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.
Trowa watched Elena Winner
glanced at the clock for the thousandth times. At the corner of the room, Erea
Winner was pacing back and forth. Occasionally, she would copy Elena’s
movement. It was normal for their little brother to be late for dinner. He had
done that on many occasions, since the boy tended to be too engrossed in his
work.
But that night, something had
caused them to worry.
Maybe because they had called
the office and was informed that Quatre Winner had left about two hours ago.
But now, it’s already
Personally, Trowa didn’t think
that they should be panicking. He trusted Quatre enough to be able to take care
of himself. His blond friend had proved that to him time and time again and on some
occasions, surprised him even. And so, he waited, patiently.
“Maybe we should go search for
him,” Irin suggested.
“Let’s not be too hasty,” Trowa
started to say. Suddenly, they heard the front door opened and Quatre entered,
looking slightly dazed. His face was pale and his body seemed to be shaking.
Relieved and concerned, the three ladies rushed to their brother.
“Are you alright?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Quatre?”
They saw his lips moved to
answer but nothing came out. It was as if he found that the words were stuck in
his throat. There’s a look of terrible wonder and lost in his blue-green eyes that
scared them. His eyes had the same look once, when he was in verge of madness
after his lover’s demise. And now, they feared if the same madness had somehow
resurfaced.
Then, Quatre’s eyes laid on
Trowa. Not noticing the fearful looks of his sisters, he went to his friend.
“Trowa! I saw her. She’s alive!” he whispered, gripping Trowa’s hands so
tightly that the silent pilot felt pain.
Seeing the familiar wild look in
his friend’s eyes, Trowa detached Quatre’s fingers off him. He then ushered him
to a seat. “What is it, Quatre? What did you see?” he prompted, calmly. “Who’s
she?” He felt his stomachs knotted, fearing his answer.
“Kylie! She’s still alive. I saw
her on my way back,” Quatre answered, agitatedly. “She was walking about in the
city.” The eyes that met Trowa’s suddenly glistened with tears. “I can’t
believe it. Kylie’s still alive!” Then he was grim. “But why didn’t she tell me
that she’s okay?”
From that, Quatre continued to
ramble. Guessing and counting the reasons why Kylie kept that news from them. His
thoughts went back to the first sensible reason he had established before. That
maybe Kylie was involved in a mission. Maybe a mission that could jeopardize
his life if he knew. And that’s why she couldn’t tell any of them why she was
alive. After all, Kylie had promised that she would protect him, hadn’t she?
So deep in his troubling
thoughts, Quatre failed to hear Trowa and his sisters trying unsuccessfully to
gain his attention. Unsuccessfully trying to tell him that he was seeing
things. In the end, Trowa was forced to slap him across his face, hard.
“Don’t you dare lose on
us again!” Trowa hissed when Quatre finally quieted. He held his throbbing
cheek, surprised to find himself there. And surprised to find Trowa hit him.
Trowa’s face was slightly red, reflecting his controlled anger as he looked
down at him.
“Kylie’s dead, remember? We saw
the whole thing ourselves. We saw her die,” he said, his voice was
barely above a whisper. Then, seeing the realization and pain in Quatre’s eyes,
his voice softened. “She and Heero are dead, remember? Lady Une reported that
they found pieces of their Gundams in the wreckage.”
He brushed Quatre’s head,
gently. “You’re tired, Quatre. You’ve been working so hard that you’re starting
to see things. Things that you wanted the most.” Suddenly, Trowa’s eyes misted.
“Please, Quatre. I cannot lose you too. Please don’t put us through that again,
little brother.”
Seeing Trowa’s pleading eyes finally brought Quatre to the hard truth. Yes, Kylie’s gone. Heero’s gone too. Now, there are only four original Gundam pilots. And somehow, the two items of Kylie’s that Quatre held earlier, made him start seeing her again.
Tears started to roll down his cheek. Quatre held Trowa, crying. “I’m sorry, Trowa. I’m so sorry,” he said over and over again. For a few minutes, they stayed like that. But when he finally pulled himself away, he looked at his sisters, apologetically.
“I’m okay now,” he said, giving them a smile. “Must’ve been pretty tired.”
At that, he was swept into a group hug led by Erea. Then, Irin detached herself, looking slightly annoyed. “Quatre, I want you to promise us one thing,” she said, as if reprimanding one of her dance students.
He sighed and then smiled. “Yes. I’ll call in sick tomorrow.”
“And for the next two weeks,” Irin finished for him.
>>>@@<<<
After that episode, Trowa spent even more time with Quatre. He even postponed his return to Catherine’s just to make sure. He discussed what happened with Duo when he visited him, telling him what he planned on doing. Surprisingly, Duo was serious about it, for once. And he too agreed to spend more time with Quatre, seemingly taking a vacation himself.
But Trowa never told Dorothy what happened. He knew that it would hurt her to know that Quatre was still thinking of Kylie, even if it was not as constant as before. Trowa didn’t want to ruin the new relationship Dorothy and Quatre had forged. He couldn’t do that to them.
However, something happened one day that made Trowa rethought about their theory of their friends’ demise. And it all started the day he went grocery shopping. That was when he found something that made him doubt all their conclusions.
He was walking back to the Winner’s residence, deeply in thought. He was trying to decide whether he should return to L2 that night as he had planned or stay on. He hated leaving Catherine all alone in their apartment. Ever since some of the circus family was taken to the Telrhani homeworld, they’ve decided to stop their performance for the time being. They were all sitting around, hoping that Trowa would find a way to rescue the rest of the family. And they even let him have his own way, letting him come and go as he pleased. Their faith in him touched Trowa deeply.
‘No, Catherine would be safe,’ he finally decided. ‘It’s not like she’s all alone. The whole circus family has moved in our apartment building.’ He smiled, despite of himself. ‘Besides, Catherine is the only girl I trust who could take care of herself well. She would’ve wanted me to stay with Quatre as long as I’m needed.’
The burden of making that decision was finally lifted from his chest. Light hearted, he began to walk casually, humming to himself. Yes, this moment of peace was definitely what he needed. Well, until the time came for them to travel to the Telrhani galaxy.
Trowa was just passing a few row of shops when he suddenly caught a familiar feature. Startled, he stopped. His heart pounded when his eyes landed on a very familiar and unbelievable sight. “Heero!” he whispered, almost dropping the grocery bag in his arms.
Even walking far across the street, Heero Yuy could hear Trowa calling his name. But as soon as he saw who it was, Heero quickly turned away. He quickened his pace, hoping to escape Trowa, who was making his way towards him.
“Heero! Wait,” Trowa called out, trying to get by a crowd of people who was coming from the opposite way. He pushed through them, wondering how his friend survived the explosion, wondering why he didn’t tell them that he was alive and wondering why was he running away from him now.
But Trowa never got the chance to ask the questions. When he finally broke away from the crowd, Heero Yuy was gone. Vanished into thin air, as if he was merely a ghost of a distant past.
>>>@@<<<
“Dinner was great, Hilde. Thank you for inviting me again,” Quatre complimented. The hostess blushed and her husband burped.
“You got that right,” said Duo, slumping in his chair. “Imagine eating meals like this every day for the rest of your life.” He sighed in satisfaction. “I’m in heaven already.”
Trowa set the fork on his plate. “Ah! That explains the extra weight,” he commented, regarding Duo critically.
“He speaks!” Duo replied, in mock shock. “I thought his mind has already traveled back to his own apartment.” He raised his eyebrow at Trowa, couldn’t resist a verbal spar with his friend. “I thought you were supposed to be back home with Cathy this morning. What gives?”
Quatre and Hilde both turned to Trowa, curiously. All noticed how silent Trowa had been through dinner. He’d barely said a word except ‘thank you’ and ‘could you pass me the salt, please’. He seemed preoccupied with something and refused to say what. Maybe Catherine was the reason.
Trowa shook his head. “Something came up and I decided to stay here. I’ve told Catherine about it,” he answered, glancing at Quatre.
“Oh?” was the only thing Quatre managed. “I guess that’s fine.”
Hilde stood and started to clear the table. “Good then. With Quatre vacationing and Trowa being here, maybe the two of you could drag Duo out of the house and go on a fishing trip. That ought to be fun enough.”
“What?” Duo jumped to his feet. “What do you mean by that? Are you saying that you don’t want me around the house anymore?”
Hilde turned to her husband. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.” She waved her hands, spoons and all. “With you being in the house, bringing those filthy engine parts in, this house looked like one of your garage. All I need is one day without you being around to clean this place up.”
Duo winced as he looked around the house. He finally noticed the mess. Although Hilde had tried her best to make the house presentable for Trowa and Quatre’s visit, it wasn’t enough. “Ouch!” he mumbled, grimacing to himself. ‘I guess I’m going to be in a lot of trouble once these guys leave’ he thought, thinking of his fate.
Quatre changed the subject by standing up. “Here, Hilde. Let me help you with those,” he offered, collecting the plates. Hilde smiled at him gratefully and gave Duo a look that said, ‘At least Quatre is gentleman enough to help me with the dishes.’ Then both of them disappeared into the kitchen.
“Actually, there is another reason why I’m staying for a while,” Trowa suddenly said, startling Duo in the process. He started to ask but the Heavyarms pilot shook his head. “I can’t tell you the reason yet. Not until I’m sure of it myself.” He looked at Duo for a second before turning his head to watch Quatre, washing the dishes with Hilde.
“But one thing I can say is, there’s maybe something in what Quatre thought he saw that night. When he claimed to have seen Kylie.”
Duo almost fell off his chair. “What are you saying? Don’t tell me you thought that Kylie’s still alive.”
“No, not Kylie,” said Trowa, shaking his head slowly. “Someone else we knew. And I’m going to find out exactly what’s going on.” He turned to Duo once again, something strange shone in his eyes. “Which means, you have to stay close with Quatre in the meantime.”
Although Duo didn’t know what he meant by that, he knew Trowa well enough to understand what he was asking. And he knew him well enough not to prod for more information. So, he nodded. “Gotcha. Just leave Quatre to me, old buddy.”
>>>@@<<<
For weeks, Trowa tried to make sense with what he had seen or rather who he had seen. But everything he did, he only ran into dead end. He never saw Heero after that day and he never found a record that said Heero had ever been in the colony. He had done everything, including scanning the colony cluster for signs of other Gundanium alloy mobile suit, beside his and Duo’s, but found nothing.
It was as if what he saw that day was just a dream. Or a nightmare. And finally, Trowa was beginning to doubt his own eyes. ‘Maybe I am tired,’ he had thought, more than once. Then he would chuckle to himself. ‘I guess I’m in the same boat as Quatre now. When was the last time I sit back and relax?’
Surprisingly, he found that he could not answer his own question. Yes, it had been a long time since he rested. After months of keeping an eye on the Jupiter colony, he had returned only to find Quatre excited about his supposed sight of Kylie Rayden. From then, Trowa had taken all his time making sure that Quatre got as much rest as he could before he himself was starting to see a dead person. Which led him to nothing but dead ends.
So, after the final dead end, Trowa made his way to the nearest phone booth. “Quatre? It’s me. I’m going back home for a few days.” He paused. “Catherine called you? Yeah, I guess my return is long overdue. If she calls you back, tell her I’m leaving today.”
“No. I won’t stop by your house. I already have what I need with me,” he said. “Yes, I will. You take care of yourself too. I’ll be back as soon as I explain everything to Catherine.” There, he added to himself. ‘And as soon as I get some rest.’
“Yeah, bye.”
He hung up, sighing. He stood still for a while before turning.
That’s when he heard a scream.
That’s when everything was put into motion, for him.
>>>@@<<<
Quatre hung up the phone. He looked up and saw Irin, watching him curiously. “Trowa’s going back home. I know he left some of his things in the guest room but…” he began but Irin, who knew that Quatre’s friends would always stop by, nodded.
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll tell the servant to leave them alone when she cleans up the room,” she said. When she saw her little brother heading towards the door, she asked, “Where are you going? You’re not going out alone, are you?”
He spared her a reassuring grin. “Just for a few minutes. The day’s too lovely to be spent indoor.” He winked. “Don’t worry about me. I’m just taking a short stroll to Duo’s house.”
“Alright, just don’t be late for dinner,” Irin said, doubtfully.
Quatre feigned horror. “What? And miss one of your cooking?” he teased and was outside before his sister could say a thing. Once outside, he walked towards the park. Duo’s house was just on the other side and Quatre was looking forward to the short walk.
He was entering the park when suddenly, he collided with a jogger. As he stumbled back, Quatre quickly steadied himself. His apology was caught in his throat when he finally got a glimpse of the jogger’s face. It was a face that many had told him would be impossible to see again.
A face of a dead person.
“Kylie!” he gasped.
Kylie wore a shock expression. For a moment, their eyes were locked in a painful reunion. Then, the shock wore off and she started to back away, shaking her head. “No, I can’t,” she started to say. Quatre tried to reach for her hand but she quickly pulled herself away. “No.”
Before he could even ask her what was wrong, Kylie took off. Not wanting to lose her again, Quatre chased after her. “Kylie! Wait, don’t go.” His mind wondered her violent reaction upon seeing him. He also wondered why she’s running away from him.
>>>@@<<<
Trowa ran, trying to find the source of the scream. But whoever it was, the scream had suddenly ceased as Trowa strained to hear the sound of a struggle. Then, his eyes landed on a familiar figure. Not far from him, Heero Yuy slipped into an alley.
Without thinking, Trowa dashed towards the alley. When he got there, it was already empty. The alley was narrow and led to a dead end. There was no other way out, except for the entrance to another alley.
He heard the scream again and a choking sound. It came from the other alley. Quickly, Trowa made his way towards the smaller alley and found a man, choking the air out of an older man. Flying, Trowa kicked the attacker hard on his head. The attacker crashed into the wall and lay sprawling on the floor, unconscious.
Trowa turned to the gasping man. “Are you alright?” he asked, concerned. His mind tried to process everything that had just happened. One moment he was seeing an old dead friend and the other, he was saving an unknown man from a mugger. Had Heero led him to this man purposely?
The man struggled to recover his breath. When he did, he looked up to thank his savior. But whatever he was going to say was stuck in his throat as fear crossed over his face. It was then Trowa discovered his mistake. Lost in his disturbing thoughts, he had let himself get too distracted to run a quick sweep around the area for any other hostile presence. And he remembered that just as a shadow fell upon him.
Then, his head exploded painfully and Trowa found himself lying on the floor. He heard the man started to scream for help as the shadow raised a gun. “Say good bye, professor,” said the shadow in a very familiar voice.
There was a shot and the man jerked a little. Then, he fell to the floor next to Trowa as the Heavyarms pilot saw a small black hole in the man’s head. Trowa’s last thought before he finally passed out was how impossibly familiar that voice was.
It was the voice of Heero Yuy.
And he had just killed an innocent man.
>>>@@<<<
Quatre chased Kylie into an old, abandoned building. There, he lost her as his eyes struggled to focus on the sudden lack of light. He looked around, certain that he saw Kylie ran into the building. “Kylie?” he called out. His voice echoed throughout the building.
A glance outside told Quatre that the sun was finally setting. He was immediately reminded that he had to go back now if he didn’t want to miss dinner. But no, he can’t go back. Not when he’s so close at finding her again.
Suddenly, he heard a rustling noise coming from a room at the far end of the hallway. Quickly, he ran towards it, fearing that Kylie was trying to get away again. But it wasn’t so. The supposedly dead Nova pilot was waiting for him in the room. She stood in the middle of the room, pointing a gun at Quatre as he tumbled in.
“What?” he started to say when he saw the gun. The shocked expression on Kylie’s face was now gone, leaving the cold and ruthless mask she used to wear back in the old days. Then, a sneering smile touched her lips as she regarded him.
“You’re so easy to fool, Quatre Raberba Winner,” she snorted. She pulled the trigger.
There were numerous time when Quatre suffered from pain. Both physical and emotional ones. But this time, the pain of betrayal was unbearable, topping the physical pain he was feeling from his chest. Before he lost consciousness, he stared at the girl he thought he loved, his eyes searching for the reason why…
Kylie caught Quatre Winner before he fell to the floor. She had orders to treat the boy with up most respect and planned on doing so. After all, he once had feelings for her, right? Then, supporting him in her arms, she whistled.
Two men appeared from the shadows. Kylie handed Quatre to them. “Take him to the boss. He’ll know what to do,” she ordered, putting away her tranquilizer gun. She watched as one of the men draped young Winner onto his shoulder while the other kept watch for any unwanted visitor.
Seeing they’re set, Kylie started to walk away. “Hey, aren’t you coming back with us? The boss would want to debrief you,” one of them reminded her. Kylie gave him a cold look but instead of her usual antique, she tossed her hair.
“Later. I’m going to take a bath,” she said, then left before any of them could stop her. Then they left, carrying their latest capture.
>>>@@<<<
A beep jolted Duo out of his reverie. He checked his position and found himself approaching L4 colony cluster. His thoughts finally returned to the issue at hand. Quatre’s in danger. Somehow, Winteridge had forced him to join his rank and declare war on the Earth Sphere Nation. And Duo’s determined to save his friend before it’s too late.
Suddenly, his shuttle shook. Duo was thrown over the controls and bumped his head, hard. His head spinning, he realized that the colony was firing on him. Fighting back rude words, Duo opened the channel. “Quatre! It’s me, Duo. I’m coming for you,” he shouted, hoping to stop the pouring bullets on him. As he waited for a response, a question crossed his mind.
Where had Quatre found weapons to equip the colony with?
A moment later, Quatre Winner appeared on the screen. His face was grim. “I thought it was you,” he said as greeting.
“Then, stop firing on me, okay?” Duo suggested, giving him a friendly grin. He saw Quatre gestured at someone and the firing stopped. Then, the Sandrock pilot turned his attention back to Duo.
“You’re not welcome here anymore, Duo,” he said, nonchalantly. “Go away.”
Duo blinked. “But why? Hey, Quatre, if you’re in trouble we can discuss it. You know I’ll help you anyway I can,” he persuaded, hoping that Quatre would catch the hint and gave him any sign that he was being held against his will.
But there was none. His friend shook his head, after considering his words. “No, Duo. I don’t think you would help me in this. And I don’t think I want to share my victory with you.” He then nodded at someone before turning back to Duo. “Leave this place, Duo. Before my men destroy you.”
The controls suddenly beeped. A screen on his left warned Duo of an incoming troops of MS. Immediately, Duo’s natural warning alarms went off in his head. Something’s not right here! “I’m not leaving until you tell me what the hell is going on, Quatre.”
‘Come on, Quatre. Give me a sign!’ his thoughts screamed.
The expression on Quatre’s face didn’t change. “If that’s your answer, well, good bye Duo.” The screen went dead.
“What?” was all Duo managed before he was under attack. He fought the mobile suits, all the while wondering why Quatre had done this to him. To everyone. And seeing how determined the mobile suits wanted to destroy him, Duo finally decided on one thing.
Quatre was dead serious!
But still, he had to get to the colony. Hilde’s still on it. But every time he tried to get near it, he was blocked by the enemy. Since he’s using a standard shuttle, Duo was unable to use his usual Deathscythe maneuvers. Soon, he was being overwhelmed by the numbers of the mobile suits, forcing him to cease his struggle to enter the colony and instead concentrate on surviving.
Suddenly out of nowhere, a series of shots rained on the mobile suits, giving Duo the exit that he needed. Quickly, he navigated the shuttle away from the colony. “Are you alright?” a transmission broke through as he was finally in the safe distance.
“What I am now is confused,” he answered, looking at the face of his savior. “What’s going on here, Rasid?”
Rasid, leader of the Maganac corp. shook his head, grimly. “We don’t know, really. But one thing I can tell you is that Master Quatre has turned against us,” he answered. The sadness in his voice was evident. All the Maganacs revered young Winner. They all adored the young man ever since he saved them almost seven years ago. But now, the pain of Quatre’s betrayal was evident in his eyes.
“B…but why? How?” Duo sputtered.
Rasid exhaled. “Let’s discuss it once we join the others,” he answered. “Your wife and my men are all on their way to the Preventer headquarters on MO V. Maybe we’ll find our answers there.”
Duo looked back at L4, where his friend was. “But what about Quatre?”
Rasid shook his head, sadly. “There’s nothing we can do for Master Quatre.” He shuddered as he said the next words.
“He’s our enemy now.”
TO BE CONTINUED…
