Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Eternal Betrayal (Extended) ❯ Ch. 7 ( Chapter 7 )

Disclaimer: Don't own GW. *cries*

AN: Thanks to bekkalynn and snowdragon for all of the support!!! I greatly appreciate it!!!

 

Chapter 7

Fight for Freedom

 

June 9th, AC 202

“How many pilots do we have?” Milliardo asked, walking down the hall of the Eternity.

“About 2000, sir.”

Milliardo sighed. “That's nowhere near enough.”

“Sorry, sir.”

“We'll manage somehow.” Milliardo turned into the launch bay. “Have we received any news about Duo?”

“Nothing, sir. No doubt Relena's keeping him close to her. Since she has made any moves, it's safe to assume that he is.”

“Dammit.”

Another assistant ran up. “Sir, the Destiny says that it just picked up a large ESUN fleet heading this way!”

“Damn, she found us already. Prepare the colonies for a Jump away from the battlefield. The Eternity, Serenity, and the Destiny are to assume battle positions. If anything, we won't go down without a fight. First, I need to go talk to someone,” Milliardo said. He opened the airlock and walked out into the interior of Sanctuary.

 

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“You need us to fight against the ESUN?” Quatre said as calmly as possible. The other Gundam pilots stared at Milliardo as if the blonde had lost his mind.

“Why should we do that? We have no allegiance to this colony,” Wufei said.

“So you're just going to make Duo's sacrifice go to waste?” The Chinese man flinched as though Milliardo had slapped him. “Duo gave up his freedom to make sure you all were safe! The least you can do is fight for his dream!” Milliardo yelled in anger. “For all of his smarts, he sure picked a bunch of stupid friends.” He stood up. “Think about it for a while, because in a few hours, Sanctuary might not be here anymore.”

 

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Duo felt the doctor strap him into the cockpit. He was exhausted from the last batch of `tests', and he knew from the madman's smirk that this would be far worse than anything he'd survived through these past four months. “You should feel honored to be the first to experience this new program. It'll be downloaded onto those little machines in your head, and you'll finally be ready for battle, my precious toy.” He gave the last strap around his chest a final tight pull. Duo gasped for breath. He put a visor on over Duo's head before he connected it to the computer. “Don't worry. It won't hurt too much…” The man laughed as he got out of the cockpit. The door slid shut in front of Duo.

The former captain heard the Mobile Suit start up. The visor itself lit up. Duo barely paid attention to the lines of code racing past on the screen. He didn't care about the program at all; he just knew it was going to be horrible.

Suddenly his head burst into flames. Waves of sheer pain washed over his consciousness. He bit back the urge to scream from the pain. He refused to give the man that satisfaction. The nanomachines in his body went into overdrive, eagerly taking in the new system. “Stop… Stop… Stop…” he sobbed. He tried to stop the forced download.

He wasn't sure if the scream was real or just in his head before he lost consciousness.

 

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“Launch all Mobile Suits! The four Gundam pilots are in charge of the defense!” Milliardo ordered. “Tell the colonies to Jump to Sweeper Route 25!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Colonies have successfully Jumped, sir.”

“Mobiles Suits launched, sir.”

“The Gundam pilots are in position, sir.”

“ESUN MS detected.”

“Prepare for battle!” Milliardo yelled. “Gundam pilots, I hope your skills haven't decreased in the past five years, because we're going to need every shred of them.”

“We'll be fine,” Quatre said over the communication lines.

“Sir, one enemy Mobile Suit has broken away from the rest of the group. It's heading towards the Serenity.”

`Why the Serenity?' the blond commander thought. “Wufei, did you hear that?”

“Of course! One enemy on its own should be no match for me!”

 

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Wufei saw the enemy MS approach quickly. “Stupid bastard…” he muttered, pulling out the rifle on his own machine. He was amazed at Duo's programming skills as the aiming system immediately locked onto the enemy. He pulled the trigger.

The ESUN Mobile Suit changed course suddenly and avoided the shot completely. It turned towards Wufei's position at insanely fast speeds. Wufei briefly wondered if the pilot was even still conscious as he watched the MS draw a long beam saber. It took a very familiar stance before it began to swing down on Wufei's suit.

“Dear Ancestors, please don't tell me it's him…”

The screens around him went dark.

 

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Trowa and Heero flew towards Wufei's position as quickly as possible. They both had heard the Chinese man mutter something before communications with the pilot had gone eerily silent.

Both pilots froze when they saw a ESUN Mobile Suit hacking away at Wufei's broken machine. They drew their weapons and charged the enemy. The MS released Wufei and prepared to defend itself against two new targets.

“I…want…to…die…” a broken voice said over the intercom. Trowa and Heero figured it was the pilot of the enemy MS.

“Heero. Trowa. I want you to try to catch that machine,” Milliardo's voice said.

“Fine,” Heero growled. He switched his target from the vulnerable torso to the arms and legs. He knew that Trowa had done the same. The pair had gained an exception sense of teamwork from the wars, and they worked in perfect synchronization.

Heero and Trowa moved in for a disabling attack. The enemy Mobile Suit turned to attack Heero. The Japanese man realized his mistake. The MS sacrificed an arm to get a clear shot at Heero's cockpit, but suddenly the enemy jerked back. Heero was happy to have gotten away safely, but he knew that something was wrong with the enemy pilot.

 

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Duo struggled to keep consciousness against the domineering program in his body's nanomachines. He felt like his head was being split open from the inside out, but his one thought was protecting the pilots of the two new attackers. It had taken him only a few seconds to realize who they were. “I…want…to…die…” he managed to whisper. Tears ran down his face. “Heero…help…me…” His machine lost an arm.

Violet eyes went wide when he realized what the program was trying to force him to do. Acting on pure desperation, he jerked the controls back. He refused to give up. He pushed the MS into Trowa's path, losing both legs in the process. Another attack by Heero left the ESUN machine unarmed and useless. Duo smiled softly before he allowed himself to lose consciousness again.

 

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Quatre dragged Wufei's broken MS into the launch hanger of the Eternity. He looked over at Trowa and Heero. They were placing a captured Mobile Suit on the ground. Teams of medical personnel and engineers swarmed the two damaged machines.

Once Wufei's Mobile Suit had come to a complete and utter stop, the cockpit door slid open and the Chinese man got out. He was bleeding slightly from cuts on his arms and forehead, but he seemed fine otherwise. He climbed down the MS almost frantically. He took off running as soon as he hit the ground.

 

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Wufei ignored the angry yells of people as he pushed past them. He didn't care about them; the only person in the entire world that mattered might be in the cockpit of the enemy's MS. He climbed up the side. Hoping that the outer latch of the machine was still in the same place, he felt along the edge of the cockpit door. He smiled slightly when his fingers ran into the button. He eagerly pressed it and stood back as the door slid open.

The Chinese man swore softly when he saw the unconscious pilot strapped into the chair. He climbed into the small cockpit, pulling out a small knife. He sawed through the straps. Once the last strap was severed, Wufei dropped the knife to the side. He pulled the strange visor off, fully revealing the familiar face of the missing Gundam pilot. “Shit, Duo. What the hell happened to you?” he asked as he took in the various cuts on the pale body. “We need a medic!” Wufei yelled out the door. He could hear people scrambling below him.

Wufei moved to wrap his arms around the bloody young man. The second his fingers touched Duo's skin, the captain's eyes snapped open. Wufei got a glimpse of the beautiful violet eyes gain a dangerous cat-like appearance. Duo launched himself at Wufei and despite his lighter weight, knocked both of them off of the machine. The ten-foot fall seemed to last for only a second, and then Wufei gasped as he and Duo hit the steel floor. Wufei's shoulder and upper arm felt on fire; he knew they were broken. He got to his feet. Duo struggled to stand up, and the weakness gave Wufei a chance to defeat the madman.

The Chinese pilot was caught completely off-guard when Duo flung himself into another attack. Duo again knocked Wufei to the ground. Slender fingers wrapped around Wufei's neck, effectively cutting off any oxygen he could get. The two pilots' blood mixed, and Wufei felt a burning sensation all over his body.

A conditioned reflex snapped an elbow into the insane man's jaw, and Wufei took that opportunity to grab Duo by the throat. Duo jerked back, unable to escape Wufei's hold. Duo punched at Wufei, but the Chinese man moved out of the way. The pale fist slammed into the steel ground. Duo winced in pain. Wufei grabbed the arm and threw Duo across the room. The braided captain gasped when he hit the floor. Wufei jumped to his feet. He barely acknowledged the other three pilots running towards them. “Stay back!” Wufei ordered. The others froze. “Just stay there!”

Duo stood up, holding his left arm. Wufei smirked. The injury would slow Duo down at the very least and that would give… Duo attacked again. Wufei rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the braided young man's assault. Duo spun and kicked out. Wufei caught Duo's foot, but he couldn't block Duo's second attack. Duo's left foot caught Wufei in the side of the head. Wufei saw stars as he collapsed to the ground. He felt blood run down the side of his face. When he looked back up at Duo, Wufei felt himself pale.

The violet eyes that were usually so alive were cold and dangerous. No emotions crossed the pale, blood-streaked face as Duo prepared to deal the final blow. Wufei knew somehow that there was no way he could survive. “I will follow my mission and destroy Sanctuary. I am expendable,” Duo said coldly.

The manner in which Duo spoke sparked something in Wufei's memory. He remembered the cold, calculating, controlling program that had been installed into Wing Gundam. Wufei could still feel the faint touch of the program on his mind, and he shivered slightly. “The… Zero… System?” he whispered.

The final blow never came. Wufei and Duo both froze when they heard the soft gunshot. Duo reached up slowly and touched the tranquilizer dart gently. He pulled it out. The dart skittered across the steel ground. He backed away from the downed Wufei. “Wha…What the hell?” he muttered. His cat-like irises changed back to normal. He stumbled slightly; the tranquilizer worked quickly. Another dart sunk into his arm. He paled violently. His eyes slid shut, and he fell to the ground in a bundle of long limbs and chestnut hair.

 

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Wufei followed the medical personnel as they ran through the halls pushing the stretcher. Already Duo had a blood transfusion started. However, the wounds themselves didn't stop bleeding.

“You need to wait here,” a nurse said calmly. Wufei glared at her.

“I know how to help.”

“But-.”

“Let him in, Elma,” a young doctor said calmly. The pair looked at him. “We need help.”

Wufei walked around the nurse into the room. Duo was surrounded by a team of doctors and nurses. “What do you need me to do?”

“I take it you've already realized that something is…different about Duo Maxwell, right?” Wufei nodded. “He has nanomachines in his body. Usually they heal injuries, but as you can see, they aren't following their programming. Once we reset the systems, I want you to cut him.”

The Chinese man paled. “Cut him? He'll die!”

The doctor shook his head. “Once the nanomachines are reset, they'll recognize any and all injuries. These ones won't be recognized right away, but if we inflict new ones close by, they'll be repaired.”

“How do you know all this?” Wufei asked.

The doctor looked at the former Preventor. “Because I once worked with Duo in the labs while he developed the nanomachines for medical purposes.” He turned away from Wufei. “Prepare to reset the system!” he ordered. “Wufei, I must ask you to keep this a secret from the others.” Wufei nodded. This was something that would remain between the three of them. “Now I need you to stand back. This will be one of the most painful things you'll ever see.”

Wufei took a couple of steps back. He watched as the team prepared a strange electrical device. “Three…. Two…. One!” They lowered the rods down onto Duo's skin. The braided captain's body arched almost impossibly, and a strangled cry escaped his lips. Wufei could see the electricity racing down his arms and legs.

It was over in seconds. Wufei rushed to his friend's side. The doctor shoved a sharp scalpel into his hands. Wufei gently sliced the pale skin, hoping to trigger the necessary response. “You idiot!” the doctor yelled angrily. He grabbed the knife from Wufei's hand. “You need to do it like this!” He viciously stabbed the entire blade into the arm and slid it across the entire width of the limb, severing muscle, nerves, and blood vessels. Blood raced out of the pale body and dripped to the floor. However the attack had triggered the nanomachines. Wufei watched as muscle, then skin, grew back impossibly fast. Soon every visible wound had repaired themselves. “We need to take him to a room to rest. Realize that he was probably raped while on Earth,” Wufei paled sharply, “and the machines in his body were forced to download some sort of program. It's the only explanation for the abnormal behavior. It was probably deleted by the reset.”

“Do you think he remembered the battle?”

“Probably, but you should ask him when he wakes up.” The doctor watched the team push the bed away. “Please, give him some time, Wufei. I don't know how long it'll take for him to return to normal, but he will eventually.” The doctor turned away from the door. “Now, let's talk about you.”

Wufei raised an eyebrow. “Me?”

“You fought with a very strong young man. No doubt you have some injuries.”

Wufei shook his head. “No. I feel fine.” The doctor's eyebrows rose.

“Is that so…. I want you to sit on the bed over there.”

“What for?”

“I need a blood sample.” To confirm his statement, the doctor pulled out a large needle. Wufei glared at the syringe as he sat down on the bed. He undid the clasps on his blood-stained shirt and shrugged it off. He was surprised to see the wounds he'd received in the space battle and following fist fight with Duo had healed, even his broken arm.

The doctor dabbed a numbing liquid onto the strong arm. Wufei watched the needle slide under his skin and crimson blood begin to fill the syringe. Something seemed off about the blood's color. It was almost metallic. The doctor finished getting the blood sample and pulled the needle out gently. He walked over to a microscope.

Wufei pulled his shirt on again, but he didn't bother to close it. The Chinese pilot went over to the laboratory equipment. The doctor put a single drop of blood on a slide and placed it under the microscope. He turned on the machine.

Wufei nearly jumped in surprise when the wall to his right flickered. He spun around, prepared to fight off an attacker. He allowed himself to calm down at the sight of healthy red blood cells on the screen. The doctor walked past him and stopped in front of the image. The man watched for something.

“Here. Enlarge,” the doctor said, tapping on a small region near one of the cells. The computer quickly zoomed in on the requested area and focused the image. Wufei couldn't see anything important. “Again. Here.” He tapped on the screen again. The computer repeated the process. Again nothing could be seen. “Again.” Finally Wufei saw something moving. It wasn't the enormous cell, but something incredibly tiny. “Enlarge.” The image grew, focusing on a single tiny machine. Wufei paled. A nanomachines… He had been infected with nanomachines, and since he'd gotten them straight from Duo during the fight, there was a high probability of the Zero System still existing in him. “This is most definitely unusual,” the doctor muttered. Wufei couldn't hear the rest of the doctor's mumblings. The older man walked over to the medicine cabinet. Wufei watched the man pull out a bottle of pills. He threw them to Wufei. “I want you to take these. Two pills twice a day. It'll help the nanomachines and you. I'll see if I can get something else to stabilize them permanently.”

“Why to I need to take these?” Wufei asked.

The doctor sighed. “The problem with the nanomachines that Duo developed is that they don't respond well to direct transfer from one person to another. Most of the experiments failed miserably, but something tells me you'll do fine.” Wufei's sudden fear vanished. The doctor was right. He felt completely normal, completely human. Nothing much had changed to him physically, mentally, or emotionally. Wufei was still human, despite the nanomachines in his blood. “It'll take some getting used to, though, I won't deny it, and unless I can find a more permanent solution, it will hurt.”

“If this is what Duo went through, I can survive.” Wufei sighed. “I'm still human.” The doctor nodded. “I guess I always knew what Duo was doing when he first disappeared, but never did I expect him to have changed so much.”

“He's the leader of Sanctuary, Chang Wufei, and leaders have to make sacrifices.”