Disclaimer: Same as always. If you've been keeping up this far, you know it already.

Chap. 36

Forest...

Within the trees, several Sol-Tekkas were blazing in battle with each other. As energy fire and smoke issued out, one group, the Trieze Faction, seemed to be beating the other, mainly due to a flash of light that continued to rip through the trees and annihilate the opposing Romefeller force.

"It's a tekkaman. A gundam!!!! AhhhHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

The cry of the soldier soon faded as his Sol-Tekka and he was stabbed through by the lancer sword of Tekkaman Wing. The battle now over, Heero reverted back into his human form, managing to keep his pants materialized. Looking over at the chaos he created, he simply turned around as a jeep came to pick him up. Jumping in, Heero wondered briefly about Quatre before dismissing it. Sometime ago, Heero and Quatre encountered a group of OZ soldiers from the Trieze Faction who wanted them to join them in fighting Romefeller. Heero agreed to it, saying that as a gundam, it was his duty to fight on. But Quatre was hesitant about it and finally declined. He stayed with Heero for some time until finally they parted ways. Heero now worked as a platoon leader in the group due to his powers as well as his expertise with Sol-Tekkas. He was leading one of the very people he had fought long ago. It would be a strange irony to most, but Heero didn't see it that way.

'Quatre has his own way to find. And I have mine.'

********

Sank Kingdom

Dorothy sat inside her room within the Peacecraft palace. The entire place was so white and pure. It's such a shame that it just didn't agree with her. But as these and other thoughts entered her mind, she checked her laptop computer. It displayed the recent activities of the battles around the world and in particular, the ones involving sightings of the gundams. According to the data, 01 and 04 were sighted not too far away from there. The gazed out her window and gave a dark, knowing smile.

'I bid you welcome to the warrior's paradise.'

************

Town, Unknown

In a small town near the battle site where Heero was, Quatre slowly walked into the town. He didn't much like leaving Heero by himself, but he knew Heero would be fine. It was him that had the problem. He was still unsure whether fighting was worth anything now. What would be the point? To help OZ defeat OZ? It was just too much for him to think about right now and merely needed some time to think. This as well as other things, like how did he get that awesome power he displayed in space? And where was it now? Quartre last remembered using it in space, before Blade defeated him and brought him to Earth. Before Trowa...

"Hey, stop that."

Quatre turned to see an elderly shopkeeper get pushed to the ground by some OZ soldiers. The man winced as the soldiers went off their way, laughing at him all the while. Quatre immediately ran to the man and helped him up.

"Are you alright, sir?"

The man nodded and smiled at Quatre's kindness, "Just fine, lad." He looked at the retreating soldiers and frowned, "Those soldiers think they own the world or something. I bet these problems never happen in the Sank Kingdom."

Quatre blinked, "Sank Kingdom?"

The old man looked at him strangely, "You never heard of it? Well, that's a bit of a surprise. The kingdom of peace ruled by Relena Peacecraft."

"Relena...Peacecraft?"

Now Quatre was thoroughly surprised. He hadn't heard or seen Relena since the time when she visited the Space Knights. When he was a Space Knight. But as far as he knew, she was the daughter of the vice foreign minister, not the peace-keeping ruler from long ago. When did she become Peacecraft?

"Yeah. Anyways, it's just a rumor I've heard about. But one can hope, right?"

Quatre took this into brief thought. Could that be what I'm searching for? Something to protect? Something to fight for? It all seemed to make sense now.

KaBoommmm!!!!

Both Quatre and the old man shot their head toward the direction of the explosion. Just outside of the town, several Sol-Tekkas were engaged in a fierce battle. As the two sides warred with each other, people began to flee away. Quatre continued to watch until his tekka-set shimmered. At the same moment, one of the Sol-Tekkas exploded, revealing itself to be Tekkaman Wing.

'Heero.'

Quatre looked on as Wing began to decimate the Romefeller Sol-Tekkas. However, as the battle progressed, a carrier flew overhead and out emerged the Virgo Sol-Tekka Dolls. They attacked with ruthless abandon, destroying many of the Trieze factions Sol-Tekkas and forcing Wing back. And with the disruptor crystals active, Wing was beginning to lose strength and gain damage.

Turning to the old man, Quatre pointed to the church where everyone else was taking refuge, "Sir, you better get away from here."

The man was more than happy to oblige, "Yes, yes, of course. See you around, sonny."

"And thank you." Quatre whispered as the man ran off. When everyone was out of sight, Quatre summoned forth his crystal.

"Tek-Setta!!!!"

**********

Sank Kingdom…

In one of the rooms within the palace, Relena sat in front of several students, each from different countries and governments. It was a small number, but Relena was glad. Her earlier meeting with Romefeller didn't go to well as the leaders smiled at her idea, but ignored it as well. And it was even harder with all the Sol-Tekkas that were guarding the area just outside. Looking back at the students, she smiled inwardly. 'I hope these girls are more responsive to peace than Romefeller was today.'

"Now class, let's begin with our first lesson." Relena started. "Why do people fight? In order to achieve peace, we must start with this basic question."

"I know why, Miss Relena."

The class shifted their attention to Dorothy, who was sitting in the near center of the classroom. Her smile was in a polite manner, but her eyes told a slightly different story.

"Go ahead, Miss Dorothy." she said, equally as polite.

Dorothy nodded and stood up before the class. "It's quite simple really. People fight because they like to."

"Why do you say that?"

Dorothy shrugged as though it was something that was common knowledge. "It is simply the basic desire of mankind to fight. Humanity will war with one another no matter what the cost."

Relena gave a slight frown, "Because of that, many innocent people have lost their lives."

"That's not important." she responded. She then turned around and her gaze arose upward in a dream-like fashion. She clasped her hands together, "It is the fighting itself that make wars so beautiful. To see the human spirit at its best, engaged in battle. That is what makes us human." Her gaze lowered, "Don't you agree, Miss Francious?"

Yumi, who was seated nearby, blinked at her name being called, "Excuse me?"

Dorothy's gaze locked onto the orange-haired girl, "As a knight, you are in constant battle. Doesn't a part of you feel the sheer thrill of the fight and battle?"

Yumi looked down slightly, "I don't know. I never thought of it that way. When I fight the Radham, it's more out of defending the Earth than enjoyment."

Dorothy shrugged, "Hmm, so you have a conflict. Fighting for peace. And what do you say about that, Miss Relena?"

"I say that Yumi and I have the same goal, but different methods." Relena answered, "That shows how much peace is really needed."

"I guess we all have our ways." Dorothy shot back.

Relena slowly stood from her seat, her gaze never wavering from Dorothy's. "Dorothy, there is nothing beautiful about wars. Especially with the bloodshed that is left afterward.

Dorothy gave a slight giggle, "Nevertheless, it serves a purpose. Much like your ideals of peace. Such ideas are needed to create new wars when the leader is assassinated.

Relena stayed silent as she saw what Dorothy was implying.  But she wanted her to finish.

"And this kingdom that you've so graciously built will soon become the center of our era's history."

Relena's gaze became solid, "Peace is not simply an ideal. It is what mankind truly seeks. Because of that, my ideas will continue whether I am alive or not."

Dorothy blinked in slight surprise, but quickly smiled and nodded. Both retook their seats and Dorothy examined her 'opponent.' It seemed that each time she saw Relena, the more she was surprised by her strength. 'But is it enough, Miss Relena?'

Meanwhile, Yumi pondered over Dorothy's words. It was true. Despite not being a violent person or even considered herself much of a fighter, she did feel something when she fought. Something...liberating.

************

Town...

'I will fight on.'

Those were Wing's thoughts as he continued his solo battle against the Virgo Sol-Tekka Dolls. Parts of his armor were singed and scorched and he was breathing raggedly. Yet he continued to charge at the soulless machines, giving them everything he had all the while keeping them away from the church. His troop had been demolished and the few remaining ones were forced to retreat. But Wing didn't care. 'I'll fight longer than anyone.' he thought as he charged straight at a Virgo and stabbed it through. The others fired on him and their comrade, blowing it up in front of Wing and hurling him to the ground. Using his lancer, he lifted himself up and stood before the church, ready to defend it.

'Even longer than Relena. Guuuuuuaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!'

Wing suddenly kneeled back to the ground and screamed in pain. He grabbed his head and his head crystal began flashing wildly. 'Noo....not....now...Exceeded....my.........limit.......guuuuuuaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!'

The Virgos gave no heed to his cries and continued to fire. A few of the beams hit the church, but before they could do any real damage, two glowing red curved blade soared through the air and sliced right into the two lead Virgos. Tekkaman Sandrock quickly swooped into battle as he flew over Wing. He flew low under the shots of the Virgos and picked up his lancers once again. Raising them upward, he slashed through the next two and backed away. He had to destroy them before the disruptors weakened him too badly. But before he could launch another attack, a loud howl came from Wing. Sandrock looked as Wing suddenly lunged into battle again. The Virgo fired upon him, but he didn't seem to slow down as he stabbed his lancer into the first Virgo. He growled and then pounced on the next one and the next one. Sandrock watched as Wing ripped them apart like a rabid dog. He was sustaining more injuries, but he didn't care.

'He's gone mad.'

Wing continued to fight and his armor became totally mangled by both the attacks and his own savagery until the last Virgo was destroyed. Wing stood in the midst of the chaos he had caused as Sandrock began to approach him slowly from behind.

"Heero? Are you..."

He didn't get a chance to finish as Wing sudden snarled and attacked him. Sandrock raised his lancer to defend and the two were locked in a fierce struggle. Sandrock continued to appeal to Wing, who was glaring at him through crimson eyes.

"Heero, it's me! You have to snap out of it!"

Wing growled again and drew back to attack. He stabbed forward with his lancer, but Sandrock deflected the blow. Not giving up though, Wing lashed his leg out and caught Sandrock in the side. Sandrock stumbled and Wing leapt upward and stabbed down. But Sandrock blocked again and the lancer was just inches away from him.

"Heero!!!!!"

Wing began to growl some more and he began shaking his head. His eyes began to flash colors and Wing backed off of Sandrock and cried again. His head in his hands, Wing grasped firmly and he continued to scream. Sandrock watched as Wing suddenly began to glow and the armor began to disappear. Heero had reverted back to his original form and then passed out on the ground. Sandrock moved to pick him up, but as he did, a hovercraft flew out from the sky and began to settle near them. Looking up, Sandrock waited for it to land. A hatch opened up and Sandrock looked at the person that had come.

Noin...

************

Sank Kingdom...

Just outside of the school, Hayato sat on the bench. His arms were stretched out and he was looking up into the sky. 'Man, I'm so bored.' He continued to sky gaze until his eyes shifted upward to see the Yumi descend from the palace. Hayato straightened up and turned his head to her.

"Hey Yumi. How was class?"

"It...was okay, I guess." she replied dejectedly.

"Something wrong?"

"Oh, no. It's nothing." she waved off as she took a seat beside him. Hayato began to stiffen a bit, but noticed her downward gaze.

"Hayato?"

"Hm?"

"Am I...Do you think I'm...a murderer?"

"No way!" he shot out. "You're the sweetest, kindest person I know."

He suddenly gulped after seeing that he went too far and shirked back down. But Yumi didn't seem to notice.

"But...I kill the Radham. And they have feelings. And..."

"And what?"

She seemed to curl in further to herself and then cried, "I think I enjoy it. But that's not right!"

Hayato looked at her worriedly. He wasn't exactly the type of guy to give advice on anything. And even if he was, he certainly didn't know how with Yumi. He began to look down as well.

"Yumi. I don't know how it is for you really. I'm not a tekkaman."

He looked up into the sky and thought to himself. 'Just be honest.'

"But I can tell you how it is when I fly Alpha. To have my own set of wings and to soar through the sky. It's really unbelievable. Even when I'm fighting, a part of me enjoys that. A tekkaman would probably have the same feelings, right?"

Yumi's mood didn't change, "I...guess. But can I honestly say that I'm not a murderer?"

"Yumi. You're not a murderer." Hayato replied. "You are a Space Knight."

**********

Cemetery...

Pushing past the creaking gates of the cemetery, Dead End slowly walked up to his usual place at the top of the hill where the cross tombstone stood with his name on it. It was the place he often went alone to. Once or twice, David would show up to talk, but he understood that this was Dead's private place. He felt more alive here than at the HQ. He continued past the tombstone and down the other side of the hill. Dead finally came to a stop at the side of a nearby pool of water. Slowly, he looked down at his reflection as the wind lightly brushed his hair and rippled the water. He gazed at himself for a short while and then turned and began to walk up the hill. But as he did, something caught his attention. A figure was just moving away from the top tombstone and disappearing over the other side. He couldn't see who it was from his distance, but he was able to see a tint of emerald hair.

'Who was that?'

But before those thoughts could turn into any kind of action, he was greeted by a small portal appearing just above his head. The black void exploded and revealed a group of Radham. The creatures shrieked as they focused in on Dead and flew in to attack. Dead blinked as he looked over to where the lone figure was, but it was already gone. Shaking his head, he unsheathed his Tekka-set knife from his back and shouted.

"Tek-Setta!!!!"

Using the powers of his dark tekka-set crystal, Dead shot off into the air and transformed. By the time he reached the Radham, he was completely transformed.

"Tekkaman Dead!!!"

The monstrous Radham instantly charged at the lone tekkaman, but Dead wasted no time as he flew into his crystal hawk form and ripped trough the Radham. The alien monster screeched as he shredded right through them, leaving nothing behind but charred remains. In one swoop, Dead had wiped out the entire group. As he looked over the damage, his tekka-set glistened. Snapping in attention, Dead searched around, but there was no one in sight. 'It...must be nothing.' he thought uncertainly before shooting off into the sky toward the base. But he had failed to notice the same figure from before had emerged from the shadows of a tree. A figure...who also bore a tekka-set on their forehead.

*********

Sank Kingdom...

A plane had just landed and was slowing down. The ramp came up and the two boys began to descend, with Noin behind them. However, Heero stopped after looking at who had come to greet them.

"Relena."

Relena simply smiled and rested her arms and head on the railing.

"We meet again, Heero."

--------------

Quatre and Heero are now situated in the Sank Kingdom, but Dorothy is well aware of the boys' identities and tries to force it. Meanwhile, a Radham attack calls the Knights to action, but before they could, David finds himself the target of another tekkaman. And as the Radham begins to descend on the Sank Kingdom, Yumi must fight alone. Next on Gundam Tekkaman: Ruthless Aggression.