Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Broken Wing ❯ Broken Wing - Chapter Two ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Broken Wing: Chapter Two



This is the long awaited second chapter of Broken Wing! Whoo hoo, I should give myself a pat on the back! Thank you to Trenchcoat Man, without whom none of this would ever, ever, EVER have been written. Thanks to Marika Webster, you crazy little Voyager freak you! You keep me insane despite my parents ever constant efforts to damage my fragile psyche with sanity and ::shudders:: normalcy. Rogue-chan! You know you're just great, great, great! Rachel-chan, you'd better be reading this! ;o) Lianne-sama . . . ::bows to the invisible Lianne idol:: Thanks to the pre-readers who haven't had much to do lately ::blush:: but are important anyway. Names are being withheld to protect the guilty. And last but certainly not least (Sailorcelestial's command of the cliché, people!) thanks to all of you readers out there who've read Broken Wing, liked it, and reviewed. I would have stopped BW long ago if not for you guys. ::huggles:: I WUVS YA ALL!!!

ALL IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: Sailormoon isn't mine. Dang. Gundam Wing is mine . . . ::gets beaten by a gaggle of lawyers who were waiting in the wings for her to say something stupid:: Ack . . . correction: Gundam Wing ISN'T mine. Dangit. Broken Wing IS MINE!!! HAHAHA!!! I've written this story, and it's MINE! Okies. I'm done.





Broken Wing: Chapter Two




"Man, this is such a lame way to die! This is NOT cool!"
Wufei said nothing. It was not his place to speak to his companion when their air supply was steadily decreasing and Duo was determined that it meant certain and inevitable death. The black-haired, raven-eyed Gundam pilot simply sat on the ground, calmly flipping the slides on the small projector device the one named Trowa had slipped to them. While Duo rolled around on the metal floor in an almost amusing display of abject misery, Wufei quietly studied the designs projected onto the cell wall. From what he saw, the scientists had planned to make Deathscythe and Shenlong both bigger and more destructive than before, and Wufei couldn't wait.
Ah, Nataku, you will be even stronger than ever. Will I be worthy of piloting you then?
"What're you doin'? There's no point in that anymore!"
"Be quiet if you want to live a little longer."
"It would take something drastic for us to survive now!"
"I'm doing everything I can just in case that something drastic does happen." Wufei answered simply. He did not believe in giving up, especially not so soon. So he continued to flip through the projections, pretending to study the designs when really he had already memorized them and his mind was elsewhere.
Women. Who knew what went on in their heads? Wufei remembered the encounter at Victoria Base, when that woman, what had her name been? Lieutenant Noin. When Lieutenant Noin attempted to stop him from destroying the new model mobile suits. She had put up a good enough fight. For a woman. Yet it seemed that she had the nerve to be surprised that he had beaten her.
And that Major Sally Po. So weak, her and all of her men. They fought in small, petty battles that they could not possibly win. The odd thing was, they knew they had no chance of winning, yet still they fought on, and why? So OZ could wipe them all out one by one, or even by small groups at a time? Wufei didn't understand their impulse to fight when they knew they were weak.
What of this mysterious Lady Une, who had refused to order her soldier to fire on Nataku, when it was obvious that the Gundam was badly damaged and it along with its pilot were in no condition to battle? She seemed to be a pacifist, yet she worked for OZ, an organization that loved conquest and power above all things, including peace. Wufei had a feeling that there was some story there yet to be told, for he remembered the muttered words of the soldier directly under her, who had thought that his comm system was turned off. Which Colonel am I supposed to follow anyway? Yes, there was definitely more to that tale than was advertised.
Finally, that OZ lieutenant, the one who claimed to want to help the Gundam pilots escape. What was she truly scheming? When she had come the look on Duo's face had told Wufei that she was no stranger to the braided one. And her assertions were so strange. She wanted to help them, but she couldn't tell them how, or why, or even exactly when. Only that she was bringing someone to Earth soon, who would help them. Help them how? And why was this OZ officer so willing to help Gundam pilots?
Wufei stopped, sensing the decrease in air as well as one might sense the presence of someone standing behind them. It seemed that merely sitting around and not talking was not going to be good enough to keep them alive.
As I told Duo and Hiiro, your intelligence alone will not be able to save your lives.
The words of the Lieutenant.
Well, his intelligence and special abilities were going to get him out of this mess. He would make sure of that.
Wufei set the projector down and settled himself on his back. With a skill that came from many years of training the boy first slowed his breathing considerably simply from control. Then, as he slipped into a meditative state, it became nearly impossible to discern whether or not he was still actually breathing. In this condition he wouldn't need nearly as much air as before, therefore he wasn't worried by the fact that Duo would probably use most of it in a matter of a half hour or so. Duo would die, leaving the rest of the scant air to support Wufei until such time as either the doors were opened, or Wufei himself finally succumbed to death.
~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

The only sound that could be heard in all the vast area of space was the heavy, almost whimpering sound of his own breathing. Why was he breathing so hard? It wasn't as if he had spent any energy at all. No, the colony had fallen without a fight as far as he was concerned. Their mobile suits, their paltry weapons, were all little more than flies to him. Insects whose lives were insignificant in his grand scheme of how the universe should be; how peace should be achieved. It was his universe, his colony, and their lives had been his.
He was Wing Zero.
No . . . wait . . . Wing Zero was the suit, the machine. He was not Wing Zero. He was Quatre. Quatre Raberba Winner, and he had just destroyed an entire colony.
"Father . . ."
No time. No time to reflect on a past that could not be changed. Only on the future, which opened up into possibilities so numerous as to be dizzying.
As he sat there in space, the light of the dead colony only now fading into blackness, the path of the most probable future opened up before his eyes. He saw the woman in the OZ uniform who was not what she seemed. He saw the golden haired one, the angelic creature who would come from a far away place to become a significant player in this game of war. She also was not all she appeared, for around her glowed a soft silver light; it was like moonbeams had fallen from the sky to bathe her in their glory. These two would be important because they . . .
The golden light of Wing Zero went dark abruptly. Quatre blinked, surprised and unnerved by this sudden cessation. It took him a moment to realize that the vision had stopped because the future was so very unclear. Somehow the presence of these two women would alter the future so much that no distinct path lay in the direction they would lead.
I won't follow them. I don't have to. I can make my own future, as long as I have Wing Zero.
This colony was dead. It was time to move on to the next.
It took little more than a thought to send the Gundam into motion, flying at an amazing pace towards the next colony. Quatre found himself thinking that this was truly an amazing machine, a one in a million piece of work.
Sandrock . . .
A flash of the last moments of his first Gundam invaded his mind, almost causing tears. Wing Zero was remarkable, but Sandrock had been his own. Sandrock had seemed, if only once, to have a mind and a will, and it saved his life with that will. He missed Sandrock, more than he would ever miss Wing Zero should it, through some improbable fluke of Fate, be destroyed.
"Quatre!"
The voice, so familiar, permeated from somewhere out in space, breaking apart his lovely daydream. Quatre searched the view screen with only a vague sense that he was actually looking for something. Out amongst the small points of twinkling stars there were two sparkles that were not stationary. They were moving, moving closer to him. Two mobile suits. Wing Zero's arm raised, prepared to fire, when the voice came again.
"Quatre, it's okay, we'll fight with you."
Trowa? Could it be that tall young man who once stayed with Quatre and the Manguanecs? The mysterious one, with deep green eyes of pain, and who claimed no name but gave one anyway, the one that Quatre had been longing to see again ever since that day.
"Stay away from me," he heard himself say before he knew it, "I'll kill you, stay away from me!"
"Quatre?" Trowa's normally even voice of no emotion wavered somewhat. He sounded almost as if he were worried, "This isn't you. Where is the kind Quatre that I knew?" From the screen Quatre saw the blue mobile suit moving closer, and he panicked.
"I said STAY AWAY FROM ME!!"
The beam cannon fired almost before he even realized that he'd commanded it to do so, as if Wing Zero's controls were merely an extension of his own mind. Quatre thought he heard, ever so faint in the noise of the blast, a sound of surprise issue from Trowa. That, of course, was impossible. Trowa could not be surprised.
Through the formless haze of his consciousness Quatre saw the blue mobile suit try to move out of the way but get caught by the blast. Somewhere deep in a part of him that was neither mind, nor heart, nor soul, but an amalgam of them all, he cried out in silent apology. His mouth did not open, no sound issued, but he felt that Trowa had heard. Yes, the boy had heard and understood.
"I'm going to kill you, Quatre," came the voice of Hiiro, who was somewhat less understanding. The platinum haired boy realized faintly that Hiiro had been speaking and he had only caught the last part, the declaration.
Kill me? He's going to kill me? No . . . because this isn't right. We . . . we shouldn't be fighting.
Hiiro could not hear his inner thoughts or cries, however, and Quatre watched as the red mobile suit came barreling towards the nearly invincible Wing Zero.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

From an isolated room within Barge, the uniformed Setsuna observed the battle between Wing Zero and the Mercurius. This was to be a turning point. After this battle the events of their lives would change drastically from what they would have been to what Setsuna and Usagi were going to make them.
Usagi.
Setsuna felt sorry for the girl-soldier and her friends. The Guardian fought the guilt in her at her meddling with Usagi's mind, but it couldn't be helped. Like NeoKing Endymion's horrid dreams, Setsuna had done this for the good of the Senshi, although they would not see it as such. The Senshi loved Usagi, and protected her, but none of them truly realized the impact she had on their battles, no matter how many times they had seen her save Earth. If forced to fight without her, they might come to realize just how important she really was to them.
Usagi also needed this. She needed to know how vital she was to the world. She needed to see the future impact she would have long after Crystal Tokyo. And more than anything else, she needed to see that sometimes one must fight in order to receive the peace they desired.
Out of the corner of one maroon eye a flash on the screen caught her attention. Realizing that with allowing her mind to wander so had she allowed her eyes, Setsuna returned her gaze to the battle. The flare from the Wing Zero's beam cannon was just fading, leaving behind a badly damaged and doomed Va8. Her gaze settled on that flashing figure, knowing that within it was the boy Trowa. Yes, here was the turning point. Right here. In a few moments her chance would come. Setsuna tapped in a security code and prepared to speak with the emotional Quatre who would face her in just a minute.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

"TROWA!"
What . . . what have I done?
Quatre watched, blue eyes quivering, as the blue mobile suit exploded into brilliant light. His mind was hazy; he didn't quite understand exactly what had happened. He knew that he had fired on Hiiro in the red mobile suit, but Trowa protected the stoic soldier. Now, Trowa was dead. Incinerated in the destruction of that suit, just as Quatre's father had perished in the explosion of his ship. Quatre pitched forward in his seat, almost gagging on his grief it was so thick. He was the same as OZ. He killed in exactly the same manner: ruthless, blindly, and without heart.
"TROWA!!!" he screamed again, this time with tears spilling in sparklets from his eyes. Quatre clutched the Wing Zero's controls and started to move the Gundam towards whatever remnants may have been left of Trowa's suit. Perhaps . . .
Without warning he was knocked from his course by the heavy red bulk of Hiiro's suit. The two mobile suits slammed into the colony with considerable force, leaving a smoking, dusty trail of demolished buildings and other colony debris.
"Quatre . . ." came Hiiro's voice, strained over the comm system. The blonde boy could hear the pain in it; Hiiro was wounded. It was his fault and he knew it.
"HIIRO!"
Quatre moved to open the cockpit door. Before he could, however, his viewscreen flashed into life. On its flat, dim surface was the face of a woman. Her features were stern, as was her green-black bun and stylized uniform, but her eyes were kind.
"Quatre Raberba Winner," she said. Her voice was tight and controlled, but he could sense the caring hidden within her tone. This woman knew him, and cared for him.
"Who are you?" It was the only thing he could think of to say.
"My name is Setsuna. You mustn't tell Hiiro my name. He knows of me, as do the other pilots, but you are the only one who knows my name and that must be. For now anyway."
"Alright," Quatre nodded, mesmerized by the powerful aura of this woman.
She was the woman in his vision! The one who would bring the angel to save them!
"You must take Hiiro to Earth. There, just outside of the Sanch kingdom's southern border is an old base. Take him there and help him. You will find everything that you need there to nurse his wounds and feed yourselves."
"Yes, I will." His complete trust in her took him almost by surprise. But he could not deny the kindness that he felt from her. It was too tangible. She smiled at him then, and even through the static fuzz on the screen he saw the tinge of sorrow in that expression.
"It is good to see you well, Quatre."
"I'm not well . . ." he murmured, flicking a last, longing look in the direction of the long dead explosion, "I killed Trowa."
"Do as I told you," she said, ignoring his guilty comment, "and all will be well, I promise."

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

Air.
Fresh, breathable air.
It was the sudden in rush of that life giving substance that woke Duo from the near death sleep he had fallen into. He all but flew into a sitting position, his braid flopping over his shoulder. Beside him Wufei was stirring. Bright light pouring in from the noticeably wide open door blinded him. Duo grinned and turned to his companion.
"Care to escape?"
"Let's give them payback first."
Duo laughed, leaping to his feet in what might be considered barely contained joy. He wasn't going to die after all! This day just kept getting better!
In moments the two were running through the corridors. Duo found that he was not the only Gundam pilot who had been told to memorize the layout of every OZ base in known existence. Wufei knew the floor plan of Lunar Base just as well as he did. The braided one gave a little grin. Well at least I won't have to worry about him holding me back.
The wide control room opened up before them as they ran through the doorway. Lying on the floor was the still form of the officer who had been with Trowa. Her glasses lay not far from her limp hand. From beneath her body seeped the treacherous red of fresh blood. Duo skidded to a halt and knelt beside her.
"Wufei, wait!"
"Why," asked the raven-haired boy with a look of pure disgust written on his features, "she's an OZ officer, and none too kind I might add. If she dies here, it is one less member of OZ for us to worry about."
"Look, she's a human being, and she's dying. We didn't shoot her. So we should help her. Besides," he nodded upwards to the control panel where the cell door release lever was pulled into the open position, "she was shot because she helped us. She's the one who freed us, saved our lives."
"She could just as easily have been shot trying to stop our savior," Wufei stated practically. With that he turned and continued on his way towards the rebuilt Shenlong and Deathscythe. Duo paused momentarily, then grimaced and rose to follow. He didn't feel right about leaving the woman behind, but Wufei was right. She may not be their savior. And she WAS an OZ officer. It was better to let her die than to waste time trying to help her and give up his own life. Still, it didn't feel right.
"Stop!"
Duo did so, but only because the three soldiers in front of him were blocking his way. All were pointing guns at him. He raised his hands in the air, a smirk on his face. He knew the smirk would drive the soldiers crazy. It always did.
"Well, looks like ya caught me. Oh well, I guess that OZ officer bleeding back there on the floor will just haveta die, with no one to help her."
"What are you talking about, Gundam pilot?" The lead soldier glared at him in obvious distrust, but he was at least willing to listen.
"I thought I was being loud and clear. OZ officer. Bleeding. Floor," he jerked his head in the direction of the control room, "Back there."
The three looked at each other for a moment. That short amount of time was enough for Duo to land a kick that knocked the guns from their hands. Then he punched one soldier in the gut and the other, whom he recognized as on of the guards who had beaten him, in the face.
"Go and rescue your officer, soldier," he said to the third, who glared at him in palpable hatred then ran past him towards the dying woman. Duo sighed and jumped over the squirming man who was holding his stomach and moaning. This was turning out to be a good day indeed.


~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~


After sending Quatre on his way to Earth, Setsuna switched her console screen to the action at Lunar Base just in time to see the Altron and the Deathscythe Hell defeat the last of OZ's despicable mobile dolls. She smiled, and sighed happily. Hiiro, Duo, Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei . . . the scientists couldn't have chosen better pilots for their Gundams than these five. If anyone could lead the colonies into peace through war, they could. They could show the colonies and Earth the pain and destruction that war cause. They could show that there is no happiness for those who fight.
Setsuna shook her head to clear it and switched on the viewscreen.
"Duo Maxwell and Chang Wufei, I'm glad to see that you've escaped." As if she ever had any doubt that they would.
"You!" Duo cried, his indigo eyes wide with surprise. Wufei was silent.
"Yes, it's me," she answered, not able to control the slight lilt in her voice. She decided that she'd been spending too much time talking to Usagi and Minako, "I'm here to tell you where you need to go now."
"How did you know that Trowa would choose Hiiro?" Duo completely ignored her statement. She could see even through the static of the screen that he was leaning forward in anticipation of her answer. But what answer could she give?
"That will be explained later, Duo. Right now you and Wufei must go to Earth. Both of you. There is a base-"
"I will not go," Wufei interrupted, "I will not go where an officer of OZ tells me to go. I don't trust you."
Ah, Wufei, always blatantly truthful.
"I'm not sure I trust you either."
Duo . . . forever annoying.
If neither of them trusted her, how was she supposed to get them on Earth? She needed all five pilots there when she brought Usagi. Silence guarded the three as she thought on how to lead them to Earth without their trust.
"If you don't trust me," she began, "then at least consider this. Your new Gundams, powerful as they are, are damaged as well as incomplete. The scientists did not have a chance to finish them before this escape. On Earth, in this place that I tell you to go, your Gundams can be completed and repaired."
Setsuna carefully studied their two faces in turn, trying to decide whether they were listening or not. Duo chewed on his lip in fervent deliberation of her words. Wufei's dark eyes bored into hers when she glanced at him, black as night and expressionless. They revealed nothing. Please, oh please let them believe me . . .
She was about to sigh and give up when at last Duo spoke.
"I'll go. Right now it's the only place I can think of where I can get Deathscythe repaired. And we all know that Shinigami can't be at his destructive best with an incomplete Gundam!"
Setsuna smiled at the wide grin plastered on Duo's face.
"Well, Wufei?" she asked, turning expectant maroon eyes to the quiet boy. His mask of indifference melted into a look of extreme annoyance. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes to speak.
"I will go, but only to have Nataku repaired and completed. If this place you tell us is a lie, then I will destroy it and find you to kill you. Understand, Onna?"
"I understand, Wufei. But I promise you that this is no lie. I would not lie to you."
I will keep things from you . . . but I will not lie . . .
"Where is this place?"
"It is at the southern border of the Sanch kingdom . . ."



~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~


Two days later, at the southern border of the Sanch kingdom, four boys met all together for the first time. The braided one waved brightly towards the wounded boy, and the dark eyed one glared in distrust at the blonde.
"Hey there, Hiiro!" Duo grinned. Hiiro grunted. "Hiya, Quatre."
"Hello, Duo," Quatre replied with a good natured smile that nevertheless had a tinge of great sorrow to it. Duo studied the boy for a moment before deciding to let Quatre deal with whatever was bothering him on his own. He opted for introductions instead.
"Wufei, meet Quatre! He piloted the Sandrock, right Quatre?"
"Right," the boy answered, the sadness creeping from his false smile into his voice.
"Wufei pilots the Shenlong. Well, I guess it's the Altron now, huh?"
Wufei did not answer. He merely stood there with arms crossed and glanced about the place where they were. Duo sighed as Hiiro broke from Quatre's helping grasp and limped away. Hiiro was always limping.
"So, uh . . . how'd you get here?" he asked, for lack of anything better to say.
"A woman told me to bring Hiiro here. She said that we'd find everything we needed to dress his wounds and to survive until she came."
"What?!?" Duo stepped back a bit to look into Quatre's eyes. He really didn't need to. He should have known that Quatre was speaking the truth; he always did. "Was she an OZ lieutenant, green black hair and maroon eyes?"
"Yes!" Quatre blinked and looked up, "She told me that you and Hiiro knew of her."
"We sure do. She came to talk to us while we were at Lunar Base. She's the one who told Wufei and me to come here so our new Gundams could be completed."
Quatre and Duo stared at each other, both wondering silently who this woman could be, and how she seemed to know so much. Finally they both glanced away. Quatre looked to Hiiro, who was his responsibility, and Duo tried to find Wufei only to discover that the raven-haired on had vanished into the dusty old base.
He tugged on his priest's collar and sighed as he looked on that crumbling building. It certainly was old. The cobwebs inside were so thick that Duo could see them through the windows, many of which were broken or cracked. The dirty red bricks that made up the outer walls were also cracked. Duo walked over and tapped on of them lightly with a fingernail. Part of the brick chipped and fell off as if it were made of chalk. He sighed again.
"This place is a dump. It looks like it's been here forever! How are were ever supposed to survive here?"
"That woman must have come here before to prepare," came Wufei' voice from inside. A moment later the boy himself stepped out of the door, "There are five rooms, one for each of us, and you will know which is yours. She knows us somehow. She knows what we like, what we dislike, our hobbies and interests. There is also a kitchen that is well stocked. Strange thing is that everything except the food looks like it's been here for ages. Almost as if the builder knew that we would be coming." Wufei frowned. It looked good on him, considering that it was his normal expression, "I don't like this. It's too convenient, too well planned."
"Yeah, but at least there's food!"
"And an underground storage slash work facility." Hiiro arrived, presumably from said facility, "It's large enough to hold five Gundams and there are enough spare parts to keep our suits running forever."
"That only makes me feel worse about this," said Wufei with an intense expression, eyebrows knitted together, "She obviously only wants us for our Gundams."
"No."
The three turned to Quatre, whose answer had been quiet but forceful. Hiiro and Wufei exchanged a glance while Duo tilted his head to the side.
"Whaddya mean?"
"I mean that she isn't our enemy, and she doesn't just want us because we're Gundam pilots. I feel it from her; she cares about us. She's doing this to save us from something that she's seen. And she'll bring us help. I know. I can feel it. And . . . Wing Zero showed it to me."
This time all three of the pilots exchanged one large glance at Quatre's cryptic statement. Wing Zero showed it to him? What was Wing Zero, and what had it shown him? But Quatre fell silent, and the sorrow lay like a thick blanket over his slightly chubby, childish face. Silence pervaded the small area as three boys wondered to themselves whether their companion was crazy or not, and the fourth thought only of the recent past.
None of them could know that at that moment a woman with green-black hair and maroon eyes was walking amongst clowns, tigers, and acrobats. They could not know that her efforts would save them from a future none of them wanted. Their minds could not grasp the effect her actions had on their lives, and could not predict the effect that one person, one girl-soldier, would have on their hearts.


End Chapter Two