Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Burnout ❯ Chapter 21C ( Chapter 26 )

I could not have done this with out Free Skylark's help.

She helped me brainstorm and place events in fitting places

Word things so that they made sense

As well as write most of the end scene for this chapter.

::huggles:: thank you so very much!

I hope you enjoy reading this.

^-^

Weissangel24

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Chapter twenty-one C

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He stared at the rapier that was embedded into the floor, for several moments before meeting the crazed gaze of the other. Quatre swallowed hard as he stepped away from his half-sister and the sharp weapon she wielded.

"Oh. . . come on now. . ." She pouted, "I know you came to play. . ."

"I can't die today, Dorothy." The boy said evenly, "I gave him my word."

She smirked, "Then I guess you're just going to have to break your promise, now won't you!" She ended with a yell that punctuated her lunging attack.

"I'm begging you, Dorothy. . . don't do this." The boy pleaded managing to dodge out of the way.

"BEGGING!?" the girl shrieked, swiping at him with her sword, narrowly missing him. "Since when does the all powerful WINNER heir beg?"

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Wu Fei tried to quell the anxious feelings that stirred in his heart and his gut. The other pilots didn't realize how important this was to him, as he had never spoken of it: but Trowa knew enough that he had told Quatre to let him go.

And now, he was here.

Waiting.

With no clue as to what he was going to do, or what would happen.

His sense of justice simply telling him that something must be done. The Chinese boy just prayed that when the time came, he would know how to deal with his adversary.

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"Hiiro. . ." Duo breathed as he caught a glimpse of his koi's fight on his monitor. Wing Zero appeared to have sustained minimal damage, but Epyon was relentless in its assault.

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"If you are so intent on surviving, then I suggest you defend yourself, Little brother." Dorothy glared, "I don't like playing with broken toys."

"I'm not a toy, Dorothy!" Quatre countered, narrowly being missed by a wild swing.

"Yes you are." She sneered, "You're a mindless little puppet that does whatever is asked of you."

"If that were true, I wouldn't be here! I'd be locked up in L4 where father would dictate my every move! I won't live like that! I'm not a toy!" He growled grabbing the rapier from is sheath in the floor and brought it to bare just in time to parry another attack.

"You may not be father's toy any longer," she smirked triumphantly as she circled the smaller teenager like a predator its' prey. "But you are still a toy."

"PROVE IT!" The boy shouted, launching an attack of his own.

Dorothy glowed with self-satisfaction, as she defended herself. "You defy father, because your instructor tells you to. You fight because your comrades tell you to. You struggle to stay alive because he told you not to die, and you fight me because I have made you."

Quatre gasped horrified, his sword falling from his hand "No. . ."

"Everyone around you pulls your strings to make you do what they want. You're nothing but a marionette." She raised her sword, "And now I will cut your strings!"

"DOROTHY!" The boy cried, "You're Mistak-. . ."

The girl flipped a hand through her hair with a smug look of superiority as she watched her brother choke on his words; her sword sheathed deep into his abdomen to the point it stuck out of his back.

Quatre blinked rapidly, as his entire body shook in shock. Swallowing hard, he tried not to scream as Dorothy ripped the blade from his torso. Doubling over, he could feel his mind start to fog, and his vision blur. "T-Trowa. . ." He whispered sorrowfully.

"And now, even without your strings, you remain a puppet as you will die because I have made you."

"Y-You're w-wrong, Dorothy. . ." He gasped out, "Anything th-that I've done. . . is because I-I've wanted to. . ."

"You're so full of it!" She screamed at him, "You're a toy! A MISERABLE BROKEN TOY!"

"I'm not a toy, Dorothy. . ." He said between gritted teeth. "You are. The marionette of war! I wanted to leave father. . . I-I wanted to fight for the colonies. . .with my f-friends. . . I-I want to l-live. . ." The boy grimaced in agony. "A-And I w-wanted you to u-understand. . . You've hated me for too long. . . and why?. . . Because unlike you. . . I can do what I want. . . break away from expectations. . .B-But your grandfather dictates your life. . . killing me. . . the princess. . ."

"You bastard." Dorothy seethed, slapping him across his pale face. "You don't know of what you speak!"

"Even now. . . Y-You deny it?. . . I feel s-sorry for you, Dorothy. . ." Weakly, he offered her a small smile, before falling into the merciful abyss of darkness.

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/ "As of yesterday 99,822 people."/

/ "We have confirmations of 82 White Fang soldiers. . . and 105 of our own."/

/ "I see, give me their names later."/

Wu Fei had been stunned. This wasn't the monster he had learned to hate.

/ "Please try to understand this. . . not one of those people have died in vain! AAAAAAHHHH!"/

Treize's attack had come so suddenly, only Wu Fei's fighting instinct had saved him. . . but at the same time. . . had killed Treize.

Now, the Chinese warrior sat in his cockpit, drifting through space, crying out his pent up frustrations and anger. "I didn't think I'd win. . ."

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A solitary tear slid down Lady Une's face before she stood straight, and addressed her soldiers. "Contact the White Fang and inform us of our surrender."

"WHAT!?" Several voices exclaimed surprised.

"THIS IS HUMILIATING, DON'T MAKE ME REPEAT MYSELF - SEND THEM THE MESSAGE!" She yelled.

"Right!" her subordinates acknowledged as they hurried to carry out her order.

"Mr. Treize. . . You were splendid."

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Trowa burst into the room, weapon ready.

"Hn." Came a cynical smirk. "So you're the one he thinks so highly of?"

"Where is he?" the banged boy demanded, his gun not leaving the shadowy figure. "Where is Quatre?"

"Kit-Quat?" She purred as she approached, examining her nails with more concern than she gave the angry pilot. "He's floating around here somewhere." She smirked, "Damn Zero gravity. Makes it difficult, if not impossible to keep track of bodies."

"What?" He chocked out, his gun hand shaking.

"Oh." She smiled, nodding to the left of the pilot. "There he is."

The banged boy hesitantly looked where she had gestured. What he saw made his blood run cold. A sharp pain shot through his heart, and his breath hitched in his chest, "Quatre. . ."

The limp body drifted lifelessly, a trail of blood floating in its wake. The owner's face was ashen pale; his eyes closed. There was no acknowledgment or any sign that he was still alive.

"Quatre!" He called as he pushed himself to meet the boy. Upon reaching him, Trowa wrapped his arms around the frail body and brought him back down to the floor.

Dorothy sneered as she watched the banged pilot carefully remove her brother's helmet, "If he's not dead yet, he will be soon. Don't waste your time."

"Quatre?" He whispered, ignoring the girl's taunts. He held the boy close, running his gloved fingers through the blonde's sweat matted hair, "Please, Quatre. . . Don't leave me. . ." There was blood everywhere, but he couldn't tell from where it came or how badly the boy was injured. "Quatre. . . please?"

A tear slipped down his cheek as he leaned closer and gently placed a kiss on the boy's pale forehead. "I need you. . ."

Dull azure eyes forced themselves open. "T-Trowa?" the voice strained, a pain filled happiness tugged at his lips as he weakly reached up and wiped away the sapphire drops of loss away. "Y-You came. . . I-I knew you w-would. . ."

"Quat!" Trowa exclaimed with relief, "I was so afraid that you were dead. . ."

"No. . . I'm still >wince< alive. . ." He smiled forcefully, "The mission. . . have you?"

"No." The banged boy shook his head. "I had a more important mission to complete."

"D-Did you?"

"I found you didn't I?" He offered a small smile as he felt his cheeks redden.

"Yes. . ." Quatre replied as he smiled back, his own cheeks flushing rather cutely.

"I think I'm going to hurl." Dorothy mocked; making a face as she pretended to gag herself.

Trowa shot her a hateful glare. "You're fortunate that he was not killed."

"I'm sure." She scoffed.

Quatre grimaced as he felt the taller pilot's body tense with evident anger, "Don't Trowa. . ." He whispered, his gloved fingers curling tightly into the other pilot's spacesuit. The banged boy looked at him questioningly. "She's. . . not worth it. . . she never. . . has been. . ." The blonde explained. "Besides. . . Someone has got to finish the mission. . ."

The banged pilot stared into the other's eyes for several moments before nodding, "Will you be alright?"

"I'll be fine. . ." Quatre assured, pushing him away. "Just go!"

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Duo watched as the mad five drift to where the wreckage of Peacemillion rested after Sally had rammed it into Libra's center, knocking out it's main cannon. They planned on destroying White Fang's ship by destroying Sally's.

Personally, to Duo, it seemed to be a suicide mission.

"Yeah, I'll be real choked up to see them die." He said a bit angrily as he left them to help fight the Mobile Dolls. "Yep, that'd be a real shame."

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Trowa frowned as he sliced through one grid of cables after another. Although Quatre was right, someone did need to complete the mission, he knew Quatre needed medical attention. He glanced over to where the smaller boy was propped up against the wall. "Quatre?"

"W-what time is it, T-Trowa?" He gasped out as he fought to keep his eyes open.

"23:34. Why?"

"I-I'll make it . . ."the boy smiled painfully, as he let out a sigh of relief.

"Quatre. .?" Trowa prompted as he sliced through the final grid.

From the other side of the room, Dorothy sneered, "Worried about breaking your promise?"

"Shut up, Dorothy!" Quatre hissed, doubling over on himself. "For once in your life, shut up!"

"Quatre. . ." Trowa's kind voice beckoned him, a gentle hand resting on his shoulder. "Mission complete. Let's get out of here. Can you stand?"

"T-Trowa. . ." The boy grimaced as the banged boy helped him to his feet, and supported him, "What about her?"

Trowa glared over at the blonde girl, "I think she can help herself." He said curtly as they headed towards the exit. "You said it, yourself. . . she's not worth it."

"R-Right. . ."

"I WON, QUATRE!" Dorothy shouted after them, "I WON!"

"No, Dorothy." The blonde whispered so quietly that Trowa barely heard him. "No one won."

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As the explosion died down, Duo turned Deathscythe, ready to face his next enemy; only to find that he was now amidst a Mobile Suit graveyard. "Hey. . . They stopped moving. . ."

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/"You've lost, Zechs."/ Hiiro said over the radio. /"White Fang has been defeated."/

/"It's not over yet. I'm still alive."/ Zechs retaliated, pressing a button on Epyon's console.

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Quatre screamed out as an explosion tore him from Trowa's arms, and sent them both flying.

"Quatre!" Trowa cried, rushing over to where the blonde lay.

"What was that?"

"Not good. . ." Trowa frowned, holding the other close. "Can you still pilot?"

"Yes." Quatre replied without hesitation.

The banged boy frowned unconvinced, "Are you sure?"

"I have to, Trowa. There are no shuttles, and we both won't fit into one Gundam."

Trowa sighed, "You're right."

"I'll be okay." The blonde tried to smile. "Really."

"I left Heavyarms next to Sandrock."

The ship around them groaned and shuddered.

"Trowa, I think we should hurry."

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/ "What did you do, Zechs!?"/ Hiiro demanded.

/ "If I can't win, neither will the Earth. Libra is on a collision course."/

/ "Damn You."/ The perfect soldier growled abandoning his fight with Zechs in favor of stopping the Libra.

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/"We're going to have to smash our way out of here."/ Quatre said as their exit became blocked.

/ "Let's go then. . ."/ Trowa said opening fire on the wall.

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She sat alone in the deserted room, the peaceful silence finally telling her what she hated to hear. But that did not change the truth. The stone had finally come to the bottom of the lake, and there would be no more ripples. No more wars, or strife to keep her busied away from the gnawing weakness inside her.

As much as she abhorred it, she knew that Quatre had been right.

"Damn him fro what his is." She growled to the silent Libra.

Everyone had abandoned the ship; the battle was over. Treize was dead and his troops had stopped fighting. Zechs had used his Ace, the Earth would be destroyed. It was quiet at last, though most people didn't know what had happened yet. She, however, knew it well.

It was over.

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A blur of white, Zero came to stand before the colossal hunk of metal that was Libra. It was time to end this mission, and one more blast was needed. He had to do it for all of them; Duo, Trowa, Quatre, Wu Fei. . . They were all tired of this war, and it was high time it was stopped.

Gripping the controls tightly, he fired their last hope.

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/"GO, QUATRE! GO!"/ Trowa ordered, when they had finally broken through Libra's outer hull only to be greeted by the Wing Zero as it fired its beam cannon. Harshly, Heavyarms pushed Sandrock out the small hole, quickly following himself.

On full thrusters, they flew out of the way.

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Dorothy looked before here at the yellow beam piercing the black expanse of space. The war. . . her life. . . flashed before her. . . Growing up, trying to kill her brother. . . Living with her grandfather, Romefeller, OZ, Pro-Treize, White Fang, her final fight. . . and then. . . nothing. No more bloodshed, nothing to give the girl a reason to live.

The beam coming towards her reminded her of certain golden locks she knew, the smile that shone warming others like the sun. And she had put that out. It was ironic, really, but she understood what he was trying to tell her.

However, it was already over.

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Libra exploded, the power of its destruction finally sweeping away like the shadow of death. Life was back again, and the whole universe seemed to radiate happiness.

But a price had to be paid.

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To be continued. . .

A/N This is the last chapter I had to write.

The rest of the story is complete and is just waiting to be posted.

Thanks once again to Free Skylark

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Weissangel24