Sainan no Kekka
By Gerald Tarrant and Quicksilver
Snkauthors@yahoo.com
Earlier parts:
http://www.midnightrevolution.org/gundam/
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing is property of Sotsu Agency,
Bandai Studios, and TV Asahi. Sainan no Kekka and all
original characters and plot copyright 2000-2002 by
Quicksilver and Gerald Tarrant. Please ask permission
before reposting.
Warnings: As usual, be aware of harsh language and
violence� this is Gundam Wing gone intense.
Notes: Yes, the SNK writers are back. It�s advise for
new readers to go and catch up on what has come
before� We are now releasing the main story BIWEEKLY
due to our busy lives, and off weeks may have sides,
though we will not commit to it. Sorry, but it�s
quality we�re concerned with.
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Scene I: The Daughter of China
�The death of the heart is the saddest thing that can
happen to you.�
- Chinese Proverb
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It wasn�t where she wanted to be, but somehow she had
expected it.
Sally Po had known what things would most likely come
to when she had started down this path. Still, that
didn�t mean she had to like it.
That was one thing her mother had always told her,
�You can dream many dreams on a long night, Sally,�
she had whispered, quoting a famous proverb. Sally
had thought of that often, whenever times got tough.
She had never been particularly close to her parents,
but that was one thing she had been grateful to them
for - perhaps the only thing.
When she was little, she hadn�t been quite sure what
the proverb meant. Her parents had been fond of
throwing them out, and on the surface, it was simple.
Most Chinese proverbs were; they were a bit of common
wisdom that was always true. Look beneath them,
though, and the true depth of their meaning became
apparent. She had spent many late nights awake,
dreaming of things that were possible, and now was
facing the true long night of her life.
She was Chinese, and her parents had at least given
her the chance to be Chinese. She pitied those who
didn�t know their cultures.
It disgusted her, nowadays. People had no idea who
or what they were, and the way things were going, that
trend would continue until the world had assimilated
everyone into one Unitarian society where everyone
walked, talked, and thought alike. She hated the very
thought of it. Identity was important to her. She
believed in individuality, and after being a member of
the Federation, she had seen how people had conformed
to the standards the mainstream culture had placed on
them.
The knowledge that, as a soldier in the Federation
army, she was one of the oppressors, had revolted her.
When the Gundams had come and destroyed her
government, she had eagerly joined the Chinese
rebellion, hoping that something better could be
formed.
Something that allowed her to be Chinese� but in the
end, there was a return to the status quo. Une had
meant well, and Sally liked how she was earnest, but
Une held no real power. Une was a ghost, a woman who
wasn�t truly alive. Without Treize, Une was nothing.
Sally thought things might have been different if the
pilots hadn�t vanished. They understood national
pride� and Wufei understood China.
With a sigh, Sally leaned back in the shuttle seat,
stealing a glance at the man who sat in her co-pilots�
chair, Pierre Gils-Reve. He had left Bern and
immediately raced to Geneva before Sally had even
gotten out of the city to be beside her. According to
Li, his cover was still sound, but he had insisted on
coming with her when he had learned that her safety
was on the verge of being compromised. He was
fiercely loyal to her and her cause from the very
beginning. She thought he had a little bit of a crush
on her, and regretted that. Hormones had no place
where they were going.
�How much longer to the rendezvous point?� she asked,
even though she knew. The oppressive silence was
beginning to get to her.
�Thirteen minutes, General,� Gils-Reve said, his
voice steady, even though his hands had shaken as they
had initiated the launch two days prior. Since then,
they had been moving around quite a bit to avoid
capture, and Sally had been silently weaving her net
closed, stealing what supplies she could. She only
had subverted less that a sixth of the Preventers, but
those she had turned, she had placed well. Her
strike forces had already launched a few raids on a
few of the more remote military targets, and she knew
that within two days, she would be ready to launch an
all-out assault. She had to move quickly, for Brown
would be moving to block her and change everything.
Li still hadn�t been discovered, but it was only a
matter of time.
Still, she had a prize that would tip the scales a
little more in her favor. She looked out the window,
wondering how much longer it would be before she would
see it. �Has radio silence been maintained?� she
asked
�Yes,� Gils-Reve answered. �There�s been two
fly-overs by Preventer operatives, but they haven�t
spotted us. It�s your home ground, so I�m not
surprised.�
�Neither am I.� Sally glanced at her watch. Two
more minutes.
Those minutes normally would have dragged on, but
since there was no flight crew aside from herself and
Gils-Reve and he had been trained to fly combat suits
instead of shuttles, she was the one who started the
landing procedures. Even though she was no longer
part of an official military order, she followed the
steps to the letter. Discipline was important, and
skipping steps was a bad idea. When order broke down,
chaos reigned; and when chaos reigned, entire
countries fell apart.
That would be one of her key strategies in attacking
the World Nation- not the only one, but one of the
keys.
By the time the plane landed with a slight jolt, she
knew enough time had passed that if there were no
problems, the people she should be meeting were there.
�Are they here?� she asked as she shut down all the
power systems to the shuttle. It would take time to
restart them, but the Preventer agents would be
looking for unexpected energy signals. She was the
most wanted traitor on the planet, and they were
expecting her to come to China. She had understood
that, but China was home.
Gils-Reve nodded. �Before you shut down my
proximity scanners, I detected them.� His eyes
glowed.
She nodded. �We�ll have to manually lower the
hatch.�
The two rebels went to the door and hit the cranks,
pushing the door down. Sally hit it with her shoulder
when it got stuck, and almost fell through when it
suddenly gave. It was only Gils-Reve�s quick hands
catching her waist that preventing her from taking a
header onto the ground eight feet below.
His hands were warm, and she nodded her thanks.
�Good reflexes,� she said, and waited for him to
release her.
He seemed dazed, and was wearing a slight blush, and
she upgraded her prior opinion of his crush to puppy
love with an internal groan. He finally let her go
after a few moments too long, and she moved out of his
range as quietly as socially acceptable. Looking
down, she judged the distance safe enough to jump.
She was too impatience to wait to push the stairs
down.
When Sally landed, it jarred her teeth. She looked
up to where Gils-Reve was still standing. �Coming,
Gils-Reve?� she asked.
�Yes, ma�am!� he said, grabbing the edge and swinging
down. He landed gracefully besides her, and she
wondered how he made it look so effortless.
�It�s not ma�am anymore. Call me Po or General.�
Her eyes flashed, and she looked down at her clothes,
once again camouflage gear. The first thing she had
done when she had found a spare moment was to discard
the hated uniform. Clothes made the person and shaped
the way people acted.
As did names.
She could see the realization of what she meant
flicker in Gils-Reve�s green eyes, reflecting a
variety of emotions too quietly for her to follow
before he clenched his jaw with determination. �Yes,
General.�
Together they ducked under the belly of the craft,
coming out from under the other side. She heard
Gils-Reve take in a sudden breath of appreciation and
couldn�t keep from smiling. �This the first time you
ever seen a Gundam?� she asked with amusement, even
though the marvelous machine still took her breath
away.
Before them stood the brilliantly colored Gundam
Heavyarms.
She smiled up at one of her friends who had swiped it
from right under Brown�s nose. �Hey, Riley! How�s
the machine check out?� she demanded, shading her eyes
from the late day sunlight�s reflection of the
glistening machine. She made a mental note to get it
hidden as soon as possible, but for a moment, they
could savor their small victory.
�It�s as good as when the day it was built!� Riley
shot back, perched proudly on the machine�s shoulder.
The old man reminded her of Howard, and she wished she
knew how to contact the Sweeper. He�d be a useful
contact, provided he saw things her way. It was
strange that he had such morals- most scavengers
didn�t; but those were what made him Howard, and she
really wouldn�t change him. She was fighting to give
people the choice to be the way they wanted to.
�And the shelter?� she asked, her voice losing its
joking tone.
Riley was quiet for a moment before scampering down
the silent giant, managing to find impossible
handholds. The wiry man came to stand in front of
her, taking his time dusting his hands off on his gray
coveralls. �We lost one man, and were forced to kill
all four people there who weren�t with us. After
that, I set some explosives, and walked this baby out
to the shuttle and took off. We�ve been jumping all
over, and I�ve swapped shuttles twice. Complete
diagnostics were performed on the way, and it�s in
working order.�
Sally walked closer so she could admire the trim.
These machines held an elegant beauty, and promised
soldiers a chance to dance with death. She had taken
care of Heavyarms before, but this time, it was hers�
and she would be flying it. The thought thrilled her,
secretly. She was a very good pilot and she looked
forward to matching her skills against it. It would
be like riding a tiger, and not daring to let go.
Gils-Reve stared at Heavyarms in disbelief, seemingly
unable to comprehend that their band of nationalists
had in their possession one of the five Gundams that
had shaped the world. �How- why do we have it?� he
asked.
Her smile was mysterious as she touched the metal of
the Gundam�s leg. �It�s about the pilots and who they
are� you need to know them. Each Gundam is a part of
the pilot, and when the war was over, there was no one
to tell those teenagers what to do with them; they had
to make their own choices. Heero and Duo hid theirs,
and I assume Wufei did the same as well. Quatre had
his melted down and used to build an irrigation
system,� she said, pausing as people winced at the
thought of that desecration. �But Trowa�Trowa wasn�t
a warrior; Trowa was a soldier.
�When the war was over, he did what any good soldier
would do and surrendered his weapon to the victor.�
Her smiled was mocking. �Lady Une had it hidden in a
small supply base, manned by ten men, and kept under
guard. It was classified Level One, and that was
supposed to be the end of it� but it wasn�t.
�I knew about it� and I just happened to assign as
many of my people as possible there. As soon as it
became apparent that I had to leave, I knew I had to
tell Riley to let the others know that I needed my�
severance bonus.� Her eyes traced the machine
reverently. �It should come in handy.�
Her eyes looked up at the cockpit, and she knew that
it was time to do something she�d been waiting to do.
�I have to make a call�� she said. �Riley, you and
Gils-Reve show the others how to go about setting up a
cold camp- we move at before dawn tomorrow.�
Riley nodded, and she could see that Gils-Reve barely
checked a salute. He was having a hard time deciding
which bits of military custom to keep and which to
discard. He would learn, Sally knew, but it would
take time. She turned her attention back to
Heavyarms, and signed. There were no hoists currently
attached, and since it was standing, that meant she
would just have to climb straight up. She lacked
Riley�s knack for finding grips, so going up would be
a challenge.
It was lucky that she had made a point of putting in
an hour of hard training at the gym every day, or else
she never would have made it up. The climb was
tricky, and once she almost lost her hold. Still, she
made it up, and that was what mattered. She took a
second to catch her breath before activating the
hatch, which slid open smoothly.
The indicator lights flashed as she shut the cockpit
door, amazed as always how much it was like stepping
into a different world. She ignored the custom
harnesses and newswire feed and checked the lights,
pleased that all of them were green. Leaning back
into the well-padded seat, she took a breath of the
filtered air. What had it been like, to sit here
during a pivotal battle? What would it be like to know
that people spoke of you as though you were the devil
incarnate?
Sally would know that feeling very soon, and she
wasn�t sure if it frightened her or not. Still, she
had no time for musing. She needed to contact
someone, and had to do it soon, if her time zone
calculations were correct. With a slight smile she
hit the communications button and hacked into the
Preventers� system, glad that Li had kept her password
active, despite standard procedures. �Connect me to
Chang Wufei�s room,� she demanded. �Audio and visual
feed, and scramble the frequency.�
The link surged into being with a speed that made her
smile slightly with pleasure. Wufei was a creature of
habit, and if she was right, she most likely would be
interrupting him during his late evening exercises.
He always ran a few forms before going to sleep, and
she was hoping it would put him in a thoughtful mood.
And she was right. She saw him poised on one foot,
holding the sword parallel to his angled leg, wearing
only the white pants of mourning that she had grown
accustomed to seeing him in. It was a beautiful
thing, to watch his toned body, and even holding the
pose, it became apparent that he was truly a master of
the art.
Sally was silent for a moment, but that moment was
all it took for him to be aware that he was being
watched. His dark eyes narrowed and he whirled; his
sword swinging up and his elbow bending as his left
hand straightened and his feet became ready to launch.
His breathing remained calm and balanced, but she saw
the slight shock on his face when he noticed her image
on the viewer.
�You!� he declared, his voice sounding as though he
had just stepped into a pile of something particularly
vile.
�Ni hao, Wufei,� she replied calmly in Mandarin. �I
see you�ve heard about my� allegiances�� she
continued, sticking to the language.
�I heard about your betrayal,� he said coldly,
replying in the same language, though his colonial
accent was slightly more clipped. Wufei sheathed his
sword on his hip before moving closer. She could see
in his expression what he planned; subtlety was the
one thing he had never learned.
�Wufei� you can�t trace this,� she said lightly.
�And rerouting my call will do you no good. Don't you
think you should at least here me out?"
�I don�t listen to traitors,� he said, moving to turn
it off.
She had been expecting this. �The death of the heart
is the saddest thing that can happen to you,� Sally
whispered, wondering if her final ploy would work.
�What?� he asked.
She looked at him out of the corner of her eyes, and
her smile grew minutely. �For the friendship we
share, and for China, will you listen to me?� she
asked.
Sally saw the hesitation written in the tension of his
body, but she knew that she had him hooked. She had
seen this before many times. �I� I will listen to
you, woman. And then I�m reporting every word you say
directly to Une,� he said, as though the qualifier
would absolve his sin.
�Do that. I�m sure Une�s very upset, and would like
to know why her second in command has been plotting
against her,� Sally agreed. She pressed the tips of
her fingers together and rested her elbows on her
knees.
�And she�s going to be even more upset when she find
out you somehow or other managed to run off with
Heavyarms,� he pointed out.
She smiled. �I thought I needed a special severance
bonus, since the Preventers weren�t going to give me
one.�
�How did you get it?� Wufei demanded.
�That you would have to ask Trowa�� Sally said. �If
you decide I�m right, you can bring Shenlong� and
since Sandrock has been destroyed, that will mean each
side has two. Quite a balance of power.� She twisted
one of her braids. �I�m not after power, Wufei, but I
do understand how the game works.�
�So your after me because I have the only unclaimed
Gundam?� he asked, sounding slightly disgusted, and
maybe a little disappointed in her. �Sorry, Nataku is
long gone.�
�Liar,� Sally accused.
He froze, and glared at her, raising a hand and
smacking the screen. �Ta ma de! Nataku is gone!� he
insisted.
�But you can bring her back. You�re not like Trowa�
who handed his back to the military when the war was
done. You�re not like Quatre, who destroyed his
Gundam for a better era. No, you�re more like Duo,
who had to hide his Gundam because Deathscythe was a
part of him.�
Wufei cursed her under his breath, but he couldn�t lie
to her. Sally always saw the truth in him.
She continued, �But even if you didn�t have Shenlong,
I would want you by my side, not any of the other
pilots. You understand what being Chinese is� even
Quatre doesn�t really understand what his heritage
means.� Her eyes sparkled.
�Is that what this is about? National loyalty?� he
asked, and his hands touched the bottom of the screen.
�To me, it�s about China. The China that loves all
her sons and daughters�didn�t you tell me that? If we
come back to her, China will love us��
Something in his eyes flickered, the sleeping dragon
that lay within, as he remembered that conversation
they had, sitting on Wing Zero a few days ago.
�The faces change, but things remain the same, Wufei.
Federation or Romafeller or World Nation� they are all
oppressors. It�s time we made a stand, and said that
we won�t accept it. An international language being
taught in school before the native ones. The Cinq
Kingdom having more leading politicians then China,
which has more land and more people. Our brightest
children going to international schools, leaving our
country devoid of its future.�
Wufei looked at her. �I� They�re trying, Sally.�
�Trying for whom? It�s all Western. All this western
culture� it�s affected us. And other countries agree.
Look at those who follow me, Wufei� Gils-Reve is
French, and he went six months without speaking his
native language because of the World Nation. Riley is
Irish, but the Federation made him drop the �O� from
his name because the computers couldn�t process the
apostrophe sometimes, and he can easily picture the
World Nation doing the same. It�s a small thing, but
if they can make you change your name, what else can
they do?�
Wufei watched her speak passionately about her cause.
�Sally� I�m a colonist.�
�And that means it doesn�t affect you?� she nearly
spat. �If anything, it affects you more! You�re from
a colony that prided itself on its Chinese heritage.
They practically told me I couldn't be Chinese
anymore- what will they do to you, or other colonies
that don�t have so-called established customs? You
and I both know that�s a lie� and it�s only a matter
of time before the World Nation absorbs the colonies!�
She saw in his eyes that he was listening� and Sally
knew that he was on the verge of agreeing. She forced
herself to stay calm. If she kept reeling, she could
very shortly have one of the biggest fish in her net.
�In a generation, maybe two, we won't have a culture
anymore! That�s where this era of absolute pacifism
is getting us! We need war to sustain our
identities, and us! War brings revolution and
changes in thought, yet unites a people together!
War is not glorious, but it is necessary! Without it,
we stagnate and lose ourselves!
"I am Chinese! I am not going to live in a world
where there are no national boundaries, for that means
I have no pride! I love my language, yet it will die
out- soon people will only speak Japanese and English,
and then just English! I love my sense of family,
yet soon the Western world will take that away!� she
paused to take a breath.
Wufei listened closely, his hand going limp and
falling away from the computer screen. "Meilin....
those flowers..." he whispered.
"Yes, Wufei! You understand what I'm talking about,
don't you? What would Meilin say? Your wife was
proud of being Chinese!�
"I... remember..."
"Yes! You were the one who told me that people were
stupid to think the war was over! War is never over!
Fight for what you believe in!" she said, pushing
the final button.
And then something flickered across his face, and she
knew that she had said the wrong thing. �I believe in
people,� he said slowly. �I believe that we have given
them the right to choose their own futures. I believe
that war is an awful thing- it may never be over, but
if we don�t at least try to seek peace, we�re never
going to find happiness. I believe that happiness is
something that you strive for�� He paused, and then he
gave her a soft smile, one that she hadn�t thought him
capable of. Something inside of him had changed, and
she suddenly realized that she didn�t know the real
Chang Wufei anymore.
�I believe in my friends. I believe in the other
pilots. I believe in the Preventers, and I am sorry
that you never gave them a chance. I believe� I am
not here to cause chaos anymore� I believe I am here
to help the world.� He looked at her directly, and
the intensity in his face made her feel like she was
drowning.
She shook herself out of it, and felt her heart
harden towards him. She had believed that he would
see the justice in her cause, but he, too, had been
taken in. "Good-bye, Wufei. I hope you like the path
you've chosen." She shut the connection down, unable
to stand looking in his clear eyes.
Then she leaned back in the seat, hating how the
battle lines had been drawn. But she was China�s
daughter, and she had made her choices. She would do
anything for China, even turn against those who had
once been friends.
Mandarin phrases:
�ni hao, Wufei� means �hello, Wufei�
"ta ma de" means "goddamn you"
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Scene II: The Girl in the Mirror
�Everyday I fight a war against the mirror
I can't take the person staring back at me...
I'm my own worst enemy.�
--Pink, Don�t Let Me Get Me
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If she�d been asked a year ago, when she�d been up to
her neck in foreign affairs, country rebuilding, and
establishment of a new national government, Relena
Darlian Peacecraft would have readily admitted that
she hated politics. But she could never have dreamed
that she could hate it with such a passion as she did
now, a week into Quatre Raberba Winner�s trial, with
no end in sight, endless infighting among the seats of
the World Nation, and Fatima bint Narish smirking
around the corner at every turn.
There were times in which she had just wanted to
stand up, throw her papers on the ground, and storm
out. She wasn�t even sure what she was doing in the
trial � as the head of the Cinq Kingdom, she had the
duty to be there, but from the way the trial was
going, it was Fatima versus Carrington versus Keets,
and few people had managed to get a word in either
way. She�d worked hard to prepare a list of
statements, but it didn�t look like she would ever be
able to make them.
Once again, she had the power to change the world,
and once again, it meant nothing. If not for Sylvia
Noventa and Dorothy Catalonia, she wouldn�t have even
made it this far.
The manor was quiet as she let herself into the small
back entry hall, slipped off her shoes, and took the
narrow back stairs up to her suite. It was the house
servants� day off, and Relena was sure that they were
happily at home resting, wanting nothing to do with
the current state of world events. She didn�t blame
them.
�Dorothy?� she called as she stepped onto the landing.
No answer. The slanting sunlight through the large,
glass-paned ceiling windows bathed the hallway in a
comfortable late afternoon glow, and the grandfather
clock in the hall read 5:43. Dorothy had promised that
she and Sylvia would be back by 5:30. She sighed and
made her way down the hall, passing Catherine�s closed
door and Dorothy�s half-open one. From a glance inside
the other girl�s room at the unmade bed and the
clothes strewn carelessly in heaps over the chairs and
on the floor, it was good that the servants only had
one off day every week.
Relena closed the door of her room behind her, kicked
off her shoes in the antechamber, and shambled into
the bedroom. Flopping onto her bed, she stared at the
ceiling, so simple and white compared to the ornate,
painted ones of the Cinq palace back home. Dorothy�s
Geneva manor was small but elegant, just what she
would have expected an inherited home to be, and
Relena�s own rooms here were a charming suite,
decorated in what seemed to be a 17th century
Victorian meets 21st century Modernist cross-breed
design. Since she and Catherine had moved in, they
hadn�t seen hide nor hair of Duchess Noventa, which
was probably for the best, though Relena admitted
privately that she had rather a morbid curiosity as to
what the duchess would say to her, if they ever met. A
few side comments from the servants led her to believe
that Emily had gone back to France and would probably
be staying there.
That was one thorn out of their side. Just a million
more to go, and the world would be perfect.
Through the crushed velvet draperies, the sun was
setting softly in the west amidst a cloudbank of
brilliant gold and royal purple, and for a moment she
considered putting on a t-shirt and old jeans and
asking the gardeners down below, who were pruning the
roses, if she could go join them. When she had been
around five or six, one of the Darlian house gardeners
had taken her outside and showed her how to plant
seeds. She wasn�t sure why she still remembered that,
but the feel of the moist, crumbly soil and the hard
nub of the seed in her child�s palm were still vivid
memories.
She could hardly remember her father now. Her family.
Her real family, the Darlians, the ones who had raised
her and cared for her, the ones who had molded her
into who she was now. No matter how hard she tried to
envision them, to her the Peacecrafts were still and
always would be just portraits on a wall, a legend,
dim vision of glory and days gone by.
And then there was her brother.
A knock on the antechamber door scattered her
thoughts, and Relena jumped, realizing that she�d been
dozing and that she�d promised to meet Sylvia and
Catherine for a light supper out in the garden. No
rose pruning for the Queen of Cinq this evening.
�Sylvia?� she called, reluctantly standing and moving
towards the bath suite for a quick scrub and to change
out of her uncomfortable state dress.
The door opened and a curly head peeked through,
followed by Catherine�s inquiring voice, her lilting
French accent cutting a cheerful swath through the
room�s still air. �Are you all right? I heard you come
home, but you�ve been in here a while�Sylvia and
Dorothy are back and they were asking�.�
�I�m fine,� Relena assured her, turning to see
Trowa�s sister enter the bedroom, plopping down on the
warm comforter of her bed and turning to follow her
movements through the suite. �I�ll be right out�don�t
go away. Just need to wash up and change.�
�If I fall asleep, just wake me up,� Catherine called
from behind her, and Relena smiled wryly as she closed
the door and turned to shrug out of her suit.
She�d rid herself of the skirt and was unbuttoning her
blouse and reaching over to turn on the hot water when
she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye.
Jumping, she looked around cautiously, then realized
it was only her own reflection in the full-length
mirror by the bathtub. She straightened and glanced
once at it before going back to shedding her blouse,
but almost involuntarily, her fingers slowed on the
buttons and her eyes strayed back to the girl in the
mirror.
She was thin, Relena realized. She hadn�t looked at
herself in a mirror in a long time, really looked at
herself, as a person and not as a head of state. She
was losing weight. There were no dark circles under
her eyes, yet, but that was probably due to the makeup
she had had one of the servants cake on this morning
to mask the fact that she hadn�t slept well. She
needed to cut her hair. It was so plain, too�.so long
and drab and straight and fine. Fingering it, she
wondered how she would look with Catherine�s curls or
Dorothy�s thick, knee-length mane.
Letting her hands drop to her sides, she stepped
back, blue eyes meeting silvered cornflower in the
glass. The girl in the mirror looked back at her
uncertainly, slim shoulders and arms and small, firm
breasts partially hidden by the cover of white silk.
There was the hint of ribs poking out from her
stomach, smooth thighs and slender ankles looking more
like a girl�s than a woman�s.
The girl in the mirror was just a girl, after all.
Not a great crusader, not a promised heir of a lost
kingdom, not the saving grace of the world. Those were
just titles. Strip away the titles and you had simply
Relena.
�Who is Relena?� she wondered aloud to the mirror,
advancing and placing a hand on the shiny surface,
watching the shadowed girl�s hand come up to meet her,
reality meeting reflection. Perhaps that was all she
was, a female Narcissus, pretending to be the world
when the only person she was fooling was herself.
Blinking away tears, she wrenched herself away from
the mirror just as a soft knock sounded on the door.
�Relena?�
She didn�t answer, sliding down the side of the tub,
the hot water still running, staring at her feet. She
heard the door open, heard footsteps come in, a
concerned gasp.
�Oh�Relena�.did you fall asleep?�
She saw Catherine�s hands come up to her shoulders,
but the thought of anyone�s skin on hers made her
flesh crawl. She flinched, and the hands fell away.
�Oh�I�m sorry, Relena�I-�
�Do you think I�m worthless?� Relena interrupted
harshly.
She could almost hear the hundreds of questions
running through the other girl�s mind and rose heavily
to her feet, turning away. �Never mind. Forget it.�
�Why would you be worthless?� Catherine demanded.
�You�re Relena.�
She threw the blouse to the floor violently. �And who
is Relena?� she demanded. �You know, Catherine, it�s
easy to say that�.easy to be someone else. But when I
look in the mirror�I don�t even know who I am
anymore!�
If Catherine was bothered by the fact that the Queen
of Cinq was standing before her stark naked, she
didn�t show it. Instead, she moved past her, picked up
the blouse off the floor, and threw it into the dirty
clothes basket by the wall, then patted the edge of
the bathtub. �Here. Have a seat.�
Relena stared at her.
Catherine stared back for a second, standing still,
poised like a statue. Then looking like she�d come to
some sort of conclusion, she drew her sundress over
her head with one swift motion, then discarded her
slip, kicking her sandals off her feet and seating
herself gracefully on the edge of the tub with the
finesse of a born acrobat. �Now we�re on the same
level,� she said, pointing to the glass across from
the tub. �Look in the mirror and tell me what you
see.�
�You�re mocking me,� Relena said. The steam from the
running hot water was seeping into the air, swirling
around them.
Catherine�s large gray eyes were smoky and dark. �I
would never mock you. You know that.�
�I know,� she whispered, sinking down on the edge of
the tub. �I�just��
There was an arm around her shoulders, comforting,
giving her a squeeze before releasing her, and Relena
stared into the mirror again, seeing the two female
forms through the haze of steam. It surprised her to
see that Catherine�s arms and legs were not as
model-slender as her clothes usually made them seem,
and she felt guilty for assuming so. Catherine had an
acrobat�s body � muscular and toned, with strong arms
and shoulders and calf muscles � but it was a woman�s
body too, curved and full in all the right places. She
didn�t dare to look at her own reflection. Compared to
Catherine, she was woefully inadequate.
�What do you see, Relena?�
�You�re a woman,� Relena said softly, looking down at
her hands. �I�I�m just a girl.�
Catherine laughed, and the silvery sound caught her
by surprise as she involuntarily jerked her eyes up to
meet her friend�s gaze. �And you can tell that by just
looking at a reflection?�
Relena started to protest, but Catherine shook her
head, the amusement fading slowly from her voice.
�Mirrors tell us many things, Relena, and you�ve been
using them your whole life, haven�t you? I can tell.
You�re so professional, so serious even in private,
always carrying yourself like something will break if
you take a wrong step. Like this whole week. The
trial�s been wearing on you, hasn�t it?� Relena looked
up at her. Catherine nodded. �I was wondering when
this would happen. You�re afraid, aren�t you? Afraid
that if you make a mistake, there will be no mercy?�
�There is no mercy,� Relena said softly, almost
inaudibly over the rushing of the water from the tap.
�Millions might die if I make another one. I can�t
afford it.�
�I know,� Catherine said. �I admire you, you know.
Your strength�you�re very strong, whether you believe
me or not. You�re one of the strongest people I know.
Some people say that the pilots were strong, but I
think you�re stronger than they were.�
Relena frowned. �Now you�re lying.�
�I don�t lie,� Catherine snapped. �I tell it like it
is. I�m an acrobat, I�m a performer, and I have been
my whole life. I know what it is to be in the
spotlight and have to hold your head up high even
though your whole world has just been torn to bits. I
know what it is to cry silently, inside, and have no
one listen.� She closed her eyes briefly. �But you
know what?�
Relena twisted her hands together. �What?� she
murmured.
�I don�t have that strength that you have,� Catherine
said. �I don�t have the�serenity that you possess, the
hope you give everyone that life will go on and that
we will triumph. And maybe you don�t know that you
have it, and maybe that�s good and bad. Good because
you will never know what it�s like to be arrogant.
Bad�because if you decide to quit, you�ll never know
what the world has lost.�
�What do you mean?�
�I mean that we believe in you,� Catherine said
calmly, putting her hands on Relena�s shoulders and
turning her around to face her. �As a queen, as an
authority, as friend, as a woman, and as a girl.
Because I believe that each of us are all of these
things. We are each queen of our own domains, and we
are all children within our own hearts.�
�And you can tell that just from our reflections?�
Catherine grinned suddenly. �Didn�t anyone ever teach
you that we wandering gypsies can tell fortunes?�
Relena felt herself smile back. �Didn�t you just say
that you don�t lie?�
Suddenly, she felt herself drawn close in a hug. �No
matter what happens, Relena, I�m still your friend. No
matter what, no matter how you think of yourself. I�ll
be here. At least believe that.�
�Thank you,� Relena murmured, holding the embrace for
a second before drawing away. �I�m sorry�it�s been a
rough day��
�And I know it�ll continue to get rougher. No apology
needed.�
�Though,� Relena added, like an afterthought, �I still
don�t know if I can believe all that you said.�
�You can start by telling yourself that you do
matter,� Catherine returned. �That�s all it takes.�
�I�� She closed her eyes. �It�s easy for you. You
have Trowa. I�have no one.�
�What about your brother?�
She snorted, a sound that would have startled any of
her ministers if they had heard, but she didn�t care.
�What about him?�
�Well�� Catherine pursed her lips. �He is your
brother.�
She shrugged. �Yes. He is. That�s about it.� Zechs.
Milliard. Niisan. She tried to smile. �I haven�t heard
from him since he came back from his colonial
rebellion�I don�t think he wants to see me. Which is
fine, I suppose.�
�All right, what about Heero, then?�
The pain engulfed her like a wave. �Don�t talk about
him right now. I�can�t.�
�Maybe that�s what you need,� Catherine continued
ruthlessly. �You�ve avoided him long enough. You�ve
been wallowing in your own wounds. If you love him,
tell him!�
�It�s not that easy!� Relena snapped. �What about-�
�The past?� Catherine countered, standing suddenly,
her lithe athlete�s body seeming to coil like a
spring. �The past is past. You can�t change that. I
know you need him, Relena, and he needs you. That�s
it, you know?�
Relena blinked. �What?�
�You and him. Two halves of a whole. You both are the
kind of people who give the world hope.�
�That�s ridiculous,� she said, trying to laugh.
�I don�t lie,� Catherine said. �And I�m not talking
about romantic attraction, though I do hope there is
some kind of that in it. It�s�something more than
that. Something destined.� Her eyes were intense,
hopeful. �Trowa spoke of it once, and I didn�t
understand. But now I think I do. There are some
people who were meant for great things in each age,
and I believe you and Heero are the ones for our
times.�
�I�ve been trying,� Relena said. �I�ve been trying so
hard. I�m so tired, Catherine�I�m so tired of fighting
with words, but words are all I have!�
�You know what Trowa taught me? I never truly
understood why he fought�till now.�
She looked wearily up at Catherine. �What?�
�It�s something that I can�t see why I haven�t seen
before. Why he fights. He fights because it�s the
right thing to do.�
She stared at the other girl, trying to read the
thoughts behind those eyes. �What do you mean?�
�You�re strong, Relena. Do what you think is right.�
Before she could say anything more, Catherine was
moving towards the door, picking up her clothes from
the bathroom floor in one swift gesture and smiling.
�We�re late for dinner, I think. You better hurry.�
The girl in the mirror looked back at her as the door
closed, and Relena ran one hand slowly across her
cheek, her mouth, down between her breasts and across
her hips, wondering.
I�m so tired of fighting with words, but words are
all I have!
Do what you think is right.
Swallowing, she drew herself up, noting the proud set
of her shoulders, the tilt of her chin. She supposed
most people would call it the carriage of nobility. To
her, her reflection in the mirror still only looked
like a girl playing with fantasy, pretending to be
queen.
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Scene III: Sunlight Covered by Shadow
�It�s a do or die situation;
We will be invincible.�
--Pat Benatar, Invincible
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Etille�s office was lit by a single lamp, illuminating
the boxes in the corners of the room and the makeshift
desk that had been constructed out of a piece of
plywood and some cinder bricks. There were no windows.
The general had obviously been waiting for him, and
when Heero entered, he nodded.
�Ah. There you are. I must talk with you.�
No small talk, no inquiries about his health. Heero
wasn�t too surprised. From what he�d heard, Etille was
an old hand at this � a veteran of too many wars. The
lines on his still-young face were a testament to
that.
If he saw Heero�s scrutiny of his features, the
general gave no notice, only waving vaguely at a
straight-backed wooden chair by the desk. �Sit down,
Yuy.�
He sat.
Etille didn�t meet his eyes for a moment, and he
wondered what he had done this time. Perhaps he would
be expelled from Preventers Headquarters? When he got
the notice this morning that the general had wanted to
speak to him, he had assumed it was General Po. The
order had said nothing about which general, and he had
come down here thinking to see Sally�s face behind the
desk. But this changed everything.
�Where�s General Po?� he said abruptly.
For a moment, an iron kind of smile touched the
general�s eyes, then faded. �Not one to waste words, I
see.�
�I have few words,� Heero said quietly. �Therefore, I
waste none of them.�
�Astute.� Eyebrows curved upwards for a minute,
regarding him. �I will not lie to you, since this is
one of the things I called you in here for. Sally Po
has�betrayed the Preventers.�
He blinked.
Etille watched him, saying nothing, and for a moment
he wondered if this was a joke.
�Say again, sir?�
�You heard me the first time,� Etille said harshly.
�Po has evidently decided that the Preventers and the
World Nation are nothing more than some kind of
renewed Romafeller and Federation and has broken away.
She�s gone, Yuy. We sent an arrest warrant after her,
but she�s escaped somewhere.�
Betrayed?
Sally wouldn�t betray them. Sally was bright, brave,
the kind of woman that would defend what she loved to
the end, fiercely loyal to�her country�
And he understood.
�Where is Chang Wufei?�
He saw Etille�s approval of the question written in
the general�s eyes. �Chang is safe. On base. He
actually came down here last night, reporting that Po
had attempted a direct link to the comm in his room.
We�ve since changed the codes and the security
lockdown � that won�t be happening again.�
�But Wufei�is still with us.�
Etille smiled. �He gave us his oath that he was still
supporting the Preventers, and I think that oath means
a lot to him. He won�t betray us, no.�
He felt a sense of relief wash over him, blew out the
breath that he hadn�t realized he was holding. If
Wufei had gone�
�Chang says she has Heavyarms.�
He sat still, not sure how to take that last comment.
�Which is,� Etille continued, �precisely the reason
I�ve called you in here today.� He folded his arms
across the desk. His gaze made Heero a little
uncomfortable, but he didn�t look away. �How do you
feel about your skills in Wing Zero?�
If it had been two years ago, he would have simply
sneered at the general, knowing that he had what it
took to accomplish whatever mission was set for him.
But it wasn�t two years ago. He was no longer Heero
Yuy, the hope of the colonies, the invincible, perfect
soldier. Too much had changed since then � too many
memories, too many regrets, too many legacies of
trying to run away from his past.
He now knew that he couldn�t run much longer.
A thousand thoughts flitted through his mind, and it
wasn�t questions of what he would be doing in Wing
Zero, but the question of yes, how did he feel about
his piloting skills?
He hadn�t piloted his Gundam in years. Years could
make a lot of difference. He�d lost two years of his
life skulking in the shadows, trying to kill himself
without actively doing so, and knowing now that he had
been stupid didn�t change the past.
�I�m not sure,� he said cautiously.
Etille looked surprised. �Really?�
Heero shrugged. �It�s been a long time since I�ve
piloted. I�m sure muscle memory and all that would
come into play, but as far as skill�� he trailed off.
�Interesting,� the general mused.
�Why do you say that, sir?� he asked sharply.
Etille glanced at him before turning back to the
computer and typing in something. �Because from what I
have been told of you, that�s not the kind of answer I
would expect. Not from Heero Yuy.�
The comment stung, but he didn�t show it, made sure
his voice was carefully neutral before answering.
�Everyone grows up. Even Heero Yuy.�
The tapping of the fingers on the keyboard paused.
�Yes,� Etille agreed after a moment. �They do.�
�How do I know you�re not a traitor, sir?�
Etille blinked. �Excuse me?�
Heero shrugged. �Sally is a traitor. And I knew her.
How do I know that you�re not on her side, hoping to
ensnare me like she tried with Wufei?�
Etille smiled faintly. �You�ll just have to trust me
when I tell you that I am not. I hope I�m trustworthy
enough for that.�
�So is Sally,� Heero countered, and when the general
took his eyes off the computer screen to frown at him,
he shrugged again. �Just because she betrayed you
doesn�t mean that her cause has no merit. She�s a
passionate woman, and she�ll fight for what she
believes is the truth. That�s all war comes down to in
the end, I think. It�s about truth. About fighting for
what you believe is right. About fighting for your
version of what is true.�
�That�s the same as saying that there is no absolute
truth,� Etille said. �Is that what you mean?�
Heero smiled faintly. �If you�re asking me if I want
to betray you, don�t worry, I�m not going anywhere. My
life is here � my friends, my past�everything that I
fought for during the war is with the Preventers and
the World Nation. All I am saying is that if some
people think otherwise, especially if some of those
people are people who fought so hard to create this
new world, then our system could do with a little
change as well.�
�Everything could always do with a little change. The
world doesn�t stand still for anyone, Yuy. You realize
that.�
�I know,� he said. �But sometimes, it�s people like
Sally who make us see the truth in ourselves.�
People like Sally.
Like Doctor J.
Like Zechs.
Like Treize.
Treize Khushrenada�
�People like you,� Etille said.
He nodded. �Perhaps.�
�I�ve a mission for you,� Etille continued abruptly,
as if that break in conversation had never happened.
�I would prefer if you took someone along, someone who
is also adept in handling a Gundam, and preferably
someone you trust. I know there are five of you here.
Don�t take Winner. He�s busy with the trial. Anyone
else will do.�
�What mission, sir?�
Etille paused as a hard copy began printing itself
from the printer by the foot of the desk, next to one
cinder block. �I assume that you�re well enough versed
in military strategy to have read The Art of War, by
Sun Tzu?�
It had been required reading for Doctor J. He nodded.
�What does Sun Tzu say about foreknowledge?�
Heero thought back to those lessons, memorizing the
ancient text under Doctor J�s watchful eyes. ��What
enables the wise sovereign and the good general to
strike and conquer, and achieve things beyond the
reach of ordinary men, is foreknowledge,�� he quoted.
�Which means?�
Heero looked up at him. �You want me to be a spy.�
�Special operations,� Etille corrected.
He gave the general a shadow of a smile. �Same thing.
You want me to find Sally. You don�t know where she
is, and you think I can find her.�
�Can you?�
They stared at each other for a moment over the
makeshift desk with the light of the lamp burning into
Heero�s eyes, and he saw the ghosts of a hundred
battles flit up over him, saw as if in a dream the
shadow of Treize rise up over Etille�s shoulders and
give him a look of cool calculation.
What are you made of, Heero Yuy?
He grasped onto the name as if it were a stronghold,
a beacon of light out of the darkness. He was Heero
Yuy. Not Wing, not a no-name assassin, not the drug
addict that had forcefully buried himself under the
pile of sludge that he�d called home for the past two
years. It was time to face the present, whether he
liked it or not.
�That depends on who I take along.�
Etille�s eyes narrowed. �And who would that be?�
He kept his face blank, a study in
expressionless-ness that would have made the old Heero
Yuy proud, though inside he wanted to smile, because
as Etille asked the question, he already knew. There
had been no decision.
�Duo Maxwell,� he said.
Ninmu�ryoukai.
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Scene IV: Quatrana Winner�s Son
�Kikanai de kure Doko kara kita no ka
Hiumenai de kure Kono kizu ni
Hiumenai de kure Nakushita kinou ni
Tomenai de kure Sore ijou
Don�t ask of me to tell you where I�m from.
Don�t bury me in this wound.
Don�t bury me in the lost yesterdays.
Don�t stop me any further.�
- Bishouji Senshi Sailor Moon,
Kaze ni Narita (I Want to Be the Wind)
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It was not pleasant.
Everyone had faults, Quatre knew, but hearing all of
his being paraded before the entire world was not
anything he had ever wanted to happen. Still, he
retained an attentive and interested expression, even
though all he wanted to do was squirm in his chair.
Every now and then Yaminah would kick his leg slyly
and he would realize that his attention was wandering.
The cameras were getting on his nerves. There were
ten different ones placed all over, and different news
agencies were tapping into it at all times. Two of
them were on him, and he knew that many women were
falling in love with him. He�d already received
marriage proposals. If he got off, he�d be even more
famous, and one of the ten most eligible bachelors in
known space.
The very thought of it gave him an ulcer.
Right now, nine days into the trial, a panel of five
expert witnesses each side had agreed on were
reviewing his mental state and capabilities. It
consisted of a psychologist, a psychiatrist, an expert
on the Zero System, a physiologist, and a neurologist,
all of whom were extremely apolitical. Still, Quatre
was developing an active dislike for the Zero System
expert, who was staring at him like he was a specimen,
and the neurologist was examining him like he was a
slug.
Fatima currently was directing the questioning. �How
would you describe Mr. Winner, from the reports you
have received?� she was asking the panel.
The psychologist, who was of the psychoanalytic
school, was thoughtful. �He has issues with his
father, obviously. He is shy, probably because his
mother died when he was young, and probably was
somewhat repressed from being the youngest of thirty
exceptional children� of which he is no doubt the most
outstanding. He has always has everything he ever
wanted, so Federation rule would be untenable to him.
His rebellion phase is similar to that of other rich
boys- throwing all their parent�s values in their
face, going out and being destructive, and then
accepting them.�
�Winner is part of a family known for their
empathetic abilities. It�s been theorized that when
eventually one of the offspring would reach a point
where their abilities were out of control- I think
that point has been reached in Quatre, and we�ve seen
the results- the destruction of two colonies.� Dr.
Rhea took a sip of her water after making her
pronouncement, as though she hadn�t just denounced
him.
Quatre just looked at him carefully, wondering exactly
what the psychiatrist was talking about. Rhea
obviously knew nothing about how the uchuu no kokoro
worked. The doctor shifted at the calm look in the
pilot�s eyes, apparently disconcerted.
The next one to speak was the Gaels, Zero System
expert, and he cemented Quatre�s dislike. �Insane.�
�Can you elaborate?� Fatima prodded when it became
apparent that Gaels had no intention of continuing.
�There are only three people who have ever mastered
the Zero System: Heero Yuy, Quatre Winner, and Lady
Dorothy Catalonia.� His eyes briefly shifted to where
Dorothy was watching the proceedings, seated besides
Relena. �We�re going to discount Lady Catalonia,
because she�s a woman, and the female mind may react
differently to the Zero� according to records, she�s
the only woman to ever use it.
�Every male to use it, though, went insane and
experienced �visions� of some sort. Even pilots
Barton, Peacecraft and Chang, who all could be
considered on Winner�s level, experienced severe
disorientation. The only two to ever master the use
of the Zero were Winner and Yuy. Yuy has, through
almost all accounts, experienced severe genetic
engineering, and no one considers him to be� of common
morality. Winner is the same- he does what he wants,
when he wants.�
�We all know that he was genetically engineered,� the
physiologist said. �The Winner family is notorious
for manipulating their children, and sometimes the
manipulations result in disorders, creating
psychopaths... or a sociopath. I think Winner�s
manipulations are part of the problem.�
�You�re wrong,� Jaffa said, coming to her feet. She
pulled back the face veil she was wearing and stepped
away slightly from Quatre after casting him a
melancholy look. Something in her dark eyes warned him
that she was about to do something he wasn�t going to
like, but it was something she believed was in his
best interests.
Quatre turned to look at her, along with the court.
It was well known that all of the Winner offspring
were test-tube children, and Jaffa was denying it?
What is she doing? He wondered.
�While Quatre experienced some of the standard genetic
manipulations that most colonial-bred children in the
middle or upper class have, that happened while
Quatrana Winner was carrying him, not in any test
tube. Some of the manipulations you are claiming were
performed are impossible for a natural child.�
The room froze.
�Neesan� don�t perjure yourself�� he whispered softly.
Jaffa ignored the members of the World Nation, and
turned to her younger brother, and spoke as though
they were the only ones there. �I have medical
records that prove that Quatrana Winner died due to
the stress of child birth,� she said softly.
The young blond felt the truth flowing from the family
matriarch, and felt something inside him crack open, a
part he thought he had healed by meeting the
Maguanacs. �Neesan?� he whispered.
She fell to her knees beside him, uncaring of her fine
clothes, or the eyes of the world. Her poor empathy
wouldn�t let her share her brother�s pain, but his
sapphire blue eyes could conceal nothing. �It was
something Father never wanted you to know. Quatrana
so wanted to have you� and Father could deny her
nothing. But she was too frail to survive a
childbirth, and not even the best doctors could save
her.�
She picked up his clammy hands and rubbed them
together, trying to restore warmth to them. He
forced himself to focus on her tanned face, and
Yaminah was rubbing his back, but he barely felt them.
His heart was somewhere else, and his mind was
divorcing itself from where it was. This was� it was
too much.
It was the neurologist, a doctor named LaRock, though,
who surprised them all. She looked at them, and a
sympathetic smile formed on her previously
professional face. Reeshya looked at her as she felt
a sudden shift in mood. �Something else none of you
are mentioning. Quatre is an empath; that is true.
But you forget to mention that people around him can�t
help loving him. Everyone listens to what he says,
because he cares about them and always does his best
to see that
�It that�s what you call insanity, I hope that I�ll be
that insane someday.�
Fatima�s rage was so intense that Quatre felt it
through even through his dazed confusion.
The Senate stared at her, but Yaminah looked at
President Alderman. �I�d like to call for a thirty
minute recess,� she said.
�Granted,� he said, rising to his feet and leaving the
room after hitting the button that would shut the
newswire off.
The Senate members milled around, playing their games,
while Quatre sat in shock. It was a relief to have
the cameras off him, but the Senate was still there,
so he couldn�t completely lose it. �Why?� he
whispered. �Why wasn�t I told?� he asked.
�Father� didn�t want to hurt you,� Yaminah said. She
straightened some of the files, and exchanged glances
with Carrington. �LaRock seems to like you��
�LaRock sees the truth,� a voice said, and they looked
up to see the expert witness come over and stand in
front of them.
�You�ll compromise us if you stand here,� Carrington
said in her typically straight to the point fashion.
�I just wanted to say one thing,� the doctor
continued. �There�s one thing you need to remember,
Winner. No matter if you win or lose, the public will
make their own judgement. Don�t worry about playing
the political game to the point of killing your soul.
Play it, but keep your heart� it�d be a shame to see a
soul like yours die.� She nodded at them before
returning to the table where she was assigned.
Something about that snapped Quatre back to himself.
�Father� he loved me, didn�t he? Sometimes I
wondered.�
�Father loved you most of all,� Reeshya replied. �I
knew him best- I may have been his favorite daughter,
but you were his favorite. After what Jaffa just
said, I don�t think it was because you were the son
and heir. I think it was because Okaasan died giving
birth to you. You were her last gift to him. And
that�s why you scared him- you must be a lot alike��
Jaffa laughed lightly, and Yaminah chuckled as well.
�When this is over, we�ll tell you about her. She was
very like you- gentle, but with a will of iron. No
one denied her what she truly wanted.�
Yaminah smiled and turned Quatre�s face so she could
look into it. �You look more and more like her every
day. It must have hurt him greatly to see you.�
Quatre smiled softly, and felt a weight lift from his
heart. �I� I need to think on this, but there�s no
time to think.�
�Or talk to friends,� Reeshya said, nodding to where
Trowa was talking quietly to Catherine. �When was the
last time you were able to speak to him?�
�Two days ago.�
�You�ll need to fix that� and have you seen any of the
others? They�re all on base� and I don�t think you�ve
talked to Duo or Heero yet.�
He felt something tighten inside of him. �Duo� I
wouldn�t mind seeing, but he�s mad at Trowa. And
Heero��
Reeshya had always been particularly in sync with her
younger brother, and nodded. �Later.�
�What about them?� Carrington suggested, shifting her
eyes towards the seats in the Senate where Dorothy,
Relena and Sylvia were sitting.
�I� I� don�t know Sylvia that well�� He felt the lump
in his stomach grow,
�But what about Dorothy or Relena? They�d be valuable
allies�� Carrington suggested, and Yaminah nodded.
�I think we have some business to take care of��
Yaminah said, and grabbed Reeshya and Jaffa, and
Carrington trailed along after.
Quatre was left along for the first time in ages, and
he knew what was going to happen. He raised his eyes
and made eye-contact with the trio.
Seeing all three young women together almost made
Quatre blink. Sylvia and Relena looked alike enough
to be sisters, and Dorothy was another blonde who bore
enough resemblance to be mistaken for a cousin by
blood, rather than marriage. It was a remarkable
thing that they were some of the most powerful
politicians in known space at their age. Relena gave
him a gentle smile, while Silvia�s face remained
serene. Only Dorothy came down to speak with him,
weaving her way through the three rows of chairs that
separated them.
�Hello, Quatre,� she said.
�Hello, Dorothy. How have you been?�
�The polite thing to do would be lie and say quite
well, but you�ve had enough lies thrown at you today.�
She smiled at him, and he was surprised that it
wasn�t a malicious or sneaky smile, but a genuinely
welcoming one. �I haven�t seen you since we said
goodbye on the Peacemillion.�
Dorothy�s smile grew sad and she reached out to rest
her hand on his cheek gently. She whispered to him,
�Quatre Raberba Winner.... exactly as I thought....
Out of all the Gundam pilots... you're the one who's
most misunderstood.� The words echoed across time, and
suddenly he was thrown back in time back, fighting
this girl aboard the ship, pitting his uchuu no kokoro
and her control of the Zero System against each other,
ending in the defeat of them both.
His eyes widened and he stared into her face,
surprised at the sympathy there. �What has happened
to you, Dorothy?� he asked. It seemed like all the
anger she had used to motivate her actions had been
drained away, replaced by a more serious, and
ultimately powerful, determination.
�I suppose you could say I grew up.� Her hand
dropped away and she glanced back where Relena and
Sylvia were sitting and watching them. �I asked you
once what you fought for, and you said that you fight
for the people... and now I ask you another question.
What have they done for you in return?� Again, her
words seemed to come from the past, yet they seemed to
be more poignant then they had when she had first said
them. They were no longer children dancing to a tune
they barely understood; now they were adults who had
shaped the world, and were suffering for their actions
in the past.
Quatre smiled over at his sisters. �I fought to
protect my family�. And now they�re fighting to
protect me. What more could I ask for?� he asked
quietly.
That seemed to cause her breath to catch. �What
more indeed?� she whispered softly. �You�ve seen who
values you, and you know the truth. You can look
yourself in the mirror, and respect the person you
see. What more could you want?� Dorothy looked over
to where Trowa has joined his sisters and Carrington.
�When you speak to Trowa, can you do me a favor?� she
asked.
He nodded. �What?�
�Tell him I�ve learned how to cry. He�ll know what
that means�� She nodded at him graciously as the bell
sounded, warning that the meeting would reconvene in
two minutes. Then she turned away and went back to
her seats, moving like a willow in the breeze.
Quatre watched her go. �You�re still kinder than I
am�� he whispered. He wondered how many video cameras
had caught their private conversation, and decided he
didn�t care. One of the ghosts of his past had been
laid to rest, giving him a chance to make a new friend
who would support him. He smiled slightly. He could
almost feel at peace. The past was just that- he was
not in his parent�s shadow anymore� and people like
Dorothy were part of his future.
He and Dorothy Catalonia were finally on the same
side. It felt right� and after all, what more could
he ask for? If he and Dorothy could come to
understand and believe in each other, who knew what
possibilities the world held?
!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!* !*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*
!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!
Scene V: Ties Never Binding
�Please come now, I think I'm falling
I'm holding to all I think is safe.
It seems I found the road to nowhere
And I'm trying to escape.�
--Creed, One Last Breath
!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!* !*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*
!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!
When the knock sounded on his door, he was still half
asleep, and his only response to the insistent rapping
was to pull his bedcover up over his head and mumble,
�Go away.�
�Hey, open up!�
He was instantly awake, old reflexes coming to the
fore before he could help himself, sitting bolt
upright in his belt and fingers groping for a gun when
he realized two things.
One, he was in the Preventers Headquarters, no longer
in the Breaks, and an attacker was unlikely to try to
break into his room by knocking and requesting entry.
And two, that the voice at the door sounded very
familiar.
Too familiar.
He rose stealthily to his feet, throwing on a pair of
pants and slipping his gun into one pocket before
padding towards the door, knowing what he�d find on
the other side even before he opened it.
The pair of dark cobalt-blue eyes on the other side
had barely even time to blink at him before he growled
a grated, �Leave,� and slammed the door in Wing�s
face, bolting it and leaning against it firmly as if
he could stop the other from entering just with the
force of his body. He realized he was breathing hard,
as if he had just sprinted up a flight of stairs in
pursuit of some target.
�Darkflight!� Wing�s voice was muffled, but his words
were clear. �Come on, dammit!�
�I�m not opening the door for you, you fucking
asshole, so you can waste your time somewhere else!�
�Hey! Hey, listen to me, just open the door, all
right?�
He pretended he didn�t hear the voice on the other
side, pretended he couldn�t hear the hurt and anger
that it carried. His heart was still beating fast and
he pressed one hand to his chest, trying to calm it,
as he stared at the far wall, trying not to think of
her.
She�s dead. You killed her.
Atsuki was dead, and it was all because of the boy on
the other side of the door.
He didn�t understand how she could have died for him.
For the unforgiving, lying, cheating son of a bitch
that he had once known as his partner, Wing. The same
boy who had worked faithfully side by side with him,
the same boy who had left him as soon as fame and
fortune came his way. It had all been a joke to him,
hadn�t it? All that he, Darkflight, had sweated and
worked and killed for, had been a game to Wing.
Some friend.
He shouldn�t even call him Wing anymore, because Wing
was the silent, haunted boy of his past, strangely
noble even in the midst of his sin. He didn�t know the
boy on the other side of the door. Heero Yuy. The name
stuck on his tongue as he tried to whisper it, to see
how it sounded, and he let it die unspoken. It was
funny how names had a way of clinging to a person�s
identity, and how they could never be shed without
renouncing the person you had once been.
He had always been Darkflight, as far back as he
could remember. He had never needed to be anyone else.
�Darkflight! Open the damn door!�
�Why should I?� he countered harshly, pressing his
palms against the smooth wood, wishing there would be
a splinter or two to jolt him back to reality with the
stinging pain.
�Because I want to talk to you.�
�Oh, so it�s all about you is it?� Darkflight spat
sarcastically, idly wondering if there was anyone in
the hallway outside besides Wing. He had a feeling
that anyone passing by would be a little alarmed at
this conversation. �All about you. Always been about
you. I don�t matter unless you acknowledge me, and
then I exist to do your every bidding. Since you�ve
gotten here you haven�t even as much as said two words
to me, and now you need to talk to me. Sorry. Not
happening.�
�It�s not-�
�I�m not listening to any of your damn lies!� he
shouted, kicking the door. It rattled on its hinges.
�I�m no longer part of your private world, so why
don�t you just get the hell out of here and get your
ass back to your fancy new friends, where it belongs?�
There was a silence and Darkflight thought for a
moment that Wing had simply left. The thought weighed
down his heart strangely, and he cursed under his
breath, ashamed of himself for being so weak. Wing
meant nothing to him. Nothing�
�They�re not my new friends, Darkflight. I might have
known them once but I don�t anymore. Not now. They
don�t�you know me better.�
�I thought I knew you.�
�Come on, Darkflight. You�re one of the only friends
I have in this fucking place.�
�If you think I�ll suddenly break down in sobs and
open the door, you�re wrong,� he growled.
�Look, give me five minutes. Just five.�
It was the pleading note in Wing�s voice that made
him open the door more than anything else, because
he�d never heard Wing sounded that desperate before,
and it weirded him out. Reluctantly, he unbolted the
door and swung it open.
The first thing he noticed was that his former
partner had cut his hair. It was a bit ragged, as if
he�d done it himself with a blunt knife, but it hung
loosely around his ears. Wing saw him looking.
�Yeah, did that a couple of days ago. I think I might
need a mirror next time��
Darkflight rolled his eyes and he saw Wing raise his
eyebrows slightly. In any other person, that might
have been a smile. They�d never smiled, in the Breaks.
He didn�t ever think he�d seen Wing smile. He moved
aside from the entrance and let the other boy walk
cautiously into the room, surreptitiously scanning the
walls as if searching for traps.
�If I�d wanted to kill you, I�d have done it by now,�
Darkflight said, turning to lock the door.
�Sorry.�
�You�ve a lot to be sorry for.�
He saw Wing clench his fists once, tightly, then
relax his hands at his sides. �Darkflight, I�m sorry
about Atsuki.�
�No you�re not.�
Wing sighed heavily. His voice was bitter, laced with
heavy sorrow. �I know it�s hard for you to imagine me
being sorry for anything, but you can�t imagine the
shit I went through after it happened, all right? I�ve
done penance twenty times over and it�ll never be
enough. Not for me, not for you, not for Quatre.
So�just drop it, all right? I don�t need you on my ass
hounding me about her too.�
Darkflight swallowed. �I just-�
�You loved her too.� At Darkflight�s slight look of
shock, Wing hurried on. �I know. We all loved her.�
�How�s her-� his throat stuck on the word.
�-brother?�
�I don�t think he�s hasn�t forgiven me yet.� Wing
sounded strangely gentle, his eyes old and sad. �I
don�t know if he ever will. He�s changed. A lot.�
Darkflight shrugged. There was an uncomfortable
moment of silence.
Then Wing said: �I�m just�sorry.� Looking at
Darkflight as if he would understand.
And in a moment of clarity, it came to Darkflight
what Wing meant about not knowing his old friends
anymore. He�d assumed � naively � that it had been
Wing that had gone running to them, abandoning his old
life and responsibilities. But it hadn�t been, after
all. In fact it had been them who had gone running to
Wing. Because there was something about the boy that
drew people to him like a magnet, no matter how hard
he tried to stop them.
Atsuki had been one of those unlucky enough to be
drawn close enough that she would never be unable to
escape no matter how hard she tried. Just like the
other four Gundam pilots. General Une. The girl
Relena, Queen of the Cinq Kingdom.
And Darkflight.
�It�s all right,� he said after a moment. �I
understand.�
And with that, it was all right. It was how things
were sometimes � a long period of enmity banished by
just a look and a word. There were no long, drawn-out
apologies, no embracings and no explicitly stated
bonds of friendship. They hadn�t needed that when they
had started.
Perhaps Wing hadn�t changed as much as he had
thought.
Wing�s mouth drew back in a shadow of a smile, as
much as Darkflight had ever seen him smile, and he
offered an awkward smile in return. It felt strange,
so he dropped it after a few seconds and jerked his
head towards the other boy.
�What�d you come for? Just for that?�
Wing shrugged. �I�I�m leaving.�
Darkflight blinked. �No one�s stopping you. Door�s
that way. You just came through it two seconds ago.�
�No, you fucking moron, I�m leaving. Leaving Geneva.�
He stared. �What?�
Wing shrugged apologetically and a little
uncomfortably. �I�m not even supposed to be telling
you this, but I didn�t want to leave again and not
tell you where I was going. Duo and I are going on a
special operations mission. We won�t be back for�a
while.�
Darkflight felt a chill of fear slide down his back.
It was a new and rather frightening experience in
itself. He�d watched Wing leave for a hundred missions
and never felt any fear � knew that his partner might
die and accepted it as a fact of life. But now�it was
different. Somehow.
�Darkflight?�
�Don�t go,� he said.
Wing was watching him with a strange look, a look he
imagined he might have if he�d seen Darkflight in the
middle of the street doing a stripshow. �What did you
just say?�
�Nothing,� he muttered, feeling stupid. �Forget it.�
�It�s not�� Wing began, and he knew that the other
boy would now be trying to comfort him. He felt like a
child being lectured by a parent. �It�s not like you
haven�t seen me go on missions before, in the Breaks.
It�s the same, right?�
�No it�s not!� he bit out. �It�s not��
Wing frowned.
�In the Breaks,� Darkflight said, then stopped,
trying to collect his fragmented thoughts that seemed
to skip out of his grasp the more he reached for them.
�In the Breaks�we were never�alive.�
The look on Wing�s face was unreadable, and
Darkflight was afraid he might have gone too far, made
his former partner think he was trying to persuade him
to go back with him, but then he realized that wasn�t
it at all. Wing looked strangely reluctant, as if
there was something he wanted to say but didn�t want
to.
�Stop that,� Darkflight said at last. �You�re
creeping me out.�
�There�s something I need to tell you�something about
the Breaks,� Wing said. He seemed to be struggling
with the words. �Promise me�you won�t hate me.�
�Why would I hate you?� he said, feeling a strange
sense of foreboding.
�I went to see General Etille,� Wing continued in a
rush, as if to get this all out in the open. �And
after he�d finished telling me about my mission, he
told me that General Brown had been asking about you.�
�Me?�
�Apparently a kid named Shinobu has been talking
about you�trying to get some information.� Wing
paused. �One of Duo�s friends. I think you�ve�met.�
Raised eyebrow.
�Yeah,� Darkflight muttered. �We�ve met. Pity I
didn�t kill him when that happened.�
Wing raised the other eyebrow. It was rather
disconcerting to see him acting this calm and
composed, like a rational human being, but he supposed
that with the drugs out of his system, Wing could be
as rational as anyone else. �He then asked me if I
knew anything about your past. I said no. I told him
you didn�t even know anything.�
�I don�t.�
�Well, anyway, he found that pretty interesting and
took me over to the computer and started pulling up
files.�
Darkflight realized where this was leading. He
realized that he didn�t want to hear it.
�Stop,� he said.
Wing�s eyes were haunted. �You need to know this.
Brown is apparently better connected than I thought,
�cause I saw what Etille was pulling � all these files
on the Breaks and Operation Meteor and this thing
called Operation Ares that I�d only heard of briefly,
a long time ago when I was a kid.�
�When you were a kid?� Darkflight wondered, curious
in spite of himself.
�Yeah. Doctor J�my uh, mentor,� Wing said, fishing
around for a word, �told me that I�d been engineered
by scientists from some Operation Ares. He didn�t say
much more than that�I figured there wasn�t more, but I
guess I was wrong.�
His mind briefly reached back into himself, and he
saw the flashes of light and bits of voices that had
been haunting him since he could remember. He shook
his head slightly and they vanished.
�Anyway, the files that Etille had drawn up�they
were all records. Of the Breaks. Of one family in the
Breaks�� Wing held Darkflight�s gaze for a moment
before looking away. �The Shionji cartel.�
Darkflight gave a bitter laugh. �Don�t tell me that
that fucking kid�s got you believing it too.�
�What?�
�Don�t lie,� he snapped. �The day he saw me he swore
up and down that I was one of the heirs to the Shionji
Cartel. Which is ridiculous because it fell ages ago.
No children or anything left. Any heirs would have to
be more than forty years old by now.�
Wing hesitated. �Etille showed me the files�they were
some records. Really old ones. Spoke of a preliminary
experiment to Operation Ares. An experiment which
failed and in which the subjects had been placed in
stasis, but the facility was believed to have been
destroyed by the Black Diamond Cartel�33 years before
the War.�
Darkflight�s throat was dry, and he put up a hand, as
if to ward off the words coming out of his friend�s
mouth. �That�s not true. You�re making it up.�
�The kid�s name that they did this experiment on was
Shionji Hideki,� went on Wing almost ruthlessly. �This
experiment was the first one of its kind, the one that
pioneered genetic testing experiments on all the
subjects that followed. Including many of the Gundam
pilots. Including me.�
�I don�t understand,� Darkflight said hoarsely. He
remembered the hands out of the fog. He heard his own
voice shouting, Niisan! And he heard the voice
responding, calling out something, though he could
never hear what.
�There�s no way to be sure,� Wing said, in a voice
that was a little too gentle, �There weren�t any
genetic samples and the rest of the cartel is long
gone�but if you really are Shionji Hideki, that
means�we�re the same. You and I. You�d be my �older
brother� so to speak. You were the prototype
experiment for me.�
No.
He looked at Wing. He could see it in Wing�s eyes �
that he terribly wanted to believe it. That he
terribly wanted Darkflight to believe it.
Prototype experiment.
So now he wasn�t a friend, not even a person�he was a
thing. Words on a computer screen.
Wing was glancing at him with a kind of hopeful, yet
uneasy expression, and he just couldn�t bring himself
to touch him, though all he wanted to do was beat his
former partner�s face in. His hands were trembling and
he locked them together behind his back.
�Prototype experiment,� he said, his expression
wooden. �So that�s it. Why you came to see me. Is that
all I am? An experiment?�
�That�s not what I meant-�
�You never cared about me, did you? Don�t lie to me,
Wing. Don�t give me your fucking shit.�
�I�ve never lied to you!� Wing ground out. He was
getting angry. Good. �I�m trying to tell you that we
have something in common�that the only reason I�m here
is because of you! I thought you�d like that. I
thought-�
�Well, damn,� said Darkflight in mock surprise. �It�s
not enough for you to want me to fulfill your every
wish, but you want me to acknowledge that between the
two of us, you�re the better copy. The better
experiment. Isn�t that what you want?�
�We were both exp-�
�I AM NOT A FUCKING EXPERIMENT!� he roared. �I. AM.
A. PERSON!�
�If you would just fucking LISTEN to me instead of-�
�I don�t even know why I listened to you in the first
place!� Darkflight cried. �Talk all you want, but I�m
not listening to your bullshit anymore!�
He sprang across the carpet, flinging open the door,
didn�t stop as it slammed into the wall but kept
running, down the hallway out the door. He was going
to find Shinobu. He was going to have some words with
the boy.
Some very strong words, because whoever said that the
pen was mightier than the sword had another think
coming.
*
He�d just gotten back from lunch with Helena and had
half a mind to go look for Duo just to check up on
him. There was a stack of papers sitting on his bed,
forms he had been given to fill out for a security
clearance. He didn�t know what to do with them. He
picked them up, glanced once more at the blank spaces
on the sheet.
Father�s name. Mother�s name. Mother�s maiden name.
Hometown.
What was that? Black Diamond Cartel, the Breaks, L1?
No, they wouldn�t be giving him any kind of clearance
any time soon.
Since the attacks, Duo had been around more, with
Hilde tagging along by his side, but usually it was
just a smile and a half-hearted wave and a �we�ll be
back later� before they would disappear again. He�d
mentioned to Helena today how Duo always seemed to
have a look of desperation about him these days, and
she had nodded.
He looks old, she said. Very old.
They�d been watching the trial on the vidscreen
whenever they could. Helena had been close by lately,
ever since he had heard of his grandfather�s death. It
shocked him sometimes that he wasn�t more upset by the
news. It had certainly shocked Helena two days ago
when he�d come back from being called into General
Etille�s office and she had asked him what was wrong,
and he had replied calmly, oh, my grandfather was
murdered yesterday.
Just like that.
The bastard had had it coming to him, and it was hard
for Shinobu to even remember his grandfather as
anything else but a conniving, cunning drug lord who
didn�t give a damn about anybody or anything except
his own hide. But still, he had been family. Pretty
much the only family Shinobu had had.
And the more troubling side of this was that he
didn�t know where that put him now.
General Etille had mentioned something about no clear
line of succession and how the cartel was probably
going to go down just like the Shionji cartel had,
years ago. He�d stood there while the general had put
one hand on his shoulder, murmuring consoling words
about how he knew it was hard to lost a family member,
and wondering if he needed any help.
He�d wanted to laugh in Etille�s face, but the man
meant well, and he didn�t need to know about the
confusing mass of Breaks politics that the Black
Diamond Cartel was. He certainly didn�t know who Seki
Hikaru had named as his successor before he died.
Shinobu had wondered why General Po wasn�t the one to
break the news to him, seeing as she seemed to have
been most interested in his past and his grandfather�s
past involvement with the Breaks, but Etille had
merely shrugged and looked away when he had mentioned
it.
Shinobu hadn�t asked further.
He knew two things right now: one, that the war of
succession was likely to be going on a very long time,
and two, the only way to stop it was for him to go
back to the Breaks.
Because he was the rightful heir, no matter what
Etille had been told. He had been appointed the next
successor in line to the seat of power if anything
should happen to Seki Hikaru. His grandfather had
always been planning for the worst. It had been a
cheap deal, but it was done, and he could not hide and
pretend to be Matsuura Shinobu for much longer.
It was the last thing he wanted to do, go back to the
Breaks.
He didn�t want the cartel.
Family pride and his sense of what was right warred
within him for a moment, and he threw the security
clearance papers back on his bed, gritting his teeth
and turning to head outside to look for Duo. He needed
some advice.
He�d gotten about two paces towards the door when
pounding footsteps outside made him pause, and then
before he even realized what had happened, a figure
raced through the doorway.
�What-� Shinobu began.
He felt something grab his right wrist and force him
against the wall. A flash of pain numbed his right
hand for a second and he struggled, but the other was
strong, too strong for him. The door slammed. He felt
something cold next to his temple.
If the moment hadn�t been so unexpected, Shinobu
might have laughed.
I�d wondered how I was going to die, but it never
played out quite like this before.
�Don�t say a word,� a voice growled in his ear and he
decided it was best to play by his captor�s rules by
now. He let his arms hang down to his sides, relaxing
his muscles. The touch of cold metal on his temple did
not waver.
�You told them.�
His captor thrust his face close, and Shinobu�s heart
stopped for a second.
It was the boy Darkflight.
�You � what are you-�
�You told them,� Darkflight said again, growling low
and dangerously in his throat. The strange mixed
features of his face, so Asian and yet so not, were
twisted, almost unrecognizable in their predatory
hatred. He�d known Darkflight was an assassin, had
known that Shadowwing had been just about the best
assassin group there was on L1, but he�d never come
face to face with an assassin before. His grandfather
had used them, of course. But that was his
grandfather. And when he�d faced Darkflight before,
the boy hadn�t seemed anything that he couldn�t have
taken on, given a moment�s notice. A threat, yes.
Something to be afraid of, no.
Now he understood just dangerous a fully-trained and
lethal assassin could be. In that last encounter,
Darkflight had been angry, heated, in motion, but now
all that active hatred had seemed to seep back into
his muscles, coiled rigidly along his naked shoulders
and back, leaving him cold, calm. Like death. Looking
into Darkflight�s eyes, into the cold, empty irises
that stared into his with unblinking malice, Shinobu
felt a shiver of pure terror crawl up his back.
�I told them what?� he said, struggling to keep his
voice calm. Damned if he was going to show fear in
front of this boy, assassin or not.
I am the heir to the Black Diamond Cartel. I am.
�You told them about the operation,� Darkflight
whispered, pressing the gun more firmly along
Shinobu�s temple. �You told them about me.�
Shinobu stared as boldly as he could back into those
eyes. �I did.�
�Why?� For the first time, the mask cracked, and
Shinobu felt a leap of hope. Darkflight hadn�t come to
kill him�he�d come for answers. He�d been troubled by
this as much as Shinobu had; his very presence in this
room now was proof of that.
Could Shinobu give him answers?
�Who told you that?� he said simply.
�Wing.� The word was a low crackle of sound in the
other boy�s throat. Something had happened, Shinobu
realized, looking into those black eyes.
Wing�Heero�had�
It clicked into place.
�He went to see General Etille, didn�t he?� Shinobu
pressed. �Etille got the files from somewhere. The
bastard.�
�I won�t become a part of your game,� Darkflight
said, and for the first time Shinobu noticed that he
was breathing heavily. �I�m not an experiment. I won�t
be.�
�I never said-�
�Wing did,� Darkflight said, eyes cold once again.
�He said that we were both experiments. He said that I
was his prototype. He used me. I won�t be used!�
Shinobu stared at him, sure that something had
snapped and the former assassin was now raving mad.
And the last thing he needed was to be killed by an
insane assassin � that would help no one�s cause right
now. He took a deep breath.
�Darkflight. I never said you were an experiment.�
�You said-�
�It was merely conjecture. I knew you were from the
Breaks. I was lonely here, and I need some company,
and I thought you and I could perhaps get along. I
meant no harm.�
�Bullshit,� Darkflight spat. �You were out to get me
from the beginning. You and your high and mighty �I am
the heir to the Black Diamond Cartel� fucking
manipulations. You want me dead, but I�ll kill you
first, and there will be no one left to tell the tale.
I�ll put an end to your cartel!�
That was too much. For a brief flash, Shinobu saw his
grandfather in front of him again, speaking to him.
Rage welled up in his heart, rage and grief and pity
that he never knew he had towards the family he had
disowned. He moved, too quickly for Darkflight, who
wasn�t expecting his catch to struggle. The gun felt
to the ground with a clatter, and Shinobu was pinning
Darkflight to the floor, one knee in the assassin�s
throat.
�Never speak of my family like that again,� he ground
out, resisting the urge to jab his knee into the other
boy�s throat repeatedly until he�d rid himself of the
gaze of those accusing eyes. �Do you understand?!�
This time he did jab, but Darkflight simply smirked.
�Empty threats, Seki, empty threats. I�ll say
whatever I like about your damned cartel, because it
doesn�t mean anything to me, and I�ll see it
overthrown, if it�s the last thing I do.�
�Well, you�re too late!� Shinobu shot back before he
realized what he was saying. The reality of his words
sunk in as he felt Darkflight tense, narrowing his
eyes.
�Too late?�
�My grandfather is dead,� Shinobu muttered, looking
away. �The cartel�s as good as gone. Sorry about your
stupid revenge�you�ll have to find it somewhere else,
because getting rid of me isn�t going to do any good.�
�I thought you were-�
He laughed sarcastically. �The �heir�? As much as
anyone can be, I suppose. Who knows? As far as my
family�s concerned, I�m dead. Good for them.�
�But don�t you want the cartel?�
He suddenly felt sick and he jerked himself to his
feet, wanting to rid himself of the sight of the boy
on the ground, who reminded him too much of his past.
�I don�t want a damned thing. I want to be happy,
that�s what I want. I wanted to help Duo, and I went
too far. I made a promise I couldn�t keep.�
�Those are the worst,� Darkflight said, and it took
Shinobu a moment to realize that the other boy didn�t
sound angry anymore. He turned around slowly.
�You don�t want to kill me anymore?�
Darkflight shrugged. �I was mad. I�m not mad anymore.
I�ll just go kill Wing instead.� He got to his feet,
bending down to pick up the gun and disarmed it,
slipping back into one pants pocket. �I�ll quit
bothering you.�
The changes of pace were bewildering. One second,
Darkflight had been out for blood, the next, his
stance and expression were almost peaceful,
nonchalant. For another second Shinobu almost gave in
to his earlier assessment that this boy was indeed
insane.
And then he saw that Darkflight was struggling not to
cry.
�Ano�.� he said, feeling very stupid. He hated it
when people cried, men or women, and having this
stranger in his room trying not to break down into
tears was disconcerting, to say the least. �I�ll
leave, if you want��
�It�s your room,� Darkflight said, his voice thick.
�Do what you like.�
�I�m sorry,� he offered lamely. Darkflight shrugged.
�Not your fault. You weren�t an experiment.�
�Maybe�you should talk to Hee-Wing?�
Darkflight gave a bitter chuckle. �Why should I? He�d
just laugh at me. Call me stupid. Say I told you so.�
�I don�t think so,� Shinobu said, and was rewarded by
a piercing death glare, one that was made a little
less effective by the tears that were leaking out of
the corners of one eye. �I don�t think he would ever
do that to anyone.�
�I�ve been his partner for the last year, Seki,� the
assassin grunted. �I think I know him a little better
than you.�
�And I�ve been friends with Duo Maxwell for the past
year, and if there�s just one thing that I have
noticed about the Gundam pilots is that they have a
genuine love for people.�
�Bullshit,� Darkflight said. He sounded hurt and
lost.
�Listen to me,� Shinobu said quietly. �I�ve never met
Heero Yuy. I don�t even know much about him from Duo.
But I know they were best friends, and a boy like Duo
Maxwell doesn�t give his friendship easily. There must
have been something � must be something � very special
about Heero. Wing. Whatever you want to call him.
People like you and me � we become so mired down in
our problems and our little differences, but people
like Duo and Heero � they can�t. Because they have a
bigger vision. They see things in color on the scale
of the universe, and sometimes we can�t understand
that.�
�Bullshit,� Darkflight said again, turning to face
him. �I don�t know what you�re talking about.�
But his face told a different story, and Shinobu
shook his head. �You�re not stupid, Darkflight. If
whatever program you came out of was the one that
produced Heero Yuy, I know you can put this together.
Wing isn�t leaving you. He�ll always be there � but he
has a more important mission to take care of, as does
Duo. That�s what he said, and I believe him. You
should too.�
There was desperation in Darkflight�s eyes. �He left
me. When I needed him. He left.�
So that was it. Shinobu felt a stab of pity for this
boy who had come all the way from L1 just to believe
himself left behind in the drama that was unfolding.
He hesitated, wondering how to put this. He didn�t
want to risk being shot again, and trying to comfort
someone he�d known for less than two minutes was not
the world�s easiest task.
�He didn�t leave,� Shinobu said. �You have to believe
me. He didn�t forget you.�
Darkflight shook his head, and a lock of hair fell
free from his ear. He pushed it back. He was no longer
crying, but his face was pained. �I didn�t want this,
when I came here. I was on a mission. Just a mission�I
don�t know the first thing about Gundams.�
�I bet you could have piloted one of those Gundams if
they�d asked you to,� Shinobu said.
A snort. �I don�t want to pilot. I like my assassin
missions just fine.�
�Well,� Shinobu countered, �think of it this way.
Wing � Heero � is on a mission. And when this mission
is complete, he�ll be right there, as he always was.
No matter how far away he might seem right now.�
�You sound so sure,� Darkflight said. A shadow
crossed his face. �How can you be so sure?�
He sounded like a small child, and Shinobu wondered
how old Darkflight really was. The Breaks did that to
you, he knew, trapped you in a un-aging cocoon and
didn�t let you go, a desperate, deadly game in which
people were left wandering forever in the ruins of
their youth. Darkflight had been one of those people.
He had grown up physically, but mentally, he was still
a bewildered child that had been roughly pulled out of
the twilight zone in which he had existed and forced
to adapt or die. Kill or be killed.
It wasn�t that Darkflight was insane, after all. He
was just a child, hurt and lost, apparently abandoned
by the people in this world who he�d tried to love,
who he thought had loved him.
�Sometimes,� he said gently, �you just have to trust
that the people you love will do the right thing.�
There was a moment of silence, then Darkflight
blinked, swallowed slowly twice, and shuffled towards
him a few steps. �I think-� he began.
But what he thought, Shinobu never knew, because at
that moment there was a knock at the door, and a voice
sounded.
�Darkflight?�
Shinobu looked back, saw the other boy�s frozen
stance, and knew immediately who it must be. He
smiled.
�Go on,� he said. �I believe that�s your friend.�
END ACT 10.1
=====
Don�t ask of me to tell you where I�m from.
Don�t bury me in the lost yesterdays.
Don�t stop me any further.
Even now in my heart sleeps, my dream that like a storm is still raging.
I Want to Become the Wind
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Quicksilver/
http://www.midnightrevolution.org/quicksilver/
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