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"Sayonara" Written By: Stone Angel Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and its characters belong to their various copyright companies. Rating: R Warnings: SAP, *ANGST*!, BAD JAPANESE GRAMMAR,
VIOLENCE, BLOOD, GORE, Spoilers: None. We've all seen Gundam Wing here
have we not? Quick Pairings: 1x2 or 2x1 ? 3+4. Authors Notes: This IS NOT for the light of heart. This chapter is one of the most horrible things I've ever written. Very serious gore, violence, death, lots of blood and LOTS OF AGNST. I cried writing it, and I just cried again re-reading it. Kinda nausiating. And I mentioned that I played around with the Gundam's systems a bit here, ne? Anyway, this chapter is sickeningly angsty. You were just warned. * * * * * = flashback * * * * * * * * * * = flashback WITHIN a flashback * = perspective change * * * time/perspective/place change (any combination
of those you can ///TEXT///= dream sequence /TEXT/ = written word or song lyrics for way later.
Sayonara Part 2
They all powered up and lifted off, each in turn, and waiting thirty seconds between launches so they would not arouse too much suspicion on the ground. They lifted off in the order of: Rashid, Wufei, Heero, Quatre, Trowa. "Which direction?" Inquired Heero, checking switches and lights as he lifted off the grass, the blades blowing wildly around him in a wide circle. The Eastern sky was beginning to lighten with the rising sun. Quatre replied. "South West." * * * Once in the air and all on the same course, they rocketed forward at their top speeds. Heero put a com link through to Quatre and opened the channel. "Where is he?" He demanded. Quatre's face appeared in a small window in the corner of his screen. "They are holding him at the Antarctic base near Sidley Mountain. They have him on a transport and are going to take him to whereabouts unknown at Eight o'clock pm their time. We have about an hour and forty minutes to get there. The way they spoke... Heero, I believe he's still alive." As soon as Heero had heard the last sentence he threw the transform switch and in a matter of seconds, Wing Zero was in its jet form. 'Duo. I'm coming. Wait for me.' * "Heero! Dameo!!!!!!!!!" Quatre yelled when he registered the change on his screen. "MATTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He tried to accelerate and catch up with Wing Zero. It was a futile attempt. He had already been traveling at his top speed. Wing Zero sped off, leaving him behind fighting turbulence from the air disturbance caused by Heero's sudden acceleration. "SHIT!!! GODDAMN IT HEERO!!!" He yelled, even though he now saw the channel was closed. "FUCK!!!" He hit a few buttons and keys and the sonar screen popped up, showing a line of green objects with labels next to each one. 'Ok, Tallgeese, Shenlong, and Wing Zero gaining fast on Shenlong.' He opened a channel to Wufei. "Wufei! Heero's gonna try to pass you up soon! Don't let him get by you!!!" * "Ryokai, Winner!" Replied Wufei, closing the channel so he could concentrate. 'So, Yuy, you want to go and get yourself killed? Fine. Get through me first.' He thought with a smirk. He waited until just the right moment, until Heero was at just the right distance... then.... 'Hmph. You're not going anywhere.' Wufei fired his Dragon Fang, intending to catch the closest wing but not damage Wing Zero. Once again proving to be the perfect soldier, Heero slowed his pace to be just one hundred and fifty percent that of Wufei's while approaching and changed his course at the exact moment Wufei had fired the weapon, swerving toward and under the approaching arm, expertly avoiding it. Now beneath the belly of Shenlong, he fired his engines at full, throwing the Gundam into extreme turbulence, slowing and disorienting him. "Yuy!!!!!!!! DI UNEA LA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yuy!!!!!!!!!!!!" He raged in his native tongue while trying to regain complete control of Shenlong. "I'm gonna have your ass on my wall, you stupid fucking bastard!!!" He continued. Eventually the turbulence died down to almost nothing. He quickly opened a channel to Rashid. "Rashid!! Heero's coming up to you fast! Stop him!!!" He yelled into the com link. There was no reply from Rashid. Heero continued to gain on Tallgeese. Wufei felt his pulse rise. "RASHID!!!!!!!!!! ANSWER ME!!!!!!!!!" He screamed into the com. No answer. Tellgeese's speed and course remained unchanged. Wufei screamed in rage. "JUST GREAT!!! WE'VE PROBABLY ALREADY LOST ONE PILOT TO OZ NOW HEERO'S GONNA GO AND MAKE IT TWO!!! HE'S GONNA GET US ALL KILLED!!!!!!!" "WHAT IS GOING ON UP THERE?!" Came the demand from Quatre over the com. Wufei growled and hit a few buttons. Quatre's face appeared on his screen. "He evaded my Dragon Fang and got away from me! Now he's headed for Rashid but I can't get through to him! His com unit is down!" He replied. "FUCK ME!!!" Cursed Quatre on the screen. At any other time, Wufei would have laughed at Quatre's seldom-exhibited dirty mouth. Any other time. "Rashid! RASHID!!! If you can hear me, answer me!!!!!!" Nothing. "Damn!!! Well, the only thing we can do is get to the base as fast as we can and if Heero hasn't been killed yet, we'll do what we can to help." Said Quatre. He had a scowl on his face the likes of which Wufei had never seen on him before. He was taken aback slightly. "I'll guess I'll tell Trowa." "Yeah." Wufei said with a sigh as the channel was closed from Quatre's side. "We're all going to die." He said resigned to his imagined fate of being Oz's punching bag. * "Trowa." Quatre said over the new channel. "What's happening?" Asked Trowa, calm as usual. "Turn on your visual. Heero went out of control and got away from Wufei and me. He's headed for Rashid." "My visual is on. What do we do?" "What CAN we do?" Replied Quatre solemnly. "We wait." They watched as Heero's Gundam approached Tallgeese. The three pilots gasped in unison as Tallgeese moved into action at an obviously deliberate moment. * * * Rashid sat in the pilot seat completely cool, deep brown eyes twinkling with a smirk that had nothing to do with his mouth. 'I've heard every word, Quatre-sama. You'll thank me for my insubordination later. I know what's been happening. Heero's been monitoring your communications as have I. You're setting yourselves up for failure. This is where wisdom outdoes stamina.' He thought with a smirk. "Walk into the lion's den." He said confidently. He waited patiently. 'Just a few more seconds... NOW!!!' * Heero's eyes widened as he neared where Tallgeese was flying. 'Is he insane?' He hit the transformation switch, which consequentially fired the breaking thrusters. He came to a dead halt, still transforming back to a Gundam, a mere ten meters from the Tallgeese floating directly before him. When he had been too close to swerve out of the way, Rashid had moved Tallgeese to stand in thin air, directly in his path. There was nothing to do but stop or the Gundams may have been damaged and he needed Wing Zero to get Duo back. And the only way to come to a complete stop so quickly was to transform back to Gundam form. "I wouldn't do that again if I were you, Yuy-san." Came Rashid's voice over the com. Crystal clear. There was no static, interruptions or inconsistencies with the frequency in the least. Flawless. The Arabian sun began to rise in the East, beating down and heating the sand the very moment it was touched by the rays. Saudi Arabia. The Sun's Anvil. Both Gundams remained standing in the air, simply facing each other, both vibrating gently with the engines' efforts to keep them aloft, defying gravity. Wing Zero, now in Gundam form, gleamed in the early morning rays, the sharp corners and angles of the body sparkling as if wet with dew. Heero may have been annoyed at being stopped in his proverbial tracks, but he felt admiration towards the other pilot's strategy as well. "Touché, Rashid." * * * Once again on course and traveling quickly away from the sun, they soon reached the winter shadow that enveloped Antarctica. "Heero?" Asked Quatre softly over the com. "Hn." "He'll be all right." He reassured, as if sensing the warring emotions within Heero. Anger, sadness, the need for revenge, the attempts to remain stoic, love, hate, fear and hope were only a few of said warring parties. Once Heero had come to an abrupt halt before Rashid to avoid a collision with the other Gundam, the other pilots had soon surrounded him, demanding he wouldn't repeat the stunt. Heero had given the other pilots his word that he would not attempt to escape them again. None the less, the pilots all agreed to keep their visuals on. After this they had made good time in their flight.
The entire flight had been uncomfortable silence, no communications
between the pilots. All of them had been too preoccupied with thoughts
of battle and The light of the sun gradually faded to a dark shadow. There had been no sky visible for some time, only thick clouds that let through some light to filter down and light their path. Now they were in complete darkness. Snow was being blown around wildly by violent gusts of wind from the West. Quatre's voice came over the com systems. "All right, we're close, mina-san. Descend and hug the ground as best you can. We don't want to be spotted now. Switch to sonar and put it on long range. Flying blind around here could be risky." The Gundams took a border-line nose dive, pulling up only one hundred meters from the ground and continuing on, carefully monitoring their sonar screens so as not to crash into a mountain. "Just sixteen kilometers to the base now." Said Quatre. "All right, see that uprising up ahead? Land on our side of it. We can get a good visual of the base from there." "Yes, Quatre-sama." "All right." "Whatever." "Hn." The Gundams alighted on the Northeast side of the shallow uprising. Heero checked the time. 19:57. 'Hn. Early. Good.' "Let's take a look. Keep low, just peek over the top." Instructed Quatre. "Yes, mother." Said Wufei mockingly. "Wufei, calm down." Quatre's voice was uncharacteristically annoyed. "Are you going to teach us how to tie our shoes next?" Wufei continued as if not hearing him. "Enough!" Ordered Rashid. "We're all worried about Duo and we all want him back. Let's just do this and get it over with! There will be plenty of time to bicker like old women later!" Wufei was silent. Heero wordlessly walked to the edge of the snow dune and looked on to the base a few kilometers from the other side. It was simple looking enough. A large, gray, rectangular building with a couple of meters of snow collected on the roof. Atop the edges, every twenty meters or so were tall metal poles with bright fluorescent light atop them, illuminating the area around the building. Heero judged the building to be ten meters high, three hundred meters long and two hundred meters wide. To the left of it were four runways of various sizes, a few helicopter landing areas and a large paved area which Heero assumed was for the landing of mobile dolls or manned suits en masse. A few kilometers South of the base stood Mount Sidley. The whole base was void of any sings of activity. Even the landing areas had no machines on or near them. Heero realized that the other pilots were looking and evaluating on either side of him. "Uh, guys, they said that they were moving him at Twenty hundred hours, didn't they? So where the hell's transport?" Asked Wufei. "I don't know. This could be a trap." Said Trowa calmly. There was a pause as each considered the possibility. "Ok, here's the plan." Said Heero, surprising the others mildly. "I'm going right up to the entrance. Rashid, you take the South side, Trowa the West, Quatre the East. Wufei, you stay on the north side, I need you watching my back. Everyone just wait at your positions. Come out of hiding if it looks like I need help. We don't want to show all our cards. Any objections?" "No." "No, Heero-san." "I'll watch your back, Yuy." "Be careful, Heero. Duo's in there somewhere." "I know. I'm going to find him." Heero said. "Get to your cardinals." He ordered. Remaining low to the snow covered ground and keeping some distance from the base, the pilots moved into position, surrounding the base like a pack of wolves might a rabbit. "Everyone ready?" Heero asked. "Yeah." "Let's do it." "I'm ready." "Hai, Heero-san." "Yosha." Heero said, taking a breath. "Here I go." Heero dashed over the dune, reaching the top, he fired his engines and flew to the entrance, landing hard a few meters from it. Drawing his Beam Saber, he hopped back heavily, and took a battle stance, waiting for an enemy to dare challenge him. Nothing. Heero began to worry. 'If this place is deserted, then they have Duo somewhere else. Shimata!!!' He thought as he walked up to the entrance and used his beam saber to cut a hole in the building for entry, gentle, white light flowing from the hole. He stepped back a few paces and opened the cockpit, throwing a rope out to dangle to the ground and jumped out, pistols in hand, to land and sink slightly into the snow. Walking towards the smoking breach in the wall, he listened for any signs of life. None. He walked into the empty hallway. It was mildly warmer in here than it was outside. Dim fluorescent lights buzzed quietly on the ceiling as far a he could see. He walked down the hallway a bit until he came upon a door. He opened it slowly, looking inside. It was dark as night. He flipped a light switch on the wall near the door. Light filled the room from the ceiling fixture illuminating everything for Heero's searching eyes to see. Just an empty room. 'Damn.' He continued down the hallway, checking each room he came across. Some looked to be classrooms, others were locker rooms, a few were obviously used for storage purposes only. 'Duo... Where are you?' He continued to run, checking behind every door, breaking down the locked ones. 'I know I'm near the center of the complex by now.' He thought as he broke open a door. * Outside on the east side of the base, Quatre was beginning to worry. "Do you think he's OK?" He asked Trowa. "Heero? Of course. It's Duo that you should be concerned with." Trowa said over the com. "Yeah." Quatre said, thinking. "I just hope he's alive." "Hey guys! I've got something here!" Wufei said over the broad channel. "What is it, Wufei?" Asked Quatre, alarmed. "I don't know. It's coming up from the ground near the entrance. Hang on, I'm gonna get closer." A pause. "Oh no..." * Heero looked inside the room to find no Duo. "Damn
it!" He cursed as he began to panic. His body was tiring and
the complex was very cold. He knew that he would freeze to death if
he stayed there for much He came upon the end of the hallway, walking around the corner he saw a large metal door. He walked up to it and looked it over. 'There's no way I can break this down.' He thought as he examined it. He looked to the side of the monstrosity of a door to the wall. There was a thumb print scanner. 'Ok, so whoever goes in here has to be high in rank.' He felt his pulse quicken, mouth dry slightly and his palms become moist. He looked more closely at the scanner noting the lack of light it gave off meaning it was out of order. He tried the handle and, to no surprise of his, found it locked. He took his pistols out of the back of his pants, aiming them at where he assumed the lock to be and firing two shots. Trying the handle again, he was both elated and pensive when it opened. The room was dark and cold within. He felt for a light switch on the wall and found it. Flicking it into the 'On' position. Very bright light filled the room, forcing Heero to shield his eyes momentarily. He waited a moment, then brought his hand, still clutching one pistol, away from his face, blinking as his eyes adjusted and looked about the room. He froze, fingers going lax, one of his pistols clattering to the floor while the other hung by the trigger guard from the slightly curved index finger on his left hand which hung limply at his side. 'Duo.' Duo lay naked on the floor in a puddle of blood in the
center of the small room. His beautiful violet eyes were open and
unfocused, gazing at the ceiling. His body was mottled with punctures,
lacerations, Heero's pupils retracted to nearly nothing, breath becoming shallow. "DUO!!!" Heero rushed forward, skidding in the blood by Duo's side and falling to his knees, dropping his other pistol in the blood by Duo's shoulder. He knelt by his lover, leaning over Duo's form, gently tilting his face towards him in both hands. "Duo." Nothing. There was no change. "Duo." Heero said more desperately, shaking
Duo by the shoulders. Duo's body shook with the force, but did not
respond. "Duo!" Heero looked at his chest for signs of breath.
There were none. He felt for Nothing. Heero noted the skin was cool to the touch and seemed to grow minutely colder with each passing second. "DUO!!!!" Heero cried, "Don't leave me!" He took Duo's hand off his chest into his and stared at the sight there. A deep puncture wound as if he had been stabbed. "...no...!" He shook himself out of his momentary stupor. "YOU ARE NOT GIVING UP, BAKA!!!!!! I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU!!!!" He yelled at the inanimate face. Releasing Duo's hand to fall limply to the blood-covered floor, he began to pump Duo's chest with both hands. "...Ich. Nee. San. Chee. Go." He counted to himself. He then moved to Duo's face, pinching his nose closed and covering Duo's cold lips with his own, blowing into them three times, watching Duo's chest rise with the artificial breath given him from the corner of his eye. He repeated the process, tears forming in his eyes as he did. Again he repeated it to no avail. ... And again.... And again. "KUSO, DUO!!!!!!!" Heero screamed at him, straddling his abdomen and slapping him across the face. He struck with all his might, Duo's head jerking to the left, then to the right, Heero now striking with the back of his hand. Duo's eyes remained inanimate within his heart shaped face, moving with the blows to gaze in whatever direction his head was turned. "DUO!!!!!!" Tears flowed down his face in rivulets as Heero sobbed. His smacks soon became full on blows, using both hands, Heero held back nothing. His knuckles ached from the impacts against Duo's high cheekbones, which should have been covered in hemotomas, skin reddened from the slaps by then. Heero ceased, crying loudly, moving to sit on his knees
by Duo's side and cradling Duo's head in his arms, resting his cheek
against Duo's crown, feeling the softness of his hair. "Duo...please...don't
go...please..." He sobbed, his tears falling from his prussian
blue eyes to rain lightly upon Duo's hair. "Duo... Please wake
up... There was no sound for long moments in the small room as Heero's sobs died down until he wept silently over Duo. 'I've lost him. Everything I care about is gone. There's no reason to go on.' He thought, lifting his head from its resting point on Duo's and looking down into his lover's lifeless pools of violet. He reached up with his right hand and closed them with gentle fingers. He bent down, kissing Duo's cold lips sweetly, just one last time. Pulling back, he looked at Duo for a moment who looked as if he were merely sleeping. Heero was shivering violently by this time, breath shallow and coming out as small white puffs in the frigid air. He looked to his side. His pistol lay in the blood. He picked it up and looked at it blankly, considering for a moment before he looked back at Duo's face. Moments passed like hours in the small room, the only sound the faint whistle of the gusts of wind blowing outside the base. "We will be together, Duo-kun." He said aloud, breaking the near silence, as he raised the pistol to his temple, closing his deep, prussian blue eyes for the last time, and forced his freezing finger to begin to squeeze the trigger. * "SHIT!!!" Screamed Wufei as he dodged. "This is a trap!" He screamed at Trowa, Quatre and Rashid. "They set everything up for us!" Then to his opponent, "Duo! Duo, it's me, Chang!!! Stop! I'm on your side!!! Dammit! We need Heero!" His opponent aimed his arm shield at him and fired, clipping Shenlong's torso as Wufei dodged to the side again. The shield impacting with the Gundam creating a loud crashing sound that all the pilots could hear from their sides of the base, rushing towards the fray. * Heero exhaled once more and tightened his arm around Duo's body, squeezing the trigger nearly to the handle. He startled when he heard a loud crash from the front of the base, hand jerking the aim of the pistol away from his head as he reflexively pulled the trigger. The bullet whizzed past his eyes, barely missing him and embedding itself into the wall. His ears rang with the point blank shot, but he was unharmed. He turned his head to the door, looking for a moment, listening. More sounds of crashing and other rumbles could be heard over the ringing. They came from the exterior of the base. 'I have to help them... Don't I?...' He thought, confused. It was the only thing he felt, confusion. Without that, he was completely numb. Heero looked back at Duo, thinking. After a moment, during which he heard more sounds of fighting from outside, he pulled off his jacket and draped it over Duo. Picking him up, he cradled him in his arms and stood. Turning, he headed out of the room and towards the entrance of the base. * "Wufei?!" Cried Quatre, flying at top speed towards the Northern side of the base. "What's going on?! What is it?!" There was no response from Wufei, but Quatre knew he was alright as there were still sounds of a battle coming the side of the base he occupied. He rounded the corner, and landed in the snow, staring at his screen in absolute shock. 'Why am I so surprised? It's perfectly logical that they would use it. But still... This just gets worse and worse. I just hope that Heero and Duo are OK.' He added to himself as he ran to the place where Wufei and his foe were dueling. * Heero came upon the large breach he had created in the wall of the base for entry. He looked outside, taking in the goings on with a blank expression and a level of apathy he had never known he possessed. 'Well, I guess I have to clean up this mess as well.' He thought, looking down at the cold burden that lay limply in his arms. He placed Duo on the floor to the side of the gap in the wall as gently as if he were made of glass. "I'll be back." He said to the fallen pilot, readjusting the jacket that covered his chest. Heero was slowly freezing to death. He knew it, but couldn't seem to make himself care in the least. With one last look at his lover, he stepped through the hole and into the snow. It suddenly hit him as would a ton of bricks as he looked upon the fray with anger anew. 'Whoever is in there is who killed Duo.' He thought, as his anger began returning to him one hundred fold. 'He will die by my hand.' He thought looking at the battling Gundams. Heero looked up at Deathscythe. The Gundam was trying
to destroy Shenlong, which was busy expertly avoiding the blows. He
looked around and saw the others all standing off to the side of the
battle, seemingly frozen. He walked up to Wing Zero, taking a firm
hold of the rope he had thrown down, hands cold to the extent that
it was difficult to move his fingers. Heero was spurred on by the
sudden need for vengeance. He climbed the rope quickly, reaching the
cockpit in a matter of seconds and throwing the rope to the ground
Opening a channel to Deathscythe, he walked deliberately to Duo's Gundam. "What… What is this?" He said with rage coming through the channel to the unknown pilot. Deathscythe stopped fighting Wufei and turned his back on Shenlong to face Wing Zero. * Wufei realized Heero had to defeat Deathscythe's pilot
on his own. He wanted to tell Heero that it was Zechs in the cockpit
and not Duo, but his communications system was out from the hits Deathscythe
had "Well, Yuy." He said quietly to no one. "I'll leave it to you." He walked to where the other pilots were standing. He raised his left hand, gesturing towards where an ear would be had a Gundam ears, to let the others know his communications were out. Quatre's voice came over the com despite the fact he could not respond. "Poor Heero. I can't believe how bad this keeps getting. I wonder how they brain washed Duo so easily..." At first, Wufei was confused by Quatre's words. Then
he realized that Quatre still thought it was Duo piloting Deathscythe.
That OZ had somehow turned him against them. Wufei cursed. He couldn't
reply and "Oh, well. They'll figure it out." He said, assuming they would monitor the Gundams' communications, or, at the very least, notice the difference in technique. "Yuy. Don't die." He said aloud to the Gundam on his screen, knowing he would not be heard. * Deathscythe and Wing Zero stood facing each other for a few moments before either pilot uttered a word. "Ah. Heero Yuy." Came the cold voice over the com. "I've been looking forward to this." He said, walking towards Heero with the same deliberately slow steps Heero had been using. "I take it you found your little friend." He said mockingly. "He was a praise-worthy toy. He didn't tell us anything about any of you, no matter what we tried. The only thing he said at his end, was your name." Heero could hear the smirk in his voice as he said the last comment. He knew that voice. "Zechs Marquise." Blood lust and rage were plain in his voice. "Urusanai............. O omaeo korosu." He vowed, powering his buster rifle. "We shall see." Replied Zechs, powering up the beam scythe. The two stood for a few seconds longer, thinking up moves, possible weaknesses and strategies. The battle ended shortly after it began. Heero struck first. He rushed forward, grabbing Deathscythe by the head with one massive hand and holding the buster rifle at point blank range against the cockpit area of the Gundam with the other. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, Deathscythe swung his beam scythe towards Heero's back. Heero let go and jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the weapon. He crouched, aimed and fired the buster rifle the second Wing Zero's feet were in the snow. Deathscythe dodged and flew towards Heero, holding the beam scythe out to his side, ready to strike. Heero waited until the exact moment he was within range, then moved quickly, rushing forward a few paces and reaching for the beam scythe. He grabbed the staff before the beam and snapped the weapon into two pieces. The end of the staff fell to the snow, beam no longer able to function. Heero threw Deathscythe to the side, the Gundam falling onto its back in the snow, defenseless. Heero aimed Wing Zero's rifle at the other's legs and fired. The legs were severed in a bright explosion. When the light faded, Deathscythe lay immobile in the snow. Dropping his double buster rifle into the snow and firing up his beam saber, he approached and lifted Deathscythe to a sitting position by the throat. Holding his beam saber to his side, he waited for a moment. Then neatly severed Deathscythe's right arm. Then his left. Holding his lover's Gundam's torso off the snow-covered ground by its head he began to beat it senselessly. He struck it with his fist, slowly crushing the cockpit and pilot inside, for long moments. Seemingly from nowhere, Sandrock's arm reached in and
separated Wing Zero from Deathscythe. Quatre's voice came over the
com. "Heero! What the fuck is wrong with you?! Are you trying
to kill him?!" He Quatre couldn't finish his sentence as Deathscythe fired the guns atop its head at him, the bullets impacting with Sandrock's arm and torso, doing more damage than he would have liked. Heero wordlessly pushed Sandrock out of the way, lifting Deathscythe the way he had before the interruption. He crushed the double barrels on the head of the Gundam so there would be no more damage done to him or the others, then moved his hand to the cockpit door, prying it open and reaching inside. He pulled the tiny pilot out of his chair and held him out for Quatre to see long platinum hair blowing in the gusts of wind and cold, ice blue eyes. "Go- Gomen Nasai." He said, ashamed. Sandrock stood and walked back to the other Gundams. The tiny figure Wing Zero held in his hand struggled and cursed, Heero looking down at him for long moments, not saying a word. After a few moments, Zechs had exhausted himself with his efforts to escape. He now pleaded for mercy. Saying anything, offering anything to save himself. Heero held him before himself and raised his other hand to the freezing figure. He pulled off Zechs' left arm. Then his right. Then his right leg. Then his left. He let these limbs fall to the snow, one by one, staining the perfect white a deep red. Zechs' screams of agony reached the other pilots, causing them to cringe. Quatre cried, bent over in his pilot's seat and clutching at his heart, unable to look at the scene before him. Heero, tired of the sounds the little thing in his hand was making, dropped it to the snow, looking at it for a moment before bringing Wing Zero's foot down upon it heavily. The screams ended abruptly. Heero raised his hands so he may see them closely on his visual. They were coated in a layer of blood that was quickly freezing due to the far below zero temperature. He turned to his fellow pilots for a moment, saying not a word, then moved slowly back to the entrance of the base. * His fellow pilots and friends followed him far behind, keeping their distance. Heero lay his Gundam in the snow, one bloody hand lay on the ground, palm facing upward, and he all but fell out of the cockpit. He staggered to the breach in the compound wall where his lover lay waiting. The others stood near his Gundam, a sense of foreboding deep in the pits of their stomachs. A moment later, Heero emerged from the hole in the wall. The others stared in horror. * Heero stood, covered in blood, Duo in his arms, covered by Heero's jacket, head and limbs hanging limply. No one spoke. No one moved. A strong gust of wind blew Heero's and Duo's hair, Duo's chestnut braid, parts of it soaked in blood, whipped with the force of the wind. Heero moved to his Gundam, gently laying Duo in the palm of one giant hand. He looked to the others, tears in his eyes. Stumbling heavily, Heero walked upon his Gundam and entered the cockpit, closing the door. Wing Zero came to life, its hand closing around the fragile figure that had been placed there, and standing. It turned, walking a few meters away from the base, engines beginning to power for a lift. Heero froze as he saw movement on his screen. He looked to the others, noting the fact that they faced it as well. They stood, Heero standing before the others, all eyes turned to the East. * The large army approached slowly, walking rather than flying, until it stood before the group of Gundams. The mobile suit that stood in front of the first row of others held up one hand to signal a halt to his men, the other holding a large gun. No side made an advance. There were no communications. For long moments there was no movement or sound whatsoever. Lieutenant Skitts looked to his enemies, evaluating. There were five of them standing. The one in front was clutching something to his chest. He looked closer. It was a body. Most likely that of the prisoner. The others stood behind that one, seemingly ready for battle, he looked to the side of his foes and felt slightly ill at the sight. Gundam pieces were strewn about. As were human body parts. The snow was mottled with blood, dying it red. He made his decision. He stepped forward suddenly, causing the four aft Gundams to take stances of battle and draw their various weapons. The one fore made no changes. Skitts continued to walk slowly to his foes, not communicating. He soon stood directly before the Gundam holding the pale body to its chest. He slowly bent down and lay his gun in the snow for them to see. He opened a channel. "We surrender." He said calmly. * The pilots looked on confused, before realizing the intimidation they must have posed, one holding the pale, bloody body of his lover, four Gundams behind him to back him up, a destroyed Gundam off to the side, and the blood of their leader covering the snow near it. The voice continued. "Leave. Now." The Gundams didn't move, considering the risks in trusting the voice. "Go. Get out of here." Heero was the first to move, turning and walking to the North a few paces before firing his engines and taking to the air. The others watched him depart and after a short pause, turned and wordlessly followed suit. * * * The funeral was not a long one. It was held in a land
that had once been part of California. Oak trees, kudzu crawling up
their trunks, loomed overhead. To the left was a creek in which water
was audibly trickling and willow trees grew to stand higher than the
cliff-like banks. Duo had once told Heero of this place, showing him
pictures in books and saying he wished to visit it someday. They had
been planning to visit the area, however had had to cut their hiatus
somewhat short as they had both received assignments and had been
"...Ashes to ashes... Dust to dust." Concluded the priest, making the sign of the cross. Everyone walked by the open grave, crouching and saying a final goodbye, throwing a handful of dirt onto the cherry wood coffin as they did. All of them bore tears in their eyes and on their cheeks. All but Heero. He stood listlessly, dressed in a black suit, looking down at the coffin, a blank mask upon his face. No tears. Like the sky. Others placed comforting hands on his shoulders, said would-be comforting things to him such as 'Everything happens for a reason' or 'Everything will get better in time' or 'He's gone to a better place now'. Heero had wanted so badly to strangle those who uttered the last phrase. Duo wasn't in a better place. He wasn't with him. How the fuck was that better?! Once everyone had taken their leave, having realized
that Heero wished to be solitary for a time, he walked, holding a
red rose, to the deep rectangular hole in the ground in which lay
the coffin containing his beloved. He sat heavily by the grave, hugging
his knees to his chest, holding the rose gently in one hand, staring
at "Duo." He said after long moments of silence. "There are...things... I wish I had done....said...." He trailed off, looking now to the ground on which he sat. "Things I know you wanted to hear..... I.......I....I have to go..." He concluded weakly. After another moment of looking to the sky, he stood, placing the blood red rose upon the coffin and staring for a moment longer, refusing to throw dirt onto his beloved. Drops of blood fell from his wrist to rain upon the coffin. "I...I'll see you around..." He said, then turned and walked away, pausing halfway to the small church in which the wake was being held, to look back over his shoulder for a few moments, then continuing to the place where his friends awaited his presence. The whole while he wished with all his heart that the gods might take pity upon him, and it may rain. * * * The pilots arrived at Quatre's Arabian mansion later that day. Here it was inappropriately bright. Sun shown down and gave a warm, glowing appearance to everything it touched, birds chirped happily, a light breeze gently rustled the leaves of the yet small and growing trees that had been planted on the grounds. All the pilots jumped down from the small transport and looked around for a while. It seemed to be so much longer since the last time they had been there, when in actuality it had only been the day before last. All of the pilots were tired, weary from the last few days' events and the emotional stresses said events had brought upon them. All of them walked to the entrance of the mansion, hearts heavy with grief. Quatre wept, leaning against Trowa for support who had his arms about his lover, cradling him comfortingly, one emerald green eye shimmering with a tear that he refused to release. Rashid crossed the grass to the mansion, occasionally casting a glance at his master, angered that OZ had caused him so much pain. Wufei, walked to the door stiffly at a brisk pace, arms crossed, a scowl upon his face. Heero walked slowly behind them, a vacant stare the only expression it seemed he knew how to make as of late, keeping a steady pace, moving almost mechanically, one foot in front of the other, arms dangling limply to his sides. His eyes rested upon the ground on which he slowly made his way to the large, elaborate oak door of the mansion. Once inside he paused, vacant eyes unwavering in their study of the floor. After a moment, he glanced upwards, and met eyes with Quatre who stood a couple of meters in front of him, tears drying on his cheeks, even as his eyes threatened to spill more upon them, looking worriedly at Heero, blue meeting blue. "Heero-san.... Dai ja bu ka?" He asked quietly, nervously wringing his hands in front of himself. Heero heard the question, but had yet to comprehend it. He contemplated it for a moment, looking blankly about the room, meeting eyes with Trowa, Rashid, and Wufei. His wrists itched slightly. 'Why don't they hate me?' After a moment of looking back to the floor, he replied unconvincingly. "Hekki." He made his way to the staircase, not looking up from the floor, and ascended the flight to the hallway at the end of which was his bedroom. He walked to the room, stepping inside and closing the door softly behind him, standing just inside the small room for a moment, looking blankly at the wall on the opposite side of his room. He stared at the wall for seemingly endless minutes. Glancing to his side, he saw a small table near the door, a small beige lamp gracing the center of it. He returned his gaze once more to the wall, left hand, bandage encircling the wrist, reaching swiftly, almost of its own accord to the lamp. He lifted it, holding it for a moment, testing the weight, then hurled it forcefully to the wall at which he stared, a grimace of pain twisting his features. The lamp shattered into hundreds of small pieces on impact, the round, cloth shade falling to the floor atop the beige and white shards of porcelain and the white electrical cord. Heero sagged against the door and slid bonelessly to the floor, hanging his head and wanting to cry, yet seeming to be unable. He cast his eyes about the room, seeing little things laying about. Things that had been Duo's. Things that Duo had given him. He pushed himself to his feet and walked over to the bed, sitting on it and looking to the nightstand. On it stood the cap of the bottle containing the pills Quatre had insisted he take so he might sleep before they had departed to rescue Duo. 'And failed.' He thought miserably. Heero wondered where the bottle containing the pills had gone. The cover still lay on the table, where was the bottle? He looked to the side of the child-proof pill bottle cap and the empty glass beside it. Near them, upon the small nightstand lay his ring. It was simple enough, a plain silver band. However on the interior of the ring, where it would be in contact with the wearer's finger, was inscribed /Koibito/. Japanese for 'Beloved'. Heero picked it up and looked it over, remembering when Duo had bought it for him. * * * * * * * * * * "Ne, Heero-kun. Look at these, will ya?" The braided pilot had chirped happily as he bounded under the tent of a particularly small booth at the festival. Heero and Duo had taken a brief hiatus, deciding to visit parts of Earth they had not been to as of yet. They had seen Niagara Falls, The Leaning Tower Of Pisa, Stone Henge, The Eiffel Tower, some Pyramids in the desert that had once been called Egypt, and now they were on an island once known as Japan. Heero caught up to his lover and looked at what he was currently pining over. It was a set of rings, silver, nothing particular about them that he observed. "Hn. So?" He asked, unimpressed. "Well." Said Duo, faltering slightly. "Look on the inside." He said holding one up for Heero to see. Heero silently read the engraved kanji. 'KOIBITO.' "Hn." Duo could tell by the tone of his voice he was considering. "How about if I buy yours and you buy mine?" Duo suggested, giving Heero his best impression of a puppy dog. The battle was over before it had begun. Heero had never been able to refuse Duo anything when he gave him 'the puppy dog' look. He wasn't going to begin now. "Hai." He replied, smirking slightly at himself for giving in so easily. They both handed the shopkeeper, who smiled somewhat uneasily at them, the money for the rings they each bought, then each put their ring on the other's finger. As they walked off to look at the items for sale in the other shops, Duo took Heero's hand in his, the rings they now wore, touching lightly. "Now we'll always be together, even if we're not." He said, all but skipping with joy. "Ne? Heero-kun?" He asked as he looked lovingly at his partner. Heero looked to him, gracing him with a small smile that lit up his eyes. "Hai." Duo grinned and gripped his hand tighter, pulling him to the next shop that had caught his eye. * * * * * * * * * * Heero came out of his reverie, shaking his head to clear it somewhat. As he recalled, Duo had never taken off that ring. The only time he had seen him without since he had placed it on his finger was when he found him... Heero ruthlessly crushed the feelings of pain and loss that had been attempting to devour him alive since this ordeal had begun. He wanted to cry. But tears refused to come forth. Heero decided that it was best not to cry, as he was unsure if he would ever cease once he began. He looked about the room, noting once again, all the things that belonged to his beloved, fingering the ring absently. Duo's bands for his hair, a few articles of Duo's clothing lay on the floor, near them lay Duo's hairbrush, resting where Duo had dropped it before they had made love the last night he had seen him alive. Heero bent down and picked up the brush, inspecting it. A few strands of Duo's hair remained entwined between the bristles of the brush, shining in the light coming in through the window behind Heero. Heero rose and walked to the clothing strewn about, lifting a black button-up shirt and holding it against his cheek. 'Duo's cent.' He thought painfully as he smelled the shirt. At that moment the tears began to come. Losing the battle, Heero curled into a ball on his side on the floor, one hand clutching the ring, the other the shirt. Holding both to his chest, he sobbed softly to himself, eventually crying himself to sleep, as the birds chirped cheerfully on the large sunny balcony outside his open window. * * * ///Heero walked. 'Oh, no. Not here again. What am I doing here?' He looked about his surroundings. Everything was a dark blue. A wind rustled his hair lightly as lightning struck across the sky. "I forgive you, Heero." Heero spun around at the sound of the voice. 'Quatre?
What are you talking about?' He attempted to say aloud. His lips had
moved but no sound had left them. 'MATTE! I CAN'T SPEAK!!!' Heero
realized with "I forgive you, Heero-san." Heero whorled to face the deep voice. 'Rashid?' Rashid raised his arms expectantly, a small smile upon his face. "I forgive you." Heero turned to his right to see Trowa, one emerald green eye twinkling with a gentle smile. 'No. No! NO! STOP IT! STOP IT, PLEASE!!! STOP IT!!!' Heero screamed inside his head, unable to do more than move his lips to form the words, falling to the ground, covering his ears so he may not hear their words. "I forgive you, Yuy." Heero screamed within, knowing that he could not block out the voices. He looked up and to the left, seeing Wufei looking down on him with a tender smile and raised arms. 'NO!!!' Heero covered his ears and ducked his head, eyes squeezed tightly shut. He sobbed, begging silently. 'Please... Don't forgive me. Don't. I'm bad. Please, tell me I'm bad? Tell me I'm bad. Hate me... Kill me... Don't forgive me. Please... Please hate me.' "I forgive you, Heero-kun." Heero paled as his eyes snapped open. He knew that voice. He looked up to see amethyst eyes meet his own sapphire ones. A small, sorrowful smile rest upon his lover's lips. 'No. No, you're dead.' Heero thought, trying to pull his gaze from the eyes before him. He gasped as Duo closed the distance between them and brushed his lips lightly against Heero's. He closed his eyes, wishing it were real. 'Why can't this be real?' He wondered as Duo deepened the kiss. Duo pulled back, fingers delicately holding Heero's chin up, applying the slightest amount of pressure underneath, and looked into Heero's eyes, sad smile still playing upon his delicate lips. "I forgive you. Koibito." And then he vanished, the others doing the same, and Heero was once again alone in the land of nothing. "Duo..." He said aloud, suddenly able to speak, bowing his head slightly. He raised a hand, fingers lightly touching his lips where Duo's had been a moment before. A tear fell from each eye, to fall directly to the ground he knelt upon and vanish so much like the way his beloved had. "Please... Mina-san... Duo-kun... Don't forgive me. Don't ever forgive me..." Tears traced paths down his cheeks to rain upon the ground. Heero bent his head and sobbed. In the distance, thunder rolled./// * * * He awoke with a start several hours later, still laying on the floor. He rose to a sitting position, looking around. It was dark, there was some light cast by the moon shining in through the window, lighting things in silver tones. Heero noted how much it resembled the last night he had been with Duo, his heart clenching at the thought of his beloved. Everything he saw about him reminded him of his other. He glanced at the clock. Large red digits glared at him, silently declaring the time to be 2:51a.m. Shaking lightly, Heero made a decision. He rose and walked to the vanity, opening a drawer and retrieving a piece of paper and a pen. He sat and wrote a brief note for the other pilots to find. /I'm sorry. But I can't stay here. I will miss all of you. However it is no longer my place to fight. I would only be a burden upon your shoulders. So I'm leaving. Please leave me be. Arigato. ~Heero/
Heero packed all of his belongings into his duffel. All but his laptop. He no longer had any need of it. Looking about the room once, he turned and silently headed down the stairs, to the large door. He opened it, wincing when it creaked slightly, and stepped outside, closing it behind him. He glanced about the grounds, locating the large elaborate shed. He walked stealthily towards it, once reaching it, opening the doors and looking inside. He located his motor bike in the corner, keys in the ignition, facing away from the entrance to the shed. He walked over to it and put the kickstand in the upright position with one hand as the other shifted the transmission into the Neutral position. He lay his duffel on the seat of the bike, balancing it carefully and took a handle bar in each hand. He pushed the bike in reverse to the door, once outside, leaning the bike against the exterior wall of the shed, closing the doors quietly behind him. He pushed his motorbike off of the grounds of Quatre's mansion and onto the dirt road that led to the nearest village and, beyond it, the nearest city. He looked back once more at the large estate, saying a silent farewell to all the occupants. He would miss them. Reaching a kilometer or so down the road from the mansion, Heero, removing his duffel from the seat of his bike and slinging it over his shoulder, sat on the newly vacant seat. He shifted the bike into park, turning the key and letting the engine run for a moment, considering returning to his friends. He knew he would not do so. He had already made his decision. Shifting into drive, he left a trail of dust in his wake as he swiftly rode to where ever the road might take him, unknowingly wearing the ring he had unconsciously slipped onto his finger as he had wept in his sleep.
See what I mean? Not a happy fic. I think I was a bit off the deep end writing this. It has no more gore or blood after this but it still has angst in the next chapter.
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