Time’s Fault
Part Three: Self Destruction
Authoress: Suiki Bara
.oO~*-*~Oo.
-*-
-OZ Training Base, Lake Victoria-
-*-
"I think she’s coming around." Oz Special Ensign Lucrezia Noin said, gently looking over the girl that one of her troops had brought in. Dressed like a soldier, yet, looking very fragile to be such. She had long light brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, and delicate features, yet there was a strong intelligence set to her form.
"Huh…?" The girl soldier groaned slightly, and moved her arms upward a little bit. Noin smiled to herself, and wondered where this soldier had come from.
"She may be of some use, Lt. Noin." One of her trainees said, bringing a glass of cold water and a rag to the Lt. Noin. Noin nodded her blue head and dipped the cloth into the glass. Placing it on the soldier girl’s forehead, she waited.
Then without warning, several explosions rocked the infirmary. Sirens started wailing and soldiers were shouting.
"It’s an enemy attack! We’re being attacked by an unknown Mobile Suit!" The base was going up in flames.
A white, green and dark blue Mobile Suit, unlike any other, used a dragon-shaped claw on its left arm to shoot massive amounts of flame at the base and it’s quarters. The Chinese pilot, Chang Wufei, looked grimly at the flaming base and used his beam saber to finish off the base, leaving the infirmary intact, for he could not bring himself to attack those who could not defend themselves if in fighting condition. The trainee’s he’d killed were strong, and a threat to the Gundam.
Lt. Noin rushed outside of the infirmary, shocked to find her base in flames, lighting up the night sky.
"My base! My students!!" She cried out, looking around, and then saw the Mobile Suit.
"Stay back, woman! If you want to live!!" Chang threatened, spotting her.
"It’s a Gundam…" Lt. Noin’s eyes widened and she stepped back slightly, somewhat in awe of the massive Mobile Suit Gundam.
"Stay out of this war, woman." Chang said, with a slight sneer and then the Gundam flew off into the night, leaving no sign of existence except for the flaming base.
Noin fell to her knees in a gesture of defeat. She shook with anger, trembling and shaking, for what had sounded like a mere boy had destroyed most of her troops. She was in this attitude when one of the surviving soldiers came running up to her.
"Lt. Noin! Lt. Noin!" The soldier was burned, yet not badly, yet his face showed alarm.
"What…is…it?" Noin managed to get out.
"That soldier! The girl!" He tried to get out the words, yet something seemed to be choking him. Then a shot rang out clearly into the night. Then another. And yet another.
"What is that?" Noin asked, standing up, and locating the shots. The soldier’s quarters.
"She’s…shooting the soldiers!" He gasped out, and passed out on the ground.
"What?!" Noin began running, and reached the quarters in very little time. She heard yet another shot and made her way though the partial ruins. Finding the girl, kneeling on the ground with a soldier’s head cradled in her lap, a gun in her hand.
She looked up at Noin. The soldier was dead, a shot through his temple, and yet, tears were streaming down her face. Noin looked stern and angry, with some surprise.
"What do you think you are doing?!" She grabbed the girl soldier by the arm and shook her. The girl looked up at her solemnly.
"They were still alive…in pain." The girl spoke quietly, yet her voice was all Noin heard. Noin looked closely at the soldier and then shuddered. He was burned badly, with no hope of recovery.
"I had to mercy-kill them. Or else it would have been cruel to torture them in that manner." The girl stood up, Noin’s hand still on her shoulder. Noin nodded and took out her own gun. The solider smiled through the smoke smudges on her face, and Noin instantly took a liking to her.
"What is your name, soldier?" Noin said, giving a quick salute. This girl was a soldier after Noin’s own heart.
"I am Cassidy…" She paused. "I don’t know my last name. I don’t know where I came from. I just know I’m here." She saluted Noin and then turned. "I also know, there are more soldiers who need to be relieved of their pain."
"You’re right. They can’t be worth saving, for their pain." Noin and Cassidy began walking in different directions, searching for more badly wounded soldiers. Theirs was a grim task to handle
-*-
-OZ Headquarters, Old Europe-
-*-
In a large, beautifully furnished office, a tall, very handsome man, looked at a computer screen with hauntingly strange eyes. His brown hair was smoothed back and he held a glass of fine champagne in his hand. He was speaking with a man with platinum hair and a silver mask on the screen.
"When I arrived there, most of the facility had been destroyed, though Special Lt. Noin and one soldier, a girl, had survived." The blonde man, Zechs Marquise, reported to the regal looking gentleman.
"You’re very lucky. You’re the only one who survived a battle, along with Noin." OZ Commander in Chief, Treize Kushrenada replied, smiling sadly.
"With the information obtained from Operation M, I believe there are a total of five Mobile Suits." Zechs paused slightly then continued. "They all seem to be made out of Gundanium alloy, which, as you know, is only found in space."
"So they are Gundam." Treize mused.
"Would you grant me permission to use Tallgeese, sir?" Zechs requested without hesitation.
"That antique?" Treize scoffed mildly. "Granted. I’m counting on you, Zechs."
"Yes, Sir!" Zechs immediately signed off with a click.
"Are you sure you can trust Zechs, sir?" A woman, Lady Une, asked from beside Treize’s desk.
Holding up his glass, looking through the sparkling liquid, he replied, "He’s a useful man. By the way, Lady Une…" He paused, and looked at her. "Now that the colonial rebels have made a move, we must take advantage of the opportunity, so OZ can gain control over all mankind."
"Sir!" Lady Une nodded in agreement.
"And…you’ll take care of the Foreign Minister Darlian!" He commanded, leaning back in his chair.
"Yes, sir! I’ll do my best!" Lady Une saluted, and left the room, leaving Commander Treize Kushrenada to his thoughts.
-*-
-St. Gabriel School-
-*-
Inside a dark room, illuminated only by the glow of his computer screen, Heero sat typing furiously into his laptop, checking for OZ data. The smiled to himself when he found what he was looking for.
"OZ executives will gather at Los Angeles on that day. Roger." He typed in a few codes and then shut down the laptop. "I’ll attack with my Wing."
As he shut down the laptop, the door to the room opened, and a female silhouette stood in the doorway.
"I’m sorry. I should’ve knocked…" Heero recognized the voice. Taryn Nomanai. She turned to leave, silently.
"No!" Heero almost shouted, startling the girl. She glanced at him once and slammed the door behind her, as she started running away.
Heero growled to himself. First the girl was with him at the beach, watched all that he did, showed up at the same school, and now walked in on him, and he hadn’t the slightest clue of what her intent was. Only that she wasn’t normal.
Flinging open the door, he rushed out after her, almost knocking down Relena in the process, who was looking for him.
"Heero! Wait!" She called after him, leaning on a rail, watching as he left the grounds, running speedily towards the mountains.
Taryn felt her heart in her throat as she ran. She’d never thought herself capable of running so far so quickly. Reaching a summit in the mountains, she took a rest, thinking she’d got away.
There was a slight rustle in the bushes before her and she cursed herself. Pulling out a gun she had managed to buy off of a street merchant the day before she aimed it at the spot where she’d heard the noise.
Heero Yuy burst from the bushes, finding himself at point blank range of Taryn’s gun. He stopped and raised his hands.
"What do you want from me!?" She demanded, her face flushed, her hair flying in all directions from her run and from the wind.
"……" Heero didn’t answer, just wondered to himself how good she was with a gun. She seemed to hold it with ease and expertise.
"Answer me, Heero Yuy! How come I was at the shore with YOU!?" She demanded again. Heero felt shock run up his spine. SHE wanted to know the same thing he did?!
"How come I knew who you were? But how come I didn’t know who I was?!" She looked angry beyond the point of no return. Heero didn’t know what to say, just stood there, looking dumbfounded.
"I wanted to ask you the same questions…only, you don’t know who you are." Heero felt he had something of an advantage over this situation.
"All I can remember is Cassidy and I, the shift, your name, and Duo’s name!" She said through clenched teeth. "This is a nightmare, and all I want is PEACE!" She shook slightly.
Heero kept his hands in the air. "What are you…exactly?" He asked, slowly, not to make her angrier.
"I…am not sure." Taryn said, softly, a kinder look coming to her face. Heero felt something strange happening to him.
Then…
"HEERO!!!" Relena’s voice echoed through the air around the two teens. Heero cursed under his breath and turned. Taryn put down her gun and fled.
Turning back around, he didn’t see Taryn anymore. Cursing once again, he started after her.
"I finally found you, Heero! What are you doing in the mountains?" Relena asked, gasping for air as Heero came into her view. Heero stopped.
"Relena Darlian…" Heero said, with a smirk, remembering he’d promised to kill this girl, only his gun wasn’t on him, it was in the Gundam. He wished silently that he, like Taryn, had carried his gun with him, even in school.
"That pilot suit and Mobil Suit—who are you anyway?" Relena asked in a demanding tone that said she wasn’t used to being refused.
Heero started to laugh. "Ha ha ha! Me? I’m a killer!" He waved his hand at her.
"Alright. If you promise me I’m your last victim, go ahead and kill me." She pulled on his hand and placed it on her throat.
Heero looked surprised. "What?" His hand itched to go ahead and do the deed.
"I know you have a kind heart." She said, a soft, loving look came to her eyes. Relena realized she kind of was in love with this boy.
Heero’s mind jumped ahead to the scene he’d been a part of earlier. ‘Taryn…’ he thought quickly and wondered where she’d went. Her mysteriousness had intrigued him and he wasn’t going to stop because this girl was demanding he kill her. He wished he could do it, but then he’d have to make a promise. And that meant no more use of his Gundam for missions.
"…………" Heero didn’t say anything, but was lost in thought.
Relena took this as a sign of his kindness. She started to speak.
But the sound of a roaring booster stopped her and Heero looked up to see an Aries flying overhead. He glared at Relena one final time and dashed off into the trees.
"Heero!!" Relena reached out towards him but he was gone.
Seconds later, the Wing Gundam burst out of hiding from the trees.
"!!" Relena jumped back, knowing that Heero was going to kill again. She lowered her head and covered her ears.
Not to far away, on a higher summit, Taryn stood, watching, all that had transposed, without hearing. She watched Heero’s Wing Gundam with a sense of awe and pride, for she knew something about it, yet she couldn’t for the life of her remember what exactly it was.
The pilot in the Aries overhead spotted the large Gundam. "What’s THAT?!" He asked himself, and prepared to fire.
But Heero was too fast. "OZ Mobile Suit Aries is confirmed! FIRE!" He punched the button on the steering shaft and let loose a large blast from his beam cannon.
As the Aries became nothing but scrap in the explosion, Heero laughed to himself. "I will defeat OZ!"
Quickly, he typed in a few codes into his Gundam. "Bird Mode!" The Gundam quickly transformed into the fighter plane Zechs had first viewed and he was soon lost to sight.
Taryn watched, an odd feeling of satisfaction filling her completely. Then she glanced down at Relena’s small form.
Relena watched in dismay. Finally she cried out, so that even Taryn, from her unseen perch, could hear her.
"HEERO! COME BACK...AND KILL ME!"
Taryn smiled. "I could take that job, Relena…" An unholy feeling crept into her chest. She shook her head. A doubtful look came to her hazel eyes. "I wonder where I can find a Mobile Suit…?"
-*-
-Los Angeles Base-
-*-
The meeting was in progress on that day, but…
"For us to peacefully coexist with the colonies, we must reduce arms and dissolve OZ!" From inside the building, AEF Field Marshal Noventa stood before the crowd of delegates. "If we start disarmament, the colonies will agree to do the same!" He banged his fist on the desk. "Isn’t it time for us to take the step to make peace with the colonies?!"
The people at the meeting were the Allies’ pacifists. In a back row, Treize clapped and smiled smugly to himself. Everything was going according to his plan.
Suddenly, a loud thud was heard outside the base. A soldier rushed in.
"It’s an enemy raid!!!" He gasped. "The base is under attack!!"
"What?" Field Marshal Noventa gasped at this news.
"It’s about time, Gundam." Treize pulled out a transmitter from his pocket and gently and silently pressed the button on it, to signal Zechs.
Zechs read the signal in his Mobile Suit. "We’ve got the signal! Launch an attack!!"
Lucrezia Noin nodded to Cassidy. Cassidy radioed a message to Lady Une.
Heero approached the base quickly.
Lady Une got the radio, and shouted at the underground troop of Mobile Suits. "People of OZ!! It is time to take up arms!!!" She watched with a satisfied expression on her face as the troops moved out.
As soon as Heero arrived at the base, he quickly began to get to work on the troops coming from underground. Then, a light flashed on his radar. "Hmm?"
The black Gundam, Gundam Deathscythe, dropped down from the sky, right next to Heero. A communications link opened and he could hear Duo’s cheeky voice.
"Hey, buddy! We meet again!" Duo said with a laugh. "I’m dying to settle that fight with you, but I’ve got work to do." He snickered. "It’ll wait till later…"
Heero smirked as well. "Try not to get in my way."
Duo just grinned and pulled out his beam scythe. Heero began firing his beam cannon. Soon, the troops, as fast as they were coming out, were being demolished in their tracks.
"What the?!" Duo all of a sudden heard three small beeps on his radar. Looking, he saw three blips. "Three new objects on radar?"
Heero heard this and checked his own. "Newcomers…Let’s rumble!" He smirked.
But as the three new Mobile Suits landed, they immediately began to attack the troops of the AEF. Duo gasped.
"Wait a minute…they’re…attacking the Allies’ Mobile Suits!"
"They are GUNDAM!!" Duo shouted.
Heero simply smiled.
"They’re colonial fighters on the same mission as us?" Quatre, the blonde of the desert, exclaimed as he continued to fight.
Then without another word, the five Gundam began to destroy and completely demolish the troops of the AEF.
Amidst the confusion, Quatre ventured a question. "You guys are on my side right?"
Trowa answered back, calmly. "No one is on my side."
"I fight only for Nataku." Chang defended.
"WHAT A BUNCH OF JERKS!" Duo grit his teeth.
"……" Heero refrained from saying anything.
-*-
Colony L5
-*-
Relena was, at that very moment, visiting one of the colonies with her father—he was attending yet another meeting.
"WHAT?! Field Marshal Noventa is being attacked??" He exclaimed, jumping up from his seat.
"The Earth just reported that the colonial rebels are responsible." Lady Use said, with an evil smile.
"That can’t possibly be true!" Foreign Minister Darlian looked crestfallen.
"I will try to confirm. Please stay here. I will be back." Une turned, and as she did so, she left her compact on the table.
As Lady Une headed out the door, she smiled and looked at her watch and smiled. ‘Three more minutes…’ She didn’t notice Relena opening the door to the meeting room and step inside.
"What happened, Father?" She asked, seeing the worried look on her Father’s face.
"Relena, this will take time. Please come back later." He sighed, and motioned her out of the room.
"Okay." Relena turned to go and then noticed the compact. ‘?? This is Une’s compact…’ Relena thought to herself. Picking it up, she dashed away to give it back.
"Ten seconds…" Une said, waiting impatiently.
"Excuse me?" Relena said behind Une. "I think you left this." She held out the compact.
Une paled. "!!" She grabbed the compact from Relena. "HOW COULD YOU?!" She swiftly grabbed the compact and threw it. It found its target by sailing into the window of the meeting room with a crash.
Seconds later, an explosion rocked the colony.
*KA BOOM*
Relena suddenly realized what happened. "FATHER!" She screamed and then started running towards the debris that was scattered around.
"What a shame! Get that girl!" Une commanded, looking somewhat worried. "If she resists, kill her!"
"FATHER! Are you alright?" Relena cradled her father’s head in her lap, as soon as she kneeled next to his prostrate body.
"Mm…Relena…" The Foreign Minister opened his eyes to look at his girl daughter. "You’re not my real daughter…"
"What are you talking about, father?" Relena looked alarmed at what he was saying.
"You’re Relena Peacecraft, the princess of the pacifist nation, Peacecraft…" He groaned and rolled his head to the side. "OZ…Watch out for OZ…" Taking a last shuddering breath, he died in her arms.
"FATHER!!!" Relena held him close to her, tears streaming down her cheeks. "NO!"
As she sat there, holding her father, Relena didn’t hear the footsteps behind her. When a cloth pressed against her mouth and nose, and a sweet scent filled the air, she was startled, and then felt her eyes get heavy.
"!!" Relena fainted from the heady sweet scent of the chloroform on the rag. "Oooh…"
-*-
-AEF, Los Angeles Base-
-*-
Heero Yuy looked grim as he and the other Gundam continued fighting. "I will destroy all OZ weapons!" Heero vowed to himself.
Gundam HeavyArms kept firing his Gatling, when a fleet of missiles honed in on him. Then he heard a sound he hated to hear. His Gatling was empty. "I’m out of bullets!" He waited for the missiles to hit.
Then, a single heat shorter came whizzing by, slicing through all the missiles, in quick succession. Then, a soft male voice came over the communications link. "Are you alright?!"
"I’m Quatre Raberba Winner on Gundam Sandrock." The blonde boy said to the pilot of Gundam HeavyArms.
With a click, the Gundam HeavyArms put away his gatling gun. "I don’t need help!"
"But if each of us helps each other, we’ll be more effective on our missions!" Quatre said, a smile on his face even in the midst of battle.
"That may be true." The brown haired pilot mused. "I’m Trowa. Trowa Barton."
"Let’s do this together." Quatre said, in a way that meant companionship.
Inside the base, one of the soldiers was trying to get the delegates out as fast as possible. "Field Marshall Noventa! The shuttle is this way!"
"Right. I can’t die here." Field Marshall Noventa began to walk out of the meeting room.
"I’ll escort you on my shuttle, General Septem." Treize offered.
"Huh? Oh, all right." General Septem agreed reluctantly. The men headed for Treize’s personal shuttle.
The shuttle holding Field Marshall Noventa headed out of the base. "I must survive and continue to work for peace!" Noventa said to himself, looking down on the battle below.
"That’s an OZ shuttle!" Heero said, angrily as he spotted the shuttle on radar. "You’re not getting away!" Heero quickly turned his Wing Gundam towards the ship and headed for it with deadly speed.
Treize grinned from his shuttle.
"WHAT?!" Field Marshall Noventa looked out his window to see a large Gundam looming nearer. As Heero Yuy sliced through the shuttle and it exploded, Treize and General Septem watched
"Heero Yuy." After the deed had been done, a quiet girlish voice came over Heero’s communications link. He looked surprised and spotted an Aries in a field away from the battle.
"Field Marshal Noventa!" General Septem cried out in dismay. Treize grinned and chuckled to himself.
"That’s the colonies’ way. They do not desire peace." Treize said, sneeringly.
"Taryn…" Heero said, equally as quiet. The Aries turned and moved away, away from the battle scene. Heero felt that something must have gone terribly wrong.
"Heero, only five Gundam destroyed the entire Los Angeles Base…do you even realize how powerful you are?" Taryn’s voice came back over one last time, before she was out of sight. She sighed to herself. She hadn’t known, once she had gotten inside her stolen Aries, that she knew how to maneuver it. She was sure that something about her life before this didn’t have anything to do with Mobile Suits, yet she knew how to operate one… "I’m so confused…"
Duo smirked to himself, not having heard the transmission between Taryn and Heero. "Well…"
"These guys can’t be my enemies…" Quatre said, and all the pilots heard this, but heeded it not.
Gundam HeavyArms pulled out his large blade on his wrist as Wing Gundam held his beam saber at ready. Deathscythe clicked open his beam scythe again as Sandrock put up a hand to stop him.
"WAIT!" Quatre cried out.
"NO MORE USELESS FIGHTING!" Wufei yelled at the four other Gundam pilots.
"What?" Duo sounded skeptical.
"Listen to the Allies’ broadcast and hear for yourself! We’ve been set up!" Gundam Shenlong pointed at the four other massive Mobile Suits in an accusing manner. Each pilot switched on their screens and were shocked to see General Septem’s angry face.
"While we were discussing peace, the colonials attacked us!" General Septem shook his fist. The Gundam killed the pacifist Field Marshall Noventa!"
"!!" Heero didn’t know what to say. He’d just made a terrible mistake.
-*-
-Unknown Resource Satellite-
-*-
"Huh?" Relena felt somewhat dizzy, but her eyes snapped wide open. Her hand went directly to her forehead, which throbbed terribly.
"Are you awake now, young lady?" A young man asked the girl. The room she was in was filled with computers and different machines.
"This is our colonial hideout. You’re safe here." An older man with long gray hair and glassy goggles over his eyes said. "We couldn’t let OZ kill you, too, so we brought you here." He turned and she saw he had a mechanical hand.
"Father…who are you?" She asked the man.
"I’m Doctor J." He replied with a brazen smile. "I’m the one who trained Heero Yuy to become a professional killer."
"Why did you do that to Heero!?" Relena felt a deep well of emotions coming up to overflow within her.
Dr. J sighed. "You probably won’t understand, but Heero’s fighting for peace. People start wars and people end wars. Heero will end this war." He paused, and then continued. "The colonials gained peace with much hardship…with the help of Heero, 20 years ago."
"Heero?" Relena was confused. The Heero she knew was a very handsome young boy.
"Heero’s a legendary leader." Dr. J explained, clicking his metallic claw. "We gave our boy the same code name."
He sighed slightly and then proceeded to explain to the puzzled Relena. "Years ago, like now, OZ was a secret society that sought to take control of the Earth and the Colonies. They manipulated he Allies, developed weapons, and tried to start wars, all for their own gain. Heero stood up to them and stopped them!" Dr J. slammed his fist down on a nearby desk, showing his frustration. "OZ outsmarted us again! Treize, OZ’ commander in chief, used us and took control of the military! OZ WILL RULE THE WORLD!" Dr. J sounded much depressed.
-*-
-Treize’s Transport Shuttle-
-*-
Under Treize’s leadership, OZ has already gained control over the Allies…under the pretext of fighting the colonial rebels.
When General Septem had finished making his announcement, he had turned to Treize. Before he could say a word, then was shot by two of Treize’s officers.
Treize smiled smugly to himself. "Great speech, General." He spoke to the man on the floor, mockingly, and then began to laugh.
-*-
-AEF Base, Los Angeles-
-*-
Duo groaned and hit the arm of his seat in his Gundam Deathscythe. "Ow, man, now WE are the bad guys…"
"I don’t believe this…" Quatre shook his head in disbelief.
"I will beat OZ by myself if I have to…" Wufei said angrily to himself, more than to the others.
Heero turned when several blips came from his radar. Another Mobile Suit dropped from the sky. Many Aries were behind it.
"Drop your weapons, Gundam!" Zechs’ voice came over strong and demanding.
"It’s you!" Heero sneered at the older pilot.
"We meet again, bird Gundam. I’m Zechs of OZ." Zechs said, showing unusual politeness on a battlefield.
"You were the pilot of that Leo!" Heero recognized the man. His thoughts quickly flitted back to the day he’d landed on earth. Wing. Relena. Taryn.
‘Taryn…’ Heero looked beyond Zechs, to the many Aries in the sky. ‘…Is she among those up there?’
"I’ve come for a rematch." Zechs said, almost smugly. Then he turned his Mobile Suit towards Heero. "This Tallgeese should have the same output as your Gundam! FIGHT ME!" Zechs commanded, tersely.
Then, flickering over everyone’s trans-communication links came a voice. A voice Zechs knew all too well.
"I DON’T THINK SO, ZECHS!" Lady Une said, in a malicious voice, a laugh almost coming to her voice.
Behind her voice, was a sudden explosion, in the background, faintly muted, yet audible. Zechs’ eyes widened with suspicion behind his mask.
"Lady Une, what did you do?!" Zechs yelled at the woman over his communications link.
"I’ve destroyed one of the L1 colonies." She said evilly. "Hand over Gundam, or all the colonies will be destroyed."
‘A colony was attacked….It’s my fault.’ Une’s words went screaming right through Heero’s brain. He shivered slightly at the thought of what he was trying to protect was being destroyed.
"Stop this insanity! That’s not what the General wants!" Zechs said, tersely.
"Shut up, Zechs!" Une said, a tone of annoyance in her voice. She narrowed her eyes. "I’m arresting the terrorists for the General."
Then, with a slight blip, a screen showing Dr. J popped up on all computers that received his broadcast. All the boy pilots and those in Mobile Suits caught the message.
"Attention OZ! We are stunned by your stupidity!" Dr. J was going to make his message short and sweet.
"Dr…J?" Not to far away, Taryn had been sitting in her now stationary Aries, when she received the transmission. She recognized the face from somewhere, but was still very confused.
"You attacked civilians without mercy! Your target was supposed to be the anti-OZ force Gundam! We will never yield to the merciless OZ. You will not have Gundam!"
"It’s colonial communications…" Une hissed from between her teeth.
"They will not have Gundam. Roger." Taryn heard Heero say this with a determination only a true soldier could have. Relena heard it as well.
"I’m self-destructing Gundam!" Heero announced.
"Heero…" Taryn said gently, suddenly feeling a slight pain her chest. Her quiet voice traveled over the communication links, so that all heard it, including Heero.
Before Heero could say anything, Relena came on screen, shocked by what Heero had said.
"Heero, don’t do it! You’re supposed to come and kill me! HEY!" Relena cried, hoping that Heero heard her.
"Hn…" Heero stared at Relena, and remembered the voice that had come to him an instant before hers.
‘Relena? It can’t be…’ Zechs thought with some mild shock.
Pushing all thoughts of anyone out of his mind, he began reaching for the detonator.
"Hmph. Roger that…and EXECUTE!" He pressed the red button with all his might.
*BOOM*
"HEERO!" Relena knew he’d done it after he’d said the word ‘execute’ and then a fuzzy sound was heard over the radio. Here she was, in space, and yet she could do nothing to help. She felt like crying her heart out.
Taryn had climbed out of her cockpit and onto the shoulder of her stolen Aries. In the distance, she saw the flames and smoke from the detonated Gundam. Looking grim, she climbed back into her Mobile Suit.
‘Heero…can’t die…he’s invincible…’ Something in her made her smile, and she realized that now, they were on a road to peace, soon, soon, she might be able to go back where ever she came from. She turned her Aries towards the ranks in the sky and slipped in among them and was able to get close. Debris was already falling down from the sky.
Duo’s jaw dropped and beads of sweat stood out on his brow. "He self destructed!"
"Heero!" Relena cried out again.
"That boy is the pilot of the Gundam?" Zechs felt somewhat in awe of the boy who had self destructed right in front of them all. Then he turned to his troops. "ALL MOVE OUT! NOW! RETURN TO BASE!" he turned his Tallgeese away from the scene of wreckage. Looking back, he murmured to himself, "I know he couldn’t have died…I’ll finish this fight, boy." With that, he flew off in Tallgeese.
All the Aries left but one. It landed next to the smoking remains. Duo grit his teeth and readied his Gundam if needed to protect Heero. The other pilots remained tense.
The cockpit opened and a girl, wearing a navy blue, white, and dark wine red school uniform stood in the entryway. Duo squinted and tired to remember where he’d seen that same reddish brown-layered hair before.
Trowa watched her closely. She was familiar to him as well. But he had no idea how.
She jumped down, her skirt whirling around her as she landed, lightly, on her feet. She looked up at the metal giants around her. Not showing a single emotion, she headed for the scraps of Wing Zero.
Reaching the edge of the remains, she noticed that the Gundam Pilots had also gotten out of their Mobile Suits and were making their way towards her. She didn’t smile or even acknowledge them. Just turned away and walked into the middle of the wreck.
She looked around for a second, and then spotted what she was looking for. A tousled brown head of hair, a green tank top, black shorts, the bruised body of Heero Yuy.
Kneeling down next to him, she gently touched his shoulder. There was a click beside her, and she turned, and found herself staring into Trowa’s gun. The other boys stood at a distance.
"What do you want with him?" Trowa said, in a monotone voice. She ignored him and felt Heero’s neck for a pulse. Very faint, but there.
"He’s alive." She turned her hazel eyes to him again and Trowa was momentarily taken aback. Something was strange about this girl, but he didn’t know what. Something about her made him want to observe her. It was the same feeling that had taken Heero Yuy by surprise.
"Then I’ll take him to my sister, Catherine. She’ll know how to nurse him." Trowa stated bluntly, putting away his gun and reaching for the prostrate boy. In an instant, he felt a sharp crack across his wrists. Looking down, he saw a shiny metal gun pointed right at his chest.
‘I let my guard down.’ He thought for an instant, yet remained expressionless. She looked at him seriously.
"I am Taryn Nomanai." She said simply, putting her gun away. Gently, with one hand, she turned Heero onto his back, so that he was lying flat.
"I am Trowa Barton." Trowa felt slightly puzzled, he didn’t know why she’d flashed her gun out on him like that. But the look on her face made him think twice about trying to move Heero again. She knew what she was doing, obviously.
"You know somewhere to take him. Do you think we could get a stretcher?" Taryn looked past Trowa at Duo, Quatre, and Chang. To her, they would obviously be of some use.
"I think I do." Trowa showed a hint of a smile for the first time.
"Thank you."
Taryn smiled at him.
~*~
A/N: That’s it! Well, for the 3rd chapter anyways! (giggles) Don’t hurt me, cause I did what I said I was gonna do and no one stopped me!! ~Suiki Bara~
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