Authors note: Ditto on the dialogue. There are some tiny discrepancies between this and Endless Waltz, hopefully it doesn’t bug anybody.

Zechs dodged away as the carrier he’d just hit exploded, sending shrapnel everywhere. He grinned savagely. He’d predicted their moves exactly. They were sending their forces to Earth over a very concentrated area. He fired a rocket into another group of carriers, destroying four of them and sending several more spinning off coarse. He fired the Tall Geese III forward, the powerful engines kicking him to the back of his seat. The carriers ahead started to slowly change direction, trying to get out of his line of fire. He spun to orient his beam saber on the nearest carrier and slashed through its hull, sparks igniting gases, the resulting explosion jolting him around.

“Great. I read their actions perfectly. I guess there still is a place for someone who just can‘t get used to peace.” He paused to survey his surroundings. MOIII was still disgorging carriers. His strategic mind told him to destroy the resource satellite and take out all the carriers that were still on board. But he had something he needed to do first. He opened a channel to the satellite’s control room.

“This is Preventer Wind calling.”

“Zechs Merquise! I thought you were dead.” Even Dekim couldn’t keep the surprise out of his voice.

“That’s right, I was. But I find that I cannot quietly sleep in my grave while Treize’s spirit is still roaming among us.” He brought his cannon to bear on MOIII. “I head about you from Quinze. Dekim Barton, surrender and disarm yourself at once.”

“I dare you to shoot us down.”

Zechs started to laugh, but caught the gist of Dekim’s bravado. “You do?” he queried.

“If you fire at us, you’ll quickly realize that these Serpents are not the only card we’re playing.”

Zechs swore.

“Did Quinze not tell you?” Dekim continued. “I was the one who first created Operation Meteor.”

“What? X18999!”

Dakim gave a crazy laugh. “That’s right! We can drop that colony any time we wish. If you continue to insist on getting in our way, we will drop X18999 on Earth!”

Zechs silently cursed his self. He should have known this. He was losing his touch.

Dekim smiled, knowing he’d won. “You will surrender! Unlike Quinze, I have no intention of inviting you in to become our leader. But I’ll be happy to consider you as a soldier under Mariemaia.”

Zechs angrily berated himself. He hadn’t anticipated them having such an insurance plan. But there was no way to stop it. This invasion had to be stopped here and now. He armed his cannon and targeted the satellite. “To bad you won’t live to see your ‘victory’,” he said flatly and cut the communication.

Suddenly, a mobile suit flew at him from above. He dodged just in time to avoid the laser tridents. Zechs recognized this suit. It was a Gundam zero five. It turned with incredible speed, swinging the other end of the weapon and hitting the arm carrying his beam cannon. Zechs lost control of the hand, and the cannon dropped away. He’d just barely drew his beam saber when the Gundam’s fanged arm caught him a glancing blow, knocking his last weapon away.

He jinxed back and forth then flew up, just escaping another lash. The pilot relit his trident and flew at Zechs. They collided with enough force to make Zechs wonder if he’d broken any ribs against the restraints.

Wufei pushed Zechs back and began jabbing at him. With no beam saber, Zechs was kept on the defense, dodging all the shots. The trident caught him on the chest armor, spinning the Tall Geese away and shooting sparks from the console. Zechs managed to dodge one blow and spin to keep the next from hitting the cockpit. He was suddenly jolted and something hit the Tall Geese from behind. Debris from a carrier. With a start he realized he was caught on the piece of metal. He put all the power he could behind his engines as Wufei rushed him again, but he accelerated very slowly and couldn’t avoid being hit. He closed his eyes as his screens were lit green.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meela watched the blips on her radar suddenly multiply. The resource satellite was dropping carriers. She glanced at her readings. She was pushing her engines as far as she dared. The Gundam was not yet broken in very well. She was still eight minutes from the battle. Suddenly her threat warning light came on. Targeting radars were activating. She quickly magnified her view of Earth. Explosions suddenly rippled into existence. Someone was attacking the carriers. And very effectively. Meela watched as the blips rapidly fell off from her radar screen. Dropping like flies, she knew was the appropriate term. She magnified the view further and identified the Tall Geese. It moved easily among the carriers, leaving carnage in its wake.

She checked over her systems. Her duel-ended scythe was fully charged and she had full ammo for her cannons and a full compliment of heavy projectile disks. Her Gundam would greatly outclass the Foundation’s suits. She let her lip curl slightly with the anticipation. She would tear into the fray and see if she couldn’t wipe out at least as many as the Tall Geese had. Then she saw a different type of flash on her screen. The flash of close-combat beam weapons colliding. She quickly noted the new suit was the Gundam 05. Why would it attack the Tall Geese? Whatever the reason, it was obviously defending the Foundation carriers.

The Altron had now disarmed the Tall Geese which was evading for all it was worth. Meela saw it would be over quickly. She glanced at her engine temperature. Her mind quickly calculated that she could perform a six second boost before her engines would shut down. It was now or never. She hit the button and was slammed into her seat. The Altron prepared to finish the Tall Geese off, aiming a blow that would penetrate the cockpit. Meela hit him dead on from the side, knocking the Altron away. The Tall Geese freed itself from the metal and Zechs began to scan for his weapons.

Wufei paused, quickly adjusting to the new circumstances. The new suit was obviously a Gundam. It hadn’t dented when it hit Nataku’s Gundanium armor. It resembled Duo’s Deathscythe, but with broader wings. It became Deathwing in his mind. He made a quick decision. The new suit was trying to prevent the Foundation’s landing. It was an enemy. And with the Tall Geese still weaponless, it was the greater threat. He attacked.

Meela felt his attack coming a split second before the Altron lunged forward, it’s deadly trident splitting the space in front of her. She twisted to avoid it and in the same motion, grabbed her scythe and brought it across to strike the other Gundam. Wufei blocked just in time and backed off. The speed had been incredible. A suspicion swelled up in his mind. The pilot was using the Zero system.

Meela paused, gauging his reaction. He renewed his attack, bringing more of his formidable skills to bear on this new enemy. Meela fell back, blocking his blows, then jetted up, firing her Vulcan cannons. Wufei brought his shield up to protect himself and Meela split the duel ended scythe in two and attacked ferociously. Wufei put all he could into avoiding being hit. When Meela paused her assault, he backed off and lashed out with his fang arm. As she dodged, Wufei checked on the Tall Geese. It was now maneuvering towards it’s dropped beam cannon. Wufei accelerated towards the white suit. Again, the other Gundam intercepted him and knocked him off course. It was amazingly light and fast. The Deathwing snaked its scythes in and out, trying to penetrate his defenses. It backed off and fired two flat discs. Wufei dodged one and the other lodged in his shield, knocking the Gundam back and snapping his body into the restraints. He grunted a little, but kept up his defense as the other pilot pressed the attack.

Meela was surprised at the fight the Gundam pilot put up. Just as her fight with Calder had surprised her. Her training was supposed to give her superiority over even the other Gundam pilots. The Zero system pulsed angrily in her mind at her discomfort. Discomfort was irrelevant. Attend to the objective. Meela did so, forcing the Altron back, trying to penetrate the pilot’s defenses and land a crippling blow.

Wufei let himself be pushed back, trying to make the other pilot overconfident, let him make a mistake, a tactic he rarely had to use. He chanced a glace at the screen monitoring the Tall Geese’s movements. Zechs had almost reached his cannon. He would take it and fire at the resource satellite in very few seconds. He needed to get away, soon. His opportunity presented itself. The other Gundam brought both it’s scythes straight down towards Nataku’s head. Wufei let go of his trident with one hand, catching both scythes in the forks of one end of the trident while lashing out with the fang at point-blank range, knocking the smaller Gundam away and wrenching the scythes from it’s grasp. He slashed with his trident again, keeping the enemy suit back, and lashed out with his fang arm, hitting the Tall Geese just as it was about to fire on the satellite. The cannon was knocked away and Wufei turned again, just in time to block the Deathwing’s assault with it’s recovered scythes. Breathing hard, Wufei realized that he couldn’t keep this up. Something would have to happen soon or he would die and the satellite would be destroyed.

A voice came over his speakers. “Gundam pilot, his Grace’s shuttle is launching. Escort it to the surface. We have sufficient troops launched. The resource satellite may now be sacrificed.”

Wufei acknowledged the cold order and broke off from his battle with the other Gundam. He turned towards the hanger bay where the Barton leader’s shuttle would emerge.

Feeling very angry with himself, Zechs recovered his beam cannon again, and brought it to bear on the satellite even as energy began to crackle around the tongs of the weapon. The beam shot straight and true, slamming into the satellite, tearing it in half. Seconds later, the two halves exploded. As Zechs watched, Gundam 05 escorted a shuttle towards the planet. He’d been to late. A sudden thought occurred to him and he checked his sensors. The Gundam that had come to his aid had disappeared.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quatre glanced at the temperature. It was down to sixty-three degrees. He looked over the last of the settings for the launch vehicle he’d placed Wing Zero in. So Heero wanted to get to Earth sooner, rather than later. Quatre wasn’t sure what the guy thought could do, but he’d long ago gotten used to Heero’s way of thinking. Checking the clock, he confirmed the time, then launched the vehicle, sending it hurtling towards Earth. He made his way through the still-warm air of the disposal block, back to the bridge.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The stars stretched out ahead of Wufei, magnificently brilliant when seen from outside the Earth’s atmosphere. Nataku spun like a top in slow motion, it’s arms crossed tight against it’s chest, as if trying to hold in the silence of the moment. Wufei’s eyes were closed. Behind the expressionless face lay the memory of his departure from Operation Meteor. He played it over in his mind along with all the battles that followed. The lives he had taken, the families he’d torn apart. And Treize. Easily parrying the aggressive thrusts from Wufei’s Samurai sword, then his elegant European blade pressed against Wufei’s throat. The shame of living afterwards. The Tall Geese’s lunge, and Wufei’s automatic defensive posture, impaling Treize on Nataku’s trident. The realization that it was over.

What had it all been for? Humanity watching all that had occurred. Waiting to see which side would prevail. Being led around like sheep by Treize and OZ, the Romefeller Foundation, the White Fang, even the Gundam pilot’s, trying to shape a world for the people that would simply take what was given them rather than fight for what they wanted. Why should they, when there were people like Wufei to do it for them?

Wufei’s eye’s snapped open as Nataku beeped gently for his attention. “He’s here.” He slammed his throttle forward, preparing to stop his former comrade in arms. Wing Zero loomed ahead, menacing and graceful. He attacked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Duo Maxwell grumbled to himself as he leaned against the wall of his cell. Some plan. Why couldn’t Heero and Trowa just explain their plan in a rational manner?

“Duo, hit me,” he mimicked. Heero hadn’t said he was going to hit back. Duo rubbed his sore stomach where Heero’s fist had connected. He hadn’t even been fazed when Duo had punched him in the jaw. It wasn’t fair. He straightened up a little. His internal clock told him he’d been in the cell for about two hours.

“Quatre should be here shortly…” he said to himself. He reached behind his ear into his thick hair, withdrawing his lock pick and a tiny explosive. He easily undid his restraints and placed two sections of the explosive putty on the hinges of the door. He stepped back and triggered the putty with a small bang. Then he kicked the door outward, knocking the two surprised guards forward, then took off down the hall. He made it to the docking bay with several Barton Foundation soldiers on his heels.

“Yee, hah!” he shouted as he jumped in the low gravity up to the open door of the waiting shuttle, bullets sparking off the floor behind him. He closed the hatch and ambled into the cockpit where Trowa sat in the pilots seat.

“Hey, you could’ve come and helped me. Nothing wrong with helping out a friend in need now, is there?” he said, leaning against the back of the seat.

“Actually, it wasn’t you I was waiting for,” Trowa replied, deadpan.

“Huh?”

Someone else entered the shuttle. “Sorry to keep you. All hostages have been rescued.

“Ok, lets go,” Trowa said.

Duo smirked. “Oh, I see. So this is who you meant.”

Sally laid a hand on his shoulder. “Well thank you Duo. You were kind enough to leave me plenty of treats,” Sally Po said.

Duo sniffed. “If you’re joking, that’s cruel. But if you’re being sarcastic, that’s even worse.”

They strapped themselves in and Trowa piloted the shuttle out of the docking bay and heading towards Earth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Calder took a deep breath and hit the switch that disconnected his pod from

Marie’s shuttle as they approached Earth’s atmosphere. It would be a bumpy ride. The pod couldn’t land on the planet, it would have to crash. Why they had designed it to be able withstand reentry into Earth’s atmosphere, Calder didn’t know, but he was grateful for it. Minutes later, the pod began to vibrate around him and the single window glowed as fire surrounded his tiny craft. The small navigational screen told him he was dead on coarse for the North Atlantic, as close to England as he could safely get.

After a few minutes, he was suddenly jerked into his harness as the air brakes engaged. They slowed the craft to a third of it’s speed and the small parachute was released, braking the now useless craft to a safe speed to hit the water at. And there he was, bobbing in the storm-tossed Atlantic waves. He couldn’t help but laugh as he popped the hatch, letting in the cold spray. Breathing in the fresh ocean air, he checked his position with his PDA and relaying the coordinates to his ride. Ten minutes later, a jet hovercraft battled it’s way below the clouds to come to a stop ten feet over Calder’s head. The belly hatch opened and a chain ladder was lowered. Calder climbed into the warmth of the mercenary transport plane.

“Well, you certainly know how to make an entrance,” a voice said as the hatch closed and Calder blinked water from his eyes. His stolen Mars work uniform was soaked through. Through chattering teeth, he managed to reply. “Good to see you Jake. Thanks for the lift.”

Jake Nelson laughed. “No problem,” he said in his Aussie accent. “I was having a hard time sitting still while this was going on. I’d hoped you were up to something I might be able to help with.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re here. You were always better at planning than I was.”

“What, you weren’t planning on entering the atmosphere in a work pod?”

“No, actually. But we need to get to London. That’s where the battle will be.”

“Right you are mate. Away we go then.” He moved to the aircraft’s cockpit and keyed a few controls. Calder stripped off his work uniform and checked the equipment underneath his trench coat. He made a face as he tried to smooth the wrinkles on the coat the had formed as a result of being rolled up into the work overalls.

“New coat?” Jake asked as he came back.

Calder smiled. “Yeah. Oh well though.”

The twenty-six year old Aussie chuckled and shook his head. “You amaze me sometimes. Keeping fashionable through all you do.”

Calder shrugged. “Gotta have a hobby.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two streaks of light spun, intertwining in a fascinating pattern of spins and twists and colliding in great flashes of light. Heero and Wufei dueled at the fringes of the atmosphere, a lightning show of deadly ferocity. Heero stayed mostly on the defensive, trying when he could to disable the Altron. He jerked Zero into a spin to keep from being forced down into the atmosphere.

He backed away, reevaluating his position. Making a decision, he rushed Wufei, exchanged a furry of blows, then locked himself with the other Gundam, He fired his engines and sent both Gundams heading straight into the atmosphere. Wufei tried to free himself as the air grew hot around them and their movements became sluggish. Wufei managed to wrench himself free and struck. Heero’s defense was slow, but so was the attack. Heero felt Zero shudder horribly at the movement as a protruding plate of armor was torn away.

Wufei growled in frustration. Why couldn’t he make him see? “Heero, you and I are the same! We are only able to acknowledge our existence in the battlefield!”

Heero suddenly saw what this was about. “Just remember Wufei, Treize is dead, you have already defeated him!”

“You’re wrong!” Wufei spat, straining at his restraints as if trying to leap at Heero. “I still continue to fight him, even now.”

They fell for several minutes, then Heero began to angle his wings into a glide. He hoped to take advantage of his temporarily superior maneuverability. Swooping around, he saw the Altron deploy a parachute and moved to attack.

Wufei saw Zero closing in and at the last second, cut the parachute lose. Nataku dropped like a stone, evading the other pilot’s attack. He deployed his back-up chute and when he dropped to a safe speed, cut that one as well. Firing his engines to control his descent, he turned and renewed his attack. “I do not accept Relena Peacecraft’s ways,” he said. “Her belief that peace is attained by throwing away weapons and confining soldiers is wrong.”

“So that’s why you’re allowing Mariemaia’s autocracy?” Heero responded. “That’s where the soul’s of those who fight gather!”

He slashed viciously. Heero found himself not attempting to block the assault. The beam sliced into the armor just above the cockpit, cutting into the delicate circuitry there.

Energy sparked around Heero’s cockpit. “That may be okay for now, but Mariemaia will end up repeating history. The history full of miserable battles. Unless we stop this process now, more soldiers like ourselves will become necessary. If that happens, history will continue to repeat itself.” Wing Zero didn’t move. It held it’s position relative to him. Wufei paused, considering.

Heero closed his eyes, images running through his head. Of pain and destruction, so much of it. So many dead, so many left grieving, all at his hand.

“Wufei, tell me,” he said softly. “How many more people must we kill?” And one image in particular, one he’d tried so hard to forget. “How many more times must I kill that girl and her dog?” he said softly.

Heero pulled Zero’s wings back and up. The Gundam dropped. Heero’s perception had turned surrealistic and he felt nothing as he tumbled closer to the ocean’s surface.

“Zero will not tell me anything,” he said. “Tell me Wufei.” Zero hit the water in a gigantic geyser.

Wufei continued to stare at the spot as the waves subsided. The memory of the destruction of his home colony ran through his mind. “Would an incident like that have to be repeated?” Suddenly he knew what he had to do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Trowa, my stomach is sore.”

Trowa’s facial expression didn’t change. “Duo, I explained the reasoning of Heero’s plan. I’m not going to again.”

They had joined up with Quatre on the resource satellite. The pilots were going over their checklists to quickly get the Gundams back in operating condition after their year of disuse. The machinery needed little maintenance. A tribute to the scientist’s designs. Sally Po and Noin had taken the shuttle to meet up with a Preventer cruiser closer to Earth that would be carrying Taurus’.

Duo pouted. “Yeah, I know. I was the extra with nothing to do. Heero went to get his Gundam and I had to wait around, in a cell no less, while you and Sally tied up your loose ends. I should have told Quatre to send Deathscythe and gone with Heero.” He sighed with unnecessary volume. “Are we there yet?”

No one did him the favor of answering. Quatre only sent Duo a glance that said it all. He glared at him. “What, you think I’m being annoying?”

Quatre sat back and rubbed his eyes. “Duo, you’ve asked that every ten minutes since you got here. You know very well that it’s going to be another hour.”

Duo folded his arms. “Well, what else am I supposed to do with my time?”

Trowa had looked up from his console and was observing the exchange with a trace of amusement.

“And what are you looking at?” Duo said to Trowa with mock anger.

“Nothing. Please continue.”

Duo sniffed and leaned back on his chair. “Maybe you find amusing people to your liking Clown Boy, but I do not.”

Trowa smiled slightly and turned back to his previous position.

An hour and three minutes later, the exterior hatch of the resource satellite was sliced open from the inside. The pieces fell away and Sandrock, Deathscythe and Heavy Arms rocketed to the surface.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dorothy Catalonia stomped on the accelerator as her gold Cadillac screeched around a corner in downtown London. She couldn’t believe she was missing it! The first battle in a year! Yes, she’d gotten over her war-mongering, but still, it was happening. Why shouldn’t she be there? She checked the navigation screen. Almost there. A little closer. Suddenly a building exploded not thirty meters ahead. She slammed on the brakes and came to a halt in time to see a mobile suit finish passing through the house and hit the ground with a slam that bounced her car off the ground. Her heart pounded in excitement. “This is close enough,” she breathed. She started to get out, but suddenly she heard the sound of aircraft engines behind her. She looked back over her shoulder and saw a set of lights rapidly approaching, then pass overhead, headed towards the Brussels Presidential Residence. After a seconds hesitation she turned her engine back on and followed.

The aircraft slowed to a hover after several blocks. It dropped until it was just six or eight meters off the ground. She stopped a few meters away and got out. The sounds of energy blasts, machine gun fire, and explosions filled the air. A belly hatch on the aircraft opened and two ropes were dangled to the street. Two figures descended. One was wearing a leather trench coat, the other a leather utility jacket. She frowned. Not common dress. She suddenly wished she’d brought a pistol with her.

The figures hit the ground and disconnected themselves from their lines. They saw her and she braced herself and walked towards them. They faced her, wary, but curious.

“What are you doing?” she asked, stopping a couple of meters from them.

Calder glanced at Jake, who shrugged.

“We’re um… going to infiltrate the Brussels Presidential Residence,” Calder said.

Dorothy smiled and stepped forward. “Oh, good. Someone besides the Gundams are going to do something about this. May I come with you?”

Calder coughed. “Um…” He looked at her. She was wearing a typical, dressy civilian outfit. “Why would you want to?”

She smirked. “Please. I’m not just one of these other sheep that is just going to wait and see what happens. No one just comes and takes over my government that I helped to create without my saying something.”

Jake and Calder exchanged a look and Jake pointed to his head and twirled it around. Calder was inclined to agree. He started to tell her she should leave, when suddenly an idea hit him.

“Wait. You said all these other people are sheep. They’re just waiting around to see what happens,” he said.

Dorothy nodded. “The same thing they did last time. Which is why Mariemaia Khushranada will succeed if the Gundams fail.” She smiled. “I think you understand.”

Calder nodded. Jake looked confused. “What’s she mean, mate?” he whispered.

“If we can get the people to help, we can stop Mariemaia,” he said. “If they simply accept whatever happens, her rule is guaranteed. But if they resist…”

Jake nodded. “I see. Can we persuade them, large numbers of them, to go, say, into the line of battle?”

Dorothy smiled. “Shall we find out?”

Calder extended his hand. “Calder Slandovich.”

She gracefully took it with a flick of her hair. “Dorothy Catalonia,” she said with her most flattering smile. “A pleasure.”

The flip-flop Calder’s stomach had given was instantly doused as he recognized the name. “I see. Now you make sense.”

She smiled. “I’ll give you a lift.”

Calder shook his head as he followed. “Not your type of girl, Calder,” he muttered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twenty minutes later, after visiting a shipping company and assembling some volunteers, the last of eight trucks pulled to a stop. They were just outside the square where dozens of people were gathered, watching the broadcast from the presidential residence. Jake, Calder, and Dorothy walked to the edge of the square. “So,” Calder said. “Who’d like to do the honors?”

“I think I know just what to say,” Dorothy said. “You two just get ready to move the trucks into the square.”

Calder shrugged. “Go for it.”

Dorothy walked casually to the rear of the crowd and took a deep breath. “Are you people just going to continue sitting on your butts?” she said very loudly. Every head turned towards her.

“Well, that’s not quite what I had in mind,” Jake remarked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Calder shook his head. “She seems to know what she’s doing,” he said with a shrug. They listened to her speech. Calder had to hand it to her. She did know how to rally a crowd. “Come on,” he said. They walked back to the trucks and waved the drivers forward, then hopped into the cab of the last truck. Calder took the wheel and maneuvered the behemoth into the square. After thirty or so people had been loaded, Dorothy joined them in the cab. Flashing a smile, she asked, “How did I do?”

“Certainly convinced me,” Jake said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I’m going to kill the person who made these street’s so narrow,” Noin muttered to herself as she was jolted around, trying to maneuver her Taurus through London’s narrow streets. She snapped off two shots as she rose higher, aiming low. One of the energy blasts connected with a Serpent’s knee joint, knocking it to the ground. Now above the buildings, Noin was quickly able to target the leg of the second enemy suit. It fell. She spun, looking for another target. She’d been losing her hope as she and Zechs had battled. However, with the Gundams arrival, she now thought they had a shot at ending this. But where was Heero?

Zechs snaked his whip around the ankles of an unsuspecting Serpent, then pulled it across the street, tripping two more suits. He jinked the Tall Geese through the air, avoiding the heavy beam weapons, but the small, fast rounds hit, sparking off his neo-titanium armor. He felt one thruster cut out and the Tall Geese dropped. He quickly recalibrated and jetted backwards, a meter off the ground, firing as he went.

Duo spun his scythe in a complete arc, cutting down three serpents. He panted as still more fired at him. Closing the distance, he disabled four more. It was extremely difficult to fight while trying not to kill the enemy soldiers. Professor G would be ashamed if he could see how much damage Deathscythe was taking, he thought as he shielded himself against a hail of heavy-caliber bullets.

Trowa fired thousands of rounds into the air from Heavy Arms’ four gatlings. Serpent after Serpent dropped to the ground. But still more came.

Quatre sliced of a Serpents arm that carried its gatlings, the force of his momentum throwing the suit to the ground. He was suddenly blindsided by another Serpent. He started to try and dislodge it, when another one hit him from the other side. He strained to move, then fired his engines. Sandrock’s powerful thrusters dragged all three suits into the air. One Serpent shifted and Quatre was able to wrench his arms lose and take both suits out. They dropped like stones.

Duo took two more suits out, then moved down the street, looking for more targets. He didn’t have to look long. As he rounded a corner he was met with a barrage of heavy beam weapons. “Man, they just keep coming, all at once!” he set through gritted teeth. He fired his engines and rushed straight into the packed suits. A line of dust and debris blossomed in his wake.

Multiple radar lock warnings appeared on Trowa’s screen. A huge cloud of smoke billowed up as over a hundred missiles were launched in his direction. He elevated his gatlings and fired into the swarm. Two thirds of the missiles were destroyed before they reached him. The rest exploded around him. The shock waves shook his teeth.

“Looks like we’re fighting another losing battle,” Quatre said grimly. Bullets and energy sparked off Sandrock’s armor, as he raised his scythes horizontal and charged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meela slowed her Gundam to a stop a thousand meters above Earth’s surface and surveyed the city of London below her. She didn’t like what she saw. The Barton Foundation had barricaded themselves in the underground shelter of the Brussels Presidential Residence. She quickly called up the schematics on the shelter. It had been built in A.C. 193 by the Alliance’s Marshall Noventa as a governmental shelter. She scanned through the documents for a moment until she found what she was looking for. A ventilation system ran from the shelter to the surface at a point seven hundred meters from the blast shield. She could probably get in there to stop whatever they were doing. And she would assassinate Dekim Barton.

What bothered her was that she didn’t know what they were doing. She knew they were probably prepared to drop a colony onto Earth. To blackmail the Unified Nation? Then why land troops and barricade themselves where they would die like everyone else when the colony was dropped? How else would they get the Unified Nation to relinquish control?

Her sensors suddenly called for her attention. There was weapons fire at the east end of the city. She magnified that section and analyzed it. Seven mobile suits. She recognized each of the Gundams, the Tall Geese, and a Preventer Taurus. But even if they could get to the shelter, what would they do? They couldn’t get through the blast shield without heavy weapons. Something else caught her attention. Away from the city, in the ocean. A heat signature, coming from about a hundred meters down. She recognized the profile of a mobile suit. And she thought she knew which mobile suit. She changed coarse and plunged downward.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heero glanced at the clock, the only source of light in the dark cockpit. 2230 hours. It was likely the battle had begun. His mind was too overloaded to plan anything. It was peaceful down here. He could just relax, not have to think about politics and battles. Not have to take anymore lives.

A proximity warning beeped. Heero sighed, almost annoyed. Why would someone be down here? He glanced at the screen. It was large, coming from the surface almost directly above him. A mobile suit. The was a soft vibration as it landed. Heero tiredly looked at his readouts. He straightened a little as he looked over the data. It was large, bigger than the average mobile suit. He hit his exterior lights, illuminating the dark shape and wide, menacing wings. Then a transmission was picked up. He hesitated, then keyed his panel. A window opened on his displays. A girl. A kid, younger than him it looked.

She didn’t say anything at first. They simply watched each other, cold brown into cold green. Then she spoke. “Heero Yuy. The Perfect Soldier.”

“Who are you?” he asked.

“I was trained to prove that a girl could be as good as a boy. As good as you.”

“What do you want?” Heero asked tiredly.

“Why are you here?” she countered.

Heero closed his eyes. “I’m staying out of the way.”

Meela paused and watched him. “There were some that said the Gundams were the best hope for peace. You fought for it a year ago. Your friends are fighting for it now.”

“They have their own ways of doing things.”

“And yours is to lie at the bottom of the ocean?”

A slight smile traced Heero’s features. “I’ve done what I can.”

Meela shook her head. “Not all you can.”

Heero opened his eyes at met hers. “What do you mean?”

“The blast shield needs to be taken out. The others will fight, but they can’t do it alone. They need you.”

Heero’s brain seemed to unglue as he thought of this. “That’s all I’d have to do. Just the shield,” he whispered to himself.

“And Mariemaia Khushranada,” Meela said.

Heero nodded. “Yes. And Mariemaia Khushranada.”

Meela fired her engines and rose slowly away from Wing Zero. “Maybe we’ll meet again, Perfect Soldier.”

Heero sat for a moment after the sound of the girl’s Gundam had faded. Suddenly the cockpit came alive. The screens glowed yellow and Zero’s machinery began to power up on its own. “Zero, can you move?” Heero asked. The Gundam stood. Heero nodded. “Sure. This will be your final fight.”

He increased power to his thrusters and the water around him began to boil. And mine, he thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Colonel Une grabbed the man’s wrist and flipped him to the ground. The pistol fell from his grasp and clattered to the floor as she delivered a knock-out blow. She surveyed her handy work. Four of Mariemaia’s soldiers lay unconscious. “Haven’t done that in awhile,” she muttered, breathing hard. She looked at the information displayed on the screens of the small information center. Tactical information scrolled across them, representing the Gundam’s battle with Mariemaia’s forces.

“Does she really believe this is Treize’s ideal?” she whispered to herself. “She doesn’t realize that she’s merely a puppet controlled by Dekim.”

“Quite right,” a voice said.

Une whipped around, drawing her pistol. A girl, no more than fourteen or fifteen stepped from the shadows. “Who are you?” Une asked.

She shrugged. “Just a soldier. Once a puppet of the man you named,” she said. Her voice chilled Une’s blood. This girl reminded her of someone else she knew.

“Are you here to stop this, or are you part of it?” she asked.

“I’m here to destroy the Barton Foundation,” the girl said.

Une nodded and lowered her pistol. “I see.” She nodded towards the screens. “The command center is just one more level down,” she said.

“Just what I needed to know,” the girl said. She turned to leave and Une followed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Deathscythe landed, shattering the cobblestones beneath it. Duo stepped back to join the others as a wall of Serpents closed a circle around them. With a sigh of frustration he deactivated his scythe. “I’ve got nothing left,” he said. He glanced at his readings. He knew they wouldn’t do it, but he said it anyways. “Our self-detonation devices should take out about have of the remaining suits.”

Trowa shook his head. “No. Detonation shook be done away from them. We must limit casualties to just ourselves.”

“Yeah, guess you’re right.”

All three of the Gundams sensors went off. Quatre looked at his radar and couldn’t immediately tell what was happening. “Huh?”

“Where?” Trowa said.

“Above us!” Duo was first to see it. Wing Zero. It was hovering three hundred meters off the ground, its buster rifle aimed downward, barrels glowing with barely-harnessed energy.

Heero let the buster cannon track right until his radar beeped a lock. He locked the arm and his thrusters kept him in exactly the same position. He wouldn’t miss. He keyed open a channel to the shelter. The control came onto his screen. Dekim Barton stood alongside Mariemaia Khushranada and Relena.

“Let me confirm,” he said. “Your shelter shield is activated?”

“What are you planning?” Dekim demanded.

“Your shelter is secure, is it not?”

The reply came from the girl. “Of coarse it is! See for yourself just how powerless you are!”

Heero nodded. “Roger that.” He cut the communication and triggered his cannon. The thick energy beam sliced through the air, impacting the shield with tremendous force.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meela suddenly grabbed hold of the railing along the stairs they were descending. The structure violently shook around them and the lights flickered. She looked back at Colonel Une. “Heavy beam weapon. The shelter is under attack.”

Une recovered her balance and moved alongside Meela. “So I noticed,” she said dryly. “We’d better hurry.” The moved down the rest of the stairs and rounded a corner. Ahead there was a locked double door. Une started forward and the shelter shook again. Without warning, the section of roof in front of Meela collapsed. Her reflexes pulled her back before she could be crushed. When the lights flickered back on, Meela saw she was cut off from Une and the control room. She started looking for a way around.

“Are you alright?” Colonel Une’s voice sounded far away. “Fine,” Meela called back. “Get into the control room. I’ll join you in a moment.”

Une moved down the corridor again. She could hear creaking and clanking coming from the machinery above. She surveyed the door. Locked with a keycard encryption. She pulled her decryption pad out of her pocket and slid the card into the opening. Numbers began furiously running across the small computer’s screen.

Thirty seconds. She hoped she would be in time. The shelter wouldn’t survive another hit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heero surveyed the damage from his second hit. One more would do it. He checked Zero’s status. Thrusters were still keeping the Gundam stable, but it was in bad shape. Heero could feel the engines and mechanics screaming with the strain on their damaged parts. Just one more, Zero, he thought. Then you’re done.

Fire lanced up from the ground, and an occasional shot glanced off the suit. Heero struggled to keep the cannon steady. The image of the girl and her dog flashed through his mind. The cannon started to drift off target and he fired as Zero fell apart around him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The shelter shook more violently than ever as the shot hit and penetrated the shelter’s shield. Pieces of the roof fell around Une. “Now!” she shouted to her machine. The lock clicked. She burst through the door and looked wildly around. Relena and Mariemaia stood next to each other as beams fell around them. Une rushed forward and knocked them off their feet, covering them with her body.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Calder watched as a huge explosion blossomed from behind the hill that hid the presidential residence. His heart leapt in his throat as the Gundam in the air suddenly broke apart and fell. He followed it’s progress down until it fell behind the hill, out of view.

Around him, people shouted angrily at Serpents that were trying to move to where the Gundams had stopped fighting. Towering over them was Gundam 05, standing still, unmovable. The Serpents backed away and the group of people swarmed forward. Dorothy stepped up beside Calder, an almost sad look on her face. “No more battles,” she said with a sigh.

Calder nodded. “No, nothing like this again anyway.” He indicated the trail of smoke left by Wing Zero. “Do you think that Gundam pilot made it?”

She smiled. “Heero Yuy? I guarantee it.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heero struggled to stand. The fall from Zero’s cockpit had twisted his knee beyond its considerable tolerance level. He was bruised and bleeding in several different places, the worst of which was where shrapnel had penetrated his side above the second rib. He’d live. Retrieving his pistol where he’d dropped it on the ground, he checked it. Exactly the amount of bullets he’d need. He started down into the shelter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meela finally pushed the last of the debris blocking her way aside and forced herself through. She fell and rolled into the open corridor. Hoping she wasn’t to late, she drew her CM-7 and moved towards the door. There in front of her was her enemy. Dekim Barton, pointing a pistol at someone she couldn’t see. Now was her chance. She raised her pistol and hesitated.

A shot rang out and Dekim suddenly lurched. Blood splashed the floor in front of him and he fell. Meela was at first confused. But no, she hadn’t fired. One of Mariemaia’s soldiers had. She waited to be disappointed. She’d failed to avenge her teachers. But nothing came. After a moment she lowered her pistol and holstered it. Her enemy was dead. The Barton Foundation was no more.

In that moment, the ever-present Zero system faded from her mind. Her emotions came smoothly and gently. The mission was accomplished. She was relaxed and content for the first time in the two years since she’d left Kaldea, Michael, and Tray. There was no mission. No objective to achieve. She turned and walked away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I’ll relieve you of your pain.” The voice penetrated the haze that had grown around her. She blearily opened her eyes and looked at the boy that stood in front of her. The Gundam pilot that had fired on the shelter. She closed her eyes again. “I thank you,” she whispered.

Heero pulled the trigger. The gun clicked and Mariemaia’s head nodded into unconsciousness.

“I’ve killed Mariemaia,” he said softly. “I’ll never kill anyone again.” He lowered the pistol and it fell from his grip. “I don’t have to anymore.” His legs gave out and he fell forward into Relena’s arms. “Finally its over,” she said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Calder stood next to Jake and Dorothy, near the fire that burned at the center of the crowd. People, including the Gundam pilots, continued to throw weapons and uniforms into it.

Dorothy sighed audibly. “It makes me sad,” she said. “And yet its okay.”

Calder glanced at her. She met his gaze and smiled, differently this time, earnestly, all her previous bravado gone. “Maybe I’ll see you again sometime,” she said.

Calder nodded. “I’d like that.”

She turned and walked away. He watched her go. Maybe she wasn’t so bad.

“Thanks for your help Jake,” he said.

The Aussie smiled. “No problem.” He extended his hand and Calder took it. “Keep in touch, mate.”

Calder nodded and turned and walked away from the crowd. He took one last look at the fire and saw two figures approaching it. He recognized Relena Darlian. She was supporting the other figure who limped along with his head down. He suddenly looked up and met Calder’s eyes. It was Heero Yuy. The boy he’d seen enter that Treize Faction tent over a year ago. Calder nodded to him and Heero nodded back. Calder smiled and turned his eyes back to the fire.

“Strangely beautiful, isn’t it?” A voice said. He turned. Meela moved up beside him and watched the fire.

“Decided I’m not an enemy?” Calder asked.

“Yes.”

They watched the fire in silence for a moment.

“Ny… Meela,” Calder said. “There’s a lot we have to talk about.”

Meela shook her head. “Later. There’s… I have to sort things out for myself first. I just want to stand here.”

Calder nodded. “Okay.” He looked down and her and gave his customary grin. “Don’t take to long about it though, ok?”

She nodded, but couldn’t return the grin. “Ok.” She looked down at her hands and saw the ring on her finger, the one her mother had given her so long ago. She smiled slightly. “Yeah I won’t.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Goodbye for real this time,” Duo said, holding up the detonation switch.

He, Trowa, and Quatre stood on a hill overlooking a small valley where their Gundams stood. This was finally it. Duo took a deep breath and pushed the button…

After colony 197; peace has returned to the people. And from this point on in history, weapons called mobile suits, including the Gundams, were never seen again.

Authors note: According to our other fan fictions, the Gundams weren’t destroyed here, but we didn’t want to deface the ideals presented in Endless Waltz, the people’s choice to live in peace and Heero’s final battle.

There are some pretty obvious inconsistencies with this and the Lone Warrior but everything happens as it is here.