Disclaimer: Same as always

Chap. 10

Relena has finally arrived to her house. As the limo pulled in, groups of reporters crowded the front and asked questions, mostly about the hostile situation with the colonies. Relena shook her head. How can they say such things? They have no idea that father had been assassinated.

Inside, Mrs. Dorlian was in her late husband's study. She wandered over to the table and picked up a pen. A pen...he will never write with again. Shutting her eyes, she held the pen close to her chest. She barely heard the door creak open behind her.

"I'm finally home mother."

Mrs. Dorlian turned to her and put down the pen, "Relena."

Relena's head was down, "I'm sorry. I wasn't able to protect father."

Mrs. Dorlian walked over to daughter, "I'm just glad you weren't hurt. I know something like this would happen someday."

Relena's head stayed down and she walked over to the table. The memory of what her father said came back to her.

-Your real name is Relena Peacecraft. You are the daughter of the Peacecraft monarchy of the Sank Kingdom.-

As if almost to pick up on her thoughts, Mrs. Dorlian asked, "Did he say anything before he died?"

Relena picked up the pen and looked over to the side, "No, he didn't say much of anything.

Mrs. Dorlian closed her eyes, "Relena, I have something to tell..."

Relena suddenly ran over and gave her a tight embrace, "Mother. You're my real mother!"

Mrs Dorlian was surprised at first and then gently hugged her daughter back.

"Relena."

______

Military antiquities museum

Zechs entered the old building along with another soldier, who was leading the way. They both entered a darkened room where all sorts of old weapons were stored. Another soldier stood before him.

"So what is it that you have to show me?"

The soldier turned to him and gave a short salute before answering, "Well, when you made a request for another machine, I found this during my search."

Zechs looked up past him and stood amazed. Before him was a large, white Sol-tekka suit. It was incomplete, but it still showed a certain power and grace.

"What is this?"

"This is the prototype Sol-Tekka, Tallgeese."

Zechs examined the suit, "It's huge."

The soldier went on to explain, "When they began developing mass produced Sol-Tekkas, they needed a blueprint. The first two prototypes were destroyed in the first Radham war, so they had to start again. When they finished, this is what was created. This Sol-Tekka was designed to be powerful enough to face a tekkaman in battle. But when the tekkaman technology was created, this was no longer necessary and thus it was used to make the standard Sol-Tekkas we use today."

"So you're saying that this machine could possibly stand up to a gundam. Why was it never used?"

"We'll its power output and size makes it dangerous for a pilot to use, not to mention expensive to maintain. And since it exceeded the Alliance's needs, it wasn't replicated and was just kept here in as a museum artifact."

Zechs nodded, "I see. Well then it's time to see what it can do. How long until it can be completed?"

The soldier looked surprised and then answered, "At least a week sir."

Zechs turned to leave, "Keep me informed."

______

Nightfall…

Outside in the middle of a cemetery, Dead End strode through the tombstones. David had asked if he wanted some company, but Dead refused. Even though David was his best and probably only friend, there were times were he just wanted to be by himself. Dead walked until he reached the top of a hill. Once there, he sat on one of the tombstones and took out a harmonica. Playing to himself, he almost missed the tiny streak of light in the sky. Stopping his tune, he looked up and watched it. It went by as a blur, but Dead was able to make out some parts, mostly a darkly armored arm and body. A tekkaman? Dead thought. It's not any of the others. It must be a gundam. Dead started running after it and he pulled out his knife...

___

"Has anyone seen Duo around?"

Yumi had walked into the training room, looking for Duo. Wufei snorted, "Why would you be looking for that baka?"

David answered, "Last I saw, he checked out of here. Said something about being invited to a party."

Goliathe shook his head, "I'm starting to think that guy won't take anything seriously."

___

High in the skies above, the tekkaman Deathscythe flew silently to his next target. He hoped that he would destroy the base and leave without losing too much time. With the reports of tekkamen flying around, he didn't want to be the one to get caught. With any luck, he'll be in and out before anyone knew what happened.

Luck just wasn't with him tonight...

"I'm afraid I can't let you go any further."

Deathscythe stopped and turned. There behind him was another dark tekkaman, bearing a large sword-lancer.

"Well, if it isn't Dead End. I've always wanted to meet you."

"Well, I see my reputation precedes me. And just who are you?"

"The name's Deathscythe. I'm the god of death."

"Deathscythe, huh? Fitting name. And as for your last remark, that remains to be seen."

"We'll see about that."

Pulling out his scythe lancer, Deathscythe lunged at Dead. Dead blocked the strike and boosted back. He attacked again and Dead suddenly vanished. He reappeared behind Deathscythe and flew at him. To his surprise, Deathscythe also vanished as well. Dead turned to see if he was behind him, but there was no trace. Dead suddenly saw a few ripples and blocked the incoming strike as Deathscythe suddenly reappeared out of thin air. The two tekkamen held that position before backing away. Deathscythe chuckled.

"Man. I gotta say, you're pretty tough."

"Oh, I haven't even started yet."

Now it was Dead's turn to lunge at Deathscythe, sword clashing against the scythe and pushing him back slightly. Dead then fired energy beams from his arms, causing Deathscythe to back away further. Dead charged one final time, slamming Deathscythe into the ground. Dead hovered in the air as he looked down and then caught a glimpse of light.

"My turn!"

Suddenly, a spinning beam object flew straight at Dead. Dead barely dodged it at the drill shield ripped straight through his shoulder armor. Luckily, it didn't hit any vital point, but Dead was still injured. He looked up just to see Deathscythe bearing down on him, scythe raised up high. Dead blocked, but the force of the shock still caused him to falter back. Deathscythe then spin around with another attack and Dead blocked, but with more effort than before. Deciding to add to the pressure, Deathscythe held the hold and kicked forward, knocking Dead back. A second later, Deathscythe charged again and struck down, holding Dead in place on the ground. Dead struggled with him and then his eyes flickered. Dead suddenly shot forward, surprising Deathscythe and hurling him back. Deathscythe watched as Dead, now engulfed in energy, soared straight into the sky and turn around. Like an attacking raptor, he swooped down on Deathscythe and the shock slammed Deathscythe back more. However, Deathscythe caught his footing and hovered in the air. Dead was coming at him again and Deathscythe gripped his weapon. Dead came closer and Deathscythe swiftly hurled the scythe at Dead. Dead couldn't stop as the weapon flew straight at him and knocked him out of his charge. Dead barely managed to recover and avoid hitting the ground as Deathscythe retrieved his weapon. They faced off again when flashes of light caught heir attention. In the distance, the military base appeared to be on full alert and a group of Sol-tekkas were heading toward them. They must have seen the battle, Dead thought to himself. Deathscythe grimaced. He knew now that he would never be able to attack. The entire base was alert and on their way. And to top it off, Dead End was too strong to just brush through. I guess this mission's a failure.

"Seems like the two of us have a draw. Catch ya later."

Deathscythe suddenly shot back and flew away. Dead was about to chase him when he suddenly shimmered and faded in the night sky. Dead growled to himself and looked at the approaching Sol-tekkas. He couldn't allow them to find him there. Glowing with energy, Dead shot up and flew away.

______________

So...have the preparations been set?

Everything is ready according to plan. The conference is set in four days.

I heard that you lost Dorlian's daughter. That's not like you.

My apologizes. I'm still working on it.

In that case, I'll leave that to you.

Yes, sir.

____________

Meanwhile in a secluded part of the Command Center, Deathscythe reappeared on the ground and looked around.  Seeing no one in sight, he began to shimmer with energy and materialize into a human form. The glow faded, revealing the clothes-less Duo. Grabbing a bag he set in a corner in advance, Duo quickly put the clothes on. I gotta find a better way to do this. It'll be one heck of a report if I get caught with no clothes on. Duo finished dressing and stood up, but a suddenly click caught his attention. Duo slowly put his hands up and turned to face Heero who had a gun pointed at him. Oddly enough, Duo grinned.

"I knew it. You're the tekkaman that I saw earlier."

Heero said nothing, merely raising his gun.

"Let me guess. You were sent by the colonies to fight against OZ, correct?"

"........."

"Seems like we're both on the same side, eh Heero?"

Heero narrowed his eyes, but slowly he lowered his gun and put it away. Duo continued to grin.

"Hey, you know. I bet those other three are tekkamen too, don't you think?"

Heero didn't reply and just walked away. Duo shrugged to himself and left as well. But both of them were unaware of the pair of eyes that were watching them. A pair of eyes accompanied...by orange hair.

_________________

As the youngsters continue their missions, their identities become even closer to being discovered. During another appearance by a gundam, Quatre is forced into a position between keeping his identity secret and saving a friend. Next on Gundam Tekkaman: Closing In.