Sorry again for the long wait. My computer crashed and I lost everything I worked on and had to start over --;;; Anyway, onto a new song! Enjoy

Zombie - Part 1

In your head, in your head they are fighting,
With their tanks and their bombs,
And their bombs and their guns.
In your head, in your head, they are crying…
- Zombie – The Cranberries

Wufei

Duo and Wufei had split up after the battle. It was just as well. Wufei was headed for home, and he was glad he would be seeing his clan and family without the burden of visitors. Besides, there had been a very strange dynamic between Duo and Heero that was good to get away from. Much better to return to the comfort of the familiar.

Wufei's Gundam had taken some light damage during the battle, but there would be lots of work to be done as the scientists hadn't completed all of the upgrades by the time he escaped. Luckily, there were many capable men on L5 who would be able to help him. Thanks to the blueprints Trowa had given them, Wufei would have no trouble overseeing Nataku's completion.

As he approached colony 0200 of the L5 cluster, Wufei found his thoughts turning to the people he had left behind. He tried not to think of them too often, not to let them distract him from his objectives, but he couldn't help but think of them sometimes. Especially little Chyou. As much as he tried, she was often on his mind.

"This is colony 0200. Please confirm your identity," came a male voice over the comm unit.

"Chang Wufei," he replied. "Requesting permission to dock."

"Permission granted. Proceed to dock B4."

"Roger that."

Wufei steered his Gundam toward the designated docking point, bringing it in carefully. It wouldn't do to cause further damage to his suit, and embarrass himself besides. Once he was inside, the airlock shut behind him and oxygen began filtering into the space. A red light turned to green, and Wufei began unbuckling himself, then exited the cockpit.

He was greeted by two men, both of whom he recognized as members of his clan. This was no surprise, as virtually all residents of this colony belonged to the Long clan, though not all were people he would recognize.

"Chang," one of them said to him, nodding. He didn't remember the man's name, so he just nodded in return.

"Please contact Master Long and inform him of my arrival," Wufei requested.

"It's already been done. He instructed us to move your Gundam to the warehouse, pending your approval, and is on his way to meet you."

"Very good," Wufei replied. "Please do so at once."

"Right," the man affirmed, then began issuing instructions to the other man there, who hurried to follow them.

Wufei looked around, locating the exit so he could leave the docking bay. He exited onto a wide boulevard, lined with trees and benches every few yards. Sitting to receive Master Long would be rude, so Wufei went to stand next to one of the benches and wait. It wasn't long before a car pulled up in front of him. The driver came around to the passenger side and opened the door for a man stooped from age. Wufei bowed, according his grandfather-in-law the proper respect, then straightened and waited.

"Chang Wufei," Master Long intoned. "Much has happened since you last left us."

"Master Long," Wufei replied. "I only hope that you approve of my actions."

"Craving approval, as always," the old man replied. "Do you approve of your actions? That is the more important question."

Taken aback, Wufei stammered his reply. "I… don't know, Master Long."

"Then it is good you have returned. Come, let us return to my home. Everyone is anxious to see you." With that, Master Long turned back to the car. Wufei waited until the old man was seated, then shut his door and went around to the other side of the car to sit. The driver returned to his own seat and started the car.

Not for the first time, Wufei thought of the others that he had left behind when he went to earth. Though it had been a relatively short time since he'd left, he wondered how much little Chyou had changed. She always seemed to grow so fast, he could hardly keep track.

The drive to the Long residence was short. Wufei got out of the car and preempted the driver by going around to open Master Long's door.

"Thank you, Wufei," the old man said.

Wufei nodded in acknowledgement, closing the door behind him.

"We'd best not keep them waiting. Little Chyou is probably frantic by now," Master Long said with amusement.

Wufei couldn't help but smile as he followed Master Long toward the house. Chyou had no doubt gone wild the moment she was informed of Wufei's return. For reasons he could not fathom, the little girl was absolutely enamored of him. She had sulked for weeks when she found out Wufei would be leaving them. Hopefully she had gotten over it without too much fuss. The girl could throw a temper tantrum and a half when the mood struck, and he wouldn't wish that on anyone.

Reaching the steps leading up to the residence, Wufei looked up to see the welcoming party. It seemed it was being confined to immediate family only. A man and woman stood next to each other, and in the mother's arms was the most amazing little girl Wufei had ever known.

"Unca Wu! Unca Wu!" she shouted gleefully, hands stretching desperately as if to bridge the gap between them. It was all Wufei could do not to run up the steps and pull her into his arms. As it was, he couldn't help the wide grin suddenly plastered across his face. The man and woman smiled in return.

As Master Long reached the top of the steps, he turned to Wufei.


"Welcome home, Wufei," he said.

"Yes, welcome home," repeated the young man.

"Sun." Wufei greeted the brother of his late wife with a small bow. "I'm glad you are well." Sun just nodded, smiling.

"I'm so glad you've come home safely!" said the young woman.

"Didn't I promise that I would, Lian?" Wufei replied, trying hard not to let his gaze drift to Chyou just yet. It would be rude to ignore his brother and sister-in-law after such an absense.

"Of course you did," Lian replied. "But I couldn't help worrying."

"Unca Wu! Unca Wu!" Chyou insisted, straining to reach him still.

Lian laughed, then handed the little girl to Wufei, who took her gladly.

"I can't believe how much you've grown, little Chyou," Wufei said, smiling at the girl in his arms, who immediately threw her arms around his neck.

"I missed you Unca Wu! Never leave again!" Chyou demanded.

"Chyou! Be respectful of your elders!" Lian chided.

"Sorry…" Chyou said contritely.

Wufei just smiled. "I missed you too," he said, planting a kiss on the top of her head before handing her back to her mother.

"Let's go inside so we can sit down. These old bones need to rest," said Master Long.

"Of course," Wufei replied. They all followed the old man in. Sitting down, Wufei experienced a profound sense of relief. It was good to be among family again. It was good to be home.

But you see, it's not me, it's not my family.
In your head, in your head they are fighting,
With their tanks and their bombs,
And their bombs and their guns.
In your head, in your head, they are crying…
- Zombie – The Cranberries

Heero

"It's a dispute within the OZ organization," Quatre was saying. "Participating in their fight only makes you another target!"

They hadn't been back on earth for long before they met up with some soldiers of the Treize Faction. Quatre hadn't really noticed at first, still in shock after dealing with the ZERO system and grieving over Trowa. Heero had had his own run in with ZERO, and had done his best to help Quatre through the fallout. He seemed to have recovered now, though.

"A target?" Heero replied. "That's fine with me. Execution orders have been issued for us Gundam pilots. This way I can let Romefeller know that I'm still alive. It's my way of retaliating."

Recognizing a fight he wasn't going to win, Quatre threw up his hands and walked away, towards another part of the camp. They were somewhere in the forests of Europe, hunkering down after a battle in which the Treize faction had incurred heavy losses. Not to be demoralized, they were simply waiting to meet up with another division before launching yet another attack.

Heero had decided to help them fight. As a Gundam pilot, he would be taking point position in the least-damaged Leo they had. He understood that Quatre was worried about him, but he had to do what he thought was right. The Treize faction might have been part of OZ at one point, but they had risen up against the mobile dolls, and that was a cause he could fight for. Besides, what else could he do? He had no idea where his Gundam was, so this seemed like the most logical approach for the time being.

"Red?" Heero heard the Captain calling his code name.

"Sir," he replied, turning toward the approaching man.

"The other company will be here by nightfall. We're launching an attack at dawn. I need you in the tent to discuss strategy. Come with me."

"Sir," Heero repeated, nodding before following the man to their makeshift command tent. Tattered maps were strewn over the lone table in the camp, and a number of the other officers had already assembled.

"Okay, let's go over our plans," the Captain began. "We'll trick the enemy's advance guard by first attacking with our main troops, here," he said, pointing to the outskirts of a nearby town on the map. "Our backup forces will come from the side, enter the town and attack enemy headquarters. Then the mobile forces will join our main troops, expel the enemy troops, and take over the town. Our mobile force leader will be Red One. You're in charge. Can you handle it?" the Captain asked, turning to Heero.

"Course I can. I am a Gundam pilot after all."

"Right," the Captain replied. "I'll be leading the main force, then. Everyone understand?"

"Yes, sir!" the soldiers chorused.

"Good. Let's get some chow and some sleep. We'll be waking at 0300 hours to move out by 0400."

"Sir!" the soldiers replied again. Heero watched as they dispersed, each to their own dinner duties, and wondered which ones would be dying tomorrow.

Quatre had left soon after the strategic meeting, heading for the town that would soon be the locus of a battle. He wanted to be sure the townspeople were evacuated, no doubt.

Now, as Heero engaged the enemy troops, he was glad Quatre had gone on ahead. He would prevent civilian casualties, and civilian casualties were unacceptable.

The Captain's plan was working well. OZ's troops had been caught totally unprepared by Heero and the rest of the mobile force.

"We'll finish them off before their backup troops arrive," Heero said to the rest of his squadron. The few tanks and Leo's that were left of OZ's defending forces were retreating into the town now.

Heero and his squad followed. Taking aim with his beam rifle, he took out another of OZ's Leos. It collapsed onto a building, completely destroying the second story. Immediately, people began pouring out of the bottom floor.

"Didn't they tell the civilians to evacuate?!" Heero demanded.

Just then, a comm link with the Captain opened up. "Red One! What's your present situation?! Have you destroyed headquarters?"

"Negative. I'm altering the mission. I'm defending this position!" Heero replied.

"What?! What are you saying?"

"This is the Gundam pilot calling," Heero said on an open link to the whole Treize Faction. "OZ failed to evacuate the civilians from the town. I will proceed to destroy enemy mobile troops at this position. Do what you can to divert conflict from the town proper so that the civilians can escape!"

"Roger, that," came a chorus of replies.

"What are you doing, Red One?!" responded the Captain, incredulous. "Proceed along mission parameters at once! Destroy the headquarters!"

Heero ignored him, instead focusing on defending himself. The OZ forces seemed to be concentrating their firepower on him. Had they intercepted his last transmission?

Shooting down some oncoming missiles, Heero stepped aside as more smashed into the building behind him. He returned fire, destroying the missile silo and a tank. Looking behind him, he could still see people running for their lives amidst the battle.

"Red One! Come in Red One! Proceed with the mission immediately!" the Captain continued.

"Our mission here has completely failed," Heero replied. "Too many casualties. We'll retreat for now."

Immediately, the other members of the mobile force began retreating into the fields around the town.

"What?! What happened, Red One?! What's wrong? What's going on there?! Come in, Red One?!"

"OZ failed to evacuate the civilians. I refuse to continue at the expense of innocent lives. We'll defeat the OZ forces in the surrounding area and then retreat."

"But…!!"

"No," Heero replied. "If you want me on your side, then you'll follow me in this. We retreat."

"Alright…" the Captain responded unhappily. "But I don't like it. You won't be leading a squad next time if you plan to go against orders!"

"Fine. Let's get out of here before the backup troops arrive."

"Roger," replied the Captain.

They had just finished taking out the Leos surrounding the town when the sensors in his cockpit started going crazy. Turning, Heero saw a phalanx of mobile suits approaching from the town.

"The new models. It'll be tought with these Leo's. Get ready everyone!" Heero called.

The Leo's opened fire, but the Virgo's planet defensor shields deflected all of the damage. Then, the Virgo's fired back. All around Heero Leo's fell. The remaining Treize faction soldiers opened fire again, only to be thwarted again by the shields.

Heero wrenched the controls suddenly to the side, trying to avoid the Virgo's return fire. Too slow. His left shoulder was hit. As the cockpit shook, metal screeched and the left arm of his suit fell completely off. Heero looked around to see only a few Leo's left standing.

"I'll fight through this. It's my way of retaliating!" Heero said to himself as another volley from the Virgos cut down the remaining Leo's beside himself. "I'm fighting through this longer than anyone!"

With effort, he raised the mecha's right arm and began to fire. No use. There was no getting past those shields. Immediately, the Virgo's fired back and he was hit again.

"Ahhh!" The suit fell backwards, and Heero's head whipped forward, then cracked against the seat behind as it landed. Grunting, he brought the suit to it's knees, then upright again.

"I'm fighting through this longer than anyone on Earth!" he cried.

Suddenly, an Aries suit burst through the line of Virgo's, destroying one of them. It landed just in front of him.

"Heero, are you alright?!" Quatre called. Heero groaned. "Heero, we can't die yet! Listen to me! We have to protect the Sanc Kingdom!"

"What? The Sanc Kingdom?" Heero replied as he dodged more fire from the Virgos. "Who, us?!"

"That's right!" Quatre insisted. "That's the job we must do here on earth! ..What?"

There was a blip on Heero's sensors as a plane flew directly overhead, dropping a large object.

"Hey, that's the beam cannon from your Gundam!" Quatre cried.

"You're Gundam pilots so I'm sure you know how to use that," a female voice issued over the comm unit. "I'll back you up while you get out of there."

"Roger that," Heero replied as the plane opened fire on the Virgos. Quatre picked up the cannon in his Aries and aimed at the Virgos. The cannon charged, then fired an immense beam that broke through the Virgo's shields, decimating their forces. A few more shots and they were completely destroyed.

The plane doubled back and landed on the rough terrain near them.

"This is Lucrezia Noin of the Sanc Kingdom. I've come to bring you to the Sanc Kingdom and Relena Peacecraft. Will you come with me?"

"Of course!" Quatre replied. "Thank you for your aid! I don't know what we would have done without it!"

"No problem," Noin responded.

Heero clenched his teeth. Relena Peacecraft of the Sanc Kingdom. The selfsame girl who had plagued him at the boarding schools, months ago. But if Noin had Wing Gundam's beam cannon, that probably meant she had the Gundam too. He could go with them to retrieve Wing, then leave.

"Yes, thank you," Heero said as he unbuckled his straps. He pulled out the dismounting cable and jumped down, grunting as he hit the ground. Quatre, who had already left his suit, rushed over to him.

"Are you alright, Heero?" he asked, clearly concerned.

"Fine," Heero replied. "You came just in time. So did she."

"I'll say! This is just perfect. We needed to go to the Sanc Kingdom anyway! We must protect it so that the ideals of Total Pacifism can spread!" Quatre insisted.

"Hn," Heero replied noncommittally. No need to tell Quatre now that he'd be leaving immediately. He had no intention of spending any more time than necessary with that naïve girl who now styled herself the ruler of a country. He had far more important things to do.

tbc

For anyone who's curious, here are the meanings of the names of the new characters:

Sun - bending or decreasing

Lian - yielding willow

Chyou - Autumn

Hope you liked it! Please let me know what you think