Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Broken Reflections ❯ Thunder and Lightning ( Chapter 7 )

• Chapter Seven: Thunder and Lightning •

AN: parts in ~ ~ are Rei's orders, < > are Rei's transmitted typed messages. And just to drop a little hint here: I LIKE REVIEWS!!! The more I get, the faster I seem to write. So please be a good little reader and review/comment/critique/flame/ect. Happy reading, ja ne!

~Angel Barton

Bright pinpricks of light dotted the inky purple darkness of the night sky, flickering in and out of sight as clouds rolled past overhead. Rei watched, fingers laced behind her head as she lay face up on a curving field of impenetrable blackness. Her face was rock-smooth, her eyes revealing not even the faintest glimmer of interest. But inside, her mind was filled with the swirl of cogitation. So different from the colonies… the stars…the wind…even the smell of the dirt and grass… and it's all real. Not some illusion-filled tapestry draped over the senses of the colonists…all of it's real.

She was mildly amused as a part of her own mind denounced her musings. It screamed at her in a cold, harsh voice that she was a mindless machine created by man, a being produced to serve the greater good, and therefore was incapable of such wandering thoughts. She listened absently to the subconscious ravings even as she questioned the accuracy of its words.

True, I was created by others, but I was still born as a normal human child. And true, I was made to be nothing more than unfeeling killing machine, but it seems that my programing has begun to malfunction a bit. Rei allowed a glimmer of a devilish smirk to cross her face. It still doesn't feel right to show emotions. I guess that's something I'll never completely rid myself of, is it? she asked of the darkness above her. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine what people would say if they could hear her mental debate. They'd think I was insane, arguing with myself and questioning the truth of my existence. I dare to venture that I'm in all probability the most sane that any person in my position would be. Even the most minimal shadow of what I've been subject to would probably drive any normal being to violent suicide, or at the least a mental institution.

Her drifting contemplations suddenly turned to a more serious note. I barely survived. So many times, I was so close… They thought that I wasn't going to endure their little program, they practically knew that it was impossible to make it through. They even went as far as to train a back up… to a much less extreme extent, of course, she thought derisively. But for all their preparation, precautions, and calculations, I proved them wrong… the first of my victories against them. I'm still working on the second…

She trailed off as a electronic beep hailed her return back to the world of the living. Without sitting up, she pushed herself over the curving drop of her perch, spinning around as she fell, to find a handhold in the almost seamless black surface and smoothly swing herself into a darkened alcove. She pressed a faintly flashing switch and read quickly over the words that scrolled themselves across the darkened screen. ~ The weather has shifted. Lightning is coming. Thunder should follow. -Mission. ~

Rei settled herself into her seat, watching the star-speckled night sky being eclipsed by a lowering field of even deeper blackness. She skillfully flipped through a series of switches in a programmed manner as her former demeanor dropped away into a recessed corner of her mind, resolving herself into a state of thoughtless, emotionless emptiness. Duty calls… she thought briefly, and I will answer…for now. Then, she was gone.

• • •

Almost halfway around the world, another figure lay sprawled in much the same way that Rei had been, except this time the stars were reflected in twin pools of cobalt blue. Duo gazed up at the white shining orb of the moon. It surprised him that its crater-pocked surface looked so much more different from the Earth rather than through the thick glass of the colony windows. In space, the moon was just another place to go, another natural beauty for mankind to ruin. From here though… it looks so peacefully, so serene, like it's never been dirtied by human hands.

He paused to take in its beauty as his mind turned to other matters. His dark-haired "guest" had left earlier that morning. It had been more than a bit of a surprise to see the other boy blast off in a suit that had been anything but a quick fix and Duo had gone as far as to compliment his feat-that is until I found out that Prussian-eyed bastard stole parts from my suit to fix it! he thought vehemently. Well, I can't say that I really blame him. I would have done the same thing if I had been in his situation, he thought, grinning idiotically. I wonder where that guy ran off to. He sure seemed to be in a hurry. Probably had a mission or something…

The word "mission" brought the previous night's strange conversation in the lounge flooding back into his head. That was definitly weird. There's some kind of connection between those two. I'd bet my life that Mr. Anti-Social doesn't have a clue what it is, but I'm pretty sure that she does…

His face turned pensive as an image of the exotic blue-eyed beauty filled his mind. She's definitly something. And she's not just one of those airhead bimbos. She's got some brains… probably a lot more than I'm giving her credit for. It just makes me wonder… what the hell is a girl like her doing in the middle of this, and where the hell did she have to go in such a hurry? He hadn't expected to wake up to find the strange girl missing from the room he had shown her to. It didn't even look like she had set a foot in there. Nothing was disturbed… she must have left some time during the night. He smiled and stretched out lazily on the tarp-covered crate. It's too bad, he thought, I would have liked to have had a little bit of time to get to know her. Well, without that stupid gun and all of course…

His pleasant reveries screeched to a halt as he heard his name called by an all too familiar voice. He groaned and sat up, a scowl darkening his face at being interrupted. "What is it, Howard?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head.

Howard grinned, recognizing the tone of the pilot's voice. "Did I butt in on one of your nice little daydreams again? Who's the lucky girl this time?" he asked, wanting to have some fun with the young boy's temper. At Duo's glare, he added, "Bet it's that long-legged vixen from before that had you drooling all over yourself." He chuckled lightly as the braided boy crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out. Howard waited patiently for what he knew was coming.

Duo's expression changed to one of slight embarrassment. "Was it really that obvious?" he asked, turning a bright shade of crimson.

Howard shook his head in amusement and replied, "Well, let's just say that you could have been a little more subtle about it. Anyways, I just wanted to let you know that Deathsycthe is as good as new and ready to go whenever you are."

"Thanks, Howard," answered Duo as the older man turned to head back below deck. The pilot sighed heavily and flopped down once again to look up at the bright pinpoints of light. He's right, I couldn't get her off my mind… I wonder if she even noticed the way I was acting. As he lost himself in thought, he was unable to take his eyes off the endless sea of blackness stretched above him. I wonder if she's ever seen space? Does she know what it's like out there? To live on the colonies for your entire childhood, an orphan in the middle of the universe, and now have to give your life to fighting to save the only home that you've ever known?… I seriously doubt it…

• • •

Zechs Merquise stared darkly out the window of the OZ jet cruising low over Central Asia, lost in his own world. This new enemy is cunning. They're not afraid to go after targets that many of us thought to be unobtainable… these audacioius moves are making them a very viable threat to our plans. Treize doesn't seem to be as worried as he should be. He must have something up his sleeve, something that he believes will give him the upper hand against this new menace. I can only begin to wonder…

He had little time to ponder his superior's possible plans as his pale blue gaze locked onto a faintly flashing red light hanging in the blackness below. "What the..?" he muttered, his eyes narrowing. "Otto," he called, raising his voice enough to be heard by the cockpit's crew. "Are the radar detectors picking up anything?" After a brief pause, he was rewarded with "No, Lieutenant Zechs, there's nothing reading on the screen."

Zechs stood, a serious air overtaking his figure. "Otto, prepare for deployment of my Leo," he ordered, turning on his heel to head for the cargo hold.

"But Lieutenant, why? There's nothing out there…" He trailed off as the blonde man placed a hand on the door frame and looked back over his shoulder, a tight smile forming on his face. "We have company."

Rei switched off her visual beacon as she watched the blonde uniformed man move out of the view of the window. So that's the imfamous Lightning Count… she thought passively. Hopefully he can live up to his reputation and provide me with at least a little bit of a challenge. She manuevered her craft to the earth as the OZ jet deposited a Mobile Suit into the air. It seems that intelligence was right about him preferring to use Leos in battle. He sure managed to find a quick replacement for that one he used to take down Heero. The greenish suit, aided by anti-gravity thrusters, slowly descended to land heavily on the packed dirt and let its red energy sword blaze to life.

Zechs regarded the suit in front of him. This is a new one… or as much as I can tell from what I have to work with… He squinted his eyes in a vain attempt to make out the shape of his enemy's craft. That thing seems to be blending right into the night, almost like it's absorbing the darkness. He dropped his gaze to the readouts on his control pannel. The night vision isn't picking up anything… neither is the thermoscanner. The readouts must be distorted… there's no cloaking system that good… He mentally shuddered, losing a bit of his composure, as he realized that he and the rest of the world had no idea what kind of technology these new models had. Hmm, I wonder though… none of the other suits were reported to have been this advanced, at least in cloaking. The one that attacked the factory was better than average, but this is far beyond that level…

He frowed as a hailing call resounded in his cockpit. He pushed the frequency switch and opened his communications channels, waiting for the first words from this mysterious opponent. He was more than a little surprised when a string of letters began scrolling across his screen. Interesting… he thought as he began to read, eyes flashing quickly back and forth…

<At last I meet the imfamous Lightning Baron. Tell me, in which do you find the most trepidation, the flash of lightning, or the crash of thunder? I know which one people fear more…>

This is not what I expected, Zechs thought uneasily. He's either very smart or very crazy. He opened his audio communications channel to respond. I might as well play along for now… "If I am to fear either, then lightning. It is the one that destroys," he intoned in a firm, deep voice, tone keeping from betraying his anxiety. He was shocked as he realized that it was a futile effort as soon as he read the enemy's reply.

<Nervous, Millardo? You should be. You are human, and humans fear thunder…>

The blonde pilot growled under his breath. How does he know that name?! he wondered briefly before countering with an anger-tainted "And why is that?"

He waited for several long moments for the voiceless response that was sure to follow before four words flashed across his screen…

<They fear the unseen>

Zechs grunted as he was suddenly tossed to the side as an enormous force collided with him. Cursing under his breath at his inattentiveness, he struggled to right himself as his enemy backed off his attack. He managed to regain his footing and anxiously sought to locate his attacker. As he turned back and forth, a mix of emotions churned in his mind. Embarrassment at being caught off guard mixed with unease and his love for a good fight. Antipathy, however, was paramount. Resentment at being referred to as one of the simple-minded masses burned bright behind his ice-blue irises, causing him to lose his grip on his ingrained cool-headedness. "So if I am human," he spat at his unseen enemy, "What are you? A god?" He caught a small flash of movement from his right and moved to launch his own attack with his beam saber at almost super-human speed. As he connected with empty air, he thought fleetingly that his insinuation of his enemy's divinity had been correct. No human can be that fast… As the mysterious suit seemed to dance away into the darkness, his question was again answered without speech. <My soul isn't near as virtuous.>

He snorted in distain. Who said anything about gods being virtuous? he thought offhandedly. He blinked as the suit seemed to almost materialize in front of him out of thin air. Although it appears that he has some sense of fairness after all. He sprang forward at this new opportunity for attack and this time, he connected with an energy sword that blazed a ghostly silver-flecked black. "Bloodstains are often the source of such corrupt souls," he countered as he attempted to spin away, but caught the brunt of his foe's following attack across the chest of his Leo. The dark suit seemed to almost imperceptively draw back from the confrontation for a moment, before attacking Zechs again. <I have blood on my hands, yes, but so much more than that…> replied his enemy. Then, so quiet that he almost missed hearing it, "…so much more…"

Zechs jerked in surprise at the sound of a human voice coming over his com system. He wasn't able to determine the gender of the speaker, but the simple utterance was enough to put his creeping suspicions of fighting a ghost to rest.

As her opponent was overcome with this new development, a red light blinked insistantly inside Rei's cockpit. She turned and pressed the flashing button to acknowledge the incoming message:

~ They are coming for the peacekeeper. The school is about to burn. -Mission ~

Rei froze as her mind flashed rapidly through her years of torment:

* Screams, so many screams… the fire burning, gorging on the building fueling its

devastation. No choice; keep attacking, keep destroying, keep killing… orange and

yellow flames licking the blue sky like demon tongues, black smoke curling in malicious

ghostly smiles… don't yell, don't show anything… and whatever you do, don't cry…

please God, don't let me cry…*

She was torn from the horrible memory as the Lightning Count landed a hard blow to the right side of her suit. She quickly pulled back, switching on her thermal jets, and took to the air.

Zechs was about to charge once again, his confidence raised by his lucky hit, when words once again flashed on his screen.

< Our fight is not over, but you should leave now. Something precious to you is about to die at the extended hands of your superior.>

Zechs was puzzled by the cryptic message, but let out a gasp of shock when he made sense of the coordinates that accompanied the transmission. He stared in bewildered wonder at his foe. What kind of enemy would tell me this? Why? As if the fighter had read his mind, another message flowed across his field of vision.

<Don't wonder why, just go save your princess. We'll meet again.>

With that final word, the dark suit blasted away into the night, leaving Zechs to stare after it, unmoving. With the communications channel still open, Zechs quietly replied, "I rarely say it, but thank you…"

• • •

~The peacekeeper lives. Mission completed. Await further instructions.~

Flipping off the screen with a passive look on her face, Rei climbed easily out of her cockpit and swung herself around to the right shoulder of her suit and resumed welding the the tear in her suit's gundanium armor. Small though it was, it would attest to be a weak spot in battle that could prove her undoing. Or at least that's what those bastard scientists drilled into me over and over.

Rei froze suddenly and cocked her head to the side. Reaching out with the full extent of her senses, her ears straining in the darkness, she caught snatches of muffled voices, music, and what sounded like an elephant trumpeting. A circus, she thought, and here of all places. She paused to brush an errant strand of honey-tinged hair out of her eyes. After a moment, she smiled slightly. I guess there's a first time for everything…

After an hour of steady walking, Rei finally came to the source of the commotion. Bright lights illuminated the large forest clearing in their white hot radiance, disturbing the quiet blackness of night. Moving like molten steel through the gloom on the fringes of the glen, she allowed her ingrained training to take over as she scrutinized the the festival's layout, committing possible escape routes and defense areas to her lazer-sharp memory. Her eyes flashed imperceptibly in the velvet darkness as she crept closer to the main tent, watching hapless circus-goers file eagerly into the vast folds of cloth.

She waited till the flow of people had almost dissipated to make her move, sliding silently into the concealing shadows beside the too-small cage of a very mean-spirited lion. The giant feline growled deep in his throat, flashing warning glimpses of finger-sized canines in her direction. Rei merely shifted her gaze from the tent's opened flaps to look straight into the lion's amber eyes, holding him frozen before he quieted his rumblings and meekly slid to the floor of his cage. The girl reached fearlessly through the solid cage bars and tangled her fingers into the thick mane, scratching behind the big cat's ears as the tawny eyes close in contentment.

Rei withdrew her hand and turned back towards the brightly colored tent. After a moment, she slipped unnoticed under one of the small openings along the base of the temporary shelter. As she entered the tent, she quickly rolled along the dirt floor to press herself between two crates as several circus hands passed noisily by her concealed form. Careless fools, she thought offhandedly. Their own deaths could be breathing down their necks and they would never know. She stole stealthily through wooden boxes and cold-barred prisons until she reached the rear of the grandstands that surrounded the circus' three main rings. Here, the music swelled to a roar and the laughs and gasps from the crowd rumbled in accompanying undertones.

Looking up through the forest of support beams and wooden slats, she saw a gap in the top row that was not blocked by feet. She hoisted herself up over the lowest bar and rapidly made her way upwards. In a matter of seconds, she found herself at the top of the stands and slipped through the slim opening. As she crouched low within the shadows, her eyes roamed over the spectacle layed out before her.

The entire ring seemed to be moving in the largest display of organized chaos that the girl had ever seen. Her training quickly allowed her to pick out the ringmaster, not only by his characteristic red coat and tails, but by his conduct. With her trained eye, she was able to notice imperceptible glances and implied commands that could come only from a master emersed in his element. She watched as he motioned for the individuals in the ring to exit to the outer wings and then stepped forward, arms raised to address the audience.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he began. "Thank you for coming tonight. We hope to have entertained you well beyond your expectations. And for our main event: a gravity-defying feat of balance and bravery, performed 150 above the ground without the safety of the net. And now, it is my pleasure to present to you, the master of the highwire, our own young daredevil, Trowa Barton!"

With a dramatic flourish, he drew the audience's eyes, including a pair of dramatic blue orbs, to the top of the tent. There, perched precariously on the edge of the small platform, was a young boy no older than 16, clad in voluminous green pants held on his slim hips by a pair of suspenders, a blue and white shirt, yellow gloves, and a smiling clown mask that hid half of his face. Despite the boy's clownish appearance, Rei could see that the painted red grin of the mask was the like of something that had never touched its wearer's face. The boy was no ordinary circus performer. Rei noted his well-controlled stance and unnatural grace as he stepped from the platform to the thin wire, a cat-like demeanor that was a signature of extensive training. She watched, her critical eye picking out the smallest movements and corrections made by the young acrobat.

Trowa, for his part, was oblivious of the scrutiny. In a sense, he was almost bored with the ease of his so-called "feat", but carried on the act as if he was not the expert gymnast he truly was. He began to glance around the tent, taking in the bright, delighted faces of young children, the gaping disbelief of their elders, and mixed reactions from everyone in between. For some strange reason, his green gaze was drawn to the upper levels of the stands, though they stood devoid of any occupation by audience members. Suddenly, he focused in on a crouched form in the topmost rows, and his eyes locked on a pair of piercing blue lights set in the face of a shadowed young woman. In a flurry of mental flashes, an image from his past came into sharp focus and a surprised gasp escaped his lips. So great was his shock that he lost his balance on the slim wire and nearly plunged to the ground below, but saved himself by snatching the line at the last second. When he had regained his wits, he looked quickly back to the darkened upper stands, but could find no trace of the girl.