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"A War Worth Fighting"Written By: SkyLark DISCLAIMER: I do not own Gundam Wing, or its characters.
I just love playing with them. Warnings: Swearing, angst, violence, angst, torture,
did I mention angst? Archives: http://www.gundam-wing-diaries.150m.com/gw/SkyLark/gwSkyLark.htm
and Rating: R Summary: Duo is fighting in the second World War when he's captured by the enemy. To view the pic by shiyasim that inspired this fic; click HERE "A War Worth Fighting"
Every day that passed, more people arrived with even more supplies to donate to the cause. Not a soul would be seen simply standing around as everyone went and dug in without the need for being asked for assistance. All around, people with so many different backgrounds and ethnicities were working together in cleaning the streets and rebuilding those buildings burnt and or demolished. One of the first buildings worked on was the church where the Indian army had been staying. Despite their own religious beliefs, the soldiers understood the importance of having a place where the people could worship and feel a sense of a safe haven. When the issues arose as to where they should start to help, it was overwhelmingly decided by all that they wished to put their focus in the church first. Carefully climbing down from the roof that he and his comrades were busy patching, Quatre made his way to where some fresh water buckets were being brought in by Iris and the other women that stuck around to help. Smiling to his new friend as she handed over a filled cup to him, the Arab nodded firmly in appreciation. Iris rubbed her arms as she looked up to the church. Noting the nearly closed hole that once gaped through nearly half of the roof, she whispered, “This is beyond wonderful… what you are all doing here for us when you do not even know who we are.” With a quiet chuckle after finishing his drink, Quatre wiped his chin dry and replied in her tongue, “All things considered, I believe that we all do know each other. There is not a person on this earth that has not been affected by this war. And the only way that we can really get through it is with each other’s help.” Smiling brightly, the woman shook her head in wonder as she placed a hand to his cheek. “Such wise words from one so young,” she commented quietly. A realization hitting her, she lowered her hand. “Then again, you have seen and done more than most men ever will in their lifetime. That certainly makes you far from the child that you appear.” The soldier blushed a bit and shrugged, “Comes with the job.” Smirking, he snickered, “Perhaps my father will finally consider me a man when I return home after all of this.” “Well, whenever that happens, I certainly hope that you will stay in touch,” Isis winked. “One can never have too many friends.” Moved by that, Quatre nodded and reassured, “Of course.” Several more women entered the scene with buckets carried by rods on their backs. Lowering their offerings, they neared the Arab and their neighbor. A blonde-haired young woman by the name of Aigel at the head of the group was clutching a deep blue fabric in her hand. Her head lowered, she frowned deeply, “We found these in the debris. It would appear that the rumors were true.” Slowly opening the fabric, she revealed a gold Star of David roughly stitched into it. Brown dots splattered on the star could only have come from blood. Gasping sharply, Isis reached out with trembling hands to take up the material. “Dear God,” she breathed. “This would have to confirm that…” Her voice trailed off when she could no longer continue her thought. Quatre’s own heart was racing as he stared with wide eyes to the star. Slowly raising his head to Aigel, he asked in little more than a breath, “Where did you find this?” Biting her lip, the blonde hesitated before answering, “I could take you there… but I must warn you that it is quite disturbing.” Small tears filled her green eyes as she sobbed, “I am not even sure that I can stand to see something like that again.” Not liking the sound of that in the least, the Arabian embraced her and responded, “If it is too much for you, could you could please point us in the right direction? I believe that I know what may have happened, but I need to see this with my own eyes.” Gently pulling back enough that she could wipe her eyes, Aigel took a deep breath and nodded. Turning to face his ‘brothers’ that had been watching from the church, Quatre raised an arm to call them over. If this was what he feared it might be, he knew that the others would want to be a witness to it as well. * * * * A couple of hours later, Aigel led the group of more than twenty as far as she could. At the bottom of a short hill upon the edge of town that had not been cleared yet, she stopped. Pointing to the top of the rise, she faced Quatre and Isis with a quiet, “There.” Captain Chetan and Hari gave Quatre a worried look at the woman’s detached demeanor. Without needing what she said to be translated, they looked up the slight rise and hesitantly began to climb the hard ground. Taking Isis’s arm in his, the Arab followed after with the remainder of Greens and Indians right behind them. When they reached the top of the hill, everyone froze with wide eyes and jaws slack. Gasps and small cried filled the air as faces paled. For miles, debris and damaged buildings were all that the eye could see. Here and there, remains of old corpses sprawled out in the littered streets. At first glance, the whole scene was really no different from what had been found in Kalavryta, or so many other cities within the German occupation. However, there was a distinct difference. And it sent chills up every spine of the witnesses that laid their eyes on the site. And that change was all of the Stars of David on the sides of buildings, or on debris lining the area. A Jewish flag that had been hanging from one of the larger buildings still in tact was shredded, only to be recognized by its colors. Nearly falling to her knees, Isis covered her mouth against a sharp sob that bubbled from her. Shakily stepping forward along with her neighbors, she walked down the streets and scanned the horrific remnants of a once beautiful town. Sickened to his stomach as he and his comrades followed, Quatre noted the stitched Stars of David on the vests of the body remains in plain sight. Yes, this was even worse than what he had imagined. So the stories that had been traveling from troop to troop about the great massacre were indeed true. Wherever they walked, shattered glass and metal shards crunched under their boots as they moved ever onward on their feet’s accord. Numb throughout, members of the group whispered amongst themselves as if afraid to stir the disturbed spirits that might be lingering. Pausing at one of the burnt buildings, Isis’s teary eyes took in the sign at the leaning door frame‘Corpus Kindergarten.’ Against the chill that filled her, she wrapped her arms around her trembling body as she willed away thoughts of the children that would have attended the school before the attack. Quatre approached quietly, his own thoughts dark in reading the sign. “We had heard of a collection of the Jews here and in the Bulgarian occupation,” he heard his friend whisper without looking over to him. “There were tales of hundreds, thousands of people herded to the train stations… never to be seen or hear from again.” [1] As she turned her head to finally look on[at] the young soldier, she breathed, “Not one of us wanted to believe it… No one wanted to think that anyone would wish to completely remove an entire race of people simply because of their beliefs.” Shaking her head, she shrieked, “This is madness! How does one even begin to explain how something like this can happen?” “I don’t know,” was all that Quatre could answer, tears filling his own eyes and his soft voice cracking. No matter how much he wished he could have had the answers, there were none to offer in this case. Biting his lip, he case[cast] his gaze back on the abandoned and ruined school. Shaking his own head, he frowned sadly and repeated, “I just don’t know.” Madness. This was certainly more than simply madness. This was Hell. From the gray sky above, a few silent flakes of snow began to drift down on the cool breeze. * * * * Christmas morning came with a round of snowball fighting and snowman building for Heero and Duo at the flat they shared. Of course by the time they were ready to head back inside, the said snowman had to be knocked down to remove any traces of their little outdoor adventure. Over brunch, the pair discussed and laughed over some of their fondest Christmas memories. All the while, they never really allowed themselves to dwell on their own wishes to be with their families on that particular day. No doubt their loved ones would have been worrying and wondering over them. When the dishes were cleaned as set away, they went to dig through the pantry together for what they could make that would pass as a Christmas dinner. Moving away some of the many bags of items, Duo let out a laugh. Triumphantly raising the bottle of wine that he had found, he cheered, “Lookie here! And there is more where that came from.” His cobalt eyes widening, Heero read over the label and let out a low whistle. Carefully taking the bottle in his own hands, he smirked, “Leave it to the higher officers to leave every convenience they can for their soldiers staying here.” Raising an eyebrow, the sergeant smirked to his friend, “Care to split this tonight?” “You don’t even have to ask,” the private snickered. Suddenly spotting some other little treasures amongst their bounty in a compact freezer, he gasped, “And I think I actually found something other than fish and vegetables in here that can be our main course tonight! Give me a hand.” Quickly moving in, Heero aided Duo in removing the ham that had been sealed away. Grinning widely, they headed into the kitchen with their findings and began setting everything for their meal later that evening. Neither of them would have admitted it aloud… but despite their situation, they had a feeling that this Christmas would be added onto their ‘favorites’ list of memories. If nothing else, it would certainly go down as one of the most interesting considering the circumstances. * * * * Following their meal, dessert and cleanup, the two soldiers took up the bottle of wine and shared it between them. Seated at[on] the living room couch, they watched the stars peek out through the trees overhead while allowing the haze from their drinking to settle in. Words eventually became slurred and the pair laughed more than they spoke. Little by little, the need for space was no longer needed as they inched closer and closer. When the last swig was taken from the bottle, they were curled up together on the couch as if it was the most natural thing in the world for them. Snickering as the buzz began to wear off, Duo lightly tugged on the deep green sweater that Heero was wearing. “I still have to get used to seeing you in civilian clothes,” he commented. “It’s… nice. Like you’re more human and not some perfect little soldier.” Heero snorted, “Perfect soldier/ I am anything but that.” With a frown, the private leaned his head on his friend’s shoulder. “Still thinking that way because others say so?” Biting his lip, the officer paused before replying, “No. That’s not why.” Before he thought out[remove 'out'] his next words out, he heard himself say, “I think that I am allowing my emotions to get in the way of things A good soldier should never do that.” Surprised by the answer, Duo raised his head and smiled, “Well, maybe a good soldier shouldn’t. But a good person does.” At that, Heero shook his head in frustration and gently nudged his friend off so he could rise to his feet. Pacing back and forth on the floor, he growled, “But I cannot be who I was before or who I will be after this war right now. What I want or what I feel cannot come before my duty to my country. I have to carry out every task given to me without question and without fail, regardless of what I may think of those orders.” Rising to his own feet, Duo nodded, “I can understand that much about it. But to completely shut out your emotions makes you no more than a machine.” He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, “Do you really think that I’ve never let myself get affected by all of the killing that I’ve had to do?” Unable to stop the surge now that the damn was cracked,
the braided soldier threw his hands in the air and cried, "Jesus,
'Ro, do you you think that a day goes by when I don't think about
the lives I cut short! Or how many families that I've devastated
by taking their sons or fathers! If I turned that off, I wouldn't
be who I am anymore!" Elsewhere in the world, back at the Ardennes, there
was no peace or rest for the soldiers stationed at the German border.
Both the Nazi and Allies fighting knew that there could be no pause
in their battle. TBC [1] For more information on the occupation of Greece, the transport of the Jews there and the Kalavryta Massacre, you can find that at this website I referenced: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_occupation_of_Greece_during_World_War_II
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