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.
NOTE: To avoid confusion, I have italic-and-bold the clones’ name. Hopefully, that could help you understand who’s who.
By Arayelle Lynn.
The Gundam pilots made their way
towards their respective Gundams, hastily. Each steps echoed the strong resolve
that they were feeling inside. Their minds were all set to ensure the success
of their latest mission.
The hangar was bursting with
excitement ever since Heero Yuy announced that he had found the whereabout of
the missing Gundam pilot, Quatre Winner. The Preventer engineers quickly
scurried off to give the pilots way, knowing that they had no time to lose.
And the clock’s ticking.
Lady Une watched the four young
people climbed into their Gundams. Though they didn’t show it, she knew that
they were all wondering what kind of state they would find their friend in.
They were wondering if it’s too late and that Quatre was beyond rescue.
“Keep faith,” she whispered,
conjuring the thing that’s called hope, which she had lost with the death of
Treize’s young ward. But this time, she found herself seeking for it for the
sake of the future. “Hold on, Quatre.”
>>>@@<<<
“Trowa!” the brown haired pilot
paused and looked over his shoulder. Standing below Heavyarms was Dorothy. She
was looking up at him, pleadingly. Instead of jumping down to meet her, Trowa
stood at the edge of the cockpit.
“I want to go with you,” she
called out, cupping her hands around her lips. She had to shout to be heard
over the hum of the engines.
Expecting the request, Trowa
shook his head. “No. You have to get to that meeting on L2 colony. You must
talk the representatives out of arming themselves against Winteridge. The
Maganacs will be with you to ensure your safety.”
“But I want to go with you. I
want to see Quatre,” she argued, stubbornly.
“You will see him, after
we bring him back here,” he said, calmly.
But Dorothy wasn’t ready to give
in. “But I know my way around that colony well. Quatre showed me every inch of
L4 colony the first time I went there. You’ll need my help.” The discovery that
Quatre was being held on the colony had been startling. They hadn’t thought
that Winteridge would hide their friend in a plain sight. But it also gave them
a shred of hope that they might find Winteridge and the clones there as well.
“Abdul will be there with us. He’d know the colony as well as you,” said Trowa, nodding towards the Arabian man who was prepping his suit. His commander, Rashid, was standing not far away. He was watching his man preparing to launch while waiting for his own departure to L2 to be cleared.
“Besides, we can’t have you with
us. Once the fireworks start, we’ll need to move fast,” he continued, subtlely
hinting that Dorothy would only slow them down. The plan was simple. The
Gundams and the Preventers would storm the colony together. And while the
latter would keep Winteridge’s army busy, the Gundam pilots would board the
colony and attack from within. The only complicated matter was to find Quatre
before his captors hurt him or use him as a mean of escape.
And of course, the safety of the
innocent colonists who lived in the colony was imperative as well.
Seeing that she had lost the
argument, Dorothy relented. She decided to put her faith on the Heavyarms pilot
and his friends. “Bring him back safely, okay?” she said to him. Without saying
anything, Trowa nodded and entered the cockpit. He powered up.
>>>@@<<<
Rashid watched as they launched.
When he had heard where the enemy was keeping his dear master, he had mentally
kicked himself. He should’ve never left the colony. He should’ve check every
inch of the colony when everything started to look suspicious. If he had done
that, he would’ve discovered his young master and rescued him before things
turned out like this.
If… if…
There’s so many things he could think of to blame
himself but none would help him or his master. However, sending Abdul to be the
guide had been the right choice. So was acting as Miss Dorothy’s bodyguard
while she attend the meeting on L2 colony.
“You needn’t blame yourself, you
know,” a voice said from behind. “I don’t and I’m certain that my dear little
brother won’t either.”
“Miss Erea,” he turned, bowing
in respect. Erea Winner had opted to stay at the Preventer headquarters to
foresee Quatra’s medical attention when the pilots finally bring him in. She
knew that she would do more good waiting where she was than being where her home
had once been. “No, I’m beyond all that. All I want now is to have him here
safe and sound.”
Erea looked at the man, kindly.
She knew that the man had treated her brother like his own son, in which she
was grateful considering that Quatre needed one after his real father was
killed. And especially after what happened a couple of years ago.
“So, I heard this Heero refused
to tell anyone how or where he acquired this piece of information?” she
said, more a statement than a question. She watched the tiny specks of her
brother’s rescuers disappeared in the blackness of space.
“That’s to be expected from
Heero Yuy,” he answered, shrugging. “But I will send my prayers to Allah to
thank the person who worked for this information. He gave us hope when it’s
already foresaken.”
“Yeah, we owe him a lot, that’s
for sure.”
>>>@@<<<
Without a leader and the
resident strategist, the pilots were forced to act individually. However, they
compensated that weakness by dividing their attack point into five. And each of
them was accompanied by a squadron of Preventers white Tauruses. The strategy
was to create as much havoc for the enemy. Once the battle started, the
Preventers would hold the enemy outside while the Gundams would destroy the
enemy from the inside. If the information Heero Yuy brought to their attention
was accurate, they could get ahold on Winteridge and end the war before it happened.
As it stood, everything was
going according to plan, for now.
“I’m in!” Duo reported, as soon
as he touched down.
“Me too,” came Trowa’s voice.
“Abdul’s with me.”
The comm. crackled. “Great. Then
you and Duo can go find Quatre. Wu Fei, Zechs and I will secure the colony and
find Winteridge,” said Heero, his Wing Zero was visible inside the civilian
area. He spotted some enemy suits hiding in the area and knew that they’re
baiting him into a trap.
“Roger that,” said Trowa,
beckoning to Abdul to lead him.
Duo, spotting some soldiers
coming, pumped his rifle. “Let’s dance.”
“And mind the civilians!” Noin
reminded from outside the colony. She was leading the Preventers’ troops.
“Yeah, yeah. You don’t have to
tell me twice, mother,” Duo mimicked, then jumped down. His rifle
spurting bullets.
>>>@@<<<
“We’re under attack!” a soldier
reported.
Winteridge nodded, his face and
demeanor reflected a deep sense of calm. “That’s to be expected. Though I have
not thought it would be this soon.”
“I told you that this colony is
not secured enough,” said Duo-clone. “We should’ve made Jupiter our base of
operation. That or maybe that secret base you were talking about.” But his
employer was not a bit swayed by his words. Instead, he looked at the clone
patiently.
“All in good time, Duo. All in
good time. For now, we must prepare for our departure,” he said, standing up.
Quatre-clone looked at him,
incredulously. “You mean, we’re leaving? We’re retreating.”
“Not really,” said a voice that
belonged to their unidentified trainer and Winteridge’s right hand man. “Duo is
right. We’re paying a visit to our base on Jupiter.” He looked at his boss.
“All’s been taken care of, Your Grace.”
“Thank you, my friend,” said
Winteridge. Then he turned to regard his ‘children’. All of them were wearing
disappointed looks. “Come, let’s see our new home.” Then his eyes flashed. “ Or
would you rather meet your original self?”
Kylie-clone nodded, eagerly. “Could
we? It would be fun.”
He sighed. “Children. Alright,
you can go,” he permitted, seeing the looks on their faces. “But make sure you
don’t do anything drastic. It’s much too early to let them know what you people
can do.”
Without a word, they all ran for
the door. Winteridge halted one of them. “Kylie,” he said. The
girl turned to look at him. “About the original Winner boy. You know what to
do, right?”
As a response, Kylie
cocked her gun. She gave him a chilling smile before saluting him. Then, she
was gone.
“I love it when she’s nasty,”
Winteridge commented, satisfactorily.
His right hand man watched the
girl left. A smile of pure evil decorated his face. “So do I, sir. So do I.”
>>>@@<<<
“So, how do you like the
meringue pie?” she asked, watching Quatre swallowed the final piece.
He smacked his lips. “Mmm…
delicious. Just like the rest of the food that you have prepared here,” he
answered.
Kylie frowned in confusion.
“What are you talking about, Winner? You brought all the food. I only made the
pie. Don’t you remember?” she asked, watching him carefully.
Quatre frowned too. He didn’t
remember bringing the food. In fact, he didn’t remember going to the park with
Kylie at all. Just as he didn’t remember planning an anniversary gift for
Kylie. And whose idea was it to go for a picnic? And what was he doing before
he fell asleep?
Suddenly, he was disturbed by
his lack of memories. Very disturbed.
“Are you alright, Quatre?” Kylie
asked, putting a hand on his forehead. It was cold and pasty. “Maybe we should
get you inside,” she said, her face betrayed her concern.
Quatre shook his head, removing
her hand into his. He smiled reassuringly. “No, I’m fine,” he lied. In fact,
his head was pounding like crazy and he’s starting to see two Kylies. His chest
felt like fire and he found that it was getting harder to breathe. But he still
couldn’t find it in himself to ruin the outing.
“Besides, it’s not everyday that
I get to see you,” he said, then frowned. He suddenly felt as if he hadn’t seen
Kylie in a long, long time. But he waved the feeling away. “Now that I have you
here, I don’t want anything to spoil it.”
Kylie looked at him,
uncertainly. But she nodded. “Alright, if you say so.”
As soon as she said that, they
were suddenly being hit by a strong wind. Scrambling to his feet, Quatre grabbed
the picnic basket before it tipped over. The skies darkened as black clouds
rolled in fast. Thunders snaked the grey skies, clapping an earth-shattering
applaude that made him wince.
He looked around, suddenly
finding that the park was empty, save for the two of them. Gone were the
laughters of the children and their observant parents. Gone were the happy
couples that were holding each other, hand in hand. Gone were the chirping of
the birds and the warmth of the sun. And with the sun, gone were the green
grass and brightly colored flowers. The park had turned grey and dark all of
the sudden.
The park seemed lifeless.
And void of life.
Grabbing all the food and
stuffing them all in the picnic basket, Quatre had to yell to be heard over the
howling wind and the clapping thunders. “Come on, Kylie. We have to go!” He
grabbed for her hand once he had finished packing.
But instead of pulling herself
to her feet, Kylie detached her hand from Quatre’s grip. She leaned against the
tree, her face onlooking the terrible storm above. Looking at something beyond
the black clouds and flashes of light. There was an empty look in her eyes and
her face was blank. “Kylie?” he called, questioningly.
“I’m not going anywhere,
Quatre,” she said, her voice was so soft that Quatre was surprised that he
heard it above the winds. Then, she turned her face at him. There was a forlorn
look in her eyes now. “But you are.”
>>>@@<<<
‘There!’ his mind warned, as
Wing Zero rolled away from the line of fire that came from an anonymous source.
A second later, a troop of Virgoes emerged from among the trees, firing at him.
But years of experience as a Gundam pilot made it easy for Heero to get the
upperhand. Effortlessly, he disabled the mobile suits and spared the
lives of the pilots piloting them.
Not far away from his position,
Zechs and Wu Fei were just finishing those who tried to get a jump on them.
Like Heero, they disabled the mobile suits and ignored the pilots, as ordered.
Now, they’re scanning the surface for other hostile signatures.
“When are they going to learn
that they can’t take on a Gundam?” Heero heard Wu Fei muttered under his
breath, seeing the fleeing enemy’s soldiers. “Just save us the effort and stop
wasting our time.”
Suddenly Altron ducked, narrowly
missing a stray missile. Looking at where the missile came from, they saw two
mobile suits coming at them. “They never learn, do they?” Wu Fei spat, powering
his twin-headed trident. He and Zechs charged the oncoming Virgoes.
Heero held his position in
hesitation. The Zero was trying to tell him something. Something about these
Virgoes. And he’s not about to charge in before he could determine what exactly
Zero was warning him about.
It didn’t take him long.
He immediately knew the second
Zechs and Wu Fei engaged their enemy. As soon as Altron and Epyon zeroed in,
the Virgoes suddenly rolled and landed a hard blow on the Gundams’ backs,
stunning the pilots. Then, both Epyon and Altron twisted around to return the
blow themselves, only to find that the two Virgoes were gone.
“Wha…” he heard Wu Fei began.
But before the Chinese pilot could recover, something smashed into him from
above.
“Watch your backs!” Heero
warned, his Zero system filled him with new information. “Those Virgoes are not
normal.” Wing Zero dipped forward to offer assistance when suddenly, something
smashed into him as well. Heero clenched his teeth as he fought for control.
“You better save the warning for
yourself,” said an eerily familiar voice.
Another eerily familiar voice
came in. “The Virgoes are as normal as the other Virgoes. The only
difference is the pilot.”
Wu Fei and Zechs exchanged
confuse glances. They hadn’t known anyone with the piloting skills equal to theirs.
Instead of sharing his comrades’ confusion, Heero’s eyes narrowed into slits. His grip on the throttle tightened. “You’re right. Only a true soldier could utilize a mobile suit to its maximum eficiency. The superiority of a mobile suit isn’t determined by the power that the suit carries but instead, the competency of its pilot.”
“Well said, Heero Yuy,” said the
second voice. Startled by it, Wu Fei gasped.
Zechs looked at the five, still
confused. His eyes never left the three Virgoes, Heero answered Zechs unvoiced
question. “Meet the clones, Zechs.” At that, their screens blinked to reveal
the faces of Heero, Wu Fei and Quatre.
Though they were clones, Zechs could detect no flaw in their features. If
anything, they could be the original Gundam pilots instead of copies.
‘They might look the same but
are their skills matched the real ones?’ Zechs wondered to himself, gripping
his throttle tightly. Flanking in either side of him, he sensed Heero and Wu
Fei tensed. He knew that they’re wondering about the same thing too.
“Very well. Let’s see how much
similarity there is between us,” said Heero-clone, somehow reading Heero’s
mind.
A second later, Heero found
himself in the strangest battle ever. Against himself.
>>>@@<<<
“Down!” a voice shouted. Abdul
slammed himself on the floor as rains of bullets embedded themselves into the
wall where his head once was. Someone moved next to him, firing his gun towards
the bullets’ origin.
Then, something came from behind
them. As quick as lightning, Trowa whipped his gun around and into the face of
Duo Maxwell. The braided haired pilot pulled his hands up. “Hey, I’m the real
me.”
Trowa lowered his gun and
nodded. “Yes, I know. You’ve been following us since that last turn. Anyway,
thanks for the warning.”
Duo blinked. “How did you know I
was following you? And how is it that you’re sure I’m not the enemy?”
Trowa’s eyes strayed back to the
spot where the shooter was hiding. “Because I’m seeing two Duo Maxwells. Unless
you’ve suddenly turned to the enemy’s side, you wouldn’t be shooting at us,” he
explained. Duo-clone bobbed his head up to give them a twisted smile.
Seeing the shooter at last,
Duo’s face grew grim. “Go find Quatre,” he suddenly said, his voice held a
serious tone.
Trowa threw a glance at the
clone then back at Duo. He nodded. “Roger that.”
“Wait!” said Abdul, gripping
Trowa’s arm before he could move. He turned to Duo. “Are you sure we should be
separated? We could take on the clone together,” he offered. “It’ll be faster.”
Duo shook his head. “No, it’ll
be faster if you find Quatre and secure his position. For all we know, he might
be in danger.” Then he shrugged as a mischievous grin plastered on his face.
“Besides, I’d like to say hello to my double. Alone.”
Without wasting anymore time
than they already had, Trowa and Abdul left the corridor while Duo covered
their escape. They ran into more corridors, wishing that they have more
information regarding the exact location of their missing friend.
>>>@@<<<
“Heero.”
A voice interrupted his
concentration. The screen blinked as Sara appeared. “What is it?” he asked.
Though he didn’t say it, his tone indicated that he was busy. That, Sara could
decipher almost immediately.
“I managed to pintpoint Winner’s
exact location,” she answered his question in an even tone. She could guess
what was keeping Heero so busy and didn’t want to distract him with small
talks. Or an apology.
Heero, in his part, swung his
beam saber at the Virgo. He had discarded his buster rifle, knowing it would be
useless inside the colony unless he wants to blow everything to bits and
pieces. “He’s at the bottom deck 14-D cell block 479,” she continued, not
waiting for his acknowledgement.
“Roger that,” he said, opening
another channel. “Trowa. I know where Quatre is.” He then relayed the location
to the silent pilot.
>>>@@<<<
When Trowa and Abdul reached the
cell block, they were rewarded with a horrific sight. Kylie was
poised before the prone figure of Quatre, with a gun pointing at his head. A
man in white was lying on the floor, just next to her feet. There’s a pool of
blood forming around him.
As Kylie turned
her head towards them, Trowa was already flying. He caught her gun with a kick.
A shot rang out as the bullet ricocheted into the wall, just above Quatre’s
head. Kylie hissed and executed a kick of her own but Trowa
blocked it expertly. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Abdul running to join
in the fight.
Realizing that she was
outnumbered, Kylie caught the side of Trowa’s temple with the
other foot before grabbing Abdul’s shoulder with both hands. Then, she pulled
herself up and over Abdul, landing right behind the surprised Arabian and
executed a back kick that sent him hurling towards the dazed Gundam pilot.
As she made it to the cell
doors, she turned back and gave Trowa a mock salute. “See if you can do
anything for your friend. To me, he looks as good as dead,” she snorted, her
eyes looking mockingly at the three of them. “See ya.”
Then she was gone.
Trowa quickly scrambled onto his
feet. Instead of persuing the clone, he turned to examine his friend. His heart
wrenched at the sight of Quatre’s pale face. Though he was unconscious, the
look on his face indicated his sleep was not a peaceful one. His blue lips
parted slightly, mumbling something incoherent. His hair was wet with sweat and
the greenish tint on his face indicated that he’s not well. His chest rose up
and down but each breath he took was ragged, almost difficult.
‘Oh, god! What have they done to
you?’ Trowa shook his head, cradling his friend. He was surprised to find how
fragile his surrogate little brother felt in his arms. “Quatre?” he called out,
gently. He touched his forehead to wipe the sweat. It was cold.
While Trowa was checking on the
newly-found missing pilot, Abdul casted his concern for his master aside to
give them some space. So, he went to the bleeding figure on the floor, who had
just started to regain consciousness. The man in white groaned.
“Are you alright?” Abdul asked,
knowing that by the look of the hole in his heart, he was not alright. He
cradled the man, offering as much warmth as he could before help arrived.
“The boy. What about the boy?”
the man asked, raising his arm shakily towards Trowa and Quatre.
Abdul spared a glance back at
them. Damn, he wished he knew how his master was doing. But he needed to see to
this man first. “He’ll be okay,” he answered. “He’s in safe hands,” he
continued, hoping he felt as confident as he sound.
“Good,” the man gasped. A trail
of blood rolled down his lips as he choked. “I never meant… I shouldn’t have…
it is wrong,” he coughed as more blood trailed down. “He is so young… he could’ve
never meant to… kill them.”
“Shh… don’t talk. You’ll need
all your energy,” Abdul said, gently. He didn’t know what the man was rambling
about but he knew a dying man when he saw one.
But the man continued. “I’m a
doctor… should be saving lives… not torturing…” Then he gasped as sharp pain
tore into him. He grabbed a handful of Abdul’s shirt. “Please, get him some
help… save him.”
“We will. Once help’s here.”
He shook his head. “No! You
don’t understand… something’s wrong about… he could be…” Suddenly the man
convulsed and then there was silence. Shaking his head, Abdul reached out to
close the man’s vacant eyes. After placing the body gently to the floor, he
turned towards his companion.
“How’s Master Quatre?” he asked,
seeing how pale the young pilot look.
Trowa shook his head. “Not
good.” Then, he nodded at the man lying on the floor. “Dead?”
“Yeah. He never stand a chance.
The bullet went through his heart.” Abdul then looked thoughtful. “Though I am
curious to know as to why he was shot in the first place. And if he was
protecting Master Quatre, why?”
“We’ll find that out later,”
said Trowa, taking out his comm. He switched it on. “Heero, the Desert Prince
is secured. What about your end?” he reported. For a moment, there was no
answer. Trowa and Abdul began to exchange glances, thinking that their friends
could be in trouble.
“We’re busy,” Heero’s voice
crackled over the comm. “Stay with Quatre. He might not be out of the woods
yet.”
“Roger.”
>>>@@<<<
Heero switched off the comm. and
gave his full attention on his opponent. Now that Quatre was safe, he needed to
secure the colony. And to do that, he’ll have to defeat his copy AND stop
Winteridge from escaping. Tough job but somebody had to do it.
And it had to be him.
“My, my, you pilots really
thought you could defeat me that easily, huh?” Suddenly a new voice rang over
the comm. “But you forget that I’m always two steps ahead of you,” said the
voice mockingly.
Heero heard Wu Fei cursed.
“Winteridge. I’m going to cut your throat for all these,” he spat, glaring at
his double.
The screen blinked and
Winteridge appeared on the screen. “Really? But first, I would suggest that you
finish with what you’re doing now.”
“What are you talking about?”
Zechs asked, not liking the sound of his tone.
Winteridge smiled. There was
nothing but malice in his eyes. “You’re planning to take back the colony and
save the colonists from my grasp, true?” he asked. None of the pilots
acknowledge his guess and so he continue. “In that case, I would suggest that
you be quick with it.”
“What are you saying, scum?” Wu
Fei growled, impatiently.
“Let’s see. Since we love
this colony so much and are grateful by its hospitality, my men have left
something for you to remember us by,” Winteridge answered, obviously enjoying
his game.
At the corner of his eyes, Wu
Fei saw a shuttle flew over the sky, away from them. “He’s getting away!” he
shouted, knowing exactly who’s in the shuttle. Wu Fei then threw off his
opponent to pursue Winteridge.
“Let him be,” Heero ordered,
surprising both Wu Fei and Zechs. “We got to hear this,” he said, turning his
attention on Winteridge’s image on the screen. “Talk. What have you done to the
colony?”
“Oh, just left some explosives
lying around. They will all blow and take the whole colony with them.” Then,
Winteridge leaned forward. “I’m sure you people can stand a chance against my
army. Question is, can you find all of the explosives and defuse them in
time?”
Heero heard Wu Fei cursed again,
this time he was joined by Zechs. Winteridge regarded them, his face was filled
with a mocking laughter. Then it was gone, replaced by a sinister look that Heero
found dangerous. “You have 90 seconds.”
The screen blinked off. Outside
his Gundam, Heero saw their doubles disengaged and left towards the retreating
shuttle. Almost at the same time, Zechs flew off. He was determined to find the
explosives before it was too late. For now, all their thoughts about battling
the clones were forgotten.
“Sara!” Heero summoned,
switching his comm. to another frequency.
“Got that and I’m working on
it,” said the voice of his companion. He could hear the sound of the keyboard
being tapped as the girl worked to find the exact location of the bombs.
“Well, hurry up. We don’t have
all day.”
Sara’s voice was calm but
there’s a hint of annoyance as she replied. “You stop worrying about the
explosives for now. Start worrying about the colonists because Winteridge has
broadcasted the whole conversation throughout the colony. In fact, you should
be having a panic riot by now.”
True enough as Heero glanced
down, he saw people streaming out of their houses, running for their lives.
Many of them made their way towards the nearest launch bay, some still looking
for their lost families. But all of them were panicking.
“If they got to the launch bay,
it will be so packed that the Preventer troops couldn’t get in to assist us,”
said Zechs.
“Dang it!” Wu Fei cursed again,
slamming his fist on his controls. “He knew exactly how to play us.”
Heero remained calm. “The
Preventers will handle the colonists. Our job now is to find the bombs and
defuse them.” He switched frequency again. “Trowa, can you find the bombs?”
“I’m already on it. Abdul’s with
Quatre,” he said, his voice sounded as if he was running.
“Right.” Then, Heero regarded
another person. “Duo, did you hear that?”
“Yeah,” came his voice. “I’ll
get right back at ya.”
Heero nodded. “Alright. The rest
of us will look for the explosives as well. We’ll break pursuit of the enemy.”
“Roger.”
>>>@@<<<
“So you see, you don’t really
have much of a choice,” said the voice behind the crate. “As much as I want us
to get acquainted, you have to let me go and save the colony.”
Duo gritted his teeth. He had
wanted to wipe the smile on the guy’s face so badly. Was this the same feeling
Wu Fei had whenever he saw him giving the same smile? Shaking his head, Duo
forced himself back to the subject. Heero had given him his orders. Now, his
choice was either abandoning this fight or the search.
“Dang!” he swore, hurling his
gun to the floor. He cannot wait for another minute. Lives were at stake while
he’s deciding how to defeat his double. As he ran back, he heard the sound of
his clone’s laughters and his voice, mocking him. “You’ll never find all of
them in time. We had them wired all over the place,” he called out.
That made Duo quickened his pace.
Eighty seconds left.
