After Colony: Revelation
Part II: Verse I
000
"I'll leave you two."
Relena had sat in the small ship chamber that they were using for Zech's emergency surgery with Noin throughout the whole process. Once the Maganac Corps doctors and guest-nurses cleared the room, only the two women were left.
"You don't have to go, Relena, he's your brother," Noin replied and tried to force a smile. The Sanc ruler shook her head and stood.
"He may be my brother by blood, but I hardly know the man. You're the one who should remain by his side. I am going to check on the governors. They've been understanding enough with my absence. If something… If something changes, perhaps have one of the Maganac send for me?"
Noin nodded, "of course. Thank you. And please, if there is something going on that I should know about, don't keep me in the dark. We are still fighting a war. I can't stay out of it, just because Zechs is down for now."
Relena sighed but gave her word before she left the room.
The former Lieutenant sat quietly for a few moments looking over the sleeping man before her. They had not had proper equipment for a full operation. He was under anesthesia, but knowing him, it wouldn't last long. He would take at least twice the dosage of a 'normal person.'
"And probably half of what they'd have to give to Heero," Noin chuckled to herself with a sigh. Of course she was devastated by the fact that Zechs had been very near death only hours before, but this wasn't exactly the first time. He constantly put himself in these sorts of positions. "Maybe we should retire after all of this is done. Go back to the terra-forming project on Mars."
Now that the room had emptied out and the constant moving had stopped, the woman started to get chilly. She was still in her dress, after all. Thankfully, sitting besides Zech's discarded coat was a spare, army green jacket. It was two sizes too large for her, but she wasn't one to complain. After pulling it over her shoulders, she picked up Zech's tuxedo jacket to throw away.
There was a lump in one of the pockets. She knew he wasn't carrying a wallet—hardly any of them ever did, since anonymity was usually essential. Besides that, it was much too small. Noin fished around until she pulled it out. The first thing she noticed was that it was sticky from still-drying blood.
The second thing she noticed was that it was velvet.
"Oh Zechs," she murmured and frowned, trying hard to blink back the forming tears in her eyes. She opened the box and gently pulled out the engagement ring inside. It was silver in color, though she couldn't guess at what metal the ring was actually made out of. It had one diamond tightly set in the band, probably for added security.
Noin slid the ring on and looked at it under the light. She wanted to smile and thrilled that Zechs was looking to make their engagement official, but as she wiped a spot of blood from the metal, she found it very hard to do so.
"You better come back to me, you stupid, wonderful man."
000
Altron and Red Horse docked on the rescue ship next to Wing Zero and HeavyArms. Some of the crew members rushed to get large tarps over the suits, just to be safe. Wufei was the first one out of his suit, and he did not wait for the woman. He was slightly embarrassed by the barely compromising situation he had woken up to when Edan nudged him off of her shoulder to rouse him. He went straight to where he presumed the steering was to find the other pilots.
Heero and Trowa watched him stalk the hallways via monitors as Heero finished wrapping up his injuries with the medical kit supplied to him. The blood from the wounds Edan had caused was mostly washed away, though some stained his white dress shirt, and his leg was securely bound to help with pain from the high heel. The bone may have been a bit bruised, but Heero was mostly happy she hadn't been wearing flats at the time. The weight distribution may have been enough to cause a fracture.
"Did you see the footage I sent over to you?" Heero asked after Wufei entered and sat down again. "You look like hell. Did you get any sleep?"
Even Heero didn't know how to interpret the angry look he received.
"Winner also sent it to me. I don't believe a thing that Adelphie woman says for a moment. She clearly orchestrated the entire thing."
"What about Edan, has she seen the video?" Trowa asked, grabbing an energy bar and a bottle of water for the other pilot. He set it down on the small side table, but did not force it upon him.
Wufei waved him off. "How should I know?" The aggravation was evident in his voice.
Pilots 01 and 03 exchanged looks with raised brows. "So, you didn't show her," Heero said, "good. That works. Quatre didn't send it over to Red Horse."
They could see her standing idly by from their window, watching as the crew ran about to most efficiently conduct their business.
"Is that… Is that your jacket, Wufei?" Trowa asked, intentionally giving the Chinese pilot a coy smile. Wufei's frown deepened and he jumped back up, mumbling to himself as he left the room to find a shower.
000
"Tell us about Moira Adelphie," Heero said sternly, his arms crossed against his chest. He and Trowa stood in one of the small meeting rooms of the Swift Trillion companion ship, on their way to meet with the others. They faced Edan, who was seated next to the computer system she was plugged into. After they found her a set of clothes, graciously donated by the women of the crew, they insisted that she answer their questions. They wanted to get information before she had a chance to meet with Isabella once more.
She agreed without any hesitation and even suggested she use a computer system to make communication faster.
"Moira Adelphie, age twenty eight, eldest known child of Dorian Adelphie. She has been heading CSO's research and development department since A.C. 195, but an active engineer since A.C.193. Though she plays it down, she is as much a genius as Isabella. She has patented most of her designs though pseudonyms to keep her father from turning her into one of his projects." She gave the information so freely that Heero was suspicious.
"Does Adelphie know this? If not, why haven't you told him?"
"He never asked. It is my job to remain a silent observer, in most cases, nothing more."
The men shared glanced before Heero continued. "Does Moira have ambitions to head CSO?"
Edan tilted her head to the side, as if to wonder why they were asking her such things. "She is to head the company after his retirement or passing. That is no secret."
"What is your involvement with her?" Trowa asked, though in a much kinder tone than Heero had been using for his line of questioning.
"The same as with Adelphie or Isabella. I must serve, protect, and obey. She has never shown much direct interest in me. She most often used me as a test subject for her experiments. To be honest, I cannot remember all of the tests she has done on me. I have periods of time I cannot account for as a result of her experiments. I used to try to recall, but I stopped after the sixth instance. There was no point. I am, after all, nothing more than a barely-human guinea pig." Edan shrugged but of course, showed no emotion. Reading her words from the screen, the pilots realized just how aware of her situation she actually was. "Moira may play the role of charismatic entrepreneur, but she prefers her lab to people. She sees herself as above human, just as her father. Humans-they are her playthings."
Heero immediately noted the fact that Edan referred to humans as "they" instead of "we." "Have you been in contact with CSO since the time you joined us after our rescue of the POWs from the lunar base?"
"Yes," replied Edan without so much as a blink. The pilots tensed, ready to detain her as a traitor, but she continued. "Project Pale Horse's subject Death has tried to access my system on numerous occasions but has not been successful. Last night, someone using the handle of 'Hades' entered Adelphie's codes to tap in while Isabella activated me. After, during the brief battle, Death warned me of the impending canon fire. Those have been my instances of contact."
Trowa and Heero turned their backs to Edan so that she could not see them. Trowa mouthed the name Isabella and the other pilot shrugged. Their questioning had never really been about determining Edan's loyalty. They faced her once more to continue their conversation, but they found her staring intently back at them.
"May I speak freely?"
"You've never had to ask. We aren't your superiors. You may not believe it, but we're much more alike than you think," Trowa replied.
She did not respond for a few moments. The pilots, however, were patient.
"I do not have happy memories. I did not think I could feel enjoyment or amusement. These past few weeks are all I have. I do not want her to take these memories from me."
"Who? Moira?"
"Isabella."
000
"It seems CSO has cleared the area," Quatre said into the monitor. Heero and Trowa were video conferencing with Swift Trillion. While Quatre was relieved to see both of them were alive and well, Heero looked like he would need a few days to recover from his brawl with Edan. "I can only assume that this has something to do with Moira's ascension to Prime Minister."
"Yeah, that's what we think as well," Trowa replied, "Edan says that she's very intelligent. It's possible we've been playing her game this entire time."
The blonde pilot nodded, bringing his hand to his chin and furrowing his brows. Their data on Moira Adelphie was very limited. She had never been seen as much of a threat compared to her father. Perhaps they should have been more suspicious of her when she helped them with the POW escape plan.
"Isabella is still unconscious. This is the second time that she has been unresponsive in our care, and it seems to be lasting much longer than the last time. I do not know when or even if she will be awakening. Do you think Edan—"
Heero shook his head. "No, we've already asked her. She says that her connection with the others is only one way. She couldn't access the Plague system even if she wanted to, which she doesn't"
"Is there something I should know about?" Quatre asked.
"Nothing we care to share over an unsecure network." Heero disconnected their call, which was perfectly fine since they would see each other in just about an hour anyhow. However, his words left a bad feeling in the pit of Quatre's stomach.
What did he mean, unsecure? Of course everything was secure, all they used was secure. And yet, the Wing Zero pilot was uneasy.
The network would only be compromised if someone on the ship had altered it. It was not an easy task, especially with Howard's top of the line technology. However, Quatre had no doubt that there was at least one person besides himself who could do it onboard. "Isabella…"
While he tried not to alarm anyone with his quick movements, he set straight off to the room where Isabella was left alone to recover, with only periodic visits from crew members to make sure she was still alive, if not moving.
"Quatre!" Lady Une called out to him as he briskly walked passed her, determination set his face. He raised his hand, signaling that he could not be stopped at the moment. She nodded and continued about her business. He was not sure what he would find, but he thought if Isabella had betrayed them, then she at least needed the chance to explain herself.
As he hurried down the steps, paths were cleared for him. No one remained in his way for long. Those who knew him also knew when it was best to leave him be. He waved to have one of the guards at the door open it for him. They did so then immediately vacated the area.
Isabella was still lying on the small bed, her eyes open and staring straight ahead. They did not dare remove the piece of technology that was plugged into her head. "I have the distinct feeling you can hear me," Quatre said coolly. If she was listening, he wondered what she thought of his change in attitude. Did CSO know about his tendency to have psychotic break downs?
He put his hands into his pockets and sighed, walking slowly from one side of the bed to the other. "I don't know what the others are going to do once they get here. We don't want to believe that you've been playing us from the start, but right now, the evidence is stacking against you."
There was no response, but he hadn't necessarily expected one right away. He glanced around the room, almost enjoying the silence. He had only heard constant shouting and chaos for the past six hours, and his mind was simply tired. His eyes landed on the computer sitting safely in a bin to protect it from the rocking during their rough escape. While the ocean-induced turbulence had settled a few hours ago, the dark clouds rolling in led him to believe more would be coming.
"You're lucky I'm the only one here who knows to suspect you. If it were Heero, maybe even Trowa as much as I had to admit it, you would probably already be dead. They don't take chances when hundreds of lives are at stake. I'm willing to at least give you a shot at explaining yourself. Tell us what Moira is planning, and how you're involved. If you're in trouble, let us help you." Quatre placed his hands squarely on the bed and stared down at the young woman. She looked almost angelic. Her pale blonde hair was coming out of its elaborate updo, but it looked almost intentional. Unlike the other rebel women working tirelessly to help the wounded and organize their next move, her dress was nearly pristine, minus a few wrinkles.
Quatre waited a few moments before speaking again. "Zechs was our enemy for a long time. He and his men killed many of our comrades. Wufei fought against us during Mariemaia's regime. He also caused many deaths. We're all still here, we're all still fighting together. Come clean with us. You can make this right, and we can go back to being one big, rebel family."
There was no sign of movement. The pilot sighed and shook his head. He went back to the door and pushed it open. Quatre waited until there were two more crew members to flag down. "Keep men at the door, round the clock."
000
The skies turned dark early on as a rough, ocean storm rolled in. They were still far from the shore line, and had barely enough time to move Heero, Trowa, Wufei, and Edan to Swift Trillion before the two ships separated to put distance between them. They couldn't risk a collision with the rough seas.
The two guards outside of Isabella's cabin braced themselves against the turbulence. They stood dutifully, as they were told, despite no obvious sign for concern. When the announcement came over the loudspeaker for all hands on deck, the two rock paper scissor-ed for who would have to stay on door duty while the other went to help in securing the ship and the governors.
It wasn't long then until the remaining crew member heard a scream come from inside the cabin he was guarding. He opened the heavy metal door, finding the room dark.
"Hello? Ma'am? Are you okay? The captain recommends securing yourself in one of the bolted down chairs. There's no need to be frightened," the crew member called out into the darkened room. Hearing no response, he stepped in and searched for the power panel to click the light back on.
He was not expecting to receive a strong blow to the back of the head.
Isabella waited until he stepped in and whipped her laptop at the crew member, landing a direct hit to his skull. The force cracked the laptop, and put the member down on the ground for at least enough time for her to escape her cabin seclusion.
She looked down at her partially destroyed computer and then wound up, forcing it against the wall, again, again, and again. Once it was thoroughly broken up, Isabella took some of the laptops innards, just for good measure, though she doubted anyone would be able to rebuild it.
"Twenty five minutes," the woman muttered to herself, "twenty five minutes, and I'm gone. I need clothes."
She peeked out, making sure the area was clear. With no crew members to snatch her, Isabella lifted her blue skirt and stepped into the lit hallway. While the storm wasn't planned, it provided her with the perfect coverage to flee the ship before Heero had the chance to get his hands on her.
It didn't take long for her to find an abandoned bunk. Isabella stripped out of her dress, kicking it under one of the beds, and swiped a pair of dark, uniform pants, belting them tightly around her hips. She took a white tee shirt and canvas jacket from the same cabinet, but had to go to the other bunkmate's wardrobe for a pair of smaller shoes. It was far from a perfect fit, but they would have to do in the circumstances.
As she went to leave the room, her eyes landed on a watch sitting in an open box on one of the cabin's desks. She took that, too. "Eighteen minutes," she breathed, rubbing her temple, "oh this isn't good."
000
Isabella hurried into the cockpit of Sandrock and took off her wet coat to keep from damaging any of the equipment. It was only a matter of time before the ship's control system shut down and the crew inevitably noticed her disappearance. She didn't have much time to act.
She could only blame herself.
She had developed an antivirus that simply worked too well. Her original plan was to leave a failsafe for her to shut down the Gundams whenever she wanted, but the pilots weren't stupid. They figured out on their own that the Zero system could take what she created and make it better. She could no longer tamper with the suits. Even if Isabella managed to shut them down, the bit of Zero added in would counteract her without prompting.
Plans had moved up faster than she had anticipated. Isabella had no choice but to complete her mission and flee, now that her father was dead. There might have been some hiccups along the way—she hadn't expected Moira to blow the entire Isle of Man facility, for example—but besides that, everything was according to plan.
Isabella infiltrated the rebel forces, collected what she needed from Project Black Horse's Famine, and bought Moira enough time to finish their designs. It took some time to get the pawns into place, and even now, the chessboard wasn't perfect, but Isabella had to take her chances and leave before she was removed permanently.
The rain was coming down pretty hard. The shoes and pants she had stolen were almost completely soaked, but the heavy jacket was enough to cover her shirt. She needed to be able to dry her hands if she were going to go prying about in Sandrock's insides.
Isabella bent down behind the leather chair and slid aside one of the panel latches to pull out one of the maintenance segments. It took her a few moments to find the drive she was looking for, but she eventually pulled removed what she needed. "Finally, I will get the chance to really break you."
As she pushed everything back into place, she could feel a familiar buzz in the back of her skull. Isabella secured the drive in a plastic bag and placed it into her inside pocket before throwing her jacket back on. Not to her surprise, Edan was standing in the rain below the cockpit.
She used the lift cable to drop down next to Edan. Right on cue the ship went completely dark. "DeBordaris will be here soon. We should have a clear escape," Isabella said and reached out to the other woman.
Edan quickly stepped back, out of her reach. She shook her head. Isabella scowled.
"Listen, I'm sorry I didn't tell you everything, but I just wasn't sure what you would do. It will be better now, I promise. Father's dead, you don't have to listen to him anymore," the blonde woman said, shoving her hand out once more for Edan to take. Edan just stared back—no, she glared back.
Isabella was furious, and her scowl became a snarl. "You want to stay? Then what? What do you think they'll do to you once I'm gone? They're going to believe you were in on the plan, and that you helped me escape! They will turn on you—you are nothing to them! You're only good to them as long as you have value, and a weapon without a wielder has no value!"
Edan's jaw clenched, as did her fists, but then they relaxed. Her shoulders slumped and her head bowed a bit. Isabella recognized the signs of forfeit. "Good," she said and stepped forward. "Our pickup should be here momentarily."
Isabella took the other woman's arm and practically dragged her across the ship's deck to a clear area.
"What happened?" Heero and Quatre were the first two to make it to the control room, where Howard and the technicians were working to get their ship operating once more. Though Swift Trillion had gone almost completely dark, the emergency lights illuminating the floor were enough for them to navigate the internal labyrinth.
Howard was on the floor, beneath one of the workstations, lying on his back. He had a flashlight awkwardly propped up between his shoulders and his head while he worked to unscrew one of the metal panels. "Someone managed to worm into the system to do a force shut down. Everything is offline. I can get it up and running, it's just going to take a little bit of time to get through. I have to physically restart everything, one by one."
"What can we do to help?" Quatre asked, picking up one of the extra, battery powered flashlights.
Howard shrugged. "Well, once I get—dammit!—the first start up going, you can use this control station to bring the basic communication up. It should work, as long as what caused this in the first place isn't going to bring us down again." He quickly brought his thumb to his mouth to suck away the bit of blood that started pouring from a cut. The metal he was working around was brutal enough in the light; the dark was just so much worse.
Quatre was immediately thrown into work. It was reassuring that Howard was so calm. It was something that he and the scientists who built the Gundams shared. No matter how awful a situation might seem, Howard never lost his cool. It helped put Quatre at ease as he waited for the first system to boot.
"Alright, here we go, it looks like I can get some of the other systems flipped on—wait! Ah, no, the system shut down command is still active. I think I can get it disabled. Howard, keep working to get the others active again, and I will try to cancel out the command before we have to start all over," Quatre said with his determination showing in his words. It wasn't too much of a task, especially when he didn't have to worry about getting shot at.
Footsteps could be heard coming down the hallway. They were approaching fast, but stopped as there was a crash into the metal wall. Duo could be heard cursing as he limped into the room. "Man, oh man, is it dark," he hissed and paced around the room with a distinct limp for a few moments. Quatre could only suspect that Duo had fallen victim to one of the numerous pipes that occasionally jutted out from the metal wall. "Isabella, she's gone. Edan ran off as well. Wufei and Trowa are looking for them now."
Heero nodded. "Quatre, I will leave this to you, we'll find them."
"Herro—!" Sandrock's pilot turned from his seat to catch the other pilot before he could run out of the room. "Uh, well, just.. be careful. We don't know what she's planning."
"Hn."
Outside the storm raged on. The governors and most of the crew were below deck, and those who could help in Swift Trillion's recovery were doing their best. Because of this, it meant that no one could be spared to watch the dark deck. A black and grey helicopter with the CSO logo flew through the rainy skies to hover ten yards above the deck.
Isabella tried to wipe away the rain from her eyes as she looked up, but it was no use. Her vision was blurry, especially with the bright spot lights in her face. Even if she couldn't see him, she knew Vince DeBordaris was peering out through the open doors as he dropped a ladder down for both her and Edan.
Before she could even take firm hold of the rungs, gunshots were fired. She immediately froze up in utter fear when she felt pain in her right cheek. Slowly, she raised her hand to touch the area, and was surprised to find blood melded in with the rain and ocean mixture.
It wasn't deep, in fact, it was barely a scratch. It was enough for her to get the message.
They knew.
"Isabella!" Heero called out to her through the thunder, and she turned, though it was hard to hear him. "Back away from the ladder!"
DeBoradris returned fire, though with the rain and the shaking helicopter, he was not as good of a shot.
Heero quickly took a few steps back, steadying himself, and then aimed at the figures in the helicopter. He couldn't break the thick, triple layer Plexiglas of the vehicle, and at best, he could maybe hit the man shooting at him. If it hadn't been so dark, he may have been able to recognize DeBordaris from their earlier communication.
After both realized that shooting wasn't going to get them anywhere, Heero aimed back at Isabella. While shooting her wasn't his ideal plan, he was willing to put her out of commission until they had the chance to interrogate her. His thoughts would have likely been shared by many soldiers, since the figure dropped down via cable to block Isabella.
Wing Zero's pilot could then clearly see his opponent. While he was quite willing to have a showdown with the CSO soldier, he wished he wasn't the only one holding a hand gun. DeBordaris, at least, could get off multiple shots with his semi-automatic if Heero missed.
Well then, Heero thought, I just won't miss.
His bangs were matted to his face from the rain, and the water in his eyes made it hard to aim, but he was prepared to shoot a kill shot regardless.
For better or for worse, he wouldn't have the chance. From the darkness to the left of Vince, Wufei shot out and brought his arm down on the soldier's neck. The force of the blow was enough to bring DeBordaris down to his knee for a moment, but that was about it. Any pain he should have felt simply wasn't there.
Wufei could hardly be surprised. He knew that the other man was the subject called Death for the Pale Horse Project. It was only natural that he had also undergone significant neurosurgery like Edan.
Vince turned his firearm towards Wufei, but the Gundam pilot quickly stepped forward and grabbed his opponents arm, twisting it in such a way that allowed for a disarm. That hardly stopped the soldier from attacking, and they went to hand-to-hand combat.
The helicopter spotlight did its best to keep the area around its soldier well illuminated, but they moved around so much that it was too difficult. In an instant, they were throwing each other around in the dark, nearing the edge of the deck more and more.
Wufei was the swifter of the two. He didn't have too much of a problem dodging the larger man's blows. Edan was honestly more challenging in their sparing sessions, and that was in broad daylight. He supposed it was possible that his opponent was having a hard time in the rain—if he wasn't a natural martial artist, he was likely concentrating on his moves more than Wufei, who had already dealt some serious damage.
Just like Edan, however, Wufei's blows hardly helped put his opponent down. If he had been against a normal human being, he would have already won from debilitating the man. Yet, since he felt no pain, Vince simply kept moving.
After Wufei had taken it upon himself to distract DeBordaris, Heero turned his attention back to Isabella. "One last time, step away from the ladder." The pilot watched as the woman turned to him. He could see her mind at work, trying to calculate the best plan. She waited just a moment or so, until Swift Trillion rocked in a particularly violent way, and grabbed Edan.
"Go ahead and shoot," Isabella shouted, a cruel smile on her bleeding face, "try not to hit your new friend." She used Edan as human shield while she twisted the ladder around her arm.
Heero's jaw clenched. Even with the rain and rocking and the blaring light, he could see her head hanging in defeat. Isabella had done something to make her concede to abandoning them. When she looked up at him, and their gazes met, he knew what she was saying.
Go ahead and shoot.
How many times had he at least tried to sacrifice himself? He had lost count. He had never succeeded, and his current existence proved that. Heero always pressed the detonation switch without a second thought, but was always somewhat relieved whenever he woke up, alive and well, if badly injured. He wanted to live.
And so did Edan, even if she didn't know it yet.
He kept his gun trained on Isabella, though he knew he wouldn't shoot until he had a clear shot.
Wufei thought he had finally downed the CSO soldier. It took two more blows to the back of the head, but Vince finally hit the metal grid of the deck. Just in time, too, as they were dangerously close to the railing, and even he worried about accidentally going overboard with the severe rocking they faced.
He glanced back to see if Heero had succeeded in taking out Isabella for only a moment, before reaching down to Vince. While he detested his opponent for using his numbness to his advantage instead of fighting the good fight, he wasn't willing to let him slide down into the water some stories below.
Vince, on the other hand, had different ideas.
In one swift motion, DeBordaris pushed himself up while Wufei was leaning over him, and lifted the smaller male into the air.
As he plummeted toward the water, Wufei cursed himself for even thinking about trying to save the CSO soldier. Ever since Treize's death, however, he felt it was his duty to give worthy opponents an honorable death, if the time came.
But Vince DeBordaris wasn't a worthy opponent. There was nothing honorable about him or the life he led, and Wufei should have let him drown.
Edan turned her head to see what it was that caused Vince to laugh, and immediately noticed Wufei's absence. Isabella also noticed, and let out an equally cruel laugh. "Look, now there's nothing to—"
Isabella got her second shock for the night when Edan twirled around, pulled her arm back, and punched her squarely in the face. Whenever she abandoned the blonde's side, the CSO helicopter shut off its spotlight in hopes of keeping Heero from shooting. He did let out another shot but, as far as he could tell, he missed since Isabella fell first clutching her likely broken nose and shrieking. Had her arm not been twisted in the ladder, she would have been on the ground.
The darkness didn't stop Edan from sprinting for one of the loose ropes that was used to secure Sandrock. Once it was in her sights, not the rain or the rocking could stop her. She tied it around her waist without missing a beat as she ran for the side of the deck.
Heero looked between where Isabella was being hoisted into helicopter and where Edan was leaping. He had to make a choice between helping to save his comrade or to possibly capture traitor. With a frustrated groan, he tossed the gun to the side and ran after Edan. He and Vince passed by one another, but they didn't spare even a glance.
The spotlight flipped back on, and DeBordaris was on the ladder, climbing up to help secure Isabella in place. As they passed by, the helicopter had just enough light to illuminate the flexible bungee cord the entire way to the water. Edan, he assumed, was still attached to it, though he couldn't see her.
The Wing Zero pilot paced around the edge of the deck, hoping to see if one of the two resurfaced, but he couldn't see anything. The dark waters blended with the blanket of the night.
"Okay, okay," Quatre said from spot at the work station, "we are fully running. Complete system reboot in ten, nine, you okay Howard? Six, five, four, three… Ah! Much better!" The lights to the control room clicked back on, and he let out a relieved sigh. Soon, the monitors would load their footage and their radar would kick back on.
As the final bits of the initial reload happened, Trowa came into the room. "I've searched everywhere in this section. I can't find Edan or Isabella, and I haven't seen the others. Wufei and I split, after the first level. I've been shouting, but he hasn't responded."
Quatre started to scour the monitors with furrowed brows in hope of finding someone they recognized either in the masses or in one of the abandoned areas. "Heero ran off without telling me where he was going first. I wouldn't be surprised if he started on the deck first… yes! Look!" He pointed to one of the corner monitors and held it there until a figure dashed across the screen. "That's got to be him!"
"I don't see anyone else though, did he find them, or is he still looking? I'm going out there." Trowa didn't wait for anything further before he left the room again in a rush. Quatre, on the other hand, continued watching the screen.
"Wait a moment," he muttered, mostly to himself rather than to anyone in the room, "that cord, that shouldn't be there…" He looked around on the panels to find the controls for the cameras and toyed around until he could get it to move. He followed the mysterious cord until he could go no further. "That looks like… oh no…"
Quatre abandoned his post, leaving the rest of the work to the technicians, and went running from the control room.
Now that the lights had flared to life, the halls were starting to fill once more. He had no remorse for the people he pushed away. While they wanted to get out of the stuffy cabins, everyone could see him sprinting full force. If they chose not to move, then that was on them.
"Move aside!" One of the crew members pushed himself against the wall and shouted down the corridor to the others. The authority in his voice rang clear, and he received an immediate response.
Quatre shouted back a thank you, and kept moving. Once he neared the outside hatch, he grabbed one of the larger crew members. "Come with me, we might need help." Together, the two men pushed open the door, fighting against the force of the weather outside, and stepped into the darkness.
A familiar emptiness in his stomach returned, the one Quatre knew to be a bad omen. Outside, he looked to the cord that was pulling from near Sandrock. It stretched the entire way across the deck, which he followed to find Trowa and Heero holding floodlights aimed at the vicious waters below. "What's going on?"
"Wufei was thrown overboard! Edan went after him!" Heero shouted back at Quatre, but didn't turn his attention from the water. They could see where the cord met ocean, but they couldn't see either person.
Quatre's breath caught in his throat. Drowning. That was not the way any of them expected to go. It wasn't the same as death in battle. "Get more floodlights!" He shouted at the extra crew member, hoping that he would know where to find the devices. Even if he didn't, he ran off anyhow to try to be of some help.
Edan didn't waste a moment diving into the cold waters of the Atlantic. Wufei had already been in the water for at least sixty seconds by the time she broke through. Once the lights of the helicopter momentarily illuminated the area, she managed to catch sight of his head struggling to stay above the water.
It was a battle trying to swim against the current, but it was all she could do once the chopper left her in the dark again. It took what seemed like ages to reach the area Edan had seen Wufei. Never had she been more frustrated or angry at herself for her missing voice. If he could see her, he certainly wasn't calling to her.
She dove under the surface and mostly felt around, since she could hardly see. Once she had a few feet of light, likely thanks to Heero from the ship's deck, it made it easier to cover more territory.
Just as Edan was about to reluctantly resurface, her leg struck something sinking lower and lower. She flipped around and grabbed hold of it, immensely relieved to feel it was an arm. The current was too strong for her to carry him to the surface, so she made every effort to wrap the excess of her cord around his torso as many times as she could until it was taut.
Edan used all of her remaining strength to pull them up the length of the submerged rope. She could feel herself starting to black out from holding her breath for so long, and barely managed to get her arm out of the water before she couldn't hold it any longer.
From the deck of Swift Trillion, Trowa shouted, "there!" He tossed his light aside and started to pull on the cord. Though Heero hadn't seen whatever it was Trowa pointed at, he followed the other pilot's lead and grabbed hold as well.
Quatre remained attentive, watching to see who emerged from the darkness. His face lit up and he joined the forming line. "It's them, it's them! She has him!" The three Gundam pilots and two crew members—they had run to help in the search—all started slowly moving back along the deck. It was hard, at first, since the metal flooring was soaked, and they couldn't get any traction. They worked out a system and were able to keep moving at a reasonable pace.
Edan was fading in and out of consciousness, still trying to cough up the salt water and catch her breath. Whenever her head just started to hang, she and Wufei would smack against the rocking ship, and she would jolt awake again. They must have hit the siding five or six times, but she wasn't counting. She was having a hard enough time trying to protect Wufei's skull from the metal, much less her own.
When they reached the edge of the deck, arms swarmed her, helping to hoist her and Wufei back onboard. They hit the ground roughly, and she let out a mix of a sigh and a cough as she remained on her back. Trowa was the first one to set to work trying to untie the cord from her bruised waist. She probably would have been proud of her knot-tying ability, if she had the strength to care.
Once she was free, Edan rolled away from the others so they could turn their full attention to the Gundam pilot. She was content enough to sit on her own, on the sidelines, trying to get the ocean from her lungs and stomach.
Heero barely had time to remove the wrapped cord before Trowa was back in action, providing CPR on the unresponsive Wufei. While he wished it wasn't the case, Trowa was likely the most experienced, having to do it on numerous occasions during his time with the circus.
Quatre rushed back inside to radio for a medic and two gurneys. Despite the odds not looking good—Trowa was spending more time than he should have had to, if Wufei was going to start breathing again—he acted anyhow. Quatre had learned that Wufei, like the other Gundam pilots, was a survivor. Heero had fought through his self detonation, and Trowa hadn't given up while lost in space.
Wufei surely wasn't going to let a little bit of water do him in.
And Quatre's instincts were right, as usual. By the time the gurneys arrived, Wufei was on his side, heaving as the liquid left his body.
He was disoriented and shaking, but mostly, Wufei couldn't for the life of him, figure out how he went from sinking in the ocean to flopping around one the deck. "Where is he?" Wufei croaked, trying to wipe the water from his eyes.
"He's gone," Heero responded, placing his hand on the pilot's shoulder, "don't move around too much. You just came back from the dead."
Wufei barely noticed him. When the gurney arrived, his comrades struggled to get him onto the bed. He did not like feeling helpless or needy.
It ultimately took both Heero and Trowa to get Wufei to lie down, and stay down. Though he struggled against the men, Wing Zero's pilot tightened his grip. "Wufei, if you think I won't strap you down, you're severely mistaken." It seemed his words were enough to make Wufei reconsider his fighting position, and he reluctantly stilled.
Trowa glanced up at Heero. He cracked a quick smile before quickly suppressing it. They were both very much relieved that Wufei was still with them, but as he struggled against them, he vaguely reminded Trowa of a wet cat trying to fight getting a bath. "You're lucky to be alive. Just relax and let the medics take a look at you."
The two pilots helped to lift the gurney over the lip of the door before allowing the crew members to take over.
Behind them, Quatre was working to coerce Edan to the medics as well. She sat huddled up, shaking her head and waving him off.
"Miss Edan, we just want to make sure you're okay. We can discuss things after. Your arm has reopened and you're bleeding. Please, just let us take care of you," he begged, offering her his hand. Quatre didn't push the matter further, but he kept his arm extended while he knelt down on the wet metal. She stared back at him, as if wonder if his kindness was a trick. After a few moments nothing but a soft smile, she took his hand with her relatively uninjured arm.
Quatre helped her to stand and balance on the rocking ship before leaving her to lie on the gurney on her own. Unlike Wufei, she did not fight. Edan covered her eyes with her wet arm, and they wheeled her inside to take a better look at her.
Before he followed in, the pilot turned and looked up at Sandrock. Nothing appeared to be obviously off with his mobile suit, but as he reached up and touched the metal, Quatre knew there was something. He decided it was best to leave any further investigation until after the storm cleared. For now, he had about a dozen governors and other refugee-party guests to check up on.
"What happened out there?" Trowa asked Heero, once they were sheltered within Swift Trillion. They were both complete messes, with water practically pouring from drenched clothing. They other pilot was the first one to pull off his shirt and ring it out. Trowa didn't bother, but he did slick his hair back out of his eyes.
Heero shook his head. "Find Duo. Once Wufei is good enough to at least sit in on a meeting, get everyone together. I'm going to see what I can dig up on Moira Adelphie and Vince DeBordaris. We might want to see if we can find anything further on Isabella as well. Relena may be a starting point there."
"That's all you," Trowa said and held his hands up in front of him, "I'm not going near that one with a ten foot pole."
"Yeah," Heero replied flatly, "I know.
000
Author's Notes: So, if you happened to notice the chapter titles, you may have noticed the addition of "Part II." As I said at the end of the last chapter, this chapter starts basically an entirely new story arch. Their original enemy, Dorian, is dead. Isabella, who had been "part" of the rebellion since the start of the story has left. The group dynamic will be changing because their battlefield is also changing.
This is also the chapter I picked up writing at after a two year hiatus. If you haven't noticed a change in writing styles and character development, I won't be surprised if you start to pick up on it. I am very interested in knowing your thoughts as readers.
If this all seems convoluted… Just remember that in the show, people switched sides whenever they felt like it (*Zechs*) and usually had relatively dumb reasons for doing so (*Zechs-leading-White-Fang.*) The enemies also seemed to change every five episodes ("It's Oz, no it's Romefeller, no, it's the Treize Faction, wait no, it's back to Oz.) So… having a change in the villains is actually kind of canon!
To the guest reviewer Pat: I am sorry. It is appearing that a double wedding is not likely in the picture! (I think you may have been the only person to have actually kinda liked Isabella!)
To everyone else bearing with me, thank you! I hope you will enjoy Part II!
Ever your servant,
A.F