Chapter 13: Parting of Ways
The Gundams landed heavily on an island some distance away from the battle that had commenced. Flashes could occasionally be seen, but no other sign of the fight was visible from that distance.
The pilots left their suits and stood around, watching it for a few moments.
"We should rest here for a while… We'll decide what to do in the morning…" Heero said as Duo tried and failed to hide a yawn.
"He's right. We'll be able to think better that way." Quatre said as Trowa climbed back into the Heavyarms and began throwing out blankets to the others, who caught them with ease.
"You stole these from our room, didn't you?" Duo asked as he recognized the blanket he was holding.
"Yes. I knew we'd end up camping out because there aren't any civilized areas around here, so I took them and hid them in the Heavyarms once they were cleaned."
"Man, we've been spoiled all these years. Do you really think we can camp out?" Duo asked as he worked his shoulders.
"We can sure as hell try. Come on." Wufei growled as he went over to the Altron and curled up between its legs, using the massive mobile suit as a make-shift shelter.
The others nodded in agreement and followed his lead, using their mobile suits as make-shift shelters just in case the weather changed while they were fast asleep.
"Well that wasn't too bad…" Duo said as they stretched the next morning. Looking out, there was no sign of the Archangel or the ZAFT pursuers.
"So what should we do?" Wufei asked as the others began packing up.
"We need to find an anomaly like the one that brought us here to take us home. It'll be hard, but we should try." Quatre said thoughtfully.
"We'll split up. It'll be much easier that way. Some of us should search here on Earth and the rest should search in space." Duo said.
"For once, Duo has a smart idea." Heero said sarcastically.
Duo shot a dark look at him. "If we all agree, how about the Heavyarms and Sandrock stay on Earth and the Altron, Wing Zero and Deathscythe Hell head to space? We all know that space will be harder territory to cover than the Earth is…"
"I've got no complaints." Trowa said with a shrug.
Quatre and Wufei nodded in agreement.
"All right… but how do we get to space? It's obviously not as easy as it is back in our universe…" Wufei asked in concern.
"I took care of that." Duo said as he produced a disc from his pocket. "I copied all the information we'll need onto this. I'll send you the information once we're ready to go."
"All right then, let's move out." Heero said as he climbed into the Wing Zero's cockpit.
"Hey! At least wait until the rest of us are ready!" Duo yelled at him as the others scrambled to their Gundams.
The roar of the activation sent a few sea birds flying as the three space-bound Gundams took off, following the Deathscythe Hell towards the nearest space port.
"See you, Quatre…" Trowa said as the Heavyarms made a wave to the Sandrock, which responded with a wave of its own.
"Take care, Trowa."
The Heavyarms' thrusters roared to life as it headed away from the island.
Once the Heavyarms was out of sight, Quatre sighed.
He's heading towards Eurasia, so I guess he realized I was going to seek out the Archangel again…
He shook his head as the Sandrock's thrusters activated and it headed out to where the Archangel was last seen.
The Sandrock landed on a small, battle-scarred spot of land as it stood where the Archangel's last position had been.
"Where the heck could they have gone?" Quatre muttered with a frown as he noticed a lone signal leaving his radar range, and several others heading the other way.
"They're already that far? I've got a lot of ground to cover… please hang in there, Sandrock." He said as the thrusters activated again and the Sandrock skimmed the surface of the water, following the signal with as much speed as it could muster.
The Archangel had limped away from the battlefield, knowing it had to put a lot of distance between itself and the ZAFT forces that had tailed them, which now included all four of the stolen Gundams in their ranks.
"Ma'am! There's a signature coming from behind us at an incredible speed!" Sai said worriedly.
"Who is it?" Murrue asked. She was exhausted from lack of sleep, and an enemy flying solo was the last thing she wanted right now.
"It's… the Sandrock!" Sai couldn't keep the surprise from his voice.
The crew couldn't help but stare at him in surprise.
"Are you certain?" Murrue asked tentatively.
Sai nodded as the hiss of an incoming transmission sounded.
"Archangel, this is the Sandrock. Please allow me to board. I'll explain why I've returned when I'm on board, if it's all right with you."
Natarle looked at Murrue warily, but Murrue knew she had no choice.
"Open the hangar door!" She ordered.
As the hangar wing began to open, Quatre smiled.
"Thank you very much, Captain." He said as the Sandrock landed heavily on the catapult platform.
Murrue folded her arms beneath her breasts impatiently as Quatre climbed down from the Sandrock carefully.
"What brings you back here? And where are the others?"
"We split up. Heero, Duo and Wufei are heading for space to search for an anomaly like the one that brought us here, and Trowa was headed for Eurasia. I decided it would be best if I stuck around with you and head for North America to see if I can find anything there. However, I do have one condition." Quatre said as his tone suddenly became business-like.
Murrue frowned at his sudden change in attitude. "What is it?"
Quatre glanced at Natarle, Mwu and Kira, who had all assembled upon hearing he had returned. "I will not meet with, nor will my Gundam be seen by, your superiors. I will leave and search for an anomaly once we near North American shores. Is that all right with you?"
Murrue was taken aback by his stern tone before nodding, ignoring Natarle's protests. "However, should there be trouble, don't hesitate to ask for my help. I won't turn away any requests for aid from those that have helped us in our time of need."
"How? Communications on Earth are poor. It's hard to communicate over long distances." Murrue asked with a frown.
Quatre shook his head. "It isn't for us. We use a different system than you. I could probably get Heero or Trowa now if I wanted to." He said casually.
The others stared at him in shock and disbelief, but decided against asking him to prove it.
"Well, I guess 'welcome back' is in order…" Mwu said as he shook Quatre's hand.
"Thanks. I hope I can be a valuable ally for as long as I can."
The others nodded as they left the hangar, asking him questions about the anomaly that had originally brought the pilots to their universe.
With their Gundams hidden close by, Heero, Duo and Wufei slipped into the Mass Driver compound. Most of the soldiers were positioned with their attention towards the other ocean, waiting for an attack from ZAFT, leaving the Mass Driver nearly defenceless against stealth attacks from the other side. Using Heero's jacket to cover the wire lining the fence, the pilots slipped into the compound with ease.
"Damn this is unnerving… what the hell are these idiots thinking?" Duo growled as Heero retrieved his jacket from the fence before hiding behind some crates that had been abandoned.
"If we were to come in here with our Gundams, you can be certain we'd end up attracting attention." Wufei said quietly.
"Let's move… We'll need to find a mobile suit transport, if they have them, and find out anything else we'll need to get that thing working." Heero's eyes narrowed as he saw two soldiers walk past.
"I see… that old trick again?" Duo asked with a grin as Heero slipped away.
Wufei simply shook his head as the two soldiers were quickly downed and dragged back behind the crates.
Half an hour of interrogation ended with the soldiers being stripped of their uniforms and knocked unconscious.
Duo sighed as he adjusted the collar of the uniform he was wearing. "Why do they always make these damn uniforms so stuffy?" He grumbled.
"It's so that people who are uncomfortable in a uniform, like you, are easier to spot." Heero said coolly as he finished buttoning the wrist of his uniform.
"Stay here and keep an eye on these two. We'll come back here with a transport, and be ready to get the Altron when we do."
Wufei nodded dismissively as he listened to Heero's orders. "You don't have to tell me all of that. I know what I'm doing. Remember: we've done this countless times before."
Duo chuckled in amusement. "Yeah, yeah… let's go before somebody gets suspicious." He said as he checked to make sure his braid was hidden. "Thank God we were on an Earth Forces vessel for so long…"
Heero nodded in agreement as they walked out from behind the crates, leaving Wufei to watch the unconscious forms of the soldiers.
Duo sighed in frustration as they stood before one of the operators of the Mass Driver.
The operator had refused to give them the activation code for the Mass Driver repeatedly, and it was starting to grate on them. Surprisingly, the operator believed they were Earth Forces soldiers; however he said that it was outside his authorization to grant the codes to soldiers.
Heero pulled his blank-loaded gun from the holster of his uniform and pointed it at the operator. "Tell us now."
The operator paled as he stared down the barrel of the gun.
Duo cursed in annoyance. "Damn it's a good thing I came!" He said, grabbing the top of Heero's gun and lowering it so that it pointed at the ground. "Sorry about him, his temper's on a bit of a short fuse these days." He said, shooting a warning glare at Heero, who looked away.
"You see, we're Special Ops. We've been ordered to head to the Lunar Base for debriefing before we head into the Plants on a scouting mission. Unfortunately, this is the closest Mass Driver still in our territory. See those out there?" He asked, pointing past the Mass Driver to the ocean where several vessels were hovering just outside firing range of the on-shore weaponry.
"They'll be coming in here any minute now to wipe out or take over this Mass Driver… which would be bad for us. We've had a string of bad luck recently and it's been pissing us off. We need to get into space before those bastards start attacking. We need those damn codes!" He growled.
The operator watched the vessels for a few moments before looking at the two infuriated 'Special Ops agents' and nodded. "I really shouldn't be telling you this though."
"Great!" Duo said, clapping the operator on the back. "Go get the transport and our suits." He said, looking at Heero.
Heero nodded and walked away.
"You're doing the Earth Forces a great service, pal…" Duo grinned while taking mental notes as the operator gave him the codes to the Mass Driver.
Duo laughed as he watched the Earth Forces base quickly fall away, the explosions of battle just beginning. "We still haven't lost our touch! And it ain't even our universe!" He said gleefully as they sat in the cockpit of the transport.
Heero had changed out of his Earth Forces uniform and back into his normal clothes. "Once we're into space, we'll split up."
Duo nodded. "I'll head to the Earth Forces after this transport. I might as well make use of this uniform. I'll make it seem like ZAFT spies stole the transport and I was in pursuit of it. Speaking of which… what'd you do with those guys, Wufei?"
"They're well hidden, but still alive. It will take them a few days to be discovered, even if they do manage to figure out how to move." Wufei said coolly.
"I'll head with the Wing Zero towards the Plants." Heero said as the transport made its way through the atmosphere.
"Then that leaves the Neutral colonies. I guess I'll take them."
Duo and Heero glanced at Wufei in surprise, but nodded as the shuddering finally ceased.
"All right, let's go." Heero said as he set the co-ordinates for the Lunar Base.
"Once we leave the transport, I'll send you guys the map of space that I retrieved from the Archangel's database." Duo said, flashing the disc again.
"And here I thought I was the only one who hacked into their systems…" Heero said with a hint of amusement in his voice.
"Yeah, but you didn't save anything, so I decided to dig around…" Duo said with a casual shrug and a grin as they made their way to their Gundams.
While the Wing Zero and Altron flew off towards the Plants, Duo sat and waited for the transport to get a reasonable distance away before following it.
Once they were within visual range of the Lunar Base, the Deathscythe Hell destroyed the transport.
A few warning shots froze the Deathscythe Hell in its tracks.
"Identify yourself." A cold voice demanded.
Duo switched to the precise frequency the Lunar Base was using to prevent anyone else from hearing the exchange accidentally.
After quickly double-checking the rank designated by the uniform he was wearing, he responded. "I am Ensign Duo Maxwell formerly of the Archangel crew. I was on my way to defend the Mass Driver when this transport took off with ZAFT spies aboard it. I followed it and destroyed the spies as they tried to flee, but it was a bit harder to catch up to the transport. I'm now requesting entry into the Lunar Base to remain with the space forces." Duo held his breath as he waited for their decision.
"Access granted, Ensign Maxwell. There isn't as much action up here as there is on Earth, but hopefully that'll change."
"Good, I can use a break to check on my mobile suit. It's been through hell down on Earth."
"Understood." The gates to the Lunar Base opened, and the Deathscythe Hell entered slowly, disabling its weapon systems to ensure their trust.
Duo had to fight hard to keep a grin from forming.
These guys are idiots!
He thought as the Deathscythe Hell shut down and soldiers came to escort him.
Heero and Wufei ran into similar situations with their respective targets; however Wufei had an easier time entering the Neutral colonies with the sole request that his mobile suit's weapon systems be disabled and locked for the duration of his stay.
Heero had to convince the ZAFT forces that he had come from the Earth with information for ZAFT on the elusive Archangel. After disabling the Wing Zero's weapons systems and docking in one of the hangars, he was taken into custody until he could prove he was telling them the truth…
Author's Notes: Happy Easter! Here's what the Easter Bunny left you! This is the last chapter to take place in the C.E. Universe. The next three take place back in the A.C. Universe, and will set the stage for the sequel "No Escape from War". I apologise in advanced for this, but once they're done, it will be back to normal... well... as normal as this story has been. Enjoy!