DISCLAIMER: Gundam Wing belonged 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.
By Arayelle Lynn.
“I’m sorry it didn’t work out,” said Sara as Heero was powering down Wing Zero.
“Did you get anything?” he asked without wasting any breath for a greeting.
Sara nodded, all business-like. “I got plenty but I’ll need to sort them out before I could give you anything absolute.”
Heero nodded. “Do that. I’m going to see what the Preventers have gathered.”
“Wait, Heero.” She stopped him. She seemed to be debating herself about something. “About the new models”
“We’ll deal with them when the time comes,” he interrupted her. He refused to show her his doubts. He had other things to worry about.
She nodded in resignation. Whatever she wanted to tell Heero will have to wait since he seemed to be preoccupied with something. “Alright. See to the others. I’ll contact you as soon as I found something.”
Then the screen went blank. Heero slumped into his seat and closed his eyes.
>>>@@<<<
Wu Fei walked into the hangar, having finally calmed himself. He was planning to run a diagnostic on his Gundam. Although the other pilots had learned to trust Howard with their Gundams, Wu Fei still refused the thought of someone other than him, touching Nataku.
He saw the Preventer technicians busy making repairs and Howard supervising all of them. As usual, his Gundam was left alone. Next to it stood Wing Zero. Its cockpit was still closed, which told Wu Fei that the pilot was still in.
As he climbed up his Gundam, he could hear a distinctive sound of a conversation coming from Heero’s Gundam. Then, after a few moments of silence, Heero Yuy appeared, looking weary. The perfect soldier was going to leap his way down when suddenly Wu Fei’s voice stopped him.
“She called you, didn’t she?” he asked, without looking at Heero. He began running his diagnostics.
Heero was silent.
“It’s no use hiding the fact that she has been your ‘secret source’. You know that I know from the beginning.”
The serious pilot looked away. He remembered that the Chinese pilot knew about the handicap girl for a long time. There was no use denying it. “She couldn’t find anything that could be of help.”
“Yet,” Wu Fei finished for him. “We both know that she’s our best bet.”
“True.”
“How is she?” Wu Fei asked, catching Heero off guard a little. But he answered anyway.
“The same.”
“I see.”
>>>@@<<<
“There you go,” said Dr. Farrell-Burnett, displaying the x-ray. She shook her head in dismay and turned to regard her patient. “I’d tell you that you shouldn’t be out there but I guess a being Gundam pilot, you’re not going to listen to me.”
“I take it you have dealt with Gundam pilots before?” her patient said, jumping off the cot.
She pushed him back on. “Or someone close to one.” She took his left arm and gently pressing it. She felt his body tensed but his face betrayed no pain, which both impressed and dismayed her all at the same time. “I’m glad you told me about this but I wish that you’d told someone sooner. Why won’t you tell Sally about this? I thought she’s you Gundam pilots’ resident physician.”
“Don’t want anyone else to know about it,” he answered, his voice sounding a little strained.
“Well,” she said, examining the x-ray again. “Nothing serious here. The fractures are almost not visible but I wish that you could rest off that arm so it could heal properly. Whatever you went through that got your arm this bad in shape must’ve been pretty bad.”
“Thanks, doctor,” he said, deciding that he couldn’t hang around in the infirmary for too long. He put on his shirt back, wincing inwardly as his arm throbbed painfully. “I must be going.”
Dr. Tricia Farrell-Burnett halted him. She looked into his eyes, intently. “I want you to give me the name of the doctor that treated you and his address.” When he started to protest, she frowned at him. “I need it to make sure that you won’t lose your arm. Please, if you won’t do it for yourself, do it for the people you’re protecting, Trowa Barton.”
Sighing, he gave her the name and address. Then before he left, she handed him a bottle of pills. He looked at it, questioningly. “Painkillers. In case the pain gets too unbearable,” she answered him. Knowing that he couldn’t fool her, Trowa accepted her gift and left.
>>>@@<<<
Trowa almost collided with Heero, who was just turning from another corner. Muttering his apology, Trowa quickly hid the bottle of pills in his pocket. He nodded at Heero’s apology before starting to distance himself from the intense pilot.
But he didn’t get very far. Heero’s voice stopped him five steps later. “I overheard your conversation.”
Knowing exactly what conversation Heero was referring to, Trowa cursed himself for supporting Quatre’s idea of opening the channel during the battle. He didn’t want anyone to know what was going on between him and his double, especially his Gundam companions.
“Want to tell me about it?” Heero asked.
No. That would be the last thing he wanted. This was his business alone.
So instead, he asked Heero a question. “Care to tell me what the ring is all about?”
Instinctively, Heero’s third finger, the one with the ring on, started to twitch. But he quickly stopped himself. However, his reaction did not go unnoticed by Trowa, who didn’t say anything about his reaction.
And deciding that Trowa had a practically good reason for not telling anyone like he did, Heero dropped the question and walked away.
>>>@@<<<
Dorothy watched Quatre from afar. The wind blew gently, the trees chimed with the sound of the birds. The sweet smell of flowers filled the air, fresh. And the skies were blue and clear. It was a great spring day, if anyone should ask her opinion. But it was also a solemn one. For this was one of the anniversary days when Quatre would find himself standing in the now all-too-familiar graveyard.
She saw him walked up to one particular grave. There he placed a bouquet of red roses and stood there, his head bowed. And as usual, Dorothy found herself standing respectively far away, granting him the solitude that he needed.
Leaning against a tree, Dorothy unconsciously fiddled with the engagement ring nervously. It had been a surprise to her that Quatre had told her that he wanted to come here. And being the one who accompanied him before, she agreed to travel with him to Earth.
She shook her head. No, it shouldn’t have been a surprise to her. Quatre had just made a life changing decision for himself that it would be natural for him to be here. Even though that he had told her once that his latest visit would be last, he knew that he needed to do this. He needed to say good bye.
Since Dorothy will be part of his life from now on, she realized that she must be a part of this even though it disturbed her. So, inhaling a gulpful of air, she began making her way towards him. Each steps strengthened her resolution to be with him.
She was surprised when Quatre acknowledged her “Thanks, Dorothy. I know how this must’ve made you uncomfortable.”
She squeezed his hand, lending him her strength. “I want to be here, Quatre. She has been as much influence in your life as mine,” she said, gazing at the tombstone of Kylie Rayden Khushrenada.
“More than you know,” he whispered, thinking of his dreams. Then he sighed. “I must say good bye to her one last time because as long as I’m keeping her memory in my heart, I can’t fight her clone. I must convince myself that she’s really gone.”
Keep me alive inside you
‘Forgive me. I can’t do that any more,’ he thought, feeling his heart wrenching at each words.
“Good bye, Kylie,” he said, didn’t even bother to add the infamous ‘I’ll love you forever.’ To him, she was the thing of the past now.
Then, wiping a single tear that rolled down his cheek, he turned to Dorothy. “Let’s go. We have a wedding to plan.” Then, hand in hand, they walked away.
>>>@@<<<
The beeping sound startled her out of her reverie. Turning around, she saw Heero-clone entering the room with a steaming mug in each hand. Swinging her feet off the desk, she placed the papers that she had been reading and took the mug that was extended to her.
“Thanks,” she said, taking a small sip. She then returned her attention to the papers lying on the desk. She attempted to read them again before throwing the papers back onto the desk in dismay. “This isn’t getting us anywhere. How are we to find one miserable spy among hundreds of our personnel?”
“I thought we agreed to check only those who were transferred with us from the old base,” said Heero, picking one up. He read the person’s personal information before moving on to another.
Kylie-clone watched him doubtfully. “Yeah, and that narrows us with what? A few hundreds?” She threw her hands up. “I swear when I find our spy, I will make him pay dearly.”
“You’re just bored with the inactivity, Kylie,” Heero expressed his observation. “You’re still thinking of that blond Gundam pilot, aren’t you?” he asked, there a hint of something else in his voice.
She started to deny it immediately. But then realized that of all clones, this copy of Heero Yuy seemed to be the one who understood her a lot more, which annoyed her sometimes. So, she decided not to say anything. “He’s our enemy, partner. There’s no use thinking about him that way,” he reminded her.
She stared at him, surprised. “That’s not what I’m thinking of. I was only wishing that I had him to be my punching bag. I feel the need to hit somebody right now.”
“So, you won’t hesitate in killing him the next time you see him?”
“No.” Kylie’s response was immediate. “He decides to stand in our way. He has to be eliminated.”
He nodded, in satisfaction. “Good. Instructor D has been concerned about you. Now, he’ll be glad to know that you still want to achieve our objectives.”
“Let’s quit talking and get this over with,’ said Kylie, reaching for a file. “The sooner we list down the suspects the sooner we can interrogate them and find our spy.”
>>>@@<<<
“Based on what we’ve gathered, Winteridge has somehow built himself an army of gundanium-plated mobile suits. Enough to take over the ESUN, if permitted,” Rhonda Crane gave her report. She had been one of the agents that followed Noin and Mylin into Winteridge’s secret base in the outpost.
“So, now we know for sure what the gundanium that he mined had been for,” said Neville, also one of the agents responsible for breaking into the outpost.
“Exactly,” Crane confirmed. “Thus, making our customary weapons useless against the armory.”
“So, he is declaring war on us. With firepower like that,” Fuller admonished, turning to Lady Une, who had been listening grimly.
“We have to do something!”
“Maybe design a better weapon.”
That was all Heero could take. Ignoring the voices of the Preventer agents, he silently slipped out of the room. If the Preventers couldn’t provide him with useful information, he knew someone who could.
>>>@@<<<
Sara was working out when the comm. blinked. Pushing herself as quickly as she could towards her wheelchair, she reached her workstation after the tenth blinks. Heero’s face appeared and she heard a bark from behind her.
“He missed you,” was the first thing that came out from her lips. But Heero seemed not in the mood for pleasantries. Instead, he ignored her remark and went straight to the point. “Have you gotten anything yet?”
She sensed the tension in his voice. Bad news. “I take it that the Preventers haven’t anything useful on the enemy?” she guessed. There was a moment of hesitation from Heero but he answered her anyway. “No. The agents were a little slow at downloading the files so they didn’t have much.”
She sighed inwardly. She too hadn’t anything useful to inform Heero. The files that she had managed to download from the base had been heavily encrypted and it would take her some time to decrypt all of them.
“Heero, the files are encrypted. I need time to deal with them,” she explained. “I’ll call once I have something.” Then, after a moment of hesitation, Heero broke the connection. Sara settled back in her seat, breathing deeply. On her right, she could hear the whirling sound from the database as it tried to decrypt Winteridge’s files. And on her left, the screen was showing the full schematics of Wing Zero, revealing its secrets to her. She had wanted to tell Heero about this before but circumstances weren’t on her side.
As she stared at the screen, she suddenly had an idea. Pulling herself upright, Sara swiveled the chair to her right. She tapped a few keys and the screen changed. Twisting her dark hair in a bun, she began to work.
>>>@@<<<
When Wu Fei stepped into the room, he found that someone else was already on the sparring mat. Standing silently, he watched the Telrhani moved on the mat in an unfamiliar martial art dance. He was deeply impressed by the gracefulness of her movement, which betrayed nothing that akin to her emotions from the battle. He watched her carefully, appreciating the curves on her body and the slickness of her skills.
He didn’t even realize that he had been noticed until a pair of dark almond-shaped eyes regarded him. “What?” Mylin said, as soon as she had finished her cool down routine. She wiped the sweat on her forehead, seeing his sparring attire. “You can have the mat now.”
Shaking himself out from reverie, Wu Fei silently reprimanded himself. Again, the alien managed to catch him off guard. Gathering his wits, he responded to her remark. “Thank you,” he said, tearing his gaze away from her. Carefully moving onto the mat, he avoided looking at the alien. A minute later, he was all alone.
>>>@@<<<
The days grew unbearable to all of the Gundam pilots. Lady Une could sense it clearly in the air. Not that they had shown any sign of agitation, but it was the way they kept on glancing at what lay deep in space that gave them away. And also the fact that Wu Fei and Mylin had been spending more time on the sparring mat told her everything.
Then came the best news they ever had. Heero’s secret source found the whereabouts of Winteridge and his clone team. And once more, the Preventer’s base was bursting with activity.
Heero had been the first one to reach his Gundam. When Sara contacted him about finding out Winteridge’s hideout, he had wanted to rush there himself. But he held himself back as he reminded himself that he’s no longer working alone. That he had a team of Gundam pilots behind him.
He remembered all too well how his reaction was.
“What?” It had been unbelievable. Half of him expected the girl to succeed but the other half doubted her ability to outsmart Winteridge’s seemingly ingenious mind.
“Yes,” said the girl, her voice calm but there was something else written deep in her eyes. “He’s on Jupiter.” She didn’t waste any time to explain how because she knew that he will figure that out himself. Besides, she knew that he’s itching to inform the others of the new development.
“I owe you one,” he said, his jaw was set as his fist clenched on his sides.
“Heero, wait!” she said, before he had the chance to break the connection. He stopped, regarding her questioningly. There she hesitated, not knowing the reason for her reaction. “Just be careful, okay,” she finally let it out. “Those clones. There’s something not right about them.”
And he remembered her words even as he ran towards his Gundam. Yes, he had that feeling too. It all started when he faced Quatre’s clone in the last battle. He didn’t know exactly what but it made him doubted himself sometimes.
‘No! Can’t afford to lose my focus now,’ he reminded himself. ‘I have my mission and that is to eliminate my enemy.’
>>>@@<<<
The attack on the Jupiter mother base had been a surprise but long expected. Due to the ingenuity of the duke and his right hand man, known as Instructor D, the outer post of Jupiter that was placed among the asteroid belt alerted the base of the attack hours before the attack came.
That gave them plenty of time to prepare for their uninvited guests.
Winteridge observed each preparation with a calmness that resonated throughout the colony. Not a single line creased his forehead. Not a single sweat drip from his face. In fact, he was wearing a smile of satisfaction as if congratulating the Preventer’s job well done. And just looking at him told the colonists that they’re going to win this round.
Of course, his clones were dying to return to the battlefield. And he had permitted all but Heero and Kylie, who were overseeing the suspicion of a spy among his personnel. Now, he turned his gaze to his clones as they prepped their mobile suits to lead the battle. A sick smile touched his lips as a thought came into mind.
‘You may have found me but you’re in for a big surprise.’
>>>@@<<<
“They knew we’re coming!” Duo admonished, seeing the blinking swarm of dots before his eyes. They were just exiting the asteroid belt.
“All the better,” he heard Heero snarled. Then, Wing Zero broke formation and sped up to meet the incoming enemy.
“Heero!” Quatre called out. “We must follow the plan.” But his words fell on death ears as Heero, being the only one who rarely follow anyone’s order but his own, engaged his first enemy’s suit.
Suddenly, Heavyarms sped up. “Sorry, Quatre. I have some unfinished business to attend to,” he said, before his companion could stop him. The other three pilots could only watch their two friends launched the assault.
“Well, why are we standing here for?” asked Zechs, in Epyon. “Let’s destroy these traitors.”
>>>@@<<<
Sara always hated being helpless. But right then, the feeling was too much to bear. She wondered how the battle went, trying to quench the uneasy feeling that had been plaguing deep in her mind. She didn’t know why she had expressed her uneasiness to Heero but hoped it was just her being pathetically weak.
“I hate this!” She slammed her fist on the desk, startling Adin who was dog-napping. The dog shook off his sleep and made his way towards her. Sensing her distress, he nudged her hand with his cool snout, whining sympathetically.
She didn’t even register that gesture. Instead, she pulled her hand back and started to run her fingers on the keyboard. She switched off the battle before her, not wanting to see it anymore, and started making herself useful.
>>>@@<<<
This was it. The battle was on.
Standing in the middle of the command post of the Preventers headquarters, Lady Une oversaw the battle from afar. Secretly, she envied Noin for having the chance to meet the enemy head-on while she was stuck in that room, worrying about what the enemy’s next move. Not that she loved the bloodshed, but seeing Noin going into the battlefield made her wished that Treize was there and that it was both of them who were leading the troops now.
‘No, not troops. Agents.” She corrected herself, reminding herself that there was no more OZ or the Alliance. ‘Just Preventers.’
However, Lady Une couldn’t doubt the importance of her presence there. She may have been one of the best mobile suit pilots in OZ years ago, but she now she found out that her best forte would be serving as the commander.
And she knew that she’s doing it well.
“They’re engaged,” a voice interrupted her thoughts. Forcing her attention completely on the battle, Lady Une turned to June, the communication officer. “Good. Keep me informed every five minutes,” she said, before turning to her tactical officer, Hudson.
>>>@@<<<
“We meet again,” said Quatre-clone.
“I’ll eliminate you,” Heero replied. “Then I’ll personally take out your superior officer.”
The clone smirked. “Really?” his eyes flashed something that Heero couldn’t decipher. “Let’s see how you fare, shall we?”
>>>@@<<<
Trowa found his clone waiting for him. He gripped his throttle even tighter as he looked at the enemy that had brought him so much pain. It was ironic for a rock-steady pilot like him to be hurt by none other than himself.
“You and I have some unfinished business,” he said, or rather growled, he couldn’t tell. Strange emotions seemed to well up inside him.
“Well, I’m here. Let’s see what you can do.”
“No holding back. It must end today.”
The clone snorted. “No holding back.”
>>>@@<<<
Duo and Quatre teamed up to face Duo’s clone. Both had been completely taken by surprise. And judging from the way their companions were faring, they were surprise by the ferocious skills of the clones too. Though both had teamed up, facing a foe that was more or less equally skilled as them, they later found out that it wasn’t so. The clones were obviously more skilled than they were!
Duo grunted when he was hit and heard Quatre gasped when a plasma beam hit closer to home. Duo-clone moved like lightning, attacking Deathscythe rapidly. He read Duo’s moves before he even thought about it. He landed his attack strategically as to cripple Duo. It was logical that he was able to predict Duo moves since they’re biologically connected but he managed to block Quatre’s attack just as well. In fact, he was the only one who’s attacking while the Gundams were now reduced to defending themselves. It seemed as if the tide of the war belonged to Winteridge.
And the opposite party was paying the price.
>>>@@<<<
Zechs growled in frustration. He was getting nowhere in defeating the enemy. Although Wu Fei Chang had pointedly ordered that he will fight his clone alone, a minute later, Altron nearly lost its head, thanks to Zechs’ quick action. After studying the clone’s fighting prowess, Zechs learned that they’re in trouble. Obviously, the Gundams weren’t ready to face their clones, especially since the clones were finally showing their real skills.
So, he ignored Wu Fei’s angry words and fought the clone, hoping that by combining their strengths, they would be able to defeat him. But he later found himself fighting for his own survival.
All the time, he wished that he knew how his wife was faring.
>>>@@<<<
Noin bit back a tear when another of her agents winked out from existence. It was the most miserable battle she had ever been. At first she couldn’t understand why. Their plan had been carefully devised and revised until she, Lady Une and the Gundam pilots couldn’t think of a flaw. It was suppose to be the most cleverly set up strategy.
So, how come their side was failing miserably?
Maybe the enemy was stronger, or well-prepared. Maybe it was the way the Gundam pilots were losing to the clones that affected her men’s morale. But one thing she was certain, was that she should’ve anticipate the attack from the rear. She should’ve known that Winteridge would have some hidden base in the asteroids. And they were the ones that should be taken offline first before bringing the fight to Winteridge.
But how could the clones defeating the Gundams where they all had the same genetic make up?
>>>@@<<<
Lady Une held her breath as she counted their losses. Where before the battle she had sent over a hundred men, there was only fifty left, including the pilots. She couldn’t figure out where they had done wrong. Everyone in the room had been shocked when June relayed the news that the Gundams were losing. And from that moment on, things began to go downfall. It was obvious that they were not going to win this round. And the Gundams included.
“Patch me through Noin, immediately!”
>>>@@<<<
“Aarghh!!!!” Quatre screamed in pain as Sandrock’s arm was being pulled off from its socket. Then, there was an explosion that threw the blond pilot into the screen head on.
“Quatre!” Duo yelled, seeing Sandrock dead in space. Before he could make his move to protect his friend, Duo felt a huge fist connected on Deathscythe’s torso as the wind got knocked out of him. Then, there were other blows that he barely able to deflect due to his spinning head.
After what seemed like an eternity of pain, Duo felt the blows stopped. But he was too slow to do anything. He felt something grabbed Deathscythe by the throat in a crushing grip. “You’re so pathetically weak that it ashamed me to be your clone,” he heard his clone said. “You’re lucky that this suit isn’t based on the Gundams.”
Then, it raised its gleaming blade, ready to run it through Deathscythe’s torso, where Duo was.
>>>@@<<<
Zechs fought, and at the same time tried to protect Wu Fei. The Chinese pilot was fighting like a possessed man. He neither cared about the wounds he had sustained during the fight nor anyone else that were fighting in the battle. His main attention was solely on his clone. So, Zechs opted to destroy all the enemy mobile dolls that came to them and at the same time, buy Wu Fei enough time for a breather, even when the Chinese pilot wasn’t being grateful.
But he didn’t know how long he could take the beating. He was already running low on fuel as well as energy. In fact, he was fighting purely on his will. One thing he did knew right then was that they were not going to win this war!
>>>@@<<<
Heero tried shaking off the stars that appeared before his eyes. His chest was heaving as the air was getting thinner every second. During the fight, he had severely damaged his air supply thanks to the clone’s rockets. But still, Heero wasn’t willing to give up. If he can’t defeat Quatre’s clone, how can he face his own?
“What’s the matter?” the clone goaded him. “Looks like you’re no longer the perfect soldier, huh? Well, maybe you should surrender the Wing Zero to us. Only those who are superior are worthy of it.”
At that, anger boiled inside Heero. He lunged but was easily deflected by the enemy. Then Heero’s world exploded again as the clone hit Wing Zero at the back. “Wrong move again, Heero. Now, you will pay it with your life.”
>>>@@<<<
“Looks like it’s the end for your friends,” said Trowa’s clone. Trowa glanced at how the others were faring before realizing his mistake. Acting out of pure instinct, he jinked the throttle to the left, narrowly missing the clone’s beam saber by an inch.
Suddenly, pain shot up through his left arm, blinding Trowa for a moment. He barely heard himself scream in pain as he tried to keep himself conscious. His hold wavered as he almost released his hold on the machine gun. But his right hand was quick to move as it helped him to regain his control. For a moment, he gritted his teeth as realization hit him.
‘The painkiller has worn off!’
He cursed himself. He should’ve taken four pills instead of three. But Dr. Farrell-Burnett had advised him against it. Neither of them knew what would happen if he took more than he should when he’ll be under the influence of the Zero System.
Speaking of the Zero System, why can’t they defeat this enemy with the system on? Why can’t they predict every move that the clones were going to make? Was the clones too good or had they developed something even more advance than the system itself? Was the Zero System no longer relevant in this war?
Or had they all gone weak?
It could be true. Maybe after the Barton crisis, when the Gundam pilots had finally found their places in the society, they had somehow grown weak. Maybe that was why they could barely hold themselves against the Telrhani invasion. Maybe that was why they were forced to see one of their former enemies made the ultimate decision to save mankind. Maybe they didn’t even have the strength to make the same decision that Treize’s ward had chosen two years ago.
“Looks like I have won, brother,” said the clone, readying himself for the final blow. “As I said, there can only be one Trowa Barton.”
Suddenly, Trowa’s right hand slackened their hold on his left arm. His eyes dimmed as his head began to swim. However, his strength returned mysteriously as he pushed away the pain to the back of his mind. When he looked up, his green eyes were icy.
“You’re right. There is only one Trowa Barton and I am not him,” he said, his voice made the clone shivered for a moment. “I am No Name.”
TO BE CONTINUED…
Writer’s note: Phew! Trowa’s pretty intense out there, wasn’t he? FYI, this series will probably focus more on Trowa than anyone else. Why? Because I think he’s one of the characters that I’ve been neglected since I began writing a GW fiction. So, I kinda owe Trowa that.
Another cliffhanger, heh! Sorry, can’t help myself. Trowa’s being too intense that he’s frying my brain! But never fear, this part of story is nearing its end. Just give me two or four more chapters, ok?
