SHIN KIDOU SENKI GUNDAM WING

SAINAN NO KEKKA
ACT VII, PART I

 
 
Scene I: Love and Loyalties

 
Chris left an hour before the shuttle arrived.

He hadn't even said goodbye to Helena. Shinobu had knocked on the door of his room, hoping to reason with the boy. Chris had had to change rooms since the riots, and the door looked lonely with only one name card. He would have preferred they'd have listed Duo's name too, although that might have led to hardship for Chris.

There had been no answer, and after the third knock, Shinobu had tried the handle, discovering that the door was unlocked. When he stepped inside, he realized at once that the room was empty.

Chris hadn't had many belongings to start with, but it was obvious that he had taken most of his things with him. Shinobu opened the closet, poked around in the drawers. Chris was definitely gone.

Helena was not going to be happy to hear this.

When he told her, only her eyes betrayed how upset she was. She was strong, Helena, but he knew she had really cared about Chris, no matter how many differences they had had in the past few weeks.

"I hope he's happy," she said simply. "I suppose it had to happen sometime."

"What do you mean?" he asked, curious, but she simply brushed the question aside, bending down to pick up her bags.

"Come on, Shinobu. We don't want to miss General Po's shuttle."

He thought of his grandfather then, of the smirk on his face when he had promised to come back to L1. How much was he throwing away, promising something like that? And how much was he throwing away now, following Helena off on some wild chase for a truth that might not even exist?

He followed Helena out of her room, hoisting his bag onto his back. General Po's shuttle was due to meet them at the airport's north landing pad in twenty minutes, and he'd only been over on that side of town once or twice. The north landing pad was used for dignitaries, visiting officials from the World Nation or important guests come to check on the progress of the school. And, apparently, for Preventer generals.

He wondered if he could be classified as a VIP now, knowing the second-in-command of the Preventers, getting a ride in a Preventers shuttle.

"Shinobu, what are you doing standing there? Hurry up!"

He realized he had stopped in the middle of the hallway, staring into space. "Sorry," he said, hurrying to catch up with Helena, who had already rounded the corner to the elevators and was standing with one hand on the "down" button, elegant finger resting lightly on the lighted plastic, blond hair bundled up and held in place by what looked like a pair of enameled chopsticks. The chopsticks were the only remotely recognizable thing about her presence today. She was dressed more plainly than he had ever seen her, in an old tshirt and jeans with a hole in the knee, battered sneakers, and no makeup.

She didn't look like Helena Rosenbaum, president of the junior class and most popular girl at Cliffside Heights. She looked like a girl who had gotten too little sleep in the past week, a girl who was trying too hard to maintain the façade of normality through it all.

"Relax, Helena," Shinobu said softly.

She jumped. "What?"

He tried to smile at her, to make her believe it was all right, but he would be fooling only himself if he tried to tell her that. They both knew that was a lie. "You should have faith," he said carefully, trying to find the right words. It was so hard, in English. If she knew Japanese, he could...

"Daijoubu, right?" she said. Her accent was odd, but just the fact that the word had come out of her mouth made him stare at her. "Did I say that right?

"Where did you learn that?"

She had the grace to look faintly embarrassed, her cheeks slightly flushed. "I...I've been trying to learn some Japanese. Ever since this happened....ever since Duo went away. It might come in handy, you know. Besides..." she trailed off.

"Besides?" he prompted.

"I've been..." Whatever she was going to say was cut off the pinging of the elevator as the doors opened. The elevator was empty. He let her enter first, holding the door open for her with one hand while she maneuvered her suitcase and duffel bag inside. He hit the button for ground floor.

"You were saying?" Shinobu said.

"Nothing."

They rode the elevator down in silence, as he tried to decipher her last words. He'd always seen Helena as a very open person, but he had hardly known her before the Gundam news broke. The only reason he had remotely had contact with her was because they were both friends with Duo. Duo had a knack of doing that...of bringing people together.

He realized that he missed Duo's effervescent presence, the cheerful laugh and the open smile. Duo hadn't asked questions, hadn't judged, just accepted him for who he was, and Shinobu was eternally grateful to him for that. Of course, it all made sense now. He supposed that it had been easier for Duo to do that, hiding such a painful past behind him.

He wondered how he would have turned out if he had spent just a few more years in the Breaks. Would he have been able to hold his head up high, like Duo?

"Shinobu!"

Helena's voice was sharp and he realized the elevator doors had opened and he had been standing there staring into space.

"Sorry," he said, picking up his bag.

Her voice softened. "Look, I understand it's kind of a shock leaving the school...but if we don't hurry, we'll be late."

"I am not shocked," he said, wincing at the stiffness of his words. Not for the first time, he wished he was more fluent in English. It was so hard trying to convey his feelings in a language that had none of the melodic lines of his native tongue. "I was...it is hard to explain, for me."

She smiled at him sadly. "I understand."

No you don't, he wanted to say. For you this might be the beginning of an adventure. For me, it's just the continuation of a long story.

They exited the dorm, crossed the long plaza in front of the building which would usually be full of students at this time of day. It was almost depressing how empty it was. Most of the students here had been pulled out of school by their parents, and with slightly less than half of the student population remaining, Cliffside had ceased to even try to keep up a pretense that the student body was still functioning. People went about their business, but even the professors seemed to have lost the will to teach. No one studied. Shinobu hadn't done his homework since General Po's visit.

He had had more important things to think about.

A group of girls huddled furtively around one of the tall trees at the edge of the square, discussing some homework. A lone male student jogged quickly to the other side, disappearing up a flight of stairs. The clouds passed over the sun, and Shinobu felt a chill. Helena looked at him out of the corner of her eye, stopping quickly to adjust one of the straps of her duffel bag.

"It's lonely here, isn't it?" she said.

"It feels strange," he muttered. "Like..."

She frowned at him, eyes alert. "You think we're in danger?"

"No..." he shook his head. "I do not know. But I feel like I have felt this way before. And I do not like it."

"Well..." she trailed off. "I'm not sure why, but you seem like you'd have a better knowledge of these things than I do. So keep an eye out, huh?"

Shinobu blinked, his brain processing the idiom several times before he remembered the meaning. "Yes. I will...'keep an eye out' for you."

Helena giggled, the first time he had heard her laugh freely since the riots. The sound made him smile involuntarily.

They passed through the arches guarding the edges of the academic area of the school, walking past the gymnasium and the football and track fields that signaled that they had now left campus and were headed into the town. Cliffside was quiet, but the sun was intense, and by the time they reached the small airport, Shinobu was feeling the sweat drip down his back, wetting his shirt and trickling down his neck from his hair. Helena was sweating delicately as well, and as he sat down in the shady area outside the outprocessing building to catch his breath, she was rummaging in her bag for a handkerchief.

"I forgot how hot it gets in July," she said. "I usually spend more time indoors during this time of day."

"I do as well," he said, getting to his feet and heading in the direction of the water fountain. He could hear her footsteps following him as he bent his mouth to the faucet, gulping down the water. He liked water fountains. They were one of the best inventions he had found when he came down to Earth from L1. In the Breaks, they didn't have water fountains.

"So what are we going to do after...you know?" Helena looked at him and he could feel her nervousness emanating in the heat of the afternoon.

"I have not been informed of that," Shinobu said, wiping the sweat off his nose and staring morosely into the noon sun. "I have only been in contact with General Po once or twice since the attacks."

"Oh. Sorry." She sounded genuinely sorry.

"Why are you sorry?"

"I don't want to invade your privacy..."

Before he could respond, they heard the roar of an approaching craft and the landing lights began blinking. The grass whirled with the wind of the engines and a large transport with the Preventers logo painted on the side settled to the landing pad. Helena stood up, picking up her bags.

"I guess this is it," she said.

The ramp lowered slowly and a familiar honey-colored head emerged. General Po was waving to them, which Shinobu found rather odd. An odd gesture of affection for two high school students who she had only met once. Though he had found that Westerners were strange.

But wasn't General Po Chinese...?

"Shinobu! Helena!" The general covered the distance between them quickly, giving Helena a quick hug and shaking Shinobu's hand, as if she was just one of them instead of the second highest ranking military official in the world. "I'm glad to finally have the chance to talk to you. Let me get your things."

"I can carry my own, thank you," he said, as she took one of Helena's bags.

"I'm afraid there's not much room on the shuttle...it's going to be a tight fit. But we're not going far. It will only be a couple of hours."

"Where is he?" Helena said anxiously.

"I'll tell you when we're safely off the ground," the general responded, pressing a red button on the far wall. The landing ramp retracted, closing them into the ship with a final thump. He gazed out the window. The wind rippled the grass and he could see the roofs of the school buildings in the distance. Suddenly, it all seemed very far away.

"I'll be back after take-off," General Po said. "Make yourselves comfortable."

"Yes ma'am," Helena murmured as the cockpit door slid shut, and the two teens were left alone in the back of the shuttle. Contrary to the general's former statements, Shinobu actually found the craft quite roomy, with large, soft seats and reading lights, trays for beverages and baggage storage racks. General Po must have commandeered a VIP shuttle.

The engines roared to life and suddenly he felt Helena crowd onto the seat next to him. He was about to ask why she was taking that seat when there were empty ones across the shuttle, and then he realized she was crying.

"Daijoubu?" he said uncertainly, taking some comfort that she understood that word, that he could at least show his concern in his native language. "Helena?"

She wiped her eyes. For the first time he noticed that her usually immaculately brushed hair was tangled and that strands of it had come loose from the chopsticks holding it in place. She looked like she hadn't slept last night.

"I just realized how much I'll miss this place," she said. The shuttle lifted unsteadily off the ground, gaining altitude. The buildings of Cliffside shrank to pinpoints. "It was like...home to me. You know?"

"Yes," he said softly. "I know."

"And I'm glad...we're going to see Duo...but everything's just so different...Chris is gone. Ilene is gone. Duo...Duo's not the same anymore. I just don't..."

She trailed off, and he felt obliged to put one arm around her in an awkward gesture of sympathy. "Daijoubu, Helena," he said again. "I am here." The words sounded horribly lame, but they were the only things he could think of to say that would remotely make sense. He hadn't dealt with an upset female in years, not since he'd left his sister on L1. He never imagined that he would see Helena so upset. Not Helena Rosenbaum, straight-A student, class president, confident and cheerful.

Chris, you bastard, why did you leave her like this?

It wasn't Chris' fault, he chided himself. He hadn't really known the boy, true, but Chris wasn't the kind of person to leave out of sheer spite. Chris was doing what he believed was right, as they were doing what they believed was right. As was Duo.

"I miss him, Shin," Helena whispered, and he didn't have to be a genius to know she was talking about Chris. "I miss him so much...I really thought he loved me." She gave a choked laugh. "Listen to me, I sound like some teenage drama queen."

"No," he said. "Those are legitimate feelings. You cared for Chris, and I know he cared for you too. Therefore it is only right that you should be feeling this way. You will both move on. Maybe you will be reunited soon."

To his surprise she started laughing.

"What did I say?" he said, slightly stung.

She shook her head, wiping away tears, still giggling slightly. "You...just have a refreshing way of putting things. I think I like it."

The cockpit door slid open again and General Po emerged. "We're well on our way," she said, a brusque note in her voice. This was a woman who liked to take charge, Shinobu noted. He had always known that, ever since he had met her, but it had never really sunk in until now. His grandfather had the same manner of speaking, except it was with even more authority.

"Where are we going?" Helena asked again.

"Japan." The general took a seat on the unoccupied side of the cabin, staring out the window for a moment before turning back to them. "I've tracked his location to one of the islands off the coast of the country. In the middle of nowhere, very small, very uninhabited. He and Hilde have probably had to live off spare rations for a while."

"He knows we are coming?" Shinobu said.

"I contacted him after we lifted off. He knows. He's expecting us."

He saw Helena clench her hands in her lap and instinctively he put an arm around her shoulders again. Her muscles were tense. He saw the general give them a look and then stand up.

"Get some sleep. It will be about two or three hours before we get there, and it's a time change."

Helena dropped off to sleep almost immediately, nodding on his shoulder while he stared silently into space. General Po had gone back into the cockpit again and he was left with his own thoughts. He saw his grandfather again in his mind, wondered what had possessed him to agree to the twisted deal.

I don't want the cartel...I've never wanted the cartel. If I could, I'd dissolve it. I'd give it away. Something.

But he couldn't. That was the reason he was here. He had wanted to get away from it all, and now he was ending up going back. All to help a friend.

And to save the world, maybe.

He didn't even notice when he fell asleep, only jolted awake at the sound of the cabin door sliding back again, General Po emerging from the cockpit. He looked at his watch. It had only been four and a half hours since they had left Cliffside, but the sky was dark and the time zone adjusted clock on the shuttle wall read a little past 4 AM.

"Are we there?" he asked. His voice was rough with sleep. On his shoulder, Helena stirred, her hair coming loose from the chopsticks and falling around her face. The movement woke her and she sat up groggily.

"We're there," Sally said. "Duo's waiting."

Helena stretched, wincing. "I have a crick in my neck," she said. Looking at the clock. "Wow. We're really in Japan."

"It was only four hours," he said, but she was smiling eagerly. There were still dark circles under her eyes, but she looked refreshed.

"We're really in Japan! And we're going to see Duo."

"You are excited about this," he observed.

"I've missed him," she said. "I gotta...gotta go to the bathroom. I look a mess."

"You look fine," he heard himself say, and to his surprise she smiled at him again.

"Thanks, but I don't think so." Getting up. "I'll be back."

Shinobu was left to look out the window alone. There were no lights anywhere. They must be flying blind. The general hadn't been joking when she said this was an island in the middle of nowhere.

Wait...there was a light. Just a pinpoint, but still a light. The shuttle turned towards it and the light widened, turned into a beacon. They descended out of the sky, like an angel descending from heaven, Shinobu thought, then wondered how he had made that analogy.

They landed with a slight jolt, and he could hear the hiss of the engines powering down, the roar dwindling to a slight hum. The light was all around them now, flooding into the windows. Pressing his nose to the glass, he stared.

"So that's a Gundam," he said to the empty cabin, in Japanese. The huge machine stared at him with empty, eerie eyes, and he felt a chill. They were so small, he thought, and it was so big, so powerful, like a god. The beacon seemed to be coming from a spotlight on the head of the Gundam.

"Yes," said a calm voice behind him, and he whirled to find General Po looking at him with some amusement.

"When...I didn't hear you come in," he stammered in his native language before he realized it, but she was already moving towards the door.

"Come on," she returned in Japanese, smiling slightly. "Go meet him. I'll be there shortly."

The landing ramp lowered with a hiss and then he was hearing the crash of the surf in his ears and smelling the slightly salty air. Hearing the sound of footsteps and then a familiar face was before him, blue eyes beaming.

"Shin! Dude, you made it!"

He had never been so glad to hear someone speaking Japanese in his life. His lips quirked in a smile.

"I'm glad you made it," he said. "We were worried..."

Before he could react, Duo had reached out and grabbed him in a body hug. "Hey man, don't worry about me. You know I'll always come through." Releasing him, looking him over. "You don't look too bad yourself. What's going on at home?"

He winced. "You don't want to know."

"That bad, huh?" Duo sighed, but the light in the eyes never wavered. "I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to tell me about it." Looking around. "Hilde's asleep, or else I'd properly introduce you two...I'm sure walking in and seeing her with a gun to someone's head isn't the best first impression."

"No," Shinobu agreed. "That's an impressive machine you got there."

A shadow passed over Duo's face, and Shinobu found himself remembering the serious, haunted Duo that had suddenly emerged after the riot at Cliffside. "Yeah. Impressive, isn't it?" There are two of them." The dark mood seemed to pass, and Duo grabbed his shoulder. "Hey...you came by yourself?"

"General Po-" He began, and Duo shook his head.

"I know you came with Sally. She said she'd be down in a second. But...just you? No one else?" He looked disappointed.

And then Shinobu didn't need to say, no, there is someone else, because the someone else bolted down the ramp in a flurry of golden hair and bare feet and flung herself at Duo, laughing and crying all at once.

"Duo...Duo...Duo."

"Hey babe," Duo said, looking surprised and then pleased and wrapping his arms around Helena. "Nice to see you too."

Helena released him, wiping her eyes. "I haven't cried this much in years. We were so worried."

"So Shin tells me," Duo said. "I'm still alive though. Barely."

"Duo?"

It wasn't Sally; she was still inside the shuttle doing post-landing check. The voice came from the direction of the Gundams, and Duo turned slightly, arm outstretched, as if welcoming someone. The pleasant mood evaporated, and Shinobu suddenly felt like an intruder.

"Hey...you can come out," the braided boy said softly, as if to a frightened animal. "It's ok."

The girl who emerged from the shadows of the tall machine was thinner than he remembered, her purple hair loose around her shoulders, eyes wide in a pale face. As she stepped up hesitantly, Duo put an arm around her. The gesture was protective, possessive, and something else that Shinobu could not name. The girl didn't say a word, staring at them with those frightened eyes.

"Helena, Shinobu," Duo said quietly, in a voice that was, to Shinobu's ears, eerily calm. His arm tightened around her thin shoulders, as if shielding her from some unseen enemy. "Meet Hilde...again."

 
Go to Helena side Belief

 
Scene II: As the World Falls Down

 
Carrington's smile practically lit up the screen. "We won. Fatima has twenty-four hours to turn him over to us."

A matching smile found its way onto Une's face, though she was still wary. "Is she challenging that ruling?"

"Of course. But I have friends in that system- they're going to stall the paperwork for a few days- that means we should have Winner in our custody before anything comes through. After that, we have our lawyers ready for the appeals she's going to throw at us.... and Yaminah Winner is going to bring her team over here as soon as possible. We're going to coordinate the defense for right now."

"Yaminah Winner? Is she one of his sisters?"

"Indeed, she's one of the infamous Winner Women. Number six, and a lawyer."

"Now isn't that handy.... that tribe forms a culture all its own- craftswomen, scientists, doctors... all they need is a mechanic, and they'd be set."

"I believe that Daliya has been known to dabble. And Quatre can build a Gundam," Carrington said in a deadpan voice.

"I should've guessed," Une said, an amused smile quirking her lips. She could afford to take some time to be amused. Right now things were on track- she had one of the pilots in her possession (though it really was rather rude to think of Quatre as a thing), Trowa had been sighted in Milan and she'd sent a force out after him, and there hadn't been a riot in nearly a week.

Things were most certainly looking up.

She scowled down at the piles of paper on her desk, reports that required her attention. The daily maintenance of the organization had been handed off to Gils-Reve, but many things still needed her authorizing signature. She knew how to delegate, but with Sally halfway across the world, Noin and Milliard in space, and her other high-level operatives keeping the lid on the powder keg, she had no one to turn to. Gils-Reve had been a treasure, but he could only do so much, and she couldn't pull Li or Brown from their current assignments. And the very idea of Carrington trying to be diplomatic made her laugh.

"Anyway, I've got the team of lawyers for us ready, and I'm arranging housing on the base for Winner. Not too close to Peacecraft- one bomb and the entire world gets blown up."

"Carrington, you worry too much. The Preventers Headquarters is the safest installation on Earth. I've run multiple personnel checks, there's all sorts of weapons detectors all over the place, multiple guards, and trained dogs."

"And they said the Titanic was an unsinkable ship, too."

"Are you comparing my organization to a sinking ship?" Une asked steadily, her smile fading. Carrington had a reputation for bluntness, but many of her statements had a very strong core of truth to them. If she thought there was a problem, or a potential one, then Une wanted to know.

"No, ma'am. It's just.... well that Banks got in here once, didn't he?"

"We've beefed up security substantially since."

"So? No fortress is completely perfect."

Une nodded reluctantly. "You're right there. It's just that-" She was interrupted by a red light flashing on her console. "I've got to go. Keep me updated!" And she ended the transmission abruptly.

The flashing button meant one thing; a live transmission from A007. She hadn't had any contact with Noin or Milliard since the attack had been planned, and she was eager to hear how it had gone.

"Une here," she said as she activated it, expecting to see Milliard, or failing that, Noin.

The face on the other end of the line wasn't one she had been expecting. She blinked once before she placed it. "Etille! How the hell did you get this number?! It's Preventers only- SENIOR Preventers!" Sure, Etille was a respected soldier with a reputation and award list a mile long, but she'd just gotten through praising Preventer security! It was almost like a slap in the face.

"Dorothy gave it to me," Etille said. His face was hard as he gazed at her through the link, and suddenly Une felt a prickle along her spine, a foreboding. She tried to ignore it.

"Why'd she give it to you?" she demanded, and he just looked at her, and she knew. Something had happened. Something terrible. Treize's face flashed into her mind suddenly, his face looking out at the stars just before he had died. Calm and collected and noble. She swallowed, her hands gripping the table, her good mood of a minute ago long gone.

"What happened?" Her voice cracked on the last word. "Etille, why are you calling me?"

His face was unreadable, and his voice was even as he looked her straight in the eye.

"Noin is dead."

For a split second the word didn't register, and then she blinked at him. "What?"

"Noin is dead," he said again. "She was killed in the last attack. I'm sorry."

"What?" she said again, bringing a hand up to her forehead. Her voice was wobbly for some reason and her mind seemed to have shut down. She heard a horrible thumping noise and realized that it was her own heartbeat thundering in her ears. "Noin...no. You've made a mistake. Noin's not dead."

"Une," Etille said gently, his face softening just slightly. "I'm sorry."

She stood up abruptly. "Excuse me," she said lightly to the face on the screen. "I'll be right back."

She cut the link and stared at the wall, stared until she was sure her eyes would start to burn holes in the plaster.

Etille had to be wrong. She had just talked with Noin, just a few days before. She'd told Noin that if anything started to go bad, just to give the word, and she would bring them home.

"Damn you, Noin," she muttered between gritted teeth. "Damn you and your stubbornness."

There was a paperweight on her desk next to her computer and she grabbed it, hurled it against the wall, and screamed as it crashed against the wall with a satisfying splintering sound, sending shards of glass flying.

Drawing a deep, shuddering breath, she glanced at the glass again, then sat down. She felt much better. There was a tear trickling down her cheek and she wiped it away, taking a deep gulp of her cooling coffee. She would not cry for Noin. At least, not now.

She took another deep breath and then switched the connection back on. Etille's face flickered into view.

"I believe you were going to give me a status report?" she questioned, with her best brusque, commanding voice.

If Etille had wondered where she was while the screen was off, he said nothing, simply bent his head. She heard a rustling of papers, felt faintly flattered that he had bothered to write down the details of the report he had for her.

"There's not much to tell," he said, almost apologetically, but she waved his apology aside.

"Anything will do. I need to know the whole story."

"We had a strategy meeting two nights ago," he said. "We've been gathering data on the A007 moves, and we felt that the best way was to strike at one of their hearts. So we organized a raid on one of their mobile suit facilities."

Une frowned. "How many do they have?"

"We know of two...the one we attacked last night was Toris Military Base, where Noin and I were held captive."

"I see," she said. "Continue."

"We had a plan worked out. It was a night raid. We were going to set fire to the oil and get out of there before everything blew...that would have effectively damaged most of the working part of the base. Everything was going fine until they sprung some reinforcements on us that I hadn't known that they had...I miscalculated." His voice was grim. "Then their commander came out and challenged us and would have killed Dorothy...but..." He trailed off.

"But Noin tried to save her." Une massaged her temples, even though her head felt remarkably light. "I should have known she would do something like that."

"The facility wasn't destroyed, though we managed to set fire to part of it," Etille said. She heard the papers fall on the desk. "We retreated, after that. There were a few other Preventer soldiers killed along with Noin...I think we lost two Preventers and about five of my own troops. There wasn't anything more we could do. Milliard was screaming his head off about Noin...we could hardly get him out of there in one piece."

Une's lips tightened. She knew how formidable an opponent Milliard Peacecraft was when he was upset, and she would bet anything that it was a good thing she had missed his anger at Noin's death. "What about Dorothy?"

"Dorothy left this morning," Etille said. For the first time she noticed how tired he was, and how there were dirt and blood? smudges on his face and hands. "She gave me the code to this, turned command over to me, and left."

"Turned command over to you? But-"

"Milliard is sleeping," Etille reassured her. "But as soon as he feels good enough to get up, I'm sending him back to you. He doesn't need to be here any longer than he has to."

"I agree," Une said, though she wasn't looking forward to the confrontation. She imagined Milliard would blame her for Noin's death. Her, and Etille, perhaps. And Dorothy.

"Noin died saving Dorothy?"

"That's right," Etille said. "Why?"

"Nothing." That would be a problem...she would have to find a way to keep him from going after her. Such a hothead...for a pacifist family. Perhaps that was why. It was the antithesis of his pacifist ancestry. "Anything else you have to tell me?"

Etille shook his head. "There's really nothing to tell. We're outclassed, outgunned, and outnumbered, and there's not much more we can do here. When Noin died, she effectively took Dorothy and Milliard with her."

Une sighed, taking another sip of the coffee. It seemed to have gotten colder. She needed a coffee pot in her office. "Etille. I want you to get all those soldiers...whoever's left-" that hurt to say, but she pressed on, "back here to Earth immediately. And I want you to come with them."

He blinked. "Excuse me?"

"I want you to come back with them," she repeated. "If there's any possible way-"

"Gustavson won't like it," he said.

"I don't care what he likes or doesn't like," she snapped, suddenly feeling waspish. "Just tell him that you have to leave. He's fighting a losing battle anyway, with or without you. Losing you won't make that big a difference."

"I'll try," Etille said, but his eyes said that he didn't like it. That he'd rather stay on his colony. "I'll call you later with my answer. Tomorrow."

"When is tomorrow for you?"

He looked taken aback. "What?"

"When is tomorrow for you?" she said. "It's about nighttime there for you, isn't it?"

"Yes-"

"Go to bed," she said, pointing a finger at him. "You look like you haven't slept in a week."

Etille shrugged. "You're right. I got two hours two nights ago. I've been running on pills."

"So have I," Une said, "and I know how you feel. Go to sleep and talk to Gustavson when you wake up."

"I can't," Etille said softly. "I have to take care of my troops." He bowed, and looked up at her again. "I will contact you. Later."

And the screen blanked.

Noin was dead.

She still didn't believe it, hoping that any minute Etille would call back, say, oh, I'm sorry, we made a mistake. Noin's all right. She made it.

But miracles didn't happen.

She used to think that soldiers...that people she really knew, were invincible. Soldiers would die, but no one that she knew. Only strangers. But ever since Treize had died, that illusion had shattered. If Treize had died, then anyone could die. It could have been worse, she told herself. It could have been both Noin and Milliard.

For some reason, it didn't make her feel better. Another tear found its way onto her cheek and she didn't bother to wipe it away, taking furious gulps at her now-cold coffee, trying to drown her pain in caffeine.

The incoming data transmission light blinked on the screen and she pressed it, hoping against hope that something...something good would come up. That it had been an error, a miscalculation.

The printer whirred, and she looked up, startled, as a single piece of paper began to slide out of the top, fluttering into the printing tray, front side up. The black letters stood out stark against the white surface.

MEMORANDUM FOR PRIVATE RECORD
MORTALITY REPORT
RANKING OFFICER
NOIN, LUCREZIA, PREVENTERS MAJOR
SERIAL NUMBER 15822147
KILLED IN ACTION COLONY A007 7 JULY AC197
RECORD AUTHORIZATION CODE PRA-587TAJ12

The printer whirred to a stop and she waited, hoping it would start again, but that was the only page.

Une cursed at the paper and then at the black vidscreen, resisting the urge to throw another paperweight. Looking around, she realized there weren't any more. That had been the last one.

 
Go to Une's Letter to Noin

 
Scene III: Sister to the Shadows

 
"Good morning! It's morning!"

Catherine blinked slowly, trying to get her bearings. One of the problems working for the circus was that you were never quite sure where you were when you woke up. It usually took her a few seconds to orient herself, remember what country she was in, or even if she was on or off planet. Then she became aware that someone -someone she couldn't identify by voice- was in the room with her, and she reached out for the hilt of the throwing knife she had placed on the night table before going to sleep.

She and Trowa had argued about that. He had wanted her to sleep with a gun under her pillow. She had immediately nixed the idea, pointing out that she didn't even know how to point it, much less fire the thing. He had graciously offered to teach her, to which she had offered some amazingly descriptive words on the subject- none of them flattering, and a lot of them physically impossible.

Finally they had compromised- she agreed to sleep with a dagger within arm's reach, and he quit trying to convince her that putting it under her pillow really was a better idea. The very thought of having a naked blade under her pillow as she slept made her shudder- she was a restless sleeper, and she could easily imagine decapitating herself as she tossed, which kind of defeated the whole purpose.

She had the knife in her hand before she had even managed to sit up fully, ready to toss it. Even though it was well-used, the balance was superb, and she was positive she could cut the wings off a fly at twenty paces, even in her sleep-befuddled state. Her eyes widened as she recognized the other person. "Your Majesty!"

"Relena," the other girl corrected. It had gotten to be almost routine- Catherine would call Relena by a title, and Relena would correct her. "I can tell you've spent time with Gundam pilots- and that some of their paranoia rubbed off on you."

Catherine returned the knife to the table. "I'm sorry, but there are people who'd like nothing better to kill me."

Relena nodded and moved closer. "I know. I'm a Queen- I live with the same thing, but I don't sleep with a weapon."

Catherine smiled ironically. "Not all of us have bodyguards. I have to take care of myself."

The Queen of Cinq blushed. "That was rather rude of me. Sometimes I wonder why I call myself a diplomat when I seem to have a gift of putting my foot in my mouth."

Catherine pulled the blankets around her, propping herself up against the thick down pillows. The morning air always seemed so much colder then the night. "It's not rudeness. It's innocence, and it's charming."

"We don't need charming right now."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that all my talk of peace isn't going to get anywhere. We need to protect those we love first."

Catherine twitched in shock. "You-you're abandoning your pacifistic stance?" It was incomprehensible, and Catherine felt the world turn upside down. The Queen of Peace advocating war? Next the sky would turn orange and Une would announce she was quitting the Preventers to become a stripper.

"Of course not! War is wrong, no matter what! But PACIFISM doesn't mean PASSIVE!" She tossed her head and smiled knowingly, and Catherine was more aware then ever of the gaping chasm that was between them. The girl was three years younger then she, yet could command the room with a simple gesture. Everything about her had been honed and refined to perfection, and Catherine felt drab, a pigeon in the shadow of a magnificent eagle.

"So... you're going to do something?"

"WE'RE going to do something. Can you get dressed? I want to get moving."

"Um.... moving?" She wondered what the license of the car was that had hit her, and if there was anyway to sue for damages. Relena had spent the past few days with her, but Catherine still wasn't comfortable with her.

"I was going to send one of Une's lackeys for you, but I simply can't wait any longer. The more time we waste, the less effective my plan will be."

"Um, sure." Catherine, like most circus performers, had little body modesty, but it was still odd for her to rummage through her closets wearing just a shift with Relena Peacecraft in the room. "Would you mine telling me what your plan is? And how I should dress, Your Majesty?"

"Relena. Dress casually, but make sure you look nice. We're going to introduce you to the world."

"What?!" She turned around, abandoning the closet to stare at the other girl.

"The fact that you are Trowa's sister is going to come out eventually. We can try to cover up, but if there's one thing the last few weeks should have taught us, it's that the truth will come out eventually. So we're gonna use it to our advantage."

Catherine felt sick to her stomach. "You may be used to fame, but I'm not. People will be trying to kill me."

"That would have happened anyway."

"True. But how can announcing that I'm Trowa's sister help?"

"What's the first thing a propaganda campaign does?" Relena asked patiently.

"I don't have a clue."

"It dehumanizes the enemy. If you make them something less then human, something evil, it's easier to hate them. So we're going to change things- we're going to show people that the pilots are people. I've talked to Vanessa Curtis, and we've an interview scheduled in an hour. She wants to do a five-part series, and you're up first. Each pilot is getting a special devoted to them, with interviews from people who knew them. A 'Who They Really Are' type thing. I'm going to get in touch with Howard and Hilde if I can find her, some of Quatre's sisters are arriving here later today, and Sally Po should be back later today- she's the one who knew Wufei best, though that's not saying much. And I'll speak about Heero."

Catherine's mind was reeling. "Um... you're planning on putting me on vid? Nation-wide?" She recognized Vanessa Curtis' name and knew that she was a reporter well-known for her intimate portrayals of famous people, and newsmakers. That Relena had been able to get her was yet another reminder of her status.

"Worldwide. This is BIG news- a Gundam pilot who is practically an unknown quantity had a sister? And she's talking to the press about him? Trust me, but the end of the day your name will be a household name. They would have found out about you eventually, especially since you're living at Preventers HQ. This way we can use it to our advantage."

Catherine, for the first time since meeting Relena, felt her formidable temper start to return. She didn't like how the girl was acting- so presumptuous, assuming that Catherine would blindly follow her lead like everyone else did. Relena might be the Queen of Cinq, but Relena wasn't a Cinq citizen. Officially her citizenship was French, and while the two countries had close ties, Catherine didn't give a damn. What she cared about was that someone was trying to arrange her life- WITHOUT her consent. "What makes you think I'll agree? Do you honestly think I want to get on intergalactic vid and paint a target on myself? I'm not like you- all I want is my brother back, and if you think I'm falling in line with any of your half-thought out schemes, you're mad!"

Relena's jaw dropped open. It had been a long time since anyone had yelled at her personally-with the exception of Milliard, but Milliard was always upset with her for some reason or another- and she'd forgotten. Very few people had ever yelled at her, and it was a novel experience in some ways.

It made her feel like Relena, instead of the Queen of the World. Still, she didn't like it. "I'm trying to HELP! Don't you think Trowa might surface if you broadcast yourself? He left to protect you, but if you clearly make yourself a target, he'll HAVE to come back! Une is trying to get all the pilots onto the compound so she can give them guards! She'll have Quatre here soon, and I'm sure he'd love to see Trowa- they were very close during the war."

"You're remarkably selfish," Catherine said coldly as she found a pair of black slacks and a simple cream blouse that set off her hair. "I am too, but I admit it. I just want my brother back- you go through these long speeches about all the pilots and doing what's right, but you're lying. You just want Heero Yuy." She slid into her clothes quickly, ignoring how Relena's blue eyes were starting to flash with anger of their own.

Catherine continued to speak as she combed her hair. "What I can't figure out is if you're lying so you can convince yourself as well. Did it really bother you that much that he didn't want you?"

"What gives you the right to judge me?" Relena found herself yelling back at the taller girl. The last comment had stung, especially since it contained so much truth.

Catherine paused mid-stroke, looking over her shoulder at Relena. "Well, you've judged me, haven't you? You've decided that I make a wonderful tool, and you're going to use me. It's a political thing, I understand, but I'm a person. Your decisions can and will affect the rest of my life."

Relena was ready to protest, but halted as she reviewed Catherine's words. "You're right.. I'm sorry- I should have discussed it with you before I made arrangements. If you like, I can go cancel your appearance." She looked down to hide her eyes, making a pretense of smoothing her long white dress with nervous hands.

Catherine hooked a somewhat gaudy earring in her right ear. The long earring was made up of a multitude of multi-colored linked stars which brushed against her shoulder as she turned to regard her reflection in the mirror. "No- it's okay. I'll do that. But I don't like people telling me what to do." She picked up the matching earring and put it on.

"'I am the master of my own destiny,'" Relena quoted softly, earning a tentative smile in return. "I'm sorry-" she continued, but was interrupted by a soft knock on the door. "I thought I made it clear that we weren't to be interrupted?" she said, annoyance coloring her voice slightly.

Relena stepped outside of the room, and there was a hushed conversation, a gasp, and then Relena returned, looking like someone had drained all the blood from her.

"Relena? Are you okay?" Catherine asked in concern.

"No," she whispered. "One of my friends was killed."

"Who?" Catherine asked urgently. It wasn't Trowa, it wasn't Trowa, thank God, but another pilot? Oh God....

"I don't think you knew her- her name was Lucrezia Noin, and she was a very dear friend to me during the war. I... oh, God.... how is Milliard going to cope?" she raised a hand to her lips as the thought occurred to her. "I should call him, but I can't- he's on assignment, and Une won't let me, and-" Tears began to run down her face, tears which she tried to repress ruthlessly.

Catherine forgot the fact that she had just been angry with Relena moments before. Her natural empathy goaded her into action. She found herself gathering the other girl in a hug. "I'm so sorry for your loss," she said. She knew what it was like not to be able to get in touch with your brother when you needed him.

Maybe they did have something in common after all.

Relena cried for another minute before pulling herself together. "We'd better go. You need to get to the make up artist so the lights don't drain you."

Catherine was shocked at how callous the other girl sounded. "But... what about your friend?"

"I don't have time to grieve right now," Relena said softly, though her eyes reflected the knowledge of yet another emotional burden. "But don't you performers have a saying? The show must go on? Well, I'm an actress, too, and the world is my stage."

 
Go to Trowa side Wildflowers

 
Scene IV: Judgment Day for the Wicked

 
Wufei had thought that getting to Geneva would be harder than getting into Geneva, but he had never actually considered the complications of sneaking into a city in which everyone knew your name, face, birthdate, and what Gundam you had piloted.

It was a lot harder than he expected.

For starters, there were Preventers officials posted at every entrance to the city and even some points that were not entrances to the city. There was also the matter of identification checks, which, Varis had pointed out to them, happened at liberty every few street corners or so. The Preventers were not taking any chances, it seemed, and Wufei didn't blame them. In a city in which was famous for its military headquarters, it was obvious that security was going to be tight.

"It's almost like martial law," Varis said, his mouth drawn in a thin line. "I haven't been back there for a while, of course, but I've been receiving transmissions to keep me updated."

"You think they would call all agents back if something broke out again?" Wufei had wanted to know.

Varis snorted. "Without a doubt."

Darkflight didn't trust Varis at all, and showed it. Heero had said nothing when Wufei had brought the soldier into the hotel room and announced their change in plans, but it was obvious that the pilot of Wing Gundam didn't like the arrangement either. It was necessary, Wufei had explained to him after he had sent Varis out to collect his belongings.

I know, Heero had replied, his thin shoulders hunched. He had been eating more, but did not appear to be gaining any weight. The drugs didn't help either. But that doesn't mean I like it. For all we know, he could be a spy, just waiting to arrest us.

If he was, don't you think he would have done that before this?

No, Heero said, his eyes shuttered. Spies have their reasons.

He didn't volunteer anymore information, but the tightness of his face told Wufei that it was something he had better not ask further questions about. Thankfully, Varis did not come back until the following morning, appearing outside their window shortly after down, rapping softly on the glass. Wufei didn't have to ask what he wanted.

"Get up," he said to Heero, pushing the boy out of bed and onto the cold floor, where he gave a sleepy cry of outrage. "We're leaving."

Five minutes later found them outside the door. "Your other friend is waiting at the shuttle," Varis said, in short, clipped tones as they headed out to the hills beyond the city where the shuttle Darkflight had managed to acquire yesterday was carefully hidden. It wouldn't do for them to have parked it at the local shuttle park, for all eyes to see. Not when their shuttle was a stolen shuttle.

Darkflight was there waiting for them as they emerged out of the brush. There was a scowl on his dark face as his eyes fell on Varis, but he said nothing, his lips pressed in a thin line as he disappeared into the hatch and waited for the others to clamber up as well. Wufei motioned Varis into the pilot's seat.

"You fly," he said.

Varis' eyebrows went up. "You're trusting me now? After all that show of threatening me yesterday?"

"I never said I trusted you," Wufei said quietly. "But I know that if something happened, one intelligence agent is no match for three trained assassins."

Varis laughed and turned to the controls. "It's been a long time since I've flown one of these things."

"How'd you get up here then?" Wufei settled into the co-pilot's seat, fastening his safety harness and staring out at the dark gray blot around them that he supposed could be called the pre-sunrise landscape. The sky was beginning to pink at the edges and he let his eyes unfocus, just slightly. He had never liked the sunrise much.

"That's a secret between the Preventers and me," Varis said evasively, easing the shuttle into hover mode and then heading off into the hills towards Geneva.

Wufei let himself sink back into the seat, eyes idly watching Varis. For a man who had not piloted in a long time, he was surprisingly adept, the tough hands maneuvering the craft with expert skill.

So do you really trust him?

I don't know, he answered himself. A parade of faces passed before his eyes...Sally, Duo, Trowa. Quatre, in prison. He imagined the blond head amidst a sea of reporters, the soft blue eyes taking on a hardness as the questions were fired at him. Quatre was a soldier, just like all of them, no matter how easy the media thought he was. If there was anyone that was hard to break, it would be Quatre.

Oh, many people would have said that the hardest to break would be himself, or Heero. But that was out of the question now. He had broken, and so had the pilot who had once been such a ruthless killing machine.

Heero Yuy doesn't exist anymore. Even if you look, he won't be there. I'm the only thing left.

Damn you, Heero.

"Anything wrong?"

He realized he was clenching his fists in his lap, abruptly relaxed them. The sensation sent tinglings of pain up and down his hands, as if he had been clutching something sharp. "No," he said shortly. "I'm fine. Don't ask questions, just fly."

Varis lifted his fingertips to his forehead in a mock salute. "Yes, sir."

Suddenly the atmosphere of the cockpit was stifling and he had to get out, to breathe somewhere else than in the presence of the other man. "I'll be in the back," he said, sliding out of the chair. "When we get there, signal me."

"Will do," said the Preventer agent as Wufei slipped out of the sliding door and outside into the cabin. The dim light was a welcome relief and he closed his eyes, leaned against the wall.

"He do something to you?"

He opened his eyes. The cautious voice was Darkflight's, and he felt a faint shock of surprise at the fact that the dark-skinned boy was addressing him at all, on a subject that had nothing to do with his former partner. The other boy was leaning against the opposite wall, one hand on the sliding window shutter that he had apparently been closing.

Wufei shook his head. "No. Just tired. Where's...where's Heero?"

A look strangely like pain spasmed across Darkflight's face at the mention of that name. "Back seat." Jerking a thumb. "Asleep."

"Look..." Wufei began, unsure of how to...apologize? to someone who he wasn't' sure even would listen to him. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable...but that's the only name I know him by."

He was surprised again as Darkflight shrugged grudgingly. "Whatever. I...it's none of my business now, is it?"

Wufei was about to respond, to open his mouth and ask what was going on, but Darkflight gave him another curt nod and moved towards the back of the shuttle, towards the bathroom. Faded into the darkness. Wufei stared hard after him, then headed in the same direction.

He had no intention of going after Darkflight, however. In one of the furthest seats he found what he was looking for: an untidy mop of black hair straggled over the seatback. Heero's eyes were closed and he was breathing softly, but even in sleep he looked dangerous. Like a sleeping panther, about to pounce. Maybe it was the scar, stretched thick and twisted across his face, marring the youthful perfection that Relena had found so striking. Taking away the last of the innocence.

Wufei closed his eyes, trying to remember what Heero had looked like two years ago. He found that he couldn't remember.

"What's wrong?"

He resisted the urge to jump in surprise, looked down. Heero's eyes were still closed. "You're awake," he said flatly.

"I've been dozing," Heero said. One eye opened, the scarred one, regarding him calmly. "Are we there yet?"

"No. Varis said he'd call me when we were near."

"I don't like him," Heero said.

If he expected Wufei to be taken aback by that comment, it didn't work. "I know you don't," Wufei said, dropping down on a seat across the aisle. "But you can't always like everyone you work with."

Heero snorted. "I think I got to like most of you...in the end."

"How..." Wufei hesitated, then charged ahead. "How much do you remember now?"

Heero was silent for a moment. "More," he said grudgingly. "But not enough. I feel like....there are these huge blank white spots in my memory. Or maybe more like black spots. When I had just....ceased to exist."

"I see," Wufei said, even though he didn't.

"No you don't," Heero said, just as the intercom chimed.

"We're almost there," Varis' voice said. "Would you like to come back up?"

Wufei pushed himself out of the seat and headed up without another word, entering the cockpit and sitting down. Squinting out the windshield through the warm sunshine, he could make out buildings in the distance. In his worldwide travels, he had never been to Geneva or any other part of Switzerland, only knew it as a capital of political importance. It looked small. Much smaller than Beijing.

"That's the Preventers tower," Varis said, pointing to what looked like a clump of buildings that, as they flew closer, looked very out of place among the other architecture. Varis adjusted altitude and pulled back on the lever, sending the shuttle swiftly towards earth.

"If you could hit hover over there for me...?"

Wufei reached over and keyed in the hoverlift engine, hearing the sublight engines subside with a whine. The shuttle settled a comfortable hovering distance from the ground and he realized they were a lot closer to the city than it had appeared from the air. The trees thinned and stretched into massive concrete runways and shuttle parks.

"Geneva International Airport," Varis announced.

"Wait a minute," Wufei said, alarmed. "You can't just...this is a stolen shuttle, you know. And both Heero and I are wanted cri-"

"Leave it to me," Varis said in a smooth voice that left a sour taste in Wufei's mouth.

You have to trust him, he repeated to himself, over and over, clenching his hands on the arms of his chair. You have to trust him.

If Varis betrayed him here and now...turned him and Heero in...there was nothing they could do about it. The Geneva authorities were everywhere.

"Look," Varis said, the impatience barely hidden in his voice. "Geneva is a Preventers city. Even if I did turn you in, who do you think is the highest ranking authority around here?"

Wufei didn't answer.

"The police are military police," the Preventer agent said, guiding the shuttle into one of the empty spaces on a shuttle pad laid out a distance from the runway from which they had landed. "Their loyalties lie with the Preventers. Not some World Nation that runs its affairs through political manipulation."

Varis' contempt for the World Nation was evident in his voice. "But I thought the Preventers worked for the World Nation," Wufei said, curious.

"Oh, we do. Or, we have been. Before the....before you and your friends came into the picture."

Curious. So Une was on the side of the World Nation...in name only. Somehow, it seemed appropriate for her.

For the first time, it hit him that he could have walked into the Preventers' fortress, Une's sanctuary...only to find that she was ready to turn him over to the World Nation from which he had been trying to run.

It was frightening.

What's happening to you? Suddenly the voice in his mind was Meilan's, berating him. Two years of peace have made you soft! What happened to the dragon warrior I taught you to be?

"You're dead," he whispered. "Let me be!"

"Wufei?"

He snapped back to the present, finding Varis' concerned face hovering above him. "You all right? You need to see a doctor?"

Wufei didn't answer, stalked out of the cockpit and over to Heero. The boy was awake, standing, watching him with those unnerving blue eyes.

"Collect your friend," he said coldly. "We're getting off."

Heero didn't argue, didn't ask what had happened, simply ducked into the back of the shuttle and came out with Darkflight, who was looking mutinous.

Varis ushered them off the shuttle and onto the wide shuttle pad. They had walked only a short distance before there was a whine of engines and the whirring of helicopter blades overhead. Wufei looked at Varis warily, but the agent smiled. He could see relief in the other's eyes.

"Our ride's here," Varis said.

The bold lettering on the helicopter's side read PREVENTERS SPECIAL FORCES.

His thoughts shot back to that fateful day in Beijing, at Tiananmen Square, the helicopters swarming overhead, gunning down innocent civilians. Of the bright seal and letters painted on the side of that craft, killing for the sake of peace.

That's what he had done. Killing in the name of peace, and he was only beginning to see how high the debt was.

I'm paying it off. I'm doing this for them.

"Wufei! You going to get in or are you just going to stand there?"

He shook his head, blinked. The helicopter was hovering overhead and Heero was yelling down at him from the open hatch where he stood, clutching onto the side of the craft with one hand and gesturing to a metal link ladder with the other. The wind from the rotating blades tore at his skin and his clothes.

"Coming!" he yelled, grabbing hold of the ladder and clambering up. Heero's arm reached down to help him up and he stood up, taking a look at his surroundings, he found himself face to face with a weathered, bearded face, the hazel eyes looking at him warily.

"So you're Chang Wufei."

"Who are you?" he snapped, not bothering to retain his manners. He had been dealing with difficult people for the last two weeks or so, and he was at the end of his rope.

The man snorted. "Polite, aren't we?" He was about the same height was Wufei, stocky with graying hair, dressed in the same uniform Varis was wearing. "Then again, I suppose you boys have got the nerve to be rude." He laughed. Wufei remained silent. "Not one for humor either, are you?"

"I'm tired," Wufei said. "I wish to be left alone."

The man laughed again. Wufei heard the hatch close with a sharp bang, the metal ladder clatter into a heap beside it, and saw Heero moving towards the back of the helicopter a few seconds later. "Heero!" he called sharply, and brushed past the Preventers agent, catching up with the other boy.

"What do you want?" Heero said shortly.

Wufei didn't speak for a moment, steadied himself against the wall as the copter banked sharply to the left. "Where we're going...It's dangerous out there," he said finally. "Don't do anything...stupid."

For a moment, Heero stared at him, then a tired, sardonic smile spread across his face. "Stupid, Wufei? I think you know me better than that."

He disappeared behind the partition and Wufei stood there, staring at it, feeling helpless. "No," he said quietly. "I don't know you at all."

He stood there, feeling suddenly out of control. For the past week he hadn't had time to think, hadn't had time to do anything but run from one town to the next, plan their course and make sure that everything - and everyone - made it in one piece. He had been too caught up in the arguments with Darkflight and worrying about Heero to think about himself. And now that he was, he didn't know if what he was doing was the right thing.

"What if we lose?" he said to the wall.

There was no answer.

He bowed his head tiredly and slumped against the partition, feeling the thrumming of the engines against his skin, vibrating deep into his bone. His eyes drifted shut of their own accord. He was so very tired...

A beeping noise startled him and this time he did jump, looking around wildly for the source of the alarm, wondering if they were under attack, hand dropping reflexively to his belt for his sword before he realized he no longer had it -

"We're above the base," the cheerful voice announced and Wufei stared at the man who stuck his head out of the cockpit, the same man who had greeted him upon his boarding the helicopter. "Should land in about five minutes...what's the matter, boy? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Nothing," Wufei said, and the man shrugged and disappeared again. The helicopter dropped altitude suddenly and he sat down hard on the floor, waiting until they had touched ground.

Heero and Darkflight emerged from behind the partition. If either of them noticed that he didn't look well, they didn't show it. Wufei brought two fingers to his temples, rubbed them. He suddenly had a headache, and his stomach hurt.

The helicopter settled lightly against the ground - landing platform, probably - and he could feel the blades starting to slow. Stop. The pain in his temples increased and he looked up to see Heero staring at him, except that Heero looked very small, as if he was looking through a pair of binoculars from the wrong end.

"Wufei, are you all right?"

"Of course I am," he said, and stood up unsteadily as Varis ducked out of the cockpit and motioned him away from the hatch. The world spun out of focus for a minute and then righted itself.

"Let me open that."

"I am a Gundam pilot, you know," he said loudly. The words sounded foreign to him, as if he was hearing himself talk, standing a long way away. "I can open hatches too, you know."

Varis gave him an unreadable look and Wufei shrugged, moved back as the door swung open with a whine and the foldable steps sprang into position. There were figures on the landing pad but the sun was too bright for him to make them out.

"Go on," Varis said. "I believe they're waiting for you."

His stomach roiled and he felt very hot, but stepped out onto the first step anyway, holding the railing tightly as he made his way down to the platform, squinting. The figures were coming nearer, one of them holding out his? her? hand.

"Chang Wufei?" The speaker was a man, a general in a Preventers uniform, his deep voice reverberating around the pad like they were standing in an auditorium. "I'm glad to meet you, at last."

He managed to nod, stick out his hand. His palm felt clammy at meeting the man's touch, and then there was a cry of delight.

"Wufei! It is you!"

It was Relena.

He hadn't seen her in so long that he had almost forgotten what she looked like, and they had never been the best of friends either, but as ran towards him in a flurry of blond hair and grabbed his hand eagerly, it was as if they were siblings separated for too long a time.

"Nice to see you too," he said stiffly, and her laughing eyes turned to him.

"Just like I remember you, too."

From behind him, the older man said, "And you must be Heero Yuy."

Relena froze.

Wufei turned around, almost losing his balance, saw Heero standing there at the bottom of the steps looking like prey caught in the headlights, his long unkempt hair blowing slightly in the wind, eyes hard beneath the scar. Looking defensive. Frightened. Cornered.

"Heero," Relena breathed. Wufei dared a glance at her. Her eyes were wide. Her hands flew to her mouth. "Heero..."

And then she moved toward him, her long white dress fluttering in the breeze, but as if on cue, Heero sprang to life, walking quickly away from the steps, past Wufei, past the general, towards the building at the end of the platform. Relena stopped, motionless, staring as he passed her without a word. Only when he reached Wufei did Heero turn his head, and the look in his eyes was now unreadable.

"Heero," Wufei said softly. "I-"

"Forget it," Heero shot back, and then he turned, breaking into a run. Running away.

"Mr. Chang?"

The ground was whirling slightly around him now, and he wasn't sure if he was still standing or not. The general's voice came to his ears from far away, sounding slightly worried.

"Mr. Chang, are you all right?"

He felt hands catch him as he fell.

 
Act VI Part IV | | Act VII Part II | Back to Sainan no Kekka