"Legacy
"

Written By: Dùlin

Fic #25 In the Thirty Kisses Arc

Archive: This arc is archived on this site with permission. Do not reproduce it anywhere without permission.

Pairing : D+1, D+R, 1+4, 1+R+1

Theme : #25 –fence

Rating : PG

Warnings : angstiness, politics, Dorothy POV, spoilers for Battlefield of Pacifists (some lines from the manga are used verbatim). Fic #5 in the Peace Arc. While this is a chronological prequel to #16 – She’s Strong, #12 – It’s a Beautiful Day, #20 – Rest in Peace and #6 – Pray for one, pray for two ..., they should be read in the order they were written and not in chronological order.

"Legacy"

“The remnants of Oz want my grandfather’s legacy,” I said, turning around after a last glance at my cousin’s empty grave. The roses were blood red, not the kind he would have chosen for himself, but they suited me. He would have to deal with a young girl’s fancy.

“A legacy ?” Heero asked. He was not scowling, not really, but he was staring at me with an intensity that I would have found disturbing had I not been used to it. “What are we talking about ?”

“The Urkanus, of course.”

****

“Can you tell me more about the Urkanus ?”

“You will never change, Heero,” I laughed, taking a seat in front of him and pouring myself a cup of tea.

He had never been one for social niceties, but his presence here both unnerved and excited me. He was the one who had initiated our meeting by calling me, and now he had accepted to stay the night because it was raining, a pretext if I had ever seen one.

My ties with Romefeller had been severed on the day I decided to join White Fang. I had not lied to Heero when I had told him that I had no means of knowing of their activities, if they still had any. By a capricious twist of fate, the ESUN’s capitulation had triggered the destruction of the old Romefeller and spared me, of all people. My current connections allowed me to live a secluded life on my family estate, and I had been granted the right to inherit all of my family’s financial assets, which was a lot more than most ex-Romefeller members could claim. I had no doubts that they would not contact me should they ever attempt to rebuild the organization.

Luckily for me, and for Heero, ex-Oz soldiers did not have such qualms about me. My cousin had always chosen his men wisely.

“I do not know very much, actually,” I said, seeping my tea. “Just what Tsuberov said to my grandfather. I know that troops were dispatched to the asteroid belt to find new sources of energy. Then, White Fang declared war on the Earth Sphere and they were called back. No one knows what became of the project after that and Oz’s fleet was dismantled ... except for one unit.”

“First time I hear that.”

He had not touched his own cup. His whole attention was focused on me.

“I only heard about it recently myself, when they contacted me. Their captain asked me about the Urkanus.”

“And ?”

I shrugged.

“This is all I know.”

“The ESUN didn’t try to contact this captain ?”

“Why would they ? No one knows if the Urkanus is real, after all.”

“And if it is, what then ?” he asked.

“Things are going to get interesting,” I answered with a smile.

“Dorothy ?”

“I wonder ...” I mused. “Did Zechs and Treize’s fight really bring peace into the hearts of people ? I’d like to see that question answered. But first, I have a question for you, Heero. Why did you not contact Miss Relena ? She has access to a lot more information than I do.”

He did not flinch away from the question. He did not even look away, just stared at me.

“She doesn’t have access to the kind of info I’m looking for,” he said, matter-of-factly, as if it explained everything.

“Maybe not. But she would help you out of the goodness of her heart. Unfortunately, that is not my case, Heero. I do not give out my information for free, and you have been less than forthcoming with what you know.”

“What do you mean ?”

“My network might be significantly smaller than it used to be, but it is still in activity,” I smirked. “They intercepted an interesting piece of news yesterday. Something about a desert prince not coming back from his adventures.”

“You’re in contact with Hilde Schbeiker ?”

“You do not actually expect me to answer that, do you ?”

He smiled, a small, sarcastic smile that mirrored my own. I sometimes thought we understood a lot more of each other than we were comfortable with. I had not realized until this moment how much it must have cost him to come to me for help. He had been expecting a bargain, but not this one.

The light flickered as a particularly bright bolt of lightning hit the electrical lines outside.

“What are you going to do ?” I asked, my voice softened by the realization that he was here because he had not seen any other way. “Are you going to tell her ?”

“Not if I can help it,” was his answer.

“She cares about him as much as you do. It is not fair to keep it from her.”

“There’s nothing she can do about it anyway. She’ll get more done if she doesn’t get involved in this.”

“You’re making the decision alone, Heero.”

“Someone has to,” he said, and I do not think I was imagining the bitterness in his voice.

“Our Quatre is a stubborn little thing, isn’t he ?” I said lightly. “I do not think he will ever change either. I just hope this will not prove to be his demise. I did not manage to kill him, and I would hate for anyone else to do it. Especially a bunch of would-be pacifists whose theories are so full of holes that it is a wonder they have any following at all. Miss Relena might have looked like an idealist to me, but at least she had something to back it up. So did Quatre.”

Heero did not answer this time. He got up and made to leave the room. I wondered if he would not have left the house altogether had he not accepted to stay the night.

“Good night, Heero. You room is on the second floor, third door on your right.”

I waited for a few seconds after he had left before I got up too and picked up the phone. Heero had made his decision. I had made mine. Being physically confined in here, even willingly, could get a little boring after a while.

“Hello, this is Dorothy Catalonia. I am sorry to disturb you at such a late hour. I would like to speak to the Vice Foreign Minister, please.”

~ * ~

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