Chapter 17: ZERO system
Meika was quiet like everyone else, she had a headache. She squinted her eyes and sighed.
"You okay?" Heero asked her. She nodded.
"We ate some weird fruit in town a few days ago and I've had a headache since."
"Just try to rest till we get back." Meika nodded and took his advice and closed her eyes. Quatre was watching the sky out the window, Duo and Ayame were talking in hushed voices, Heero and Wufei were checking the weapons and provisions, and Trowa was just staring off into space. Meika awoke about an hour later when the captain began talking.
"You guys are a pretty big thorn in OZ's side." He said to them.
"We try." Duo responded laughing.
"You guys are notorious for attacking with your gundams. What happened to them anyways?" Heero cast a dark look over his shoulder at the pilot who missed his glare.
"Oz has them." Heero said simply. The pilot nodded. Meika closed her eyes and went back to sleep. The flight to Japan was a long one.
"Where is this guy we're looking for anyways?" Duo asked when they were unloading the bundles and distributing them.
"Walk that way for about two days, and you will find his house. He will help you from there." The pilot answered before leaving. Quatre was abnormally silent as they walled though the dense undergrowth. He kept his gaze on his feet and only answered questions with short, blunt responses.
"Poor guy." Duo said softly to Ayame and Meika. They nodded in agreement. When darkness fell, the group set up camp and dozed off after a small meal. Meika shuttered as Heero killed a spider that had made a home in her sleeping bag. The first day was over and they only had to walk for another day before they would again have a base of operations. One with no spiders. She thought to herself.
Katsumi lay awake that night. The room seemed strangely quiet without Ayame and Meika talking and laughing about various topics. She hadn't really wanted to leave Quatre behind but her family was safe now, right? Her family was the only reason she was fighting after all, so now she needed to be here to protect them. But something nagged at her. Quatre's face when she had said she was staying. She knew that he had been upset. Quatre wore his emotions on his sleeve almost as plainly as Duo. She laid awake the whole night. When morning finally came she dressed and told her parents she was going into town to buy some groceries.
The bus was emptier then normal and most everyone looked like military personal. She thought this was odd, but ignored it until she reached down town Albuquerque. The place looked like a literal war zone.
"What happened?" She said in disbelief.
One of the soldiers on the bus turned to her. "Don't you know? I thought you were part of the relief effort." Katsumi shook her head 'no' and the solider sighed.
"Some old guy was found to be housing a bunch of illegal weapons and spies. We had reason to believe there were more, and we were right. Turns out that almost the whole town is probably with OZ. There is still a small battle going on." He glanced at her, eyes suspicious. "Who are you?"
Katsumi figured it was safe to tell him. "Katsumi Otakawan."
The solider recognized her name and bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet one of those against OZ." Katsumi nodded in greeting. They both looked up at a sudden loud noise.
"Run!" The solider said to her as they saw an aerial attack plane fly in. They ducked behind a tank along with several others.
"Can you shoot?" He asked eyes wide. Katsumi felt that familiar flush of adrenaline and rashness. She accepted the gun with a smirk. She cocked the gun and fired at one of the air raider pilots. She hit her mark after 2 shots. The solider next to her fired off a volley and scored on every single hit.
"What's your name?" She asked impressed with his skill.
"Kazuhiko."
Katsumi nodded and fired at one of the many enemy soldiers who had landed to attack on foot. Kazuhiko fired at one behind him. "How did these guys get here so silently? Don't you have aerial scanners up?"
"Hasn't had time too." Kazuhiko replied. "We've only been here a day. The aerial scanners are still being transported." A disdainful snort escaped his lips. Katsumi continued helping the solders when she realized that a headache was slowly working its way through her skull, she found this strange because she wasn't bothered by the noises.
Ayame was first up in the morning and she didn't feel well. She ate a meager breakfast by herself, and leaned against a tree. Since it was just before dawn, she decided to go back to sleep. She should have been alerted when sleep came far too easily.
Meika woke and stretched around eight o'clock in the morning. Ayame was asleep, but only her. The others were trying to figure out how to open a package that was being stubborn. Meika reached over, seized the package, and opened it without much difficulty. After she finished laughing in response to Heero's dark stares, she cooked the package of rations. When everyone had eaten breakfast they decided to get moving.
"Hey Ayame, wake up. Ayame. Hey sleepyhead!" Duo said loudly. Ayame groaned but didn't wake up. Duo went to brush a strand of hair from her face when he quickly jerked his hand away.
"Hey, she's burning up." He said, worriedly. Meika put her hand on Ayame's forehead and confirmed this.
"She'll have to be carried; we don't have anything to pull her on." Meika announced. Duo bent down and scooped her up, like Meika knew he would.
"We're lucky Quatre's sister Iria will be there. She's a doctor and can see what's wrong with Ayame." Duo said and Quatre nodded. Meika wiped her forehead with the back of her arm. It was far too hot in here for it to still be winter.
An hour later, Meika heard a buzzing sound in her ears that everyone else seemed oblivious to. Shaking her head didn't clear it and she felt slightly ornery when the buzzing made her headache worse. She squinted her eyes to keep out the light, but still her migraine grew.
She was curious to notice the loss of feeling in her arms and legs, less than a couple of hours later. This was replaced by a strange tingling sensation soon after. She drank some water but it didn't help. She wasn't dehydrated. Her vision kept blurring repeatedly.
Heero stopped to let her catch up. She had been lagging far behind everyone all day. When he asked her what was wrong, she went to nod and assure him everything was fine, but she tripped over a tree branch and this sent a jackknife pain through her whole body, which she made known by a small yelping sound. Heero caught her and looked at her worriedly. She went to get up but nothing responded and all she could do was try to wait out the way the world was spinning. But it refused to stop and her vision darkened.
"Meika! Are you all right?" Heero asked. She heard his voice and put her hand up to find him. Heero tried to help her to her feet, but it was no use. When he couldn't do anymore for her, he picked her up like Duo was carrying Ayame and bit his lip.
"This is really bad Heero. This isn't a virus that's got these two. Something happened to them that's taking effect now." Heero nodded slightly in agreement with Duo. The group quickened their pace through the forest.
Katsumi woke up in a hospital type place. She didn't remember what had happened at first. But then the memories came flooding back to her. They were fighting, and she felt absolutely awful. She turned her head and her gaze fell upon Kazuhiro. He was taking to her father and mother. Kazuhiro noticed she was awake and walked over.
"Do you feel okay?" He asked. She shook her hand, that simple motion made her dizzy and sick to her stomach.
"Why do I feel so bad?" She asked softly.
"The doctor doesn't know. The symptoms I described don't line up with anything he's ever heard of. But don't worry; we'll take care of you." Kazuhiro said grinning.
"How did the fight turn out?"
"Bad, only nine including you made it out. We had to retreat and hand Albuquerque over to OZ."
"So who are you anyways?" Mr. Otakawan asked the man that had saved his daughter. "We never got your name."
"I'm actually surprised you don't recognize me." Kazuhiko laughed to himself. "My name is Kazuhiko, Kazuhiko Otakawan." Mr. and Mrs. Otakawan stared at him in horror.
"No, our son, he died… in an accident when he was six." Mrs. Otakawan said.
"Actually, I faked my own death so I could learn to fight and join the military." He responded, with obvious disdain towards the people who were his parents.
Katsumi closed her eyes against the headache that appeared with this onslaught of new information. She fingered the necklace Quatre had given her, and drifted back to sleep.
When Ayame woke up, it was only for a moment while she was given a drink and something to eat. When that had finished, she lapsed back into unconsciousness. Duo stared at her worriedly. Meika hadn't awoken at all. The group had reached the place, and Quatre's sister was busy trying to figure out what was wrong with the girls. Wufei noticed that the usually controlled Heero kept glancing nervously between the door and the bed where Meika laid. Though he hadn't left her side since they arrived.
The door opened and Iria came into the room. All five Gundam pilots gave her their attention. Quatre, Wufei, and Trowa were all just as disturbed by the strange calamity that had befallen Meika and Ayame, as Duo and Heero were.
"Turns out the girls were poisoned by a highly toxic candy like fruit. Judging by the traces in their blood stream, I would say it was around five days ago. Ring any bells?" Iria asked.
"Yeah! That's the day we left them alone in Albuquerque. They said that a guy named Pablo Quaga gave them some fruit." Duo responded after thinking for a moment. Iria frowned.
"Pablo Quaga? He is one of the most trusted spies for OZ. If he gave the fruit to these girls, it's likely that he meant for it to kill them." Iria stated. Heero cursed.
"Damn it! We shouldn't have left them alone." Heero said before turning to Quatre. "Not only them, but Katsumi most likely ate the fruit as well." Trowa looked up from the newspaper he had been reading.
"It gets worse, turns out Albuquerque was found to harbor OZ spies. That place has been turned into a war zone." Quatre's mouth hung open. He couldn't find the words to express how he was feeling.
"I'll start working on an antidote. We'll need every moment if were to get it to the states to your friend." Iria said as she left the room. Quatre gave an exhausted sigh. Duo felt bad for him. At least Ayame and Meika were in the same country. The day waned into night and the boys were permitted to doze in the room.
Heero woke up when Iria walked into the room with breakfast. He accepted the food and drink while regarding Iria with a long stare.
"How's the antidote coming?" He asked.
"Not good, I'm having trouble isolating the poisonous compounds and finding something that neutralizes the effects of the fruit. We have the Snow White complex here, but I don't think a kiss will heal them." Iria said as she left. Heero stared out the window. Too bad the paper said Pablo Quaga was already dead. Heero would have loved to do the dirty work himself to get at him for poisoning Meika. He tapped his fingers on his arm as he took a swallow from his drink. Meika and Ayame had been hooked into IV's so there was no reason to try to wake them to give them food. Heero looked at the newspaper that Iria had left on the breakfast tray. The headline jumped out at him and he sat up straighter, alarmed.
Oz Attacks Colony With Gundam Mobile Suits, Colony Left in Ruin.
Heero's eyes widened and then narrowed sharply. He stood up and put on his jacket. He would have to head to the OZ compound and either retrieve all five gundams, or destruct them all. He hesitated when he felt a small box in his pocket, and his gaze turned to Meika. He pulled out the little blue box and opened it. Inside was a silver ring with a butterfly made from purple gemstones. The band itself weaved around the butterfly. He pulled the ring from the box and sighed. He had meant to give it to her on New Year's, but he wasn't sure how to, so he had kept it. He walked over to Meika and slid the ring on her finger. After making sure it was securely in place he kissed the back of her hand. She would understand. The fact that she was sick couldn't interfere with keeping OZ from using the gundams again. How the hell they found anyone with the ability to pilot the gundams was a mystery, but that wasn't the concern right now. He had to get the gundams away.
Heero packed rucksack full of weapons and supplies that he would need. Just when he put his hand on the door knob, the other four pilots entered the room.
"Heero. I'm guessing you saw the paper, seeing as your ready to leave." Duo said. "You can't do it alone. Wait until Ayame and Meika are healed and the seven of us will go." Heero shook his head.
"Stay here with them. When and if Meika wakes up, tell her where I went. It's my fault the gundams are in OZ's hands anyways. I'm the one who insisted we attack the base without doing extensive research on the security force. I can do this on my own." Heero went to leave again, but a Trowa's hand on his shoulder stopped him.
"Then take Wufei and me with you. Duo and Quatre can stay here with the girls." Trowa said. Duo, Wufei, and Quatre agreed. Heero thought it over and then nodded.
"Fine, grab some weapons."Trowa and Wufei packed some food and weapons and followed Heero out the door. Iria met them in the hall.
"How far away is the OZ compound?" Heero asked her.
"About a hundred miles. Why?" Heero nodded and chose not to answer her question.
"Do you have any type of stealth vehicle?" Iria nodded.
"Stealth mini-tanks are in the underground garage. Good luck." Heero, Trowa and Wufei went downstairs and climbed into the mini-tank. Pulling into the forest they started in the direction of the OZ compound.
Iria walked in to check on the girls. She also needed to talk to Duo and Quatre. She closed the door behind her and sighed.
"I found something interesting while going over Meika's MRI." Both Quatre and Duo looked puzzled at this statement.
"Have either of you ever heard of the ZERO system?" Iria questioned. Quatre perked up.
"I helped invent the ZERO System. Both Heero and I possess it, though Heero is the only one who can use it properly." Quatre answered. Duo still looked lost.
"The ZERO system is a technology for interfacing the brain of the pilot with the mobile suit computer. It's used to decrease reaction time by making the pilot aware of future outcomes and possible courses of action that can be taken to achieve victory. It's dangerous though, if the pilot can't interpret the data, it will overload the brain." Quatre explained.
"Do you know if anyone else has this system?" Iria asked.
"Yes, Zech Merquise and Treize Khushrenada." Quatre was becoming a bit nervous with all the questions about the ZERO system.
"I think that last time we had talked about this you said that Heero and you were running version 1.5 correct?" Iria continued. Quatre nodded.
"Meika has 2.0." She said simply. Quatre's jaw dropped. Even Duo looked stunned.
"What's a girl like her doing with something like that?" Duo asked.
"That's not the point." Quatre said rubbing the back of his head. "Version 2.0 was supposed to be destroyed, its way too dangerous. It allows someone with the appropriate connections to control the user. Are you sure about this Iria?" The woman nodded her head.
"No wonder she is so good in battle." Duo laughed lightly. "It's like she and Heero were meant for each other. Wait, do you think someone is controlling her right now?"
"It's unlikely. If that were the case she would be incapable of showing any emotion. Which her blushing around Heero all the time wouldn't support." Quatre said. "Though it might be best if we didn't tell anyone else about it just yet till I run some more analysis."
Duo paced nervously, Heero and the other two had only been gone a couple of hours, but being split up at time like this made him uneasy. Quatre quelled his anxiety by helping Iria with her rounds.
"Aw man! I'm tired and too psyched up to sleep. I hate this!" Duo complained. Iria looked at him as she checked the IV monitors that Ayame and Meika were hooked up to.
"Then take some anesthetic, that will make you sleep for sure." Duo blinked at her.
"Nah. I only take that when I'm in pain, and I've never been in enough pain to take it.
"How is the antidote coming?" Duo asked
"Better, now we just need to figure out what can neutralize a chemical that attacks the nerve cells." Iria responded, Quatre sighed.
"Hey Katsumi is a strong girl. I'm sure that we'll get to her in time." Duo reassured Quatre, who looked away.
"You sound so sure." He said in a quiet voice that Duo had to strain to hear. Duo rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.
"Actually, I'm spending all my worrying on Ayame. I don't have any left for anyone else." Quatre smiled half-heartedly.
"Strange how three girls walk into our lives and suddenly, they take priority over everything else." Quatre said. "Even Heero. Who would have thought." Quatre looked over at Meika. "I've never seen him care about anyone so much." Duo nodded.
"How do you think Heero and them are doing anyways?" Duo asked. Quatre shrugged, and looked to Iria who was still checking Meika and Ayame. Something seemed to be troubling her.
"Is everything all right?" Quatre asked.
"Well, yes." She sighed and rubbed her head. "Even though Meika ingested the same amount of poison as the other girl, she seems to be getting better, while Ayame is getting worse. I don't understand it."
"The ZERO system most likely." Quatre said. "When we were testing 2.0 we did notice that the immune system of the pilot seemed to strengthen greatly." Iria nodded.
"She could be waking up anytime soon." Iria said.