Chapter 8: Dissention within the Ranks

Quatre sighed in exhaustion as the Gundams stood amidst the debris of many BuCUEs that were littered around the battlefield.

"What's the score? I got about ten of them." Trowa said as the Heavyarms ran a systems check to ensure no damage was sustained in the battle.

"I only managed to get about five of them." Quatre said. He was torn between being amused and wondering whether they needed a mental institution for the twisted game they had created.

"I managed to get fifteen." Duo said, frowning over at the Altron and the Wing Zero as he wondered how many they got each.

"Twenty five." Wufei said casually.

"He must have cheated…" Duo muttered under his breath. Because the Altron was a mid-ranged weapon, it definitely had an advantage. Since the other Gundams were short-ranged or long ranged with limits because of ammunition, they were at a serious disadvantage in their game.

"…Forty."

"Now I know he cheated…" Duo said as he glanced at the Wing Zero, which had been picking off the fleeing BuCUEs from the air as they tried to retreat.

"Why does it not surprise me that Heero is the winner?" Trowa asked with a tone of amusement.

"Hey kid, how many did you get?" Duo asked Kira as the Deathscythe Hell turned towards the Strike.

Kira had been listening to their conversation and was slightly disturbed by how lightly they seemed to take killing the people who had been piloting the suits they so mercilessly destroyed.

"I… usually don't keep track of something like that…" Kira said warily.

Trowa frowned as he caught the tone of Kira's voice. "Listen kid; don't get the wrong idea about us. We only did this so-called 'game' so we could all make it out of this battle alive. We haven't been on a field of battle in roughly four years. If we were rusty, this would have proven it, but no matter what condition we were in: we couldn't allow ourselves to die here." Trowa explained coolly. He realized that his emotional detachment to the world, that he thought he had gotten rid of, had begun to manifest itself again.

I see… so I'm protecting myself again… I wonder if the others will begin to revert back to their old selves too…

He thought as a cold, amused smile appeared on his face.

"Are you guys afraid of death?" Kira asked in shock. He didn't expect them to be afraid of something they seemed to deal out so easily.

Laughter suddenly broke out from the pilots, causing him to wonder if he said something wrong.

"Sorry kid, we lost that fear when we became what we are today. Sacrifice is an unwritten part of the job description. If you need examples, you're staring right at them: Heero self destructed one of his Gundams while he was still on it and, as you know now, Duo is the self-proclaimed God of Death. No, kid… we're not afraid of Death… we're just afraid of dying here, where nobody we care for would know… So I guess you could say we're more frightened of the prospect of leaving our friends and family with the torment of wondering whether we're dead or alive." Trowa replied. The others remained silent for a moment.

"If somebody threatens our lives, we will not hesitate to bring them down. Don't forget that… we absolutely refuse to die here." Heero warned, causing Kira to go slightly pale.

It was apparent that the warning was meant for him and the crew of the Archangel.

"All right, let's head back." Quatre said with a business-like tone as the Sandrock turned back towards the Archangel.

A few moments passed before the others followed him.

After their reckless actions in the battle against ZAFT, the pilots of the Gundams were ordered to remain aboard the Archangel for a week.

They obeyed the order with no complaint, deciding to use the time to perfect some of the problems they had noticed during the battle instead.

During that week, the Archangel quickly found some new allies in the form of a group of rebels who had been fighting against ZAFT's rule of the area.

However, something else had been building while the Archangel was building up its allied forces… A strange and unexplainable tension had started to form aboard the Archangel. While most of the pilots managed to remain friendly enough, Heero and Wufei began to grow cold and distant towards the crew, who were having their own troubles after an incident occurred between Flay, Sai and Kira.

The pilots quickly became silent observers of the situation, choosing to remain neutral and stay out of their personal business.

Duo sat in a chair in the Archangel's lounge, his arm rested on the knee that he had pulled up near his chest as he watched Flay and Kira walk past. "Any bets on what the real reason for her sudden change in attitude is?" He asked grimly.

Trowa and Quatre frowned at the doorway.

"She's using him. It's easy to see that. It's just a matter of why she's doing it." Trowa said worriedly.

"I've heard her say it herself: she hates Co-ordinators. Maybe she blames Kira for that incident that happened in space, so she's trying to use his feelings for her against him in hopes that he'll get killed in battle…" Everyone stared over at the corner in surprise. Heero had been there, apparently asleep, but he was staring at them now with a frown.

"That would make sense… he'd be taking his fellow Co-ordinators with him, and nobody would be on the hook for murder." Wufei said as he closed his eyes.

"If that's true… then that girl is one sick chick…" Duo said weakly.

"However, we don't know her reasons for certain, so we can't confront her about them even if they are as ill-intentioned as Heero suggests." Trowa said calmly, however he too was disturbed by Heero's suggestion.

"What about going after him?" Quatre asked worriedly.

"Forget it. He's blinded by her. He wouldn't be able to see her for what she really is even if she was holding a gun to his head." Wufei said dismissively.

"Damn kid should know better… being what he is and the situation they're in… he shouldn't get close to anyone, even if they're on his side. He should be especially wary of somebody who has openly admitted to hating him and his people." Duo growled.

"You're one to talk." Trowa said with a hint of a sly smile.

Duo blushed slightly as he looked away, burying half of his face into his shoulder. "That's a completely different situation…" His voice was muffled by his shoulder, but the others couldn't help but smile in amusement at his embarrassment. Duo sighed. "Man… I miss her…"

The smiles quickly faded. "I think we all miss those closest to us…" Quatre said sadly.

Heero suddenly stood and began to leave.

"Where are you going?" Wufei asked as the others stared warily at him.

"To check on the Wing Zero…" He said before walking out into the hallway.

"Duo, Trowa, tail him." Quatre tensely ordered.

Duo and Trowa glanced at each other before nodding and leaving.

"So, you think he's going to do something stupid, hmm?" Wufei asked.

Quatre nodded. "I sincerely hope not… but we can't take a risk. He's the most likely to confront Kira or her…" His expression grew grim as he watched the empty doorway.

Kira was walking around a part of the ship that was rarely manned because it was deemed unnecessary with the limited crew they had to work with. He liked the quiet this part of the ship offered, it allowed him to have some alone time to think. He froze when he realized he wasn't alone, turning to see Heero standing at the other end of the hallway.

"What are you doing here?" Kira asked him warily as the older man approached.

"I came to talk." Heero said coolly.

Kira tensed at his tone, but Heero removed his hands from his pockets, showing that his only weapon was the gun tightly secured in the holster on his leg.

Kira relaxed, but only slightly. Something about the older pilot always made him feel like he was going to be shot in the back if he took his eyes off of him, even if it was only for a second. "What do you want to talk about?"

"That Flay Allster girl… you need to wake up and realize that she's using you."

Kira's eyes narrowed as Heero stopped within physical striking distance. "Why don't you and your friends stay out of my business?"

"Because, sadly we seem to have taken an interest in you for your piloting skills, so we're trying to save you from your stupidity." Heero snapped icily.

Kira's hands turned into fists, but he kept them at his side. "Why would you care? You don't know the hell I've been through! She's the only one who understands what I'm going through!"

That was apparently the last straw for Heero. Suddenly, he grabbed Kira by the throat and slammed the younger pilot roughly into the wall, knocking the wind out of him. "You're the one who doesn't know. Remember: we're pilots too. We know exactly what you're going through." He growled.

Kira flinched away from the dangerous glint in his eyes.

"Despite what she's leading you to think, she doesn't. We know that all too well. What we don't know is why she's using you, but it's obvious that's exactly what she's doing. Wake up you stupid kid before she gets you killed."

Kira kicked Heero in the stomach, forcing the older pilot to back off before another kick to the chest sent him hard into the opposite wall.

Heero slid down the wall with a thick trail of blood following his descent, causing Kira to pale in shock at what he had done.

As he went to check to see if Heero was all right, Heero's fist made contact with Kira's face, forcing him back.

Kira held his broken nose gingerly as the older pilot stood and glared at him. Kira was suddenly very fearful for his life as he stared into Heero's emotionless eyes. Kira ducked under another fist, only to be knocked back by a knee to the chin. He got his focus back just in time to grab Heero's leg as it aimed a kick to his head.

Heero's eyes narrowed as Kira removed one of his hands with the intention of snapping the older pilot's knee. With speed only seen in experienced hand-to-hand fighters, Heero grabbed the handrail behind him and used his free leg to strike Kira in the side, forcing him to let go of Heero's other leg.

Both fighters dropped to the floor heavily, glaring at each other.

Kira was getting tired, having never been in a fight like this before, while Heero seemed like he could keep going despite the wound to his head.

Both fighters charged each other, getting locked together as they blocked each other's attacks.

Kira felt the need to shake his head to clear it as the blood flowing from his nose began to make him feel light headed, but he resisted. He knew that one false move would spell the end for him against the more experienced fighter, especially since he didn't seem to be affected by his head wound at all.

Hurried footsteps revealed Duo and Trowa, who slid to stop quickly before running towards them.

Duo grabbed Heero at the same time Trowa grabbed Kira, forcing the two apart and pinning them against opposite walls to prevent them from trying to escape.

"Why aren't we surprised by this?" Duo growled as he struggled against Heero, actually slipping a few inches before he could shift to a better stance.

"It's probably because these two seemed to have it in for each other ever since we set foot on this ship." Trowa growled as he too had to shift to a stronger stance as Kira struggled against him.

More hurried footsteps revealed Quatre, Wufei and several members of the Archangel crew including Murrue, Mwu and Natarle who looked furious by the two pilots' behaviours.

Before any of them could reprimand the two fighters, Heero's eyes rolled into his head and he slumped into Duo's arms.

"Heero!" Quatre yelled worriedly as Duo stared at the wound in horror.

"That's not good… sorry about this!" He said quickly, grabbing Murrue's sleeve and forcefully ripped it from her uniform.

As he applied pressure to the wound, Quatre asked her to lead the way to the medical unit.

"Damnit Heero… you stubborn jackass…" Duo growled as Wufei helped him tie the sleeve around Heero's head to slow the bleeding before setting Heero's unconscious form on Duo's back.

"You too, Kira." Mwu snapped as Murrue lead the way.

Kira was pale from the blood loss, but he nodded slowly and followed, using the method Trowa was teaching him to stem the blood flow.

"That was one hell of a blow…" Wufei commented as he stared at Heero's blood-soaked back.

"How long after you started fighting did he receive that?" Trowa questioned Kira grimly.

"Not too long after… but he didn't seem affected by it at all…" Kira said worriedly.

"That's Heero for you. He'll run around on a broken leg for days before getting it looked after." Quatre said, shaking his head as they trotted towards the infirmary.

"By the way kid, just a warning… be thankful it was just a broken nose and maybe a few other minor wounds. Heero was obviously holding back."

Kira frowned. "I was too… except for the kick that gave him that wound…"

The other pilots looked at each other in concern. If they had gone all out, they could have killed each other before anyone could arrive to stop them…

Update: Please read my profile for the reasons as to why there is no new chapter this week. I update my profile every week with the status on my various projects, so please take the time to actually read it.

Author's Notes: Hooray for new content! This is the chapter that was cut in the first two editions of this story (for obvious reasons), but it also includes the scene which started this whole saga in the first place. The scene in which Heero initally slams Kira into the wall was basically the only scene that I had to work with when I thought "Holy crap! That'd be an awesome idea!" and began writing the first edition of Winged Destiny. It appeared to me randomly in a dream and it has stuck with me all this time. I felt kinda sad in the first two editions because I was forced to cut it simply because I wasn't comfortable with human vs. human fighting. Hell, back then, it was even hard for me to do mobile suit vs. mobile suit combat. I'm still trying to get comfortable with it, but I was comfortable enough this time to include the infamous "scene that started it all".

Before I see any complaints in the reviews, I did a lot of studying to make sure the fight was mostly accurate. I know somebody in the military trained in hand-to-hand, and asked them about the last move Heero pulled. It is entirely possible to do that if you have the level of skill Heero has shown to have on multiple occasions. And yes, even minor headwounds like the one Heero received can bleed profusely (my brother had one when he was younger, so I know this from personal experience), so even though it was basically just a gash, it bled a lot. Even the 'mighty' Heero Yuy can't hold out too long from a head wound.

Sorry the fight was so short, but it wouldn't have lasted long even if they hadn't shown up. I hope you enjoyed it though!