Chapter 5: Worries

As the pilots slept aboard the Archangel in the Cosmic Era universe, the people they left behind in the After Colony universe were having a much harder time sleeping.

The chaos that had ensued after it was leaked that the Gundam pilots had suddenly disappeared would have shocked those that were unfamiliar with their legacy. However, there was not a single person within the Earth Sphere who was not familiar with the young men who were constantly being branded as traitors and enemies of the ruling faction or heroes and the saviours of the Earth Sphere during the unsettled times known as the Eve Wars.

Within hours of the leaked information reaching the media, worried whispers mingled with conspiracy theories to create strange and unsettling rumours that made the truth seem like a more sane explanation when compared to those rumours.

Friends and family of the missing pilots were at a loss when they were formally notified. Former allies and enemies alike reacted with a stunned silence. Anyone who had personally encountered the young men, on the battlefield or off of it, quickly went through all the emotions associated with the situation they were facing: shock, denial, anger, and eventually sadness.

Questions were raised, but no answers could be given, creating a slight panic within the ESUN's ranks.

It was like this the entire day, and many knew it would only get worse, especially for the president of the ESUN, simply because the president was always the first to be blamed for situations that had gone terribly wrong…

In her temporary office at the colony, Relena stared at the radar footage with glazed eyes. They had recently identified the Deathscythe Hell as the last signal the radar had sight of before both it and the still unidentified signal vanished.

A knock at the door jolted her back into focus, forcing her to shut off the footage. She had already been scolded by her assistants once before when they caught her looking at it for what may have been the hundredth time.

"Come in." She said, shaking her head quickly to try and clear the haze of half-sleep.

All traces of sleep vanished when her older brother walked in. His long, white-blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail, something he only did when he had been dealing with desk work.

"Milliardo! I wasn't expecting you…" She trailed off as she caught sight of the dark look on his face, which caused her to lean back in her chair as he approached the desk.

Despite being his superior, Relena was always afraid whenever he wore that expression, simply because it meant that she was in serious trouble with him. She was surprised when his expression softened to one of concern.

"Are you all right?"

"I look that bad, do I?" She asked with an exhausted chuckle as her eyes caught sight of the time.

A moan escaped her as the clock revealed to her that it was close to midnight. "I'm fine; I guess I'm just tired. Is everyone else here too?"

He nodded as he walked around her desk and knelt before her, resting a hand on hers. "You and Quatre really are the same: you always blame yourselves for things beyond your control."

She blushed in a mixture of shame and embarrassment. "You heard about that, did you?" She had been told that during the time she was unconscious, she kept muttering about how the disappearance of the Gundam pilots was here fault.

"Yes I did…" He sighed, shaking his head. "I saw the radar footage; it looks as though they went to examine the anomaly of their own accord. It was not your fault. If it hadn't been them, it could have been a shuttle of civilians. Whatever has happened to them, they're safe. I assure you of that. They are skilled fighters and they have their Gundams should they be in any danger. You know that."

Relena sighed and nodded. "I know but…"

"Don't make me get Noin in here. Go try and get some rest. You have a duty to the people of the Earth Sphere you must perform, and you can't do it exhausted."

She shook her head. "You and the rest of the Defence Council keep sticking your noses where they don't belong. But thank you, Milliardo. I guess I should…" She said, standing.

Milliardo followed her out to make sure that she was indeed going to bed.

"What happened with the rest of today's meetings?" She asked in concern.

"They were postponed. Don't worry." He said, resting a hand on her shoulder as he steered her towards her room.

Milliardo stopped her before she entered her room. "Please, sleep well. Let us worry about them. They do fall under the Defence Council's responsibilities, after all. Not yours."

Relena nodded. "I'll try…" She wished him good night before entering her room.

Once he heard the soft click of her lock, Milliardo walked away.

Colonel Lucrezia Noin stood waiting for him down the hall.

"Did you do what I asked?" He asked her. She chuckled and nodded.

"Yes. I disabled all of the electronic devices in her room. She won't be able to sit up and stare at that radar footage, so she'll be forced to sleep."

"Good… thank you."

"Hey, you're not the only one who's worried about her! She thinks because she's the president of the ESUN that she has to do everything by herself." Noin shook her head.

"I know… unfortunately, so do the people and her opposition within the ESUN…" He sighed. "What did your investigation find?" He asked as he removed the tie from his hair, knowing there was no more desk work waiting for him until the next day.

"Nothing."

He frowned down at her. "Nothing at all?"

Noin could only shake her head. "I would have been happy if we found a sliver of Gundanium plating, or even a single bolt, but there was nothing. Whatever happened, there's no evidence of it anywhere."

"So we're back at square one…" Milliardo growled as they entered a conference room, where General Une and Major Sally Po were waiting for them.

"Have the researchers been able to figure anything out?" He asked, looking at Sally.

She shook her head. "They're at a loss just as much as we are. They say there are a few possible theories, but they dismissed them because the researchers say those theories are insane and impossible to happen."

"I believe we're beyond the realm of sane and possible considering five large machines simply vanished without explanation." Milliardo growled in frustration.

Une made a motion with her hand to try and calm him down. "Getting angry or irritated won't help our situation in the least. You know that better than anyone, Milliardo."

Milliardo nodded as he leaned against the wall. "I know… it's just hard to see her like that…" He said, looking at the door.

Noin put a comforting hand on his shoulder quickly before taking her seat beside Sally.

"Anyways, I won't keep you for very much longer. I know it's late and we have a lot to do tomorrow. I just wanted to ask how the scientists who created the new Gundams are holding up." Milliardo said, glancing at Une.

Une rubbed her temples in irritation before answering. "Not well at all. As soon as I went to check on them, they barraged me with the same questions we've been receiving from the public all day. They're taking the loss of their precious creations very hard and they're blaming us for putting them in the hands of those… 'Insane, reckless, ungrateful, suicidal…' well… you get the picture." She said flatly.

Milliardo understood and knew that those were probably kinder words than what the scientists had actually used to describe the pilots. "They never did like us choosing them again. They were worried about another-"

Noin chuckled. "Another incident like with the Taurus shipments, when Heero self destructed apparently without hesitation. Not to mention destroying the Wing Zero in the process of saving Relena's life."

"Heero does seem to be the one they worry about the most…" Sally mused.

"Can you blame them? His track record for keeping his Gundam in one piece is the worst of the pilots; even Duo isn't as reckless as he is." Noin said with a chuckle.

The amusement was short lived however, when the realization that they would probably never see the five men that so strongly influenced their lives ever again hit them hard.

"We're also investigating how their disappearance was leaked. That's given potential terrorists a card in their favour, so finding that leak falls into our jurisdiction." Sally informed him.

He nodded in agreement with the decision. "This meeting is dismissed… everyone, return to your rooms and try to rest. We'll have a lot to deal with until this matter is finally resolved, for better or worse."

The others nodded and stood, saluting Milliardo as they left.

Noin was the last to leave, waiting for him to shut the door. "What do you think the outcome will be?" She asked as they walked down the hall.

"I don't know… they have always been a sort of X-factor… you never know what will happen when it involves them…"

Almost as soon as Relena tried to turn the computer on in her room, she knew what Milliardo had done behind her back. She also knew the cameras in the hall were trained on her room, so she couldn't sneak away.

Instead, she resigned herself to lying on her bed, thinking about what could be happening to her closest friends and most trusted allies. Her thoughts occupied her mind so much that she wasn't aware of when they turned from thoughts into dreams and nightmares as sleep took over.

One particular nightmare showed two shadowy mobile suits battling before the one exploded, destroying both mobile suits. She jolted awake and sat up, breathing heavily in fear. The one mobile suit could have passed for the Wing Zero because of how frantic and shadowed the suit's appearance was. She shuddered at the memory of it as she climbed out of bed and walked over to her window with her arms folded beneath her breasts. She stared up at the sliver of the moon, desperately wishing the Gundam pilots would return.

"Wherever you guys are… please come home soon…" Her mind ran through several key memories she had of the pilots, the last memory that flashed in her mind was her seventeenth birthday.

After the fiasco that had been the official party, thanks to a terrorist group, the pilots had held her an impromptu secret party. It had been the most fun she had ever had, before or after that day. They were the only people she ever felt comfortable enough with to act like her real self and enjoy life, but now they were gone.

She wanted to curse and scream in frustration and anger, but instead she went back to bed and lay down, knowing the Defence Council would give her trouble in the morning if she didn't look rested.

She could only stare at the ceiling for what felt like ages before sleep finally decided to take over. Much to her delight, there were no dreams this time.

Author's Notes: Sorry for the break from the main story, but what's happening in the A.C. Universe is just as important as what's happening in the C.E. Universe. It begins to set things up for the sequel as the mini-story from the A.C. Universe progresses.

Author's Replies: None to speak of! Sorry if I didn't send you a reply, but I've been busy. Please keep reading Winged Destiny version 3!