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.
The garden was beautiful. The flowers bloomed and the leaves reflected the early summer sun. Bird chirped as the butterflies displayed their spectacular dance. The scent of summer was fresh and relaxing as she made her way around the garden.
She stopped. A grin cracked on her face as she spotted a handsome man standing not far away. He was bending, examining a rose bush, or rather smelling the roses. A strand of hair fell onto his left eye, making him look years younger than he was. His face was at peace, serene. The cruelty of the world never touched his feature.
He turned when she approached him. He smiled. “Hey, haven’t seen you in a while.”
“I missed you too,” she said, wrapping her arms around him. He smelled so familiar and so right that she was reluctant to let go. However, she did and looked up into his green eyes. “Why won’t you let me stay?”
He smiled, while stroking the red petals of a rose. “It’s not yet time for you,” he told her.
“Yeah,” she wrinkled her nose. “You told me that I still need to learn.” She looked at him, pleadingly. “But I’ve already learned the lesson.”
“You have not,” he said, plucking the rose. He tapped it on her forehead. “You thought that you did but you haven’t.”
“How will I know if I have?”
“You will know once your heart is ready.” He smiled at her, mischievously. “In the meantime, there is another lesson you should learn.”
She pouted. “I’m never going to finish this, am I?”
He chuckled, crunching the red rose in his fist. Then, he was suddenly serious, ignoring the trickle of blood that trailed down his fingers, from where the thorns had pricked him. “This one is important. For you to learn the first lesson, you first have to learn mercy.”
She blinked, in incomprehension. “Mercy?”
He gazed into her eyes, his face was suddenly sympathetic. “You’re not a monster if you could learn mercy.”
That brought a gasp from her. She had heard someone said the similar thing to her.
‘You’re not a monster. You’re not him.’
“It’s time to go,” he said, opening his fist. Where there was a crushed red rose, now there was a blooming white one. He gave her this and started to drift away.
Or rather, she started to drift away.
She opened her mouth, wanting to plead not to be sent back but her voice seemed to have been drowned by a strange silence. She tried to reach out for him but he was already too far away. Running didn’t even get her closer to him. Frustrated, she began to scream…
She started. Her heart pounding as cold sweat trickled down her forehead. She looked around the surrounding, warily. After convincing herself that she was safe, she sighed. She leaned back on her seat, rubbing her aching head.
‘That dream again,’ she thought, shaking away the cobwebs in her mind. ‘When will this finally end? Why won’t she leave me alone?’ She slammed her fist on the table, feeling frustrated.
‘Why does she keep haunting me even when she’s already dead?’
>>>@@<<<
Quatre found Duo watching the technicians repair their Gundams. It took them longer because the damage on both Gundams had been extensive. Sandrock had lost its arm and screen as well as its propulsion while Deathscythe had lost one of its wings and the whole computer system was shot. It had been a close call for Duo that he had shut down the Zero system when that happened. Else, his mind would be greatly affected by the system.
Thankfully, Quatre had his colony’s support. And his technicians jumped at the first chance of repairing the Gundams. “It’s in good hands, Duo,” he began, stopping next to his friend. Duo acknowledged him with a glance before looking back at Deathscythe.
“It ought to be. How ever did you get Howard to leave MO V and supervise the repairs here?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t. Howard volunteered to help us. He said something about being the only one who isn’t a pilot who understands the Gundams more than, what he termed as, any-highly-paid- technicians.” Quatre smiled, watching the old man giving instructions below them. “I think that he’s growing far more attached to our Gundams than he lets on.”
“Probably wishing that he’s young enough to have one of these,” said Duo, chuckling.
“Yeah, we’re very lucky.”
“Any words from the others yet?”
Somehow the words caused the mood to dampen. The head of the Winner family took a full minute to answer the question. He shook his head. “Not since Trowa called. And that was six days ago. As for Wu Fei, Lady Une informed me that he somewhere with Mylin. Heero is still uncounted for as far as I know,” he replied. His concern for his missing teammates was evident. “Relena are handling all of these pretty well.”
“Yeah, she is the strongest, that girl,” Duo mused. Then there was a long stretch of silence between the two. Both were thinking of their friends as well as the cause of their current predicament. In the background, a news report echoed, informing them of a possible demand of independence from colony L1. However, none of the two noticed Howard glancing up to them and whispered to one of the technician to switch off the radio. But the damage was done and the two young men sunk further in their sullen mood when they caught the report highlighting the Gundam’s failure as the main reason for the breaking of the unification.
“So this is it. All the efforts go down the drain,” said Duo, breaking the silence. The sigh that escaped from his friend’s lips was heavy and he pitied him. “I’m sorry for you, Quatre. You’ve done more than your share to keep the space colonies together.”
His friend rubbed his chest, as if his heart was wounded by the turn of events. For a second, Quatre looked more like a twelve year old boy than an almost twenty year old young man. A second later, his jaw was set as a look of resolution appeared on his face. “No matter what happen, I will not give up. We’ve come too far to stop now.”
“Maybe,” said Duo, feeling the need to tell his friend of his decision. He knew that Quatre would be deeply hurt by this but it was for the best. “I have something to tell you, Quatre.”
A pair of blue-green eyes regarded him, curiously.
Duo looked at Deathscythe, suppressing his need to reach for it. “The next time we’re going into the battlefield, I’m not piloting Deathscythe anymore.” He broke his gaze away from his Gundam, his constant companion. “I’m retiring as a Gundam pilot.”
He left his stunned friend there, staring after him.
>>>@@<<<
The sound of running footsteps echoed throughout the hallway. A bolt of light blond hair rushed forward, as technicians and engineers stepped aside to let the owner of the resource satellite passed. Closely following behind him was a bolt of braided hair. Both of them seemed to be making their way towards the landing bay, though there seemed to be no known emergency.
Quatre and Duo panted, as they continued with their mad dash. They ignored all stares and grunts coming from the people they almost hit. Quatre even neglected the greetings he got from his workers. All suitable manners of a leader were forgotten as he set his mind on one thing. He had to get there. He had to be sure.
All day, he had been swamped by phone calls both from the representatives of the ESUN as well as the reporters, like the days before. They all demanded his attention on a similar reason. They wanted to know his action on Winteridge’s reign of influence over the space colonists. And Quatre, being the pillar that brought together the space colonies and the liaison between Earth and space, was the right person for them to demand an action from. If only they knew how many actions he had taken…
So, when the good news came, Quatre didn’t think twice and abandoned his work entirely. His impromptu reaction was not missed by his sister, Erea, who looked on with a mixture of pity and amusement. Then, she informed Duo Maxwell of the latest development and was awarded with the same impromptu reaction as her brother’s.
The two boys stopped at the landing bay, each beholding the space shuttle that had just landed. They waited, one wore the look of impatience and the other was hopeful. But relief was evident in each of their faces.
Then, when the passengers finally exited, their faces brightened. Quatre’s eyes moistened.
“Trowa!”
As soon as Trowa heard his name called, he looked at their way. He detached himself from Dr. Farrell-Burnett, determined to get down without her assistance. Though his arm hurt, he wasn’t ready to show Quatre how vulnerable he was.
“Trowa!” Quatre ran to him. Trowa found himself smiling, for he had missed his surrogate brother terribly for over seven days. He found himself wondering how and when the blond pilot had attached himself so deeply in his heart.
Blue-green eyes met green ones as they stopped inches from each other. Quatre frowned at Trowa’s pale face. “Are you alright?” he asked, deeply concerned. But his question meant for another meaning as well.
Trowa nodded. “Yeah,” he lied and at the same time telling the truth. He regarded his friend carefully. He looked tad tired. “And you? How are you?” Also, there’s a different meaning behind his question.
“Perfectly well,” he answered but Trowa could detect that he was lying as well. There’s tension in his eyes.
“Well, don’t you guys get all sniffy around me, okay? I can’t handle it,” said a voice. Duo.
Trowa nodded at him as a greeting. He had heard about L2 and nearly made his way there had Dr. Farrell not stopped him. He was furious and at the same time felt ashamed when the colony decided to join Winteridge’s rank. He was ashamed that his failure caused the unification to break.
“Don’t,” said Quatre. The simple word was enough to stop Trowa from continuing his thoughts. “We all did our best. Winteridge’s just caught us at a disadvantage,” he continued, though his words seemed to be directed to Duo as well. The Deathscythe pilot shifted his foot, uncomfortably.
However, the two never caught the look Dr. Farrell threw at Trowa.
“Come, Trowa,” said Quatre, taking Trowa’s injured hand. He nearly stiffened in pain but kept himself in check. He wished that he still had the cast on but if he had, then the others would know what happened to him. So, he gritted his teeth, fully aware of the doctor’s watchful gaze and let himself being led out.
>>>@@<<<
“Our preparations are complete. Initiating Operation: ELIMINATION,” Winteridge heard his clone, Heero reported.
“Good. Make sure you get our target,” Instructor D, who was with him in the room, reminded. “There is no room for error. This spy must be eliminated or he’ll cause us a lot of damage in the next phase of our plan.”
“Roger that. Commencing the operation.”
>>>@@<<<
Duo was just finishing telling his story to Trowa when they finally reached Quatre’s house. A servant opened the door to let them in. They walked into the living room, waiting eagerly to hear Trowa’s story. But Trowa was saved from it because the second they stepped into the living room, they were awarded with a surprise.
Sitting on a sofa drinking tea were Hilde, Dorothy and…
“Heero,” Quatre breathed, finally. Trowa raised his left eyebrow in greeting. Duo had his jaw opened.
“Take a picture. It’ll last longer,” said Heero in response to Duo’s shock.
“Buddy!” Duo greeted merrily, finally over his shock. “You’re back! Where were ya? You’ve missed a great slumber party at the Winner’s household.”
Heero ignored Duo as the more talkative pilot propped on the sofa next to him. He nodded at Quatre and Trowa in greeting. “Don’t ask me where I was,” he said. “We’re here to talk about our next move, not catching up on past events.” At that, he looked pointedly at Duo.
Trowa settled down. He regarded the Wing Zero pilot thoroughly. Like all of them, he didn’t seem to be doing very well. There was a strange color on his pale skin, sort of greenish, as if he had been through a high fever. Though Heero was wearing a denim jacket, Trowa could trace the evidence of bandages around his body. That and the awkward way Heero seemed to be slumping on the sofa.
But he too had things he rather kept a secret. And so, Trowa didn’t ask any further.
While the other three had seated, only Quatre remained standing. He looked at Heero and then at the stairs nervously. “Quatre?” asked Trowa, concerned.
“I should probably tell you this now, Heero but…” he never had the chance to finish his sentence as a voice interrupted him.
“Heero!”
They turned to see Relena running down the stairs towards Heero. She threw her arms around him, sobbing. Trowa sensed Heero stifled a grunt as his body stiffened. “Where were you? I was so worried!”
Heero was torn between truth and his responsibility. Finally, he detached Relena’s hold on him gently. “Relena, please. I’m a married man,” he said, deciding that he needed to end all this.
The girl blinked, unable to comprehend what she had just learned. She had suspected it, ever since she saw the gold ring on his finger, but never thought that Heero would come out and confirmed it. The others looked at Heero, again surprised by him.
At first, Relena seemed to be in verge of tears. Then suddenly, her diplomat training kicked in and she was in control. She wiped her tears, blushing. “Oh? I’m sorry,” she said, turning away to hide her embarrassment and pain. When she looked back, she was smiling. “Congratulations!”
For a moment, Heero seemed to be taken by surprise but it was gone in a second. He turned to the others. “Come on, we need to discuss our next move.”
But they never got the chance for the discussion.
>>>@@<<<
The usual peace of the Preventer’s underground headquarters on Earth shattered when the reports came in. It seemed that some unidentified objects were flying in the open airspace, heavily armed and in an attack formation. Michael Grant, the officer in charge, was jarred from his break as he was forced to return to the command center.
“What is it?” he barked. This had better be good. He had just spent the whole night on the phone with Lady Une and the ESUN representatives and he needed that break.
His officer worked fast on her console for a few seconds. Then, she looked up at him. “Air traffic just reported unidentified objects in the airspace. They seemed to be mobile suits!”
Grant eyes widened as the truth set in. “It’s an attack!” he stated. “Where are they heading? What’s their ETA?”
The female agent glanced at her screen. “North hemisphere area, Arizona. ETA fifteen minutes.”
He quickly turned to his comm. officer. “Patch me through MO V and Lady Une quickly!”
“On it, sir.”
Then a thought came to him. He turned back towards the female agent. “Run a full scan on the area. Find me a reason why someone would want to attack that place.”
>>>@@<<<
“They’re fast approaching, ma’am. Pretty soon, they’ll engage our agents there,” Lady Une heard Agent Grant reported. “But without MS assistance, our agents could be in a rough time.”
“And you have not determined who they are yet?”
Grant shook his head. “No, they haven’t identified themselves despite of our effort at establishing contact. They could be Duke Winteridge’s troops because he’s the only one beside us has MS at his disposal.”
“Do not make assumptions until we’re sure, agent,” Lady Une reminded him. “It could also be the Telrhani guerillas or some other enemies that we haven’t identified yet.”
“Well, I have men working on that, ma’am. Even to find out what could interest the attackers in the designated area. Wait a minute,” He paused. “Here’s something. Oh, god!”
“What is it?”
“According to this report, there used to be a nuclear research facility in the area.”
“But that would mean…”
“They’re starting a nuclear war!”
>>>@@<<<
“What! They’re starting a nuclear war?” Quatre jumped on his feet. Before Lady Une could continue, he heard two sets of footsteps running towards the exit. Both Heero and Trowa were off. “We’ll be right there,” he managed to say, rushing to follow his friend.
He only paused when he felt a tug at his arm. He looked down and met a set of concern blue eyes. “Be careful, okay?” said Dorothy, pleadingly. “I don’t want to lose you.”
He nodded. “I will, my love.”
He started to run again, only to halt after realizing that Duo hadn’t move. “Duo?” he enquired.
Duo was looking at him and then at Hilde, who squeezed his arm. She nudged him forward. “Go on, Duo.”
Sensing the reluctance in Duo’s demeanor, Quatre nodded. “The Maganac stored their MS in hangar fourteen. I’m sure Rasid wouldn’t mind you borrow his.”
“Hangar fourteen?”
“I’ll drop you off there. Come on. We best not let Heero and Trowa waiting.”
“Roger that.”
>>>@@<<<
“Trowa,” he heard someone called his name as he was entering Heavyarms. He looked down and saw Dr. Farrell’s stern look. Then, her face softened as she realized that she could never stop a Gundam pilot. “Be careful, okay?”
He nodded, and then disappeared into the cockpit. A few minutes later, he was off.
>>>@@<<<
Mylin cut off the transmission and stood. She made her way towards the doorway and stopped. “Well? Aren’t you coming?” she asked the other occupant of the room. She turned when she heard no response from him.
To her dismay, Wu Fei never looked up or opened his eyes from his meditation. Instead, he seemed to be ignoring what they had just heard from Sally Po. Ignoring the fact that he had just been called to battle.
“Right, so that’s it,” said Mylin, balling her fists. “I hope you’ll be happy with your decision, weakling.”
>>>@@<<<
The database squealed, breaking her train of thoughts. Sara glanced over at the blinking red button, taken by surprise for a moment. The alarm would only be triggered if someone’s attacking the area. And the probability of that happening was almost unlikely. Until now.
She wheeled her chair to her right, pushing some buttons. The radar came to life as she detected a dozen unidentified flying objects. Frowning, she tapped the keyboard again, determined to uncover the enemy’s identity before taking any further actions.
Then, she heard Adin gave an excited bark as the sky rattled by a gigantic thunder, flying over the farm. Abandoning the database, she joined Adin at the window. The wolf dog was jumping up and down, still barking at the glass. Reaching over, Sara pushed the curtains aside.
And gasped.
‘Mobile suit! Here?’
>>>@@<<<
Heero pressed the speed of the Wing Zero to its full potential. His heart pounded as he tried to push back all possibility at the back of his mind. He wished that he could be a lot faster but the fact that his Gundam was not in its tip top condition made him even more desperate.
‘Come on, answer me,’ he gritted his teeth.
The person he had been trying to get through finally answered him. “I’m busy, Heero.”
“Get out of there, Sara. There’s going to be a battle there.”
“Know that,” she replied, seemingly distracted. She was obviously doing something else. “They’re attacking the old nuclear research facility. I managed to identify them, among other things.”
“Winteridge, I know.”
Sara rolled her eyes. “Bet you didn’t know that the facility is still storing old stocks of various nuclear weapons.”
He paused. “Then get out of there now!”
“And jeopardize my location? You know better than that.”
He cursed. She was right. If she left, someone would connect her to him. Worse yet, her real identity would be compromise. If not by the Preventers, then by Winteridge’s clones. Even staying on their communication channel could endanger her.
“Alright. See what you can do at your end. But if things started to heat up…”
“I’ll be yesterday’s history, Heero.” She looked at him, sadly. “You know how many times that happened.”
For a moment there, Heero caught the shadow of the person she used to be. Then, a second later, it was gone replaced by the current mask that she had worn so well during the hard years. “Bye, Heero.”
And the line went dead.
>>>@@<<<
For the first time in four years, another battle took place on Earth. This time, both sides were equally matched. And this time, the battle was not about teaching mankind the devastation of war such the one in the Eve War and the Operation Meteor conflict. This time, it was the battle of the pilots’ survival as well as the people of Earth. This time, Earth was the prize.
It started shakily for the pilots. Each was trying to come in term with their previous defeat. Though they had tucked away the incident, the moment they lifted off the thought returned as soon as they got their first glimpse of the battle below.
As soon as they entered the atmosphere, the pilots were under attacked by Winteridge’s MDs and sky fighters. Calmly, the boys battled these while scanning for the signs of the clones’ mobile suits. They found them alright. The clones were battling the Preventers on the surface with some earth-based mobile suit, very well out of the Gundam pilots’ range.
“This is annoying,” said Duo in his Maganac suit. “One of us must get to the surface to help the Preventers.”
“We know that, Duo,” said Quatre, seemingly losing his cool as well. Since the MDs and fighters were all made by gundanium alloy, it was taking them quite some time to obliterate one. And the Preventers seemed to be…
Suddenly, a fleck of red appeared from the horizon. It made its way towards the research facility, attacking the clones’ land suits. “It’s Epyon!” Duo yelled. “Zechs!” he called out the name. None of them knew that Zechs had come to Earth to assist Lady Une. The second he heard of the attack, he went for his Gundam, which was hidden in a valley in China.
“Get down here as fast as you can,” said Zechs, ignoring the greeting. “Lady Une is handling the evacuation,” he informed them as a couple of mobile suits turned their attention towards him. The other three kept their attack on the plant.
Quatre glanced at the screen and saw the civilians in the town nearby being shepherded away from the battle. “Roger. Did you hear that Heero? We needn’t worry about the civilians.”
But the words failed to comfort the grim pilot. Instead, his worry intensified. ‘It’s not them I’m concern about.”
>>>@@<<<
Zechs had never fought so hard in his life before. Not since his last battle with Heero. But now, his piloting skills were being tested even more because fighting these clones was like fighting two Heero Yuys. The clones seemed to have no weakness at all. Everything that he had tried went down the drain as the clones cleverly predicted his moves one by one.
‘It’s like they have their own Zero System.’ Then a thought came into mind. ‘Could that be it?’
He gritted his teeth as Epyon was hit. Far away from him, a portion of the facility exploded, taking some of the Preventer agents with it. He cursed Winteridge’s name for causing it. He cursed the duke for creating these clones. And he cursed his inability to help his fellow comrade.
Suddenly, one of the mobile suits exploded. Surprised, Zechs looked to his right where the shot had come from. Flying low as to avoid the skirmishes above was Gundam Altron.
“Wu Fei!” he heard Winner’s enthusiastic cry.
The pilot of the Gundam remained silent as it took on the remaining mobile suits. Now, the Preventers had only one suit to worry about. Some of the fighters that were fighting the Gundams above had joined the battle below.
“Wu Fei, the objective is to defend the facility not engaging the clones,” Quatre reminded him, seeing that Altron ignored an opening to help the Preventers.
“Sorry, that’s not my objective,” came the reply. But it was female!
>>>@@<<<
“Mylin?” Quatre exclaimed as his face came onto the screen. “What are you doing in there?”
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m fighting for my life here,” she said, sarcastically. She avoided a shot from Kylie-clone. Yes, she had identified her foe already and had purposely picked her.
“Yes, but where’s Wu Fei?”
Mylin clenched her teeth. “He’s rather engaged at the moment. Said that I can use his Gundam.”
That further mystified the blond pilot. He knew that Wu Fei would never hand over his Gundam to someone else. None of them would. They rather destroy the Gundams than to give them over to someone else.
“Look, I’m a bit busy here so buzz off,” she said, ending the transmission. She was just in time to spin away from another shot, meant to decapitate Altron’s arm. The shot hit the earth behind her, narrowly missing a house nearby.
“Oops… how clumsy of me,” said Kylie-clone, mockingly. “Next time, I promise I won’t miss again.”
Mylin growled. “There won’t be a next time.”
Suddenly, the cockpit glowed as a radiant golden light bathed her. Unaware that the intensity in her mind had activated the Zero System, Mylin felt a sudden feeling of tranquility enveloping her.
>>>@@<<<
When the shot hit the ground, the house shook almost throwing Sara to the floor. Bracing herself by the database, Sara shook off the ringing in her ears. The blast had shattered the windows and knocked many things onto the floor.
Hearing a whimper, Sara stopped what she was doing and tended to the frightened dog that had hidden himself under a table. “Come on, boy,” she said, her voice was soothing even under the pressure. When the dog finally gathered its wit, Sara wheeled herself to the door and threw it open.
The sight of the big blackened hole a few meters away from her yard made her gasp. She looked at the battle that took place a few hundreds kilometers away. “That was too close for comfort,” she said to herself. She was thankful that there were not any other houses in the area. She and Heero had picked this house because of its seclusion. If there was anyone nearby…
She couldn’t finish the thought. Her only hope was that it would be over soon.
>>>@@<<<
Quatre gritted his teeth as another shot hit him. They weren’t doing any good. All they succeeded in doing was holding the defense but was not able to drive the enemies away. And he could sense that everyone was getting tired and that their resources were draining away.
However, he hadn’t expected Mylin.
“Mother of all gods, look at that!” he heard Duo exclaimed. Quatre looked down, where Mylin was battling Kylie’s clone and was startled. While the other Gundam pilots’ progress was dwindling, Altron’s seemed to be holding on well. Even winning!
Speechless beyond words, Quatre watched the battle below, aware that those back at the headquarters were watching this particular battle. He didn’t know how it was possible, since Mylin’s skills in piloting weren’t her best forte, but she seemed to be a pretty good pilot. Better than the rest of them!
‘What’s going on?’ he wondered, watching as Altron moved gracefully and flawlessly against its enemies, driving the clone back. Its movement was free and with a certain flair that it couldn’t have been possible. It was as if Mylin had become one with Wu Fei’s Gundam.
“Look out!” he heard Duo warned as a mobile suit joined the pair. But Altron just effortlessly spun itself away from the tip of the new enemy’s beam saber and swung the beam trident on the new assailant. Then, with a speed that seemed almost impossible, she cleaved the MD that had also joined in the fight into two, only to face eight incoming MDs and the two clones.
Still, Altron and Mylin seemed unstoppable.
>>>@@<<<
Sara watched the battle before her silently. Since the missile had narrowly missed the house, she felt that it was no longer safe to go in. And so, she opted to watch the battle, a part of her seemed to be longing for it.
The battle between Altron and the enemy’s mobile suits attracted her attention. She watched in awe as Altron landed blows after blow on the two mobile suits and at the same time destroying the mobile dolls and mobile suits that came in her way. It seemed as if Altron did not care who it was destroying, just as long as it reached its objective. Even if it means killing its enemies.
“Mylin,” Sara whispered, recalling that Wu Fei wasn’t in the suit. If it had been him, he would’ve spared the enemy’s life and just incapacitate the mobile suits. Just like what the Gundam pilots and the Preventers agreed on. But seeing Altron destroying its enemy’s without any effort to incapacitate them made her certain that the alien was in the Gundam.
“This is how a battle should have been fought,” she said, firmly. A feeling that hadn’t been buried inside her for the past two years crept back in.
>>>@@<<<
Kylie-clone gritted her teeth as her mobile suit shook. The alien had taken her completely by surprise. She hadn’t known that the alien was a good a pilot as she and her clone mates were. It was taking her whole concentration just to keep the battle in equal terms, so that she could finally execute the real mission.
Thankfully, Heero-clone had sensed her distress and sent Quatre-clone over to help. Between them both, they had managed to press the alien a little and still play their little charade.
But still, it unnerved her that the opponent had a skillful pilot in their ranks.
>>>@@<<<
After a hard battle in the skies, the remaining Gundam pilots managed to bring the battle on land. Now, they were working together with the Preventers to defend the research facility. Consequently, the clones’ mobile suits had all regrouped and focused their effort into driving the defenders back. All except the ones who were engaged in a personal battle against Gundam Altron.
And so, the battle intensified.
>>>@@<<<
Kylie-clone smiled to herself. Although she had been taken by surprise by the alien’s piloting skills, she was satisfied enough to learn that the alien hadn’t figured out their plan yet. In fact, she was even helping them as she drove the three of them away from the battlefield and closer to her intended target. Kylie silently congratulated Instructor D. His plan had been flawless up until now. He had cleverly staged a battle in which the facility was the target without revealing to the enemy the nature of their real target.
“Kylie, I’ll distract her. You’ll complete the mission,” came Quatre-clone’s voice, quiet and thoughtful. Without another word, he went head-on towards Altron.
Seeing that she was given a rare, golden opportunity, Kylie fixed her target on the house again, which had now stood just a few kilometers from them. The alien had her back on the house again, at the moment, engaged in a furious battle with Quatre-clone.
When she finally had a lock, Kylie squeezed the trigger. The shot went wide and passed over the Altron’s shoulder narrowly.
“Miss again!” said the alien, swinging the trident at her. She had expected the attack even before the clone fired.
Kylie blocked the attack. She smiled at the alien in satisfactorily. “Meant to.”
Mylin frowned, surprised by her words. Behind her, the once small and cozy house had turned into a charred ruin.
>>>@@<<<
“NO!” The sound of Heero’s anguished voice rang through the open channel. “Kylie!”
With that, Wing Zero broke formation, leaving the battlefield. He rammed in everything within his path. His twin buster rifle spouted deadly beam until it ran out of juice. “Heero! Where are you going?” Quatre inquired, seeing him making a beeline towards the burning specks not far away. He had seen the house exploded but was too preoccupied to notice what Heero had just said.
“Let him be, Winner!” came a new voice. Wu Fei’s haunted face appeared on the screen.
“Where’s he going? We still have to keep the clones away from the research facility.”
“It’s Kylie, Quatre,” said Wu Fei, quietly silencing Quatre immediately. The blond pilot paled. “She was in that house.”
“What!” came the collective reply from various sources.
But Quatre never wait for a confirmation. Instead he headed away. Towards where the love of his life was.
>>>@@<<<
Kylie-clone kept the grin plastered on her face. Her mission was a success and the spy was gone. Duke Winteridge would be very pleased. But first, Kylie decided to have fun a little. She found herself enjoying this particular battle because the alien seemed to be providing her with some challenges.
Over the years of their training, the clones had been exposed to the Gundams’ fighting style, including that of the pilots. And they could all predict the pilots every single move. But this alien was an enigma. Her battle prowess was never recorded and thus making her the most worthy foe yet.
And she would find it even more fun once she had the alien destroyed.
Suddenly, a slight movement on the screen wiped her grin away. Magnifying her visual, Kylie saw the burning ruin as well as the great big hole she had blasted on her first try. Then, her finger froze as the screen showed a tiny figure moving on the left of the charred ruin.
It was a dog. And next to the dog, lay a prone figure!
“So, I did miss,” she whispered, seeing the figure starting to stir. “Well, it doesn’t matter now. Your luck has just run out.” She raised her rifle, completely ignoring Altron who was making its way towards her.
She squeezed the trigger.
TO BE CONTINUED…
