DISCLAIMER: Gundam Wing belongs to Sunrise and co. I’m not making any profits out of this, so don’t sue. Oh, those you think you’ve never heard before belong to me. And feedback is very welcome, people!☺
TIMELINE: The story takes place after Survival of the Fittest, I’d say almost two years.
SHATTERED MIRRORS X: RECOVERY.
By Arayelle Lynn.
“I have good news and bad news, whichever you want first.”
Heero regarded his secret partner silently. “You failed to find Winteridge’s location,” he guessed but it sounded more like a statement.
Sara nodded. “For now. Winteridge cleverly split his forces and sent them to various possible locations. I tried finding his shuttle’s destination through the fuel residue but there were too many similar shuttles being active at the time that I couldn’t really pinpoint his location.” She paused. “Which lead us to the good news.”
He raised his eyebrow, questioningly. “Meaning?”
“You said Winteridge destroyed all his computer files on L4, right?”
Instead of responding, he waited for her to continue.
“Well, I managed to recover them.”
“But Winteridge would still anticipate that. He might’ve downloaded…”
“False information to throw us off track, I know,” she interrupted, nonchalantly. “It’s me you’re talking to, Heero. Give me time to isolate some of the stuff and I’ll give you what you want,” she told them, hinting that she could find Winteridge’s location through the files.
Heero nodded. “Alright. We’ll do what we can here.”
As soon as Sara signed out, he decided to pay a visit to the infirmary, particularly Quatre. The blond pilot still didn’t know about Heero’s rise from the dead. It’s not that Heero hadn’t seen his friend a few hours ago. In fact, he had been there waiting in the room with the others. The only reason was that Quatre was too out of it to notice him and that Heero felt that it would be a good idea not to call attention to himself.
But now, he knew that he couldn’t avoid the inevitable. If they were going to be able to work together, he and Quatre will have to set some things right.
The sounds of quiet laughter echoed from the room as Heero made his way along the hallway. Judging by the deep voices talking in the room, he made a guess that Quatre’s Maganac friends were inside the room, paying a visit to their beloved master.
When he entered, all laughter ceased. They were all staring at the newcomer when a gasp broke the silence. “Heero! You’re alive!” Quatre exclaimed, almost jumping off the bed if it wasn’t for Rashid, who caught him in time.
But Quatre was too agitated to sit back. Instead, he pushed himself towards Heero, forgetting the weakened state of his body. He felt so good to see his friend again, and more. “You’re alive!” he breathed a sigh of relief.
Heero nodded. Behind him, he sensed rather than heard others stepped into the room. For now, the room was crowded with the Maganacs, himself and his Gundam counterparts. Noticing this, Abdul cleared his throat. “Uh… we’d better be going. There’s still a lot to do before things are put into motion,” he said as the Maganacs filed out of the room. They all knew that this was the talk for Gundam group only.
Heero studied the newcomers from the corner of his eyes. Yes, his Gundam friends were all there. However, there were three other people there as well that he hardly considered it as Gundam group meeting. But they too had a right to hear whatever he was going to say.
“Heero, tell me,” said Quatre, breaking his thoughts. The blond pilot was moving nearer to Heero as if wanting to touch him to make sure that he was really there. “Tell me, Heero. If you’re really here, then is Kylie…” he couldn’t go on but his eyes bore into Heero’s hopefully.
From behind him, Heero sensed Amy mirroring the look on Quatre’s face. Taking a deep breath, Heero shook his head. Not two but it seemed that all of them were disappointed. Amy was starting to cry if Relena hadn’t put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
Heero saw Quatre nodding and muttering to himself. “So the dreams had been real. She’s really gone,” he was saying. His voice sounded so distinctive that Heero had to strain his ears to hear. After a moment, Quatre gathered himself and looked up. “What happened back then, Heero? Why didn’t you tell us that you’re still alive?”
Instead of answering, Heero lowered his head. “You failed to get to her in time, didn’t you?” Quatre guessed, sensing his friend’s feeling. After all, he and Kylie had been pretty close. “That blast must’ve caused extensive damage to your Gundam and yourself, right?”
Heero did not deny it or confirm it. Instead, he stared at Quatre. Then, after a long silence, he spoke up. “I wasn’t planning to come back but Winteridge’s treachery forced me to,” he said, as the only excuse that he could come up with. He wasn’t a person with words. To him, what you see is suffice enough.
“Yeah, Winteridge caught all of us off guard,” Quatre admitted. He had put the missing pieces together while he was resting. Now, everything seemed clear to him. “The fact that Winteridge was able to plan anything without us knowing about it impresses me. If anything, he could be our worse foe yet.” Then he shook his head, regretfully. “We should’ve listened to Kylie.”
“Stop that!” said Heero, his voice raising. “We should not wallow ourselves in regret. What we need to do now is plan our next move. The future depends on what we do now. Our efforts in the past rely on our actions now.”
Quatre nodded. “Yes, you’re right as usual,” he said, wiping his still pale face. Dorothy immediately moved to his side, gently pushing him back onto the pillow.
“Well, you can discuss about it later when my little brother is well enough,” said a new voice. They turned to see Dr. Erea Winner entering the room. “Visiting hour is over, people. The patient needs his rest.”
Giving their friend a last look, the Gundam pilots left the room, followed by Relena and Amy. Dorothy stayed long enough to kiss Quatre’s forehead and waved good-bye to Erea. Once everyone had left, Erea turned to her little brother. She waved a white folder in her hand and her face was grim, bearing bad news as it seemed.
“Quatre, you and I need to talk.”
>>>@@<<<
Since both Gundam pilots and their Preventer ally failed to locate Winteridge’s exact location, they planned on one thing. Target and destroy the gundanium mines in the asteroid field. And they started by studying the information, which Heero retrieved from his mysterious informant.
“This is but only a small number of mines that Winteridge found in the asteroid belt,” Heero informed them.
The others looked at him, startled by the truth. Their thoughts were unanimous. There were more?
Mylin nodded in agreement. “I’d really like to know how this man located each and every one of them. This is just too many to be plain old luck,” she expressed her opinion.
“We’ll settle that once we find him,” said Quatre, still in his hospital gown. He had insisted to be included in the meeting and after a few arguments with his sister and the Maganacs and a promise that he’d ride on a wheelchair, he was allowed to be in the meeting. “First thing’s first, we have to decapitate his arms operation. Hopefully, it would draw him out.”
Trowa stared at a report in his hand. Then he handed it to Lady Une. “Well, according to this, Winteridge has only installed standard security system for each of his mines.”
“Meaning?” Noin prompted.
Duo grinned, cockily. “Meaning, it won’t be hard for us to destroy those mines. Us and the Gundams that is.”
“So, are we all in agreement on the notion to destroy the gundanium mines?” asked Lady Une.
All hands shot up.
“Good,” said Lady Une, regarding everybody in the room. “You have a go, Gundam pilots. We Preventers will assist you as we can. We’re not used to this guerilla-style combat as you do but we’re willing to do anything to ensure the Unified Nation’s security.”
All Gundam pilots nodded their thanks. They discussed some more before Lady Une called the meeting adjourned (that was after seeing Quatre’s face starting to pale from exhaustion)
Quatre massaged his throbbing head. His head started to hurt a while back so he was rather relieved that Une called the meeting to an end. As he was being wheeled out by Dorothy, he addressed his trusted friends. “I’m sorry I can’t be of much help out there, guys,” he said, feeling sorry that he’s going to miss the action.
“Don’t, Quatre,” said a voice. Quatre was startled to find Heero, not Trowa or Duo, bending and looking at him with concern in his eyes. His Prussian blue eyes were even darker than usual. And he surprised Quatre more when he raised his hand and brushed a stray strand of hair off Quatre’s eyes. A gesture that mirrored Kylie’s a few years back. “You being here alive and well is enough for us,” he said, his voice was soft. It was then Heero reminded Quatre more and more of Kylie.
After a minute had passed, Heero nodded at Dorothy, signaling her to wheel Quatre away. As he contemplated upon what had just happened, Quatre barely registered himself being whisked away.
Heero watched as Quatre and Dorothy disappeared. His heart was touched by one feeling, regret. Then, sensing that the others were watching him, he dropped his expression and turned to them. This time, he wore his usual stoic mask.
“Let’s get to it.”
>>>@@<<<
Silence shrouded both of them as Dorothy led Quatre away from the meeting room. It was only until they reached Quatre’s room did the silence ceased. “Are you alright?” Dorothy asked, seeing him cradling his head, lost in thoughts.
Quatre shook himself out of reverie. He looked up at Dorothy and smiled. “I’m just tired, I guess. The day’s been a little taxing. I’m just glad that my sisters are returning home to foresee the business while I’m not… available.”
“You’re worried about them, aren’t you?” she asked, knowing his concern look all too well.
“Them and all of us. My sisters will be having a tough time cleaning up the mess my clone had left,” he admitted. Then, he sighed. “And us, it isn’t enough that we have to rescue our people from the Telrhan Empire, we have to face our people’s own insolence.”
Hearing the weariness in his voice, Dorothy slipped her arms around Quatre from behind. She let him rest his head on hers and heard him sighed. “Quatre, if you keep carrying that feeling inside, sooner or later it’ll destroy you. Let’s view life as facing challenges one at a time. It’ll be less burdening that way.” She squeezed him a little. “And don’t worry, I’ll be here to shoulder your burden as well.”
“Thanks, Dorothy,” he said, patting her arm. Of all the reasons to love Dorothy, Quatre loved her supportiveness and understanding the most. That alone had saved his soul before. And again.
Quatre let Dorothy assisted him to the bed. Once there, he watched as she folded the wheelchair, throwing him a smile. At that moment, Quatre saw the love flashed in that smile and the passion burning deep in her eyes. It was then, Quatre felt contented.
“Dorothy,” he began, grabbing her hand as she started to tuck him in. “Would you do me a favor?”
Dorothy’s long eyebrow arched, questioningly. She couldn’t read the expression on his face. So, she asked, “What is it, Quatre?”
“Marry me.”
>>>@@<<<
She woke up with a start. Forcing herself to ease the trembling throughout her body, Sara wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. The nightmare rang in her head, though seemingly faraway now it was still vivid enough to cause her heart to pound.
She could still remember the little girl, crying in the darkness. She could also recall the body of a boy, lying on a pool of blood on the floor. She remembered the man who had choked the life out of the boy and then ripped his flesh apart. And she could also remember the little girl running away, her clothes in tatters.
But the thing that she remembered the most was that the little girl’s hands were covered in blood. But the blood weren’t hers, it was someone else’s. And she also remembered the fact that there was a broken dagger in her left hand, which was also covered with blood.
Sara remembered everything that happened. Yes, it wasn’t a dream. It was reality. She remembered all too well who the dead boy was. She remembered all too well the man that killed the boy. Most of all, and she could almost taste it in her mouth, she remembered whose blood it was that covered the girl’s hands.
Rubbing her tired eyes, Sara looked up. Again, she found herself staring at the computer screen. Again, she realized that she had fallen asleep in the middle of her search. Chastising herself, she tore her gaze to another screen. There laid what she had been looking at; the schematics of Heero’s Wing Zero.
Again, she fought the urge to tell Heero what she had found. But caution stopped her. She had to make sure that what she had accidentally found was truly worth Heero’s attention. She couldn’t afford to distract him now. And it was also for a fact that she was curious to know how Wing Zero worked. She had been deeply impressed by its magnificence since the first time she laid her eyes on it.
No, she better keep this to herself. For now.
Then, she turned to regard Adin. The dog was sound asleep. Who wouldn’t? It was three in the morning. No one in the right mind would stay up late at this hour. No one but Sara. But she’s used to this. Every time Heero went to one of his “missions”, Sara was sure she wouldn’t get much sleep.
Like she slept much.
But Sara didn’t mind. In fact, she welcomed it. She had always preferred the harsh reality of life rather than the agony her sleep seemed to inflict on her. Only the dead sleeps, she always told herself. And she believed it whole-heartedly.
Shaking the final sleep from her head, Sara moved closer to the database. It’s time to get back to work. And she’s determined not to let Duke Kent Winteridge’s computer virus stop her.
>>>@@<<<
“Target sighted at 3 o’clock,” Duo’s voice crackled in the comm.
“Great. Initiate Operation Clean Up in ten seconds,” said Lady Une, standing in the Preventer’s operation room.
“Duo shall go in first since his stealth cloak could easily penetrate the security,” Quatre relayed the plan. He insisted to be included in the operation back in the base. “Heero and Trowa will hit them hard and Wu Fei will take on anything that escaped the others.”
They had all agreed, much to Lady Une’s dismay, to leave the Preventers out of the operation. Destroying a mine didn’t require a lot of firepower. In fact, it was dire that they move in a small number as possible because that’s how a guerilla group attacks. And the fact that the Preventers will be needed in the real battle when Winteridge finally launched his full-scale attack drove the Gundam pilots to do this alone.
And of course, neither boys wanted to stain the Preventer’s hands with bad blood that will be spilled once the boys’ guerilla attack-style began. They knew that the agency must keep their duty as protectors of Earth Sphere, nothing more. Especially not this kind of revenge-mission against Winteridge.
“Mission accepted,” Heero said over the comm. when the ten seconds was over.
“Here I come!” said Duo. The excitement for going back to their old style of fighting was evident in his voice. In fact, Quatre himself felt his adrenalin starting to rush and knew that the others were feeling the same way.
>>>@@<<<
“They’ve destroyed Point D2,” said a voice, interrupting his reverie. Winteridge looked up to his six finest ‘knights’. He raised his left eyebrow. “Indeed?” was all he said. “Our friends seemed to be more resourceful than I thought.”
“They shouldn’t have known about the mines,” said Duo-clone, his worry was evident. “They shouldn’t even know that the mines actually existed!”
“And yet they do,” said Winteridge, drumming his fingers together calmly.
“And we don’t have to bet that they would be targeting the other mines soon,” said Wu Fei-clone.
The aristocrat nodded, his demeanor didn’t change. “We don’t have to. They will destroy each and every one of them.”
“What do we do?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
Winteridge nodded. “That’s what I said.” Then he sighed, seeing the disbelief look on their faces. “Instructor D, how’s the operation on Point D2?” he addressed the man behind him. The mysterious Instructor D didn’t even glance at the screen before him. He kept his eyes on his ‘students’.
“Obsolete production.” Was his answer.
Winteridge looked at his champions. “Meaning, the Gundams had just did us a favor by cleaning up our mess. The production on Point D2 was almost at its end. What we need from the asteroid is all transferred to our designated place.”
“So you’re saying the mine was useless,” said Duo, curiously.
“That’s what I said.”
“What about the others? What we’re going to do about them?” asked Wu Fei.
This time, the instructor answered his question. “Nothing. Do not make His Excellency repeat his answer,” he warned them.
The clones quieted. But they exchanged dissatisfied glances. They couldn’t bring up the subject of a possible spy among them again. They had never experienced Winteridge’s wrath and found themselves determined not to find out. Winteridge was a very dangerous man. They knew just by looking into his calm-filled eyes.
And so, they kept their silence and watched their mentor smiling at them.
“And so, it begins.”
>>>@@<<<
For the first time since everything started, they had something to celebrate on. Within five days, the Gundams managed to destroy all the mines in the asteroid belt. And according to Heero’s source, there were still a little more. But what really caused the celebration was the engagement of Quatre Winner and Dorothy Catalonia.
Everyone had been pleased by the news, especially Quatre’s sisters who were happy to see their brother’s face glowing in happiness for the first time in his life. Though they excluding Dr. Erea Winner, were leaving MO V, they were glad that they had the opportunity to celebrate their brother’s engagement.
“Congratulations. You deserve it, Master Quatre,” said Rashid. He and the other Maganacs were also leaving for L4 colony cluster. Quatre had asked them to protect it if Winteridge attack the colony again. He was worried what the duke would do to his family now that his mines were destroyed.
“Thanks, Rashid. I guess it’s already time,” said Quatre, sparing a glance at his future bride, who was talking to Relena and Amy. The three were also leaving MO V, as Relena had to return to her duties, heavily guarded of course, and Amy was going to reside in the Winner’s mansion with Dorothy for a couple of weeks.
It had taken Quatre and Noin everything to convince Relena, Dorothy and Amy to leave so that they would not be caught in the battle should Winteridge counterattack. But they only managed to convince Dorothy and Amy to stay in a secure place, Relena insisted to be with the rest of the Earth Sphere representatives. And much to Quatre’s surprise, Heero didn’t even try to stop her. Instead, he had been totally ignorant in whatever that concerned Relena.
And he didn’t seem quite happy with Quatre’s engagement at all. At least, that’s what Quatre was able to interpret from the empty expression on his face. And of course, the fact that he’s now sitting near the window, gazing at the suspended blue orb light years away.
“You alright?” he asked as he walked over to his friend. Heero didn’t tear his gaze from the window.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” he returned Quatre’s question.
The blond pilot studied his face. “I don’t know, you look unhappy. Was it because of the engagement?” he speculated, knowing how close Heero was with Kylie. He thought maybe somehow, his stoic friend was thinking that he’s betraying Kylie’s memory by marrying Dorothy.
Heero spun to face Quatre. He looked at him squarely on his face. “Quatre, I have nothing against you and Dorothy. I said congratulations and I meant it.”
“Oh,” said Quatre, feeling surprisingly disappointed though he didn’t know the reason why.
“Don’t mind Heero as much, Quatre,” said a new voice. An arm draped over his shoulder. “Heero’s just being a party-pooper,” Duo added, good-naturedly. “Knowing our friend here, he only has the battlefield in his head.”
“True,” Quatre admitted, pushing away the strange thoughts in his mind.
“In that case,” said Heero, giving Duo his empty glass. “I better go and think about the battle some more. It seems like it’s the only thing in my head,” he said, sarcastically. He gave Quatre a nod and walked out of the room.
Duo winked at Quatre, glad that he’s still able to irritate Heero. “See? Told ya.”
>>>@@<<<
Kylie watched her fellow clones going over the simulation again. The simulation was built to give the clones as much practice in combat scenes as well as to be equals in skills with their fellow originals, if not better. The simulation had been enhanced with the Zero system, to make them more attune to its patterns so they could use the deadly system to fight the Gundams. Kylie didn’t know how Winteridge or Instructor D got a hold of the system but she was satisfied with her progress. In comparison to her original self, she topped her skills far enough.
However that day, Kylie was having enough of the system. Refusing her companions’ invitation on a competition, Kylie chose to watch them practice instead. She was bored with sitting around. She could sense that the others were feeling the same thing too but somehow, hers was even more intense.
Sighing, Kylie left the simulation room and made her way slowly along the corridor. She didn’t see where she was going until she found herself facing cold, steel bars. It was then she realized that she had gone to the brig.
Studying the cell, Kylie shook her head. ‘No, this isn’t the right one,’ she told herself. ‘It was another place.’ Absent-mindedly, she took out her hand from her pocket. In her hand, she saw a syringe. Not just any ordinary syringe, but the same syringe that she had used to put Quatre Winner to sleep.
Kylie wondered about her strange feelings. She didn’t know why but she had been thinking a lot about Winner lately. Whether because she missed having him to express her cruelty on or because she was simply bored, she didn’t know. Her only wish then was that they still had Winner and that she could make regular ‘visits’ to that weak blond pilot. She had to admit that she was beginning to like having the Sandrock pilot with her. He made her life more… interesting.
Keeping the syringe back into her pocket, Kylie extinguished the feelings inside. She smiled at the cell, thinking of the times and place which she could no longer go to. Thinking of the person that she would no longer torment.
‘Don’t be too comfy, Winner,’ she thought. ‘I’m still here to make your life a living hell, be it in a cell or the battlefield.’
>>>@@<<<
“Have something for me?” Heero asked as soon as the connection was made.
“Yeah, maybe a very good news for once,” she answered, her face calm and relaxed. She was betraying no excitement.
“You’ve found where Winteridge is?”
Sara shook her dark hair. “No, even better.” She studied him carefully. “I know where he’s going to be next.”
That certainly brought Heero’s attention. He leaned forward. “Where?” he said, his tone serious and business-like.
Sara matched his tone perfectly. “Outpost B Point T16, sending the coordinates to you now.” As soon as she said that, Heero heard the hum of the database receiving data. He waited until it was all in before studying them.
“That’s only a small station.”
“Small but somehow useful,” she answered. “Winteridge has something there that he needs to check up himself.”
“How did you acquire this information?” As usual, Heero was tempted to verify the information before diving into action, no matter how reliable the source was. It was out of pure habit as well as training. The only information Heero would trust was the one he himself uncovered.
Sara shrugged, nonchalantly. “The director of the station suddenly ordered quite an extensive number of specially brewed European wine.”
“Meaning?”
“It’s Winteridge’s favorite wine.”
Heero was tempted to ask how she knew that but found himself wasting time if he did. He had trusted the girl before and the girl had time and time again saved him from danger. And the information she gave him was usually precise and correct. So, there was no reason for him to doubt her knowledge. He knew that Sara, of all people, should’ve known a thing or two about Winteridge.
“Designated time of action, Monday evening 14th day of May,” she continued, nonchalantly.
“Roger that,” said Heero, acknowledging the unspoken mission.
>>>@@<<<
“You’ve found Winteridge?” Duo repeated in disbelief. “What are we waiting for then?” Being cooped up in the dull Preventers’ headquarters too long made the Deathscythe pilot all out for a little action.
Quatre put up a hand to stop his friend. “First things first, we must plan our attack carefully,” he reminded the braid-haired boy. “This is our biggest break yet and we need to do this perfectly.” Since he was pronounced well enough to be an active Gundam member, his excitement almost matched Duo’s. His sister Erea had returned to their home to be with his other sisters. It took him a lot to convince her to leave but Quatre was doubtful that he wanted her there once the firework started. And the Preventers had very capable physician such as Dr. Tricia Farrell-Burnett, who was Erea’s classmate back in medical school.
Now free from his sister’s overprotective looks plus the good news, Quatre felt as if he’s ready to bring Duke Winteridge down.
“Quatre’s right,” said Heero, the look that he threw Duo was both disapproving and reprimanding for his lack of patience.
“And again, I will ask you this,” interrupted a cool voice. “How can we be sure this source of yours is trustworthy? Or even if his information is reliable?”
Duo scowled at Heero but turned his head towards Lady Une, accusingly. “Who invited the alien?” he asked, thumbing Mylin, who was standing all alone near the door. He was getting quite annoyed with the alien’s presence in the base, seeing that she didn’t seem to be assisting them much except for questioning every bit of information they discovered. If he had his own way, Duo would’ve politely requested the Telrhani to leave, maybe even escorting her out to the nearest airlock. But Lady Une insisted that she stayed. And there was nothing he could do about that.
Heero met her gaze evenly. “I trust him more than I trust you.” He too found her presence disturbing. But Mylin knew much of their plans and since her loyalty was still questionable, he wasn’t willing to let her loose now.
“Ah, I see,” said Mylin, her eyes showed something that she finally understood. Something that Heero was keeping from them. “In that case, I will say nothing in that matter in the future.” She quieted without explaining her meaning. However, her eyes watched Heero carefully.
Trowa cleared his throat, drawing their attention to him. “If we’ve all finished our meaningless banter…” This he said while looking at Duo. “… I think Quatre has something to say about our next attack,” he continued.
They turned their attention back to Quatre. Used to being at the center of attention, he didn’t falter. Instead, Quatre placed the folder Heero brought to them on the desk and cleared his throat. “The way I see it a surprise attack is the most appropriate one. It’s how we’re going to do it is my main concern.”
“I take it you already have a plan?” Heero inquired, drawing closer to his friend.
Quatre nodded, a stray blond hair fell onto his eyes. “Based on the schematics your source sent you, I’ve discovered a weakness in the outpost’s security system. We may be able to send in ground troop as well,” he said, looking at Lady Une in reassurance.
All of them, including Mylin drew closer. Quatre waited until they were all ready and showed them the schematics. “Here,” he pointed at a spot. “This is what we’re going to do.”
TO BE CONTINUED…
