Broken Wing
A Sailor Moon / Gundam Wing crossover
Prologue
By Sailorcelestial
Light expanded from the lone section of the Libra still headed for Earth. The explosion was soundless in the vast emptiness of space, but it blared with ominous force inside her mind. Her hands were spread on the window of the shuttle, her blue eyes wide and quivering as she stared into the fading brilliance that had been the light. Her brother had been there. Could he have survived?
Before her silent question could be answered, another, smaller explosion lighted up inside Earth�s atmosphere. What was that? It couldn�t have been . . . no . . . not . . . the Wing Zero? One hand abandoned its perch on the window to cover her mouth as it tried to release a sob. She wouldn�t cry. Not until she knew for sure that they were dead.
�Are they alive?� she whispered a spilt second before she turned her helmeted head to the man who was piloting the shuttle, �ARE THEY ALIVE?!?�
�I can�t be certain about Mister Milliardo, but I�m picking up traces of debris inside Earth�s atmosphere that are definitely Gundanium alloy. The Gundam that went into the atmosphere no doubt exploded.�
�But he could still be alive,� she insisted, grabbing the man�s sleeve in desperation. She remembered how Hiiro had nearly fallen to his death outside the military hospital, releasing his parachute too late. But he had miraculously survived. If he could live through a fall like that, he could survive an explosion. Couldn�t he?
�I�m afraid not, Miss Relena,� the man shook his head sadly as he studied the readout, �I�m also picking up . . .� he paused, as if unsure how to phrase what he wanted to tell her, � . . . I�m picking up . . . human debris. Tissue, bone matter, blood. He didn�t make it.�
Relena�s memory ended there, but the soldiers had told her later that they had caught her when she fainted, and guarded her all the way back to Earth.
That had been a year ago.
Now Relena sat on her bed, hands carefully resting on her legs in her usual fashion. She had been raised with proper manners, and the lasting grief she felt over the loss of her brother and Hiiro was no excuse to let propriety drop. No, she was still Relena Peacecraft, and she had a job to do.
She stood and walked to her bathroom to look in the mirror. Staring into the familiar blue eyes of a stranger, Relena ran a hand through her short, boyish hair. The decision to cut her hair had come not long after that day. It was her way of mourning. When she allowed her hair to grow out again, then everyone would know that she was moving on. A year later, only a few of the people who knew her best were beginning to worry. Everyone else seemed to think that it was natural for a girl to mourn so long for her brother and for a close friend. Only Relena knew what Hiiro had really meant to her, and only she knew that she would never let him go. This mourning would never end. Not until the day she died.
With no emotion she lifted a hand to swing open the mirrored door to the medicine cabinet. Within sat a single bottle of pills. These sole inhabitants of Relena�s medicine cabinet had taken up residence there about five months ago. Her excuse was that she suffered from terrible headaches, which she did, and no one would deny Relena Peacecraft anything she needed. But she had not used one of those pills. She saved them, not quite certain why but knowing that if the time her subconscious mind was preparing for came, she would know.
She silently closed the cabinet and turned, walking out of the bathroom.
Her mourning would never end. Not until the day she died.
The figure carefully contemplated the images that it had just seen. Death, and despair, all for the death of one boy. The girl named Relena Peacecraft had fooled herself into believing that she mourned two people, her brother and the boy she loved. But the figure knew the truth. Relena did not mourn her brother at all. No proof had ever come forth that Milliardo Peacecraft had perished in the destruction of the Libra, although most people found it easier to simply believe he was dead. Those who knew him, however, had a faith that he was alive somewhere in outer space.
It was the boy, Hiiro Yui, that Relena missed the most. He was proven dead, and she loved him.
The figure shook its head and spoke.
�This cannot come to pass. Hiiro Yui must live, and Relena Peacecraft must not be allowed to despair.�
A staff appeared in the form�s hand. It resembled a large key and fit perfectly into the hand it was designed for.
�The course of Time must be preserved.�
Another window opened before the observer, and another set of future events unfolded.
Duo pulled the brim of his cap lower over his eyes. His trained ears picked up the sound of footsteps on the wet pavement behind him. His stalker was not giving up. They wouldn�t attack him as long as he stayed on the crowded street, but Duo couldn�t avoid the fact that he was running out of crowded street. Night was creeping into the city quickly, and with its arrival people were dutifully filing into the safety of their homes. Unlike Duo, who had no safe place to go.
Well, he thought to himself, I might as well go ahead and deal with this joker.
But he didn�t really feel that confident. For he knew who it was who followed him.
Without warning he slipped into an alleyway, removing his cap and tossing out onto the sidewalk as a signal to the stalker. I�m here. Come and get me.
Standing in the shadows, anticipating the arrival of his enemy, Duo shook out his newly shortened hair. It was shoulder-length now, a far cry from the long braid he had proudly worn for so long. With the murders of all of the engineers who had helped build the Gundams, and the mysterious, unexplained death of Quatre Winner, Duo had thought that the removal of his trademark braid might be a good option. Obviously it had not earned him the anonymity he thought it would, for the murderer had found him anyway.
�You know I�m going to kill you, Duo,� stated the shadow that had joined him in the small space. A small build hid the boy�s inherent strength and resourcefulness.
�Yeah, well, why don�t you come over here and get it over with, huh, Wufei?� Duo�s voice wavered. It was a normal inflection that was always present when he spoke, but became more pronounced when he was nervous or afraid. Silently the boy cursed for letting his fear get the best of him.
Wufei didn�t bother to respond, or even mock his former comrade. Duo dodged the first barrage of fists, but neglected to move timely enough to avoid being hit in the jaw. He scowled as his tongue darted from his mouth to taste the coppery blood that flowed from his split lip, staining his chin. His indigo eyes sparked as he lurched forward, fist aimed at Wufei�s stony face. His shadowy enemy grabbed the fist in his hand and twisted Duo�s arm around, forcing the chestnut-haired boy to turn to alleviate the pain. A swift kick in the back and Duo stumbled forward, hitting the pavement hard on his shoulder. He wasted no time in bounding back to his feet.
Oh man, he�s better than the last time we fought . . . worlds better . . .
As Wufei strode forward, face slack and body relaxed in perfect calm, Duo began to get a real sense of the danger he was really in, and his hands began to shake.
�You�re not kiddin� are you? You�re really gonna kill me!� He stumbled back in surprise, staring out from the damp brown hair matted to his wet face, �Then . . . it really was you who killed Quatre and the others!�
In answer Wufei merely reached into his pocket and pulled out a lock of white-blonde hair, tied with light blue yarn. Duo�s eyes widened as he recognized it as Quatre�s. Another step backwards brought him to a brick wall. He didn�t really want to fight Wufei. Not only because the two had gotten to know each other somewhat before the events that had ended in Hiiro�s death, but because he didn�t think he would win. Duo could fight, but he had already proven that he couldn�t fight like Wufei. But pride and anger wouldn�t let him hold back the words he knew would enrage his enemy.
�Damn you, Wufei. You�re just a coward,� he managed one of his devil-may-care smiles even as his nemesis pulled out a dull black handgun, �Can�t deal with the memories, huh? So you�re erasing all of the people and things that remind you of what we Gundam pilots used to be.�
Wufei�s face contorted with anger, but he didn�t physically attack as he would have only one short year ago. This surprised Duo so much that he didn�t even hear the gun fire. In fact, he didn�t even realize that the blood dripping onto the pavement was his own until he was face down in it, and by then it was way too late. He attempted to push himself up only once. For the few moments that he managed to keep his head up, he glared at Wufei in betrayed anger.
�I told you I would kill you. Don�t act as if you thought I wouldn�t.�
Wufei aimed the gun at Duo�s face and fired three more times.
The observer quietly closed the time window, and was solemnly silent for a few moments in respect for the boy who had fallen in the scene that had just played out. Duo Maxwell hadn�t deserved to die like that, gunned down by a former comrade. No one deserved that, and this form was determined that this future would never occur.
Clutching the key staff tightly the watcher stepped from the shadows to reveal a tall, tanned woman with a sea of green-black hair that cascaded to her knees. A serious face, locked forever into a severe expression of responsibility too hard for such a lovely visage, stared out into the dark mists of the plane she inhabited. There, in the shrouded distance, she could see the outline of the Gate she guarded and maintained. The Gate she had sent the Senshi though so many centuries ago. The Gate she had not passed through in nearly as many years.
But that was the only choice now. Drastic changes needed to occur, both in the weapons of the Gundam pilots and within their minds, to avoid such a radical and tragic future. She knew this, but because of her isolation she didn�t quite know how to bring about the mental changes. The physical changes, yes, but she knew little about the inner workings of the typical human mind. And the mind she needed to change was certainly not typical. The Guardian rapped her staff on the ground as she pondered the problem of finding someone who could reach such a hard person as Hiiro Yui without taking him off the chosen path of his destiny.
There was only one person.
She could easily contact the NeoQueen. The Guardian was one of the few beings in the Universe who knew the whereabouts of the last true Moon Kingdom royal and her descendants. Serenity was one of those people . . . she had that tendency to get under a person�s skin and become a part of them before they realized what was happening. But she was old. Not physically, of course. Physically she was only about twenty-three years of age, and that way she would stay forever.
Serenity had the combat and ruling experience needed to lead such an incorrigible group as the Gundam pilots, but her age was a problem. The boys would never follow someone of that age. Youth, especially these youths, had a natural distrust of adults. For the pilots, nearly all adults were their enemies, part of OZ and the Romafeller Foundation. No, Serenity would not be the best choice, despite her experience.
The Guardian needed some form of Serenity, however, if she expected to be able to make her plan work. A younger version would be acceptable, though not preferable.
The boys were 15, save Trowa . . .
Trowa.
She hadn�t looked in on his future. What will become of the oldest of the pilots if this future goes unchanged?
She opened another window on the circus where Trowa was known to spend his time when he wasn�t being a Gundam pilot.
The lion became a kitten beneath Trowa�s gentle touch, purring for attention as if it had always been so tame. The boy gave a small smile. He never smiled for people, only animals. Not since Quatre had died.
�Trowa!� came the voice of Kathrine, the red haired acrobatic woman whom Trowa called sister and for whose voice he was grateful for at the moment, �You�ve got a telegram from Earth!�
He paused. Who from Earth would send him a telegram? The only people he knew there had been Quatre�s men. As far as he knew, they had long abandoned Earth, the final resting place of their young master.
Trowa stood and accepted the paper from Kathrine�s hand with a hard expression on his partly hidden face. His jaw set, leaving his lips in a thin line of anger as he read the telegram, eyes even more flat and unreadable than usual.
This is it then, he thought as he looked up and across the circus that he had come to call home, I will leave here, and search out Wufei, and either kill him or die in the process. Either way I won�t return here. Killing nameless soldiers in space is one thing. Killing a person you once considered a teammate is another, and I won�t corrupt Kathrine.
�I�m leaving here,� he informed his sister with a nonchalant tone as he tossed the telegram over his shoulder, �I�ll be going to Earth. I once asked the authorities there to keep me informed of certain people, and they have done so. The situation there requires my presence now.�
He walked away from her, the information brought with the telegram still burned in his mind. Duo was dead. It had taken DNA testing to confirm the bodies identity, seeing as the face was little more than mulch mixed with bullets. It was a violent killing, unlike those of the engineers and Quatre.
Trowa frowned. The police had told him that there was no way to say for certain that the boy had been murdered. After all, he could have simply fallen off of that cliff, or committed suicide. As if someone who had everything would want to kill themselves. Quatre had been a Winner. Rich, with bodyguards up the wazoo and anything his kind little heart had desired. And in the last seven months of his life, he had also had Trowa. The older boy had not left his young companion�s side for a moment. There was just something about Quatre, with his pale looks and gentle heart coupled with deadly fighting ability, that captivated Trowa. He had known from the first second he met the young Winner that something special was happening between them.
But it had ended that night when Wufei tossed Quatre over that sea-side cliff. No, Trowa hadn�t seen it happen and no, he couldn�t prove either the identity of the killer or even if it had been murder at all but he knew. Quatre didn�t take midnight strolls along dangerous cliff edges by himself, and Quatre wouldn�t have killed himself. Not to mention the fact that poor Quatre�s face had been more battered and bruised than a fall would have done. He had been beaten. Of course the police didn�t believe Trowa. It was much easier to assume the death an accident or a suicide than try to hunt down a nameless, faceless killer with no motive.
Of course, the killer was neither nameless nor faceless to Trowa. He knew the name only too well and the face would never leave his memory. Wufei.
He would kill Wufei.
Or die trying.
The Guardian frowned and immediately changed the window to a new scene. The fate of Trowa and Wufei.
Wufei�s dark eyes lost the last of any true feeling that may have been held in them as he gazed silently up at his handiwork. Blood from several wounds dripped down his left arm and joined the pool on the ground. Life soaked the grass and colored the mud a dreary shade of red as rain pattered into the liquid, diluting its purity.
Trowa�s body hung limply from a tree. His blood no longer dripped, it had been flowing for far too long. It was all spread on the wet ground, and Wufei�s mixed with it as he stood there. The dark haired boy was almost sorry he�d given in to the urge to show off his kill as a trophy. Pride was a strong force, however, even when it was for the wrong action. Unlike Quatre, Trowa had not been weak, and Wufei felt that a certain amount of pride was in order for such a kill.
Still, there was that voice from deep inside his mind that told him killing Trowa had been wrong. That every kill he had made in the past year was wrong.
It was nearly over. There was only one more person to dispose of.
Wufei limped through the crimson mud towards his fallen katana. His pale hand wrapped about the handle slowly, shaking ever so slightly. As he was righting himself by pushing the blade deep into the mud , Wufei recalled the words he had said to Trowa seconds before cleanly snapping his neck.
As fighters, we Gundam pilots represent a risk to the peace of the Earth and the colonies. I cannot allow that risk to exist.
Finally catching his breath, Wufei turned the katana blade in on his own stomach, prepared to atone for the dishonor of killing his teammates. But he hesitated. Did he really deserve the right to absolve his sins with his final act? Whether he wanted to believe it or not, the events before Heero Yui�s death had effected him, made him not quite as hard. He had respected these people, yet killed them all in cold blood. No, he did not deserve to absolve those sins from his soul.
Wufei took the blade from his stomach and instead slit his own throat.
The Guardian shut the window quickly, a slightly heartsick expression on her stern face. So young, all of them, to die in such gruesome manners. Isolated from the universe as she was she had not known the condition of things until it was too late to stop the spiral towards darkness. Such a universe to create boys so hard they could murder nameless people by the thousands, then kill each other. She felt a heavy weight in her soul from the knowledge that she could have changed things if only she had caught it early enough.
But enough dwelling on what she could have done. It was time to act, to stop the scenes she had just witnessed from moving from the future into the past. Future was fair game, but the past was off limits. If she wasted enough Time to let these events happen, then they could never be altered.
She tapped her staff against the ground again, and the Gate�s heavy white doors opened wide. Maroon eyes peered into the unknown of the Time warp. In their depths could be seen the Guardian�s hesitation, and fear of her own failure. But she braved the hardest part of this journey, the first step through the Gate, and flung herself into the mercy of Time.
End Prologue.
Broken Wing
A Sailor Moon / Gundam Wing crossover
Part 1
By Sailorcelestial
Colonel Une stared at the viewscreen, her brown eyes narrowing behind the glare on her glasses. If OZ�s pilots couldn�t get any better than that, they wouldn�t stand an inkling of a change against even one of the Gundams. A scowl marred the stern beauty of her face as she motioned to the screen.
�Call those pilots back and send out the next group,� her low, hard voice was specifically designed to put fear into the hearts of her underlings, no matter how mundane the order.
�Yes, Colonel Une,� the soldier she had addressed answered briskly.
�Colonel Une,� came an unfamiliar voice from behind her, �I�ve brought you the reports from the colonies, as you requested.�
The colonel turned and let her flat eyes look the speaker up and down. The woman was dressed in the black, slightly stylized uniform of a lieutenant, with green tinted black hair tied up in a single bun. Her maroon eyes were tilted towards the ground in proper respect for a higher ranking officer. All in all, she seemed a typical OZ soldier.
Except for the fact that Une had never seen this woman before in her life. She knew all of the lieutenants, and would have remembered perfectly the face of anyone she had asked to bring her reports. But this woman was a complete anomaly.
�Identify yourself, soldier,� Une barked, and the woman blinked in seeming surprise.
�Lieutenant Meioh, Colonel . . . remember? I transferred here about two months ago . . .�
Une frowned and her mouth opened, words of denial about to spill from her lips when those maroon eyes flashed with a strange light that, for a moment, sent a shiver up the OZ officer�s spine. When the light subsided, all memory of what she was about to say was wiped clean from her mind.
�Thank you, Lieutenant Meioh,� she snapped instead, snatching the reports cleanly from the officer�s hands, �Dismissed.�
Une watched the woman leave, a scowl plastered on her face. She�d never liked Setsuna Meioh, the entire two months that the lieutenant had been aboard Barge. She was certain that the dark haired woman was trying to get in and steal her position. Well, that wasn�t likely to happen anytime soon. Une made a mental note to see about having Meioh transferred again as soon as humanly possible.
Setsuna smiled softly to herself as she walked the corridors of Barge. Une, as a woman who was used to having her commands strictly obeyed and knowing everything and everyone aboard her vessel, had been easily tampered with. As far as she was concerned, Setsuna was who she said she was. A new lieutenant transferred from somewhere else to duty on Barge, which was just setting orbit above the moon, in contact with Lunar Base. My, that�s where the captured Gundam pilots were being held. How convenient.
After pulling her mental trick on the soldier stationed to guard the mobile suits, the Guardian of Time set off towards Lunar Base.
She entered the prison area, populated only by the people being held there. Officers and soldiers generally stayed away from this section of Lunar Base, for no one wanted to be caught there should any prisoner escape. No, it would not be their fault.
She didn�t need to search out the cell she wanted. The location, as well as everything else about this time period, was etched into her memory. Boots heels clicking solidly on the metal floor resounded in her ears and she smiled, grateful for such a small pleasure. Such sounds couldn�t be heard in the plane between Times.
So engrossed she was in the pleasures of being on the mortal plane, that she nearly missed her stop when it came. But she came to her senses just in time, and turned to look at the plain metal door. Within those walls was held the savior of the future, although he didn�t know it yet. Setsuna placed a hand upon the doorway and took in a deep breath, letting it out with a sigh. She didn�t have very long before Trowa and Une would arrive to take Hiiro for the first field test of the Mercurius and the Va8. Time was not on her side in this matter; there was so little of it free so that she could speak with the pilots without being seen.
Setsuna unlocked the cell door and swung it open. She knew that she was in effect standing in the middle of a bright white light, her features vague at best to the two boys sitting within the dark room. As her own vision adjusted to the darkness, Setsuna laid her eyes on Hiiro Yui and Duo Maxwell for the first time in person.
Hiiro truly was a handsome young man, with dark brown hair that insisted on invading the cold, unfeeling plain of flesh he called a face. Brown seas of indifference stared at her from under the strands of hair. His thinly muscled arms were draped over his knees and bound together by handcuffs. He didn�t speak to her; he probably thought that she would speak to him if she so desired. And she did.
Duo was leaning calmly back against the cell wall as if he were not imprisoned at all, but in the middle of a vacation in a sunny paradise. Only one of his indigo eyes popped open at her presence, and when he saw her he simply smirked and closed the eye again. She smiled almost lovingly at him as the vision of his future flashed in her mind. It was so good to see him alive and well, complete with braid. Setsuna sighed and brushed her hand over her shoulder in an attempt to push back her own green-black hair, which normally rested there, but was now pulled up into her bun.
�I don�t expect either of you to trust me,� she began, getting that part over with from the beginning, �but whether you do or not, I am here to help you.�
Duo snorted, obviously disgusted with her openness, but Hiiro merely glared at her. Those eyes . . . so cold and hard . . . they didn�t seem natural on a boy his age. It was enough to unnerve even the stoic Guardian of Time.
�Yeah, right,� Duo began in his oddly inflected voice, never moving from his comfortable seeming position on the wall, �An OZ lieutenant just waltzes right on in our cell and claims to want to help us, and we�re supposed to believe that? You�ve got a few screws loose, lady. We ain�t that stupid.�
�I know you aren�t, Duo,� she said his name lightly, as a mother would speak to a loved son, and he straightened at her tone, giving her a hard glance, �None of you are stupid, and I wish that your intelligence alone were enough to keep the five of you alive, but it won�t be if you don�t listen to me.�
The braided boy�s eyes narrowed at her words, and Hiiro didn�t move even as the barest hint of interest entered his cold gaze.
�We�re listening,� Hiiro grunted in a monotone, and Duo glanced at him in shock.
�WHAT?!? Have you completely lost it?? She works for��
�I know who she works for.�
Setsuna nodded gratefully in Hiiro�s direction. This acceptance from him was the last thing she expected, but she didn�t have the time to let it distract her.
�I can�t tell you everything right now; your friend Trowa is on his way as we speak to take Hiiro to test pilot one of the new mobile suits,� she saw the confusion in their eyes, and realized that at this point in Time the name Trowa was not known to them, �Trowa is on your side, no matter what he may say or do. There are many things for all of you to learn and all five of the Gundam pilots must be brought together before I can begin to teach you.�
�We learned everything we needed to know before we left for Earth,� Duo nodded at Hiiro�s statement.
�Correction, you learned everything that the scientists could teach you. But there is much that they don�t and couldn�t possibly know.�
�And you do?� Duo scoffed as he gazed at her with disbelief sparkling in indigo pools.
�Yes,� she replied simply, moving back towards the door. Seconds were ticking by; seconds that brought Trowa and Une closer to the cell. Setsuna stepped out, maroon gaze glancing in the direction she knew the two would be coming from. One hand rested on the door as she began to swing it closed, but before she shut them back into darkness, she spoke one more time, �All you need to know now is that I know someone who can help you, and will bring them to Earth soon. Farewell, brave pilots.�
Light slanted as she shut the door quietly, and the two pilots were locked back into darkness.
Duo stared into the blackness where Hiiro was only a moment ago. The braided one�s vision was still adjusting to the sudden change from light to dark. Ever so slowly he began to be able to see his cell-mates outline in the shadows that shrouded them both.
�What do you think you�re doing, huh?� he asked only when he was able to tell for certain that Hiiro still sat out of arms reach, �That�s an OZ lieutenant!�
�I know,� came the answer in low monotones. Hiiro didn�t even bother to move.
�You�re crazy, you know that? Absolutely nuts.�
Silence met Duo�s comment. Apparently Hiiro didn�t consider it important enough to formulate a reply. Duo rolled his eyes and sighed. His sigh was that of a person with the weight of more than a world on their shoulders. There were colonies out there that also depended on the work that he and the other pilots were doing. As he stared out into the blackness that made the small cell seem larger, one of those moments came upon him.
It was a feeling that it was all so unfair. He was fifteen, still a child in most people�s eyes. Any other boy would never admit that he still balanced on the fence of life, constantly leaning back and forth from childhood to maturity and back; any other boy Duo�s age would have insisted that he was a competent adult. But the burden of his responsibility made the braided-boy realize the truth. He was a boy, not a man. Yet he piloted one of the most deadly machines that humanity had ever dared to create. What was it about Destiny that made it such a cruel taskmaster? He should be going to school, dating, and arguing with parents and siblings, not risking his life with every breath that passed from his lungs.
�You ever regret being a Gundam pilot?� he murmured in Hiiro�s general direction, not really expecting much of an answer.
�No,� came the response, �how can I regret what I�ve been raised to do?�
Duo sniffed.
�I figured as much. You really are a piece of work, you know that?� Suddenly Duo felt the need to strike out at someone, anyone, for the emotional abuse he had endured in the form of expectations, �You�re just as much a machine as the ones we pilot. You�re programmed, that�s all. That�s why you don�t feel anything, because you aren�t programmed to feel. You do only what your sick little scientist tells you to do.�
�Kinda like you?�
Duo blinked. Hiiro�s reply was cruel, but accurate.
�Yeah, I guess ya got a point there,� he admitted as he leaned back against the wall.
His musings might have lasted a bit longer, save for the fact that the information given by the lieutenant was correct. The door swung open again, this time revealing two figures. One was a woman, face hard and eyes holding a certain amount of cruelty. The other was a boy about their age, with hair that hid half of his face. His expression was completely indifferent, as if he didn�t care one way or the other whether he was here or somewhere else. Duo assumed that this was the one named Trowa, although the face was not familiar.
�Well,� the woman asked in tones of impatience, �which one do you think should test pilot the Mercurius, Officer Barton?�
Barton, as she called him, let the voids empty of emotion that were his eyes pass from Duo to Hiiro. It was unnerving, the way that his eyes were the only things about him that moved. Finally he made a gesture in Hiiro�s general direction.
�Him,� languid was the only way to describe his voice, a voice that Duo immediately recognized, �He�s less likely to try to escape than the other.�
The woman nodded briskly and motioned to the two guards outside the door. As mechanized as OZ�s mobile dolls the soldiers came at their ranking officer�s beck and call, picking up Hiiro and marching him out into the hallway, leaving a wide eyed Duo behind. He scowled. For all he knew, they could be taking Hiiro for execution under the guise of test piloting a new mobile suit. He watched the woman, vaguely hearing one of the soldiers addressing her as Colonel Une, as she smirked at him, obviously very pleased with herself. She turned and followed her lackeys, gesturing to Barton to follow her. Trowa Barton paused just long enough to stare silently at Duo, then stepped out and closed the cell door behind him.
Duo was left alone to consider several things.
The first was that Trowa Barton, the officer working directly under Colonel Une it seemed, was a Gundam pilot. Duo recognized that voice from the time when all five pilots had been together on Earth. He hadn�t seen all of their faces, but their voices were ingrained in his memory, and there was no doubt that Trowa was one of them. So why was he wearing that OZ uniform??
And just how had that lieutenant known that Une and Trowa would take Hiiro? They hadn�t even seemed to know themselves which one they wanted until their arrival. Was it just a lucky guess? If so, it had been damned lucky. Duo frowned and gave the door an indigo glance.
Not to mention the fact that Hiiro seemed all too ready to trust this mysterious lieutenant. Hiiro. Hiiro Yui. Duo shook his head. Hiiro still didn�t trust him, but he was willing to trust some random OZ officer that suddenly dropped by and claimed to want to help them? He snorted in disbelief. Hiiro was nuts.
It was too late now to do anything about it, however. All Duo could do was sit and hope that Hiiro wasn�t out there choosing a pattern for his blindfold.
Setsuna returned the mobile suit to its proper place on Barge before she donned her Senshi fuku and left the Universe for her more comfortable abode on the plane between Times. She sighed as she ran a hand over her shoulder and was pleased to find her hair there, as usual. After countless millennia of having green-black hair to shove behind her shoulder, it was annoying to still have the habit, but not the hair.
She shook her head. There were more important things to worry about.
Like how she was supposed to earn Duo�s trust. And after that, Wufei�s. Where were they going to stay when they arrived on Earth? How was Usagi supposed to interact with five boys, the majority of whom would rather kill her than look at her? Could Usagi befriend the pilots? And if she could, would she be able to do it and remain the pure, innocent soul she was? Setting in to motion a new timeline always blocked Setsuna�s foresight, and there were simply too many questions to answer, even for the Guardian of Time.
She released a sigh and the mist that surrounded her stern face curled about and in on itself, billowing out away from her shimmering maroon eyes. Tiring as this was going to be, Setsuna knew that it was the only way to save the five pilots and the future that they would create.
So much to do, and just where to start?
Rest first. Action could come after she rested.
Sailormoon sighed and pulled a hand across her forehead, wiping the sweat from her skin. She looked up with panicked tears in her eyes at her friends, who were just beginning to rouse themselves from the ground. At the sight relief burst the dam of her heart and her face crumpled as she sank to her knees, sobs shaking themselves from her chest. Placing her face in her gloved hands, Sailormoon sobbed her fear and relief out.
�Usagi-chan . . .� she heard Minako�s voice, and felt arms wrap around her in a comforting hug.
�Usagi . . .� that was Rei, the one hugging her, her best friend.
�Please don�t cry, Usagi-chan . . .�
�And why shouldn�t I, Ami-chan?!?� Usagi cried through her weeping, �I thought you all were dead! I thought I�d let you all die AGAIN!� Her tear-filled pause was silent, for all of the Senshi were giving each other worried glances, not knowing what to do with this miserable, anguished Sailormoon, �I don�t want to do this anymore! No wait, I never did want to fight . . . I NEVER wanted to fight!� She turned her sorrowful blue eyes up to her friends, and they all saw the pain, regret, and determination in them, �This is it. I won�t fight anymore,� even as those words spilled from her lips, Sailormoon�s fuku disappeared in a flurry of ribbons, and Tsukino Usagi took the brooch from her school uniform. She handed it solemnly to Sailormars.
�Usagi!�
�No,� the blonde answered simply, shaking her head, �Take it. I don�t want it anymore.�
�Usako . . .� Tuxedokamen stepped up, taking her hands in his, �I can�t say that I agree with you,� he began, receiving nods from the Senshi and a hard glance from Usagi, �But if this is what you feel you have to do then I am behind you.�
�MAMORU-SAN!�
Mamoru shook his head and raised a hand to silence the protesting soldiers. His decision was final, they all knew. He would stand by Usagi because he loved her, and had faith in her. He believed that she would one day realize how the world needed her, and return to being Sailormoon more powerful and dedicated than ever. And if she didn�t . . . well he would still love and support her.
His tuxedo and hat disappeared, leaving Chiba Mamoru to walk his girlfriend home.
Later, outside her home, Mamoru sighed and looked at her.
�Are you sure this is what you want?� he asked her one last time, hoping that the quiet walk home might have calmed her a bit. He was disappointed to see the resolute shining of her blue eyes. That look was familiar to him. He�d seen it too many times before to mistake it for anything else other than pure Tsukino Usagi determination. She would not be swayed. He sighed, �Alright, I understand. I won�t speak of it any more and I won�t try to change your mind. But I can�t make that same promise for the others.�
�I know, Mamo-chan,� she said, smiling a small smile, meant to encourage him. How could she know that for the first time since meeting her, her smile had the reverse effect? To him she seemed perfectly content to pull out of the battle and let the other four take on the Dark Moon by themselves. What would they do if she really never fought again?
Die, most likely.
Quatre�s blue eyes wavered as he stared out of the enclosed control area to where the nearly completed Gundam stood. His body, leaning against the control panel on rigid arms, was taught with his lingering anger. The boy was ready to pounce on anyone who dared to oppose him in any way.
�It�s almost finished,� his eyes narrowed as the words tumbled in a murmur from his lips, �Soon . . .� The boys head fell, his chin hitting his chest as those once innocent eyes closed, �Father . . .�
He remembered the figure of his father standing against the window of his ill-fated ship, staring stoically out at him and his sister. Then the colony had fired . . . and the ship . . . gone. Lost in the explosion, taking his father with it. That idiotic, foolish colony fired too soon, without really listening to what the elder Winner had to say. OZ held all of their minds firmly in its grasp, poisoning them into violent action. And that . . . that was why it had to pay. All of the colonies did, because they were all poisoned by OZ. OZ was everywhere.
Ever so slowly his head rose, eyes opening to gaze out into the work area, where his project was near completion.
Quatre would exterminate OZ with his new Gundam.
Wing Zero.
Infinity, or merely a second or so, had passed in the immortal realm between Times. Setsuna was once more positioned before the Gate, maroon eyes gazing sadly on its white polished surface.
She was not supposed to interfere. It was an unspoken rule. But over the millennia it had become increasingly difficult for her to simply stand and watch, allowing Time and other more sinister forces to carry on their work in peace. First the rule was broken when she contacted Sailormoon to help Small Lady, who was trapped in her dreams, chased by the dark youma of dreams. After that . . . well . . . she preferred not to think of it as breaking the rule. She preferred to think of it as helping her friends.
The Time staff glinted in the dim light of the realm. It seemed to be encouraging her on her way, knowing more than even she that Time was short. Setsuna nodded and sighed. Her fuku faded in a gentle wash of violet light, to be replaced by the black uniform of an OZ lieutenant. Once more her hair was swept into the single bun atop her head that annoyed her so much. If only the military wasn�t so strict about such things.
With a flourish mastered over many centuries packed into millennia, Setsuna commanded that the Gate of Time be opened to the proper time. Of course, being a sensible Gate, it did precisely that.
Don�t worry, she thought to the five pilots, knowing that they could not hear her, I won�t let you die . . . I�ll preserve your destinies and your lives.
End Chapter One
Broken Wing
A Sailor Moon / Gundam Wing crossover
Part 2
By Sailorcelestial
This is the long awaited second chapter of Broken Wing! Whoo hoo, I should give myself a pat on the back! Thank you to Trenchcoat Man, without whom none of this would ever, ever, EVER have been written. Thanks to Marika Webster, you crazy little Voyager freak you! You keep me insane despite my parents ever constant efforts to damage my fragile psyche with sanity and ::shudders:: normalcy. Rogue-chan! You know you're just great, great, great! Rachel-chan, you'd better be reading this! ;o) Lianne-sama . . . ::bows to the invisible Lianne idol:: Thanks to the pre-readers who haven't had much to do lately ::blush:: but are important anyway. Names are being withheld to protect the guilty. And last but certainly not least (Sailorcelestial's command of the clich�, people!) thanks to all of you readers out there who've read Broken Wing, liked it, and reviewed. I would have stopped BW long ago if not for you guys. ::huggles:: I WUVS YA ALL!!!
ALL IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: Sailormoon isn't mine. Dang. Gundam Wing is mine . . . ::gets beaten by a gaggle of lawyers who were waiting in the wings for her to say something stupid:: Ack . . . correction: Gundam Wing ISN'T mine. Dangit. Broken Wing IS MINE!!! HAHAHA!!! I've written this story, and it's MINE! Okies. I'm done.
"Man, this is such a lame way to die! This is NOT cool!"
Wufei said nothing. It was not his place to speak to his companion when their air supply was steadily decreasing and Duo was determined that it meant certain and inevitable death. The black-haired, raven-eyed Gundam pilot simply sat on the ground, calmly flipping the slides on the small projector device the one named Trowa had slipped to them. While Duo rolled around on the metal floor in an almost amusing display of abject misery, Wufei quietly studied the designs projected onto the cell wall. From what he saw, the scientists had planned to make Deathscythe and Shenlong both bigger and more destructive than before, and Wufei couldn't wait.
Ah, Nataku, you will be even stronger than ever. Will I be worthy of piloting you then?
"What're you doin'? There's no point in that anymore!"
"Be quiet if you want to live a little longer."
"It would take something drastic for us to survive now!"
"I'm doing everything I can just in case that something drastic does happen." Wufei answered simply. He did not believe in giving up, especially not so soon. So he continued to flip through the projections, pretending to study the designs when really he had already memorized them and his mind was elsewhere.
Women. Who knew what went on in their heads? Wufei remembered the encounter at Victoria Base, when that woman, what had her name been? Lieutenant Noin. When Lieutenant Noin attempted to stop him from destroying the new model mobile suits. She had put up a good enough fight. For a woman. Yet it seemed that she had the nerve to be surprised that he had beaten her.
And that Major Sally Po. So weak, her and all of her men. They fought in small, petty battles that they could not possibly win. The odd thing was, they knew they had no chance of winning, yet still they fought on, and why? So OZ could wipe them all out one by one, or even by small groups at a time? Wufei didn't understand their impulse to fight when they knew they were weak.
What of this mysterious Lady Une, who had refused to order her soldier to fire on Nataku, when it was obvious that the Gundam was badly damaged and it along with its pilot were in no condition to battle? She seemed to be a pacifist, yet she worked for OZ, an organization that loved conquest and power above all things, including peace. Wufei had a feeling that there was some story there yet to be told, for he remembered the muttered words of the soldier directly under her, who had thought that his comm system was turned off. Which Colonel am I supposed to follow anyway? Yes, there was definitely more to that tale than was advertised.
Finally, that OZ lieutenant, the one who claimed to want to help the Gundam pilots escape. What was she truly scheming? When she had come the look on Duo's face had told Wufei that she was no stranger to the braided one. And her assertions were so strange. She wanted to help them, but she couldn't tell them how, or why, or even exactly when. Only that she was bringing someone to Earth soon, who would help them. Help them how? And why was this OZ officer so willing to help Gundam pilots?
Wufei stopped, sensing the decrease in air as well as one might sense the presence of someone standing behind them. It seemed that merely sitting around and not talking was not going to be good enough to keep them alive.
As I told Duo and Hiiro, your intelligence alone will not be able to save your lives.
The words of the Lieutenant.
Well, his intelligence and special abilities were going to get him out of this mess. He would make sure of that.
Wufei set the projector down and settled himself on his back. With a skill that came from many years of training the boy first slowed his breathing considerably simply from control. Then, as he slipped into a meditative state, it became nearly impossible to discern whether or not he was still actually breathing. In this condition he wouldn't need nearly as much air as before, therefore he wasn't worried by the fact that Duo would probably use most of it in a matter of a half hour or so. Duo would die, leaving the rest of the scant air to support Wufei until such time as either the doors were opened, or Wufei himself finally succumbed to death.
The only sound that could be heard in all the vast area of space was the heavy, almost whimpering sound of his own breathing. Why was he breathing so hard? It wasn't as if he had spent any energy at all. No, the colony had fallen without a fight as far as he was concerned. Their mobile suits, their paltry weapons, were all little more than flies to him. Insects whose lives were insignificant in his grand scheme of how the universe should be; how peace should be achieved. It was his universe, his colony, and their lives had been his.
He was Wing Zero.
No . . . wait . . . Wing Zero was the suit, the machine. He was not Wing Zero. He was Quatre. Quatre Raberba Winner, and he had just destroyed an entire colony.
"Father . . ."
No time. No time to reflect on a past that could not be changed. Only on the future, which opened up into possibilities so numerous as to be dizzying.
As he sat there in space, the light of the dead colony only now fading into blackness, the path of the most probable future opened up before his eyes. He saw the woman in the OZ uniform who was not what she seemed. He saw the golden haired one, the angelic creature who would come from a far away place to become a significant player in this game of war. She also was not all she appeared, for around her glowed a soft silver light; it was like moonbeams had fallen from the sky to bathe her in their glory. These two would be important because they . . .
The golden light of Wing Zero went dark abruptly. Quatre blinked, surprised and unnerved by this sudden cessation. It took him a moment to realize that the vision had stopped because the future was so very unclear. Somehow the presence of these two women would alter the future so much that no distinct path lay in the direction they would lead.
I won't follow them. I don't have to. I can make my own future, as long as I have Wing Zero.
This colony was dead. It was time to move on to the next.
It took little more than a thought to send the Gundam into motion, flying at an amazing pace towards the next colony. Quatre found himself thinking that this was truly an amazing machine, a one in a million piece of work.
Sandrock . . .
A flash of the last moments of his first Gundam invaded his mind, almost causing tears. Wing Zero was remarkable, but Sandrock had been his own. Sandrock had seemed, if only once, to have a mind and a will, and it saved his life with that will. He missed Sandrock, more than he would ever miss Wing Zero should it, through some improbable fluke of Fate, be destroyed.
"Quatre!"
The voice, so familiar, permeated from somewhere out in space, breaking apart his lovely daydream. Quatre searched the view screen with only a vague sense that he was actually looking for something. Out amongst the small points of twinkling stars there were two sparkles that were not stationary. They were moving, moving closer to him. Two mobile suits. Wing Zero's arm raised, prepared to fire, when the voice came again.
"Quatre, it's okay, we'll fight with you."
Trowa? Could it be that tall young man who once stayed with Quatre and the Manguanecs? The mysterious one, with deep green eyes of pain, and who claimed no name but gave one anyway, the one that Quatre had been longing to see again ever since that day.
"Stay away from me," he heard himself say before he knew it, "I'll kill you, stay away from me!"
"Quatre?" Trowa's normally even voice of no emotion wavered somewhat. He sounded almost as if he were worried, "This isn't you. Where is the kind Quatre that I knew?" From the screen Quatre saw the blue mobile suit moving closer, and he panicked.
"I said STAY AWAY FROM ME!!"
The beam cannon fired almost before he even realized that he'd commanded it to do so, as if Wing Zero's controls were merely an extension of his own mind. Quatre thought he heard, ever so faint in the noise of the blast, a sound of surprise issue from Trowa. That, of course, was impossible. Trowa could not be surprised.
Through the formless haze of his consciousness Quatre saw the blue mobile suit try to move out of the way but get caught by the blast. Somewhere deep in a part of him that was neither mind, nor heart, nor soul, but an amalgam of them all, he cried out in silent apology. His mouth did not open, no sound issued, but he felt that Trowa had heard. Yes, the boy had heard and understood.
"I'm going to kill you, Quatre," came the voice of Hiiro, who was somewhat less understanding. The platinum haired boy realized faintly that Hiiro had been speaking and he had only caught the last part, the declaration.
Kill me? He's going to kill me? No . . . because this isn't right. We . . . we shouldn't be fighting.
Hiiro could not hear his inner thoughts or cries, however, and Quatre watched as the red mobile suit came barreling towards the nearly invincible Wing Zero.
From an isolated room within Barge, the uniformed Setsuna observed the battle between Wing Zero and the Mercurius. This was to be a turning point. After this battle the events of their lives would change drastically from what they would have been to what Setsuna and Usagi were going to make them.
Usagi.
Setsuna felt sorry for the girl-soldier and her friends. The Guardian fought the guilt in her at her meddling with Usagi's mind, but it couldn't be helped. Like NeoKing Endymion's horrid dreams, Setsuna had done this for the good of the Senshi, although they would not see it as such. The Senshi loved Usagi, and protected her, but none of them truly realized the impact she had on their battles, no matter how many times they had seen her save Earth. If forced to fight without her, they might come to realize just how important she really was to them.
Usagi also needed this. She needed to know how vital she was to the world. She needed to see the future impact she would have long after Crystal Tokyo. And more than anything else, she needed to see that sometimes one must fight in order to receive the peace they desired.
Out of the corner of one maroon eye a flash on the screen caught her attention. Realizing that with allowing her mind to wander so had she allowed her eyes, Setsuna returned her gaze to the battle. The flare from the Wing Zero's beam cannon was just fading, leaving behind a badly damaged and doomed Va8. Her gaze settled on that flashing figure, knowing that within it was the boy Trowa. Yes, here was the turning point. Right here. In a few moments her chance would come. Setsuna tapped in a security code and prepared to speak with the emotional Quatre who would face her in just a minute.
"TROWA!"
What . . . what have I done?
Quatre watched, blue eyes quivering, as the blue mobile suit exploded into brilliant light. His mind was hazy; he didn't quite understand exactly what had happened. He knew that he had fired on Hiiro in the red mobile suit, but Trowa protected the stoic soldier. Now, Trowa was dead. Incinerated in the destruction of that suit, just as Quatre's father had perished in the explosion of his ship. Quatre pitched forward in his seat, almost gagging on his grief it was so thick. He was the same as OZ. He killed in exactly the same manner: ruthless, blindly, and without heart.
"TROWA!!!" he screamed again, this time with tears spilling in sparklets from his eyes. Quatre clutched the Wing Zero's controls and started to move the Gundam towards whatever remnants may have been left of Trowa's suit. Perhaps . . .
Without warning he was knocked from his course by the heavy red bulk of Hiiro's suit. The two mobile suits slammed into the colony with considerable force, leaving a smoking, dusty trail of demolished buildings and other colony debris.
"Quatre . . ." came Hiiro's voice, strained over the comm system. The blonde boy could hear the pain in it; Hiiro was wounded. It was his fault and he knew it.
"HIIRO!"
Quatre moved to open the cockpit door. Before he could, however, his viewscreen flashed into life. On its flat, dim surface was the face of a woman. Her features were stern, as was her green-black bun and stylized uniform, but her eyes were kind.
"Quatre Raberba Winner," she said. Her voice was tight and controlled, but he could sense the caring hidden within her tone. This woman knew him, and cared for him.
"Who are you?" It was the only thing he could think of to say.
"My name is Setsuna. You mustn't tell Hiiro my name. He knows of me, as do the other pilots, but you are the only one who knows my name and that must be. For now anyway."
"Alright," Quatre nodded, mesmerized by the powerful aura of this woman.
She was the woman in his vision! The one who would bring the angel to save them!
"You must take Hiiro to Earth. There, just outside of the Sanch kingdom's southern border is an old base. Take him there and help him. You will find everything that you need there to nurse his wounds and feed yourselves."
"Yes, I will." His complete trust in her took him almost by surprise. But he could not deny the kindness that he felt from her. It was too tangible. She smiled at him then, and even through the static fuzz on the screen he saw the tinge of sorrow in that expression.
"It is good to see you well, Quatre."
"I'm not well . . ." he murmured, flicking a last, longing look in the direction of the long dead explosion, "I killed Trowa."
"Do as I told you," she said, ignoring his guilty comment, "and all will be well, I promise."
Air.
Fresh, breathable air.
It was the sudden in rush of that life giving substance that woke Duo from the near death sleep he had fallen into. He all but flew into a sitting position, his braid flopping over his shoulder. Beside him Wufei was stirring. Bright light pouring in from the noticeably wide open door blinded him. Duo grinned and turned to his companion.
"Care to escape?"
"Let's give them payback first."
Duo laughed, leaping to his feet in what might be considered barely contained joy. He wasn't going to die after all! This day just kept getting better!
In moments the two were running through the corridors. Duo found that he was not the only Gundam pilot who had been told to memorize the layout of every OZ base in known existence. Wufei knew the floor plan of Lunar Base just as well as he did. The braided one gave a little grin. Well at least I won't have to worry about him holding me back.
The wide control room opened up before them as they ran through the doorway. Lying on the floor was the still form of the officer who had been with Trowa. Her glasses lay not far from her limp hand. From beneath her body seeped the treacherous red of fresh blood. Duo skidded to a halt and knelt beside her.
"Wufei, wait!"
"Why," asked the raven-haired boy with a look of pure disgust written on his features, "she's an OZ officer, and none too kind I might add. If she dies here, it is one less member of OZ for us to worry about."
"Look, she's a human being, and she's dying. We didn't shoot her. So we should help her. Besides," he nodded upwards to the control panel where the cell door release lever was pulled into the open position, "she was shot because she helped us. She's the one who freed us, saved our lives."
"She could just as easily have been shot trying to stop our savior," Wufei stated practically. With that he turned and continued on his way towards the rebuilt Shenlong and Deathscythe. Duo paused momentarily, then grimaced and rose to follow. He didn't feel right about leaving the woman behind, but Wufei was right. She may not be their savior. And she WAS an OZ officer. It was better to let her die than to waste time trying to help her and give up his own life. Still, it didn't feel right.
"Stop!"
Duo did so, but only because the three soldiers in front of him were blocking his way. All were pointing guns at him. He raised his hands in the air, a smirk on his face. He knew the smirk would drive the soldiers crazy. It always did.
"Well, looks like ya caught me. Oh well, I guess that OZ officer bleeding back there on the floor will just haveta die, with no one to help her."
"What are you talking about, Gundam pilot?" The lead soldier glared at him in obvious distrust, but he was at least willing to listen.
"I thought I was being loud and clear. OZ officer. Bleeding. Floor," he jerked his head in the direction of the control room, "Back there."The three looked at each other for a moment. That short amount of time was enough for Duo to land a kick that knocked the guns from their hands. Then he punched one soldier in the gut and the other, whom he recognized as on of the guards who had beaten him, in the face.
"Go and rescue your officer, soldier," he said to the third, who glared at him in palpable hatred then ran past him towards the dying woman. Duo sighed and jumped over the squirming man who was holding his stomach and moaning. This was turning out to be a good day indeed.
After sending Quatre on his way to Earth, Setsuna switched her console screen to the action at Lunar Base just in time to see the Altron and the Deathscythe Hell defeat the last of OZ's despicable mobile dolls. She smiled, and sighed happily. Hiiro, Duo, Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei . . . the scientists couldn't have chosen better pilots for their Gundams than these five. If anyone could lead the colonies into peace through war, they could. They could show the colonies and Earth the pain and destruction that war cause. They could show that there is no happiness for those who fight.
Setsuna shook her head to clear it and switched on the viewscreen.
"Duo Maxwell and Chang Wufei, I'm glad to see that you've escaped." As if she ever had any doubt that they would.
"You!" Duo cried, his indigo eyes wide with surprise. Wufei was silent.
"Yes, it's me," she answered, not able to control the slight lilt in her voice. She decided that she'd been spending too much time talking to Usagi and Minako, "I'm here to tell you where you need to go now."
"How did you know that Trowa would choose Hiiro?" Duo completely ignored her statement. She could see even through the static of the screen that he was leaning forward in anticipation of her answer. But what answer could she give?
"That will be explained later, Duo. Right now you and Wufei must go to Earth. Both of you. There is a base-"
"I will not go," Wufei interrupted, "I will not go where an officer of OZ tells me to go. I don't trust you."
Ah, Wufei, always blatantly truthful.
"I'm not sure I trust you either."
Duo . . . forever annoying.
If neither of them trusted her, how was she supposed to get them on Earth? She needed all five pilots there when she brought Usagi. Silence guarded the three as she thought on how to lead them to Earth without their trust.
"If you don't trust me," she began, "then at least consider this. Your new Gundams, powerful as they are, are damaged as well as incomplete. The scientists did not have a chance to finish them before this escape. On Earth, in this place that I tell you to go, your Gundams can be completed and repaired."
Setsuna carefully studied their two faces in turn, trying to decide whether they were listening or not. Duo chewed on his lip in fervent deliberation of her words. Wufei's dark eyes bored into hers when she glanced at him, black as night and expressionless. They revealed nothing. Please, oh please let them believe me . . .
She was about to sigh and give up when at last Duo spoke.
"I'll go. Right now it's the only place I can think of where I can get Deathscythe repaired. And we all know that Shinigami can't be at his destructive best with an incomplete Gundam!"
Setsuna smiled at the wide grin plastered on Duo's face.
"Well, Wufei?" she asked, turning expectant maroon eyes to the quiet boy. His mask of indifference melted into a look of extreme annoyance. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes to speak.
"I will go, but only to have Nataku repaired and completed. If this place you tell us is a lie, then I will destroy it and find you to kill you. Understand, Onna?"
"I understand, Wufei. But I promise you that this is no lie. I would not lie to you."
I will keep things from you . . . but I will not lie . . .
"Where is this place?"
"It is at the southern border of the Sanch kingdom . . ."
Two days later, at the southern border of the Sanch kingdom, four boys met all together for the first time. The braided one waved brightly towards the wounded boy, and the dark eyed one glared in distrust at the blonde.
"Hey there, Hiiro!" Duo grinned. Hiiro grunted. "Hiya, Quatre."
"Hello, Duo," Quatre replied with a good natured smile that nevertheless had a tinge of great sorrow to it. Duo studied the boy for a moment before deciding to let Quatre deal with whatever was bothering him on his own. He opted for introductions instead.
"Wufei, meet Quatre! He piloted the Sandrock, right Quatre?"
"Right," the boy answered, the sadness creeping from his false smile into his voice.
"Wufei pilots the Shenlong. Well, I guess it's the Altron now, huh?"
Wufei did not answer. He merely stood there with arms crossed and glanced about the place where they were. Duo sighed as Hiiro broke from Quatre's helping grasp and limped away. Hiiro was always limping.
"So, uh . . . how'd you get here?" he asked, for lack of anything better to say.
"A woman told me to bring Hiiro here. She said that we'd find everything we needed to dress his wounds and to survive until she came."
"What?!?" Duo stepped back a bit to look into Quatre's eyes. He really didn't need to. He should have known that Quatre was speaking the truth; he always did. "Was she an OZ lieutenant, green black hair and maroon eyes?"
"Yes!" Quatre blinked and looked up, "She told me that you and Hiiro knew of her."
"We sure do. She came to talk to us while we were at Lunar Base. She's the one who told Wufei and me to come here so our new Gundams could be completed."
Quatre and Duo stared at each other, both wondering silently who this woman could be, and how she seemed to know so much. Finally they both glanced away. Quatre looked to Hiiro, who was his responsibility, and Duo tried to find Wufei only to discover that the raven-haired one had vanished into the dusty old base.
He tugged on his priest's collar and sighed as he looked on that crumbling building. It certainly was old. The cobwebs inside were so thick that Duo could see them through the windows, many of which were broken or cracked. The dirty red bricks that made up the outer walls were also cracked. Duo walked over and tapped one of them lightly with a fingernail. Part of the brick chipped and fell off as if it were made of chalk. He sighed again.
"This place is a dump. It looks like it's been here forever! How are we ever supposed to survive here?"
"That woman must have come here before to prepare," came Wufei' voice from inside. A moment later the boy himself stepped out of the door, "There are five rooms, one for each of us, and you will know which is yours. She knows us somehow. She knows what we like, what we dislike, our hobbies and interests. There is also a kitchen that is well stocked. Strange thing is that everything except the food looks like it's been here for ages. Almost as if the builder knew that we would be coming." Wufei frowned. It looked good on him, considering that it was his normal expression, "I don't like this. It's too convenient, too well planned."
"Yeah, but at least there's food!"
"And an underground storage slash work facility." Hiiro arrived, presumably from said facility, "It's large enough to hold five Gundams and there are enough spare parts to keep our suits running forever."
"That only makes me feel worse about this," said Wufei with an intense expression, eyebrows knitted together, "She obviously only wants us for our Gundams."
"No."
The three turned to Quatre, whose answer had been quiet but forceful. Hiiro and Wufei exchanged a glance while Duo tilted his head to the side.
"Whaddya mean?"
"I mean that she isn't our enemy, and she doesn't just want us because we're Gundam pilots. I feel it from her; she cares about us. She's doing this to save us from something that she's seen. And she'll bring us help. I know. I can feel it. And . . . Wing Zero showed it to me."
This time all three of the pilots exchanged one large glance at Quatre's cryptic statement. Wing Zero showed it to him? What was Wing Zero, and what had it shown him? But Quatre fell silent, and the sorrow lay like a thick blanket over his slightly chubby, childish face. Silence pervaded the small area as three boys wondered to themselves whether their companion was crazy or not, and the fourth thought only of the recent past.
None of them could know that at that moment a woman with green-black hair and maroon eyes was walking amongst clowns, tigers, and acrobats. They could not know that her efforts would save them from a future none of them wanted. Their minds could not grasp the effect her actions had on their lives, and could not predict the effect that one person, one girl-soldier, would have on their hearts.
End Chapter Two