to come to terms with the fact that Wufei was such a good husband to her and she had never been able to love him, bear him children, fight with him, live with him and finally die with him with the knowledge that their lives were honourable and just.
"Wufei . . ." she whispered fiercely, as she spared a moment to look up at the horizon, "I will make you proud of me!"
The five Gundam knights were just landing at the horizon, Odin nodded. Good. The boys would be able to begin their final battle together. He grinned darkly as he rolled and took aim. He fired his sub-machine gun with ease. Hitting more than one, Odin spun and looked around for his love. Sister Helen seemed to holding her own, she'd been given a crash course in handling a gun but mostly she ran about pulling as many wounded soldiers to safety, trying to be a field medic as best as she could. Odin felt a set of arms wrap around his waist and instantly snapped his elbow back. Hearing a satisfactory crunch of neck breaking, he cursed himself for his inattention.
A piercing scream went up.
Ordinarily he would have ignored it, a scream in the middle of battle wasn't unusual . . . he spun and growled as very familiar, dead solider pulled at Helen's hair, trying to get a strangle hold on her.
"DEKIM!"
Odin roared, dashing across the battlefield toward his former employer. The man who'd betrayed him so long ago, the man who'd ordered him to kill the original Heero Yuy, the man who had had him killed and left him to die in front of his son. Dekim Barton.
The older balding man with wicked eyes pushed Helen away and turned with a growling menace toward Odin Lowe. Odin's eyes widened with hate, this man . . . this man had killed so many! He raised his sub-machine gun and whacked Dekim as hard as he could across the jaw.
Blood spurted from the general's mouth, but his head swivelled back, grinning with blood soaked teeth. Dekim reached forward and launched himself at Odin, intent on killing his former employee. Odin grunted as they fell back onto the sand. He kicked and punched, knowing that there would be no let up. His sub-machine gun went spinning out of his hands as he dug his thumbs into the sockets of Dekim's eyes, trying to gouge them out. ". . . Hate you!" Odin ground out as he pushed further, knowing he could feel the eyeballs begin to ooze as they burst under the pressure.
Dekim's hands were not idle. Despite the fact he had lost both of his eyes, the older man's hands wrapped around Odin's throat painfully. He would have his revenge for the failure of Mariemaia and he would start at the very beginning with this small time assassin.
Odin choked, the back of his eyes felt like they were being pressed out of his skull. His neck threatened to collapse. He closed his eyes and yelled with the last of his breath.
Dekim began to let go, he released Odin's throat and his weight began to slip off. Odin waited until he felt the blood stop rushing around his head then opened his eyes. Sister Helen stood behind the taller Dekim, using a thin chain as a garrotting wire. He was too weak to get up as Sister Helen held on bravely, the older man trying his hardest to throw her off as he linked his thumbs under the small chain.
Odin shook his head and stumbled to his feet, he dodged Dekim's flailing legs and ran around behind Helen. He grabbed onto the small chain, wrapping his large hands around her smaller ones and pulled. Denkim growled as his thumbs were cut through first, they fell to the ground useless. His hands flailed in the air as Odin lifted his knee and pushed it against the back of Denkim's back.
"Pull!" He growled deeply, as he felt Helen's back push against his chest. She lifted her opposite foot and placed it against the small of Dekim's back. She cried out as the chain began to cut through the decaying flesh. Dekim fell silent as the chain pulled through his neck bone. Helen swallowed vomit hard as the chain broke the bone and the two fell back.
Dekim's head rolled to a stop by Odin's foot and he kicked it away. Helen shuddered deeply in his arms, Odin took precious moments to sooth her. He slowly pulled the blood soaked chain from her and glanced at it.
It was her crucifix.
The small cross glittered dully as Dekim's blood slowly dripped down from his hand and the chain, bathing the image of Christ in filthy, soiled once life giving blood.
Odin glanced at her and caught her gaze, her red stained hand trembling as she pulled it from him. "Thank you, Helen . . ." He whispered with awe.
Helen got shakily to her feet, her strawberry blonde locks stained as badly as the rest of her was. She glanced down at him and smiled wanly, helping him up.
"The god of death may be one of our sons . . ." she murmured back, wiping her hands, "but he will not claim one of us today . . ." she trembled as she put her cross and chain into her pocket and looked down at the body of Dekim.
"May god have mercy on your soul . . ."
"GET DOWN!" Odin suddenly yelled, reaching forward and pulling his love down with him.
A loud shot pierced the air and Odin cringed as he felt barely warm flesh ooze down his neck. He looked up as General Septem - once a man he'd been sent to kill and had almost killed him - slid to his knees, his face an unholy, bloodied mess . . . and a hole straight through it.
As the old General fell sideways, Odin looked up. Lady Une lowered her shotgun and nodded to him before turning her sights on something else. Her hair was ragged and hurriedly tied back. Since loosing her horse she'd found herself the target of more than a few personal grudges. Particularly, former soldiers upon the Balji.
She levelled her shotgun at another mass of fighters, Noin . . . she could see the woman, but she was trapped. During the wars, Une had never been on very good terms with the woman, their personalities scrapping a little too much. However, Noin was a valued worker in the Preventers, and Une's best friend. She narrowed her eyes and took arm, aiming for the dead solider that pinned Noin down.
Noin gagged as some rotten flesh landed in her gaping mouth. She pushed the sagging body off her and rolled as much as she could. Another shot rang out and blasted the solider behind her. Noin glanced over and felt a flare of hope as Lady Une came running over. The older solider swung the butt of her shotgun like a bat, swiping at enemy surrounding them. Noin felt reassured as Une pressed her back against Noin's.
"How many rounds do you have left?" Noin gasped out urgently, as Une gave another roundhouse swipe with the butt of her gun.
"None!" Screamed back the woman, "But we're women, we can take them on!"
Noin shook her head, blood dripping from her nose as she grinned desperately, "That's the Une we all know and love!" The blue haired woman ducked and pulled a knife out of her boot, slashing the throat of an old federation officer. She spun and ran back to Une as the Lady struggled with a former OZ engineer for control of the shotgun. She jumped on the tall man's back and hacked away at his neck with her small knife until he dropped to the ground. Une growled, not taking a moment to rest as she swung her shotgun around again. Noin gasped and panted as she looked up at the horizon. The eleven fighters, six of the dark Chi and five of the Gundams stood facing each other off.
Her head pounded, forcing her to look down for a moment. She stared at the solider she'd just hacked the throat out of.
A transmitter blinked for a few moments more before beginning to fade out.
"Transceivers?"
Noin reached out and lightly brushed her fingers over circuitry. She gasped hard as an overwhelming wealth of tactical data streamed into her mind and the voice of Tubarov whispering in overlapping circles about his-
"NOIN!"
Her hand was forcibly dragged from the transmitter and used to haul her away from her slumped position. She was dragged drunkenly to a ditch, where Zechs finally grabbed both her shoulders. His hair was matted with sweat, blood and some grey flecks of flesh. His sky blue eyes were wide with concern as he shook her, "Noin! Wake up!"
She blinked. "Zechs . . ." her mouth felt full of sand, she spat and dipped her head for a moment. "Mobile dolls . . ." she hissed out as best as she could, "Tubarov, he's controlling them all like mobile dolls. . ."
"What?" Zechs shook his head, "that's impossible . . . what else do you know!"
She raised her head and stared at him, panting hard. "He's using his own mind . . ."
Zechs blinked with this new information. He raised his head and looked at the Mobile suit he'd seen Tubarov standing on. It remained in the same spot. They needed to take out Tubarov . . .
A soft glow caught his attention.
The Dark Chi's ship was powering up its cannon.
"Oh . . . my . . . god . . ." Zechs whispered with horror rocking his deep voice, "Noin . . . The cannon . . ."
Far above them all, the last few of the mobile doll humans prepared the Sesshou cannon. It was ready to fire on the command of the Urami via Tubarov as he was the only link between them all. The six humans left aboard stared down at the earth with little liking. Deep within their anger muddled brains, their souls cried for the death of their planet, but the desire for revenge was too overwhelming. Soon, they would be purged of the earth that had so killed them . . . ending the battle that raged before them for once and for all.
And now it's time to LEAVE IT TO DOCTOR MEGALOMANIA!
DrM: Damn. I missed typing that. Anyway, I'm back again. Hopefully for the long run. Crosses fingers Finally got past the chapter that was holding all of this up. I can't believe it's been a year since I last wrote something on this. A year! A YEAR? Bloody hell. Please do RR! I'd love to find out if there is anyone still out there!