Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Mission Complete ❯ Mission Accepted ( Chapter 24 )

Mission Accepted

"Okay, so you know where the base is now, right?" The Gundam pilots nod. "Fine. I'll see you there at 1900 hours tomorrow. For now, I have to get back to my own base and get more details about the mission." You turn away, walking along the path that will take you back to the road.

"Are you sure you don't want us to help?" Duo calls after you.

You pause for a moment, then turn around and shake your head, smiling slightly. "No, I'll be fine. I don't really need your help for this, but I just thought you could think of it as proof that I'm really against OZ. After all, I don't want the Gundam pilots thinking I'm their enemy, do I?"

Duo blinks slowly. "Well, if you're sure…"

"I'm sure," you tell him. Your tone has a definite end-of-conversation ring to it. Duo shuts up, and you leave, wondering what exactly the details of this mission are. What you've been told is somewhat vague; there must be something else to it that Doctor Y didn't want the pilots to hear, but what?

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Doctor Y is waiting for you when you get back to base. "There's more to this mission than I could tell you over the communicator," he says.

You roll your eyes. "I figured as much. What is it?"

"Well, for one thing, this won't be like any mission you've had before. You'll be using your Gundam-"

"Yes!" you yell before he can continue. "All RIGHT! About time you let me have a real MS fight!"

The look on Y's face silences you. You calm down quickly; you've never seen him this serious before, which is really saying a lot. Your eyes narrow slightly. "What else is there?" you ask quietly.

"This could be the fight that will end the new OZ before they're properly started," he says. "Their leader will be there tomorrow afternoon. The mission is to destroy the base, which I suspect is their headquarters, and kill their leader."

"And what's the catch?"

He meets your eyes. "They already have enough mobile dolls at that base to wage a full-fledged war. That's what they're planning on doing. They have the date set for next week."

"So if this mission fails, then…"

"Then OZ is coming out into the open and there'll be nothing we can do to stop them starting another war," he answers. "But as I said, the sheer number of MD that are there will cause a problem during the mission. Also, if and when the base explodes, the blast will be large enough to be seen a good distance away, and people will ask questions."

You close your eyes, the truth of the mission suddenly hitting you and making your head spin. "So there's a good chance the mission might fail, because of all the opposition. Even if it does succeed, people will want to know what happened. Telling them OZ was trying to come back isn't enough; they'll want to know who had the firepower to bring them down. And it's of the utmost importance that they have no one to blame for what happened."

"Yes," Doctor Y says quietly. "This is a suicide mission. The only way to get past the MD and blow up the base successfully is if you fight like you've never fought before, where the stakes are so high you can't stop to consider your own life. When the base explodes, you will undoubtedly be caught in the resulting blast."

"That's all you wanted to tell me?" He nods. You smile grimly, cold indifference written all over your face. "All right, then. Mission accepted."

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The next day, at 1900 hours, you meet the pilots at a small city about a mile from the base. Your Gundam is in the truck that you drive to the town. Jumping out of the driver's seat, you see Duo and the others lounging on a bench by the side of the road. You walk over to them, outwardly calm, but inside you're in turmoil. No matter how hard you try, you can't get rid of the little doubts and fears that are plaguing your mind, and you know that can't be a good thing; to pull this mission off, you have to be absolutely focused on your goal. Nothing can get in your way, not even the Gundam pilots.

You take a deep breath as you take a seat on the bench, answering their hellos calmly. You know that your face is slightly paler than usual, but you hope they won't notice; you don't want any awkward questions before the mission. Now that you think of it… you have to come up with some way to get the pilots far away from the base before you destroy. No sense in getting them caught in the blast.

Steeling your face into an expressionless mask much like Heero's, you take a deep breath. Duo notices, and the grin slides off his face. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Hmm? Yeah, sure. Just thinking about the mission." It's true, isn't it? You're just thinking about the mission… You force a smile onto your face. "Making stuff explode is always fun." Your voice sounds strange to your ears, and you wonder if they notice…

Heero, Trowa, and Wufei don't seem to think anything's wrong, or if they do, they don't show it. Quatre sends you a slightly worried glance before he looks away, obviously suspecting something but not thinking too much of it. Duo seems to be the only one who doesn't buy it, but he says nothing else. You're glad of that; if he says more, presses you for information, you're sure that you'll break and tell them everything… about how important this was, how you weren't sure you could pull it off… how it was a suicide mission.

The six of you just stay there for about an hour, making small talk and acting like normal people, not soldiers who were about to blow a base. During that time, you relax slightly, which you're glad of; it wouldn't be good to go into battle distracted. A few times, you think you see Duo studying you, as if he suspects something's off, but it disappears before you're sure of it. All too soon, it's time for your mission, and you stand up. "Well guys, I guess we should be heading off now. Don't want to be out past our bedtimes, ne?" The others follow your lead and wander off. You walk over to the truck where your Gundam is hidden, but before you can go in, someone calls your name.

"Huh?" You turn around to see Duo standing there, looking more worried than you've seen him. "Hey. I thought you followed the others."

"I wanted to talk to you in private first," he says softly. You can't help but notice the way the setting sun lights up his hair, turning it the most beautiful bronze color while leaving slight shadows playing over his face… you snap out of it. Once again, no distractions, right? Especially not in the form of the really hot guy standing in front of you…

You lean against the driver's door casually. "Sure. What is it?"

"Something's been bothering you. The others didn't notice it, but I know something's wrong…"

Slight shock appears on your face before you can hide it, but then the mask slips back into place. "What are you talking about? I'm fine." But even as you say it, you can feel all your fears and doubts you had bottled away slipping back quickly, and it takes all you have not to turn and run, run from those compassionate blue eyes that can somehow see into your soul…

"_________," he says quietly, and you look up quickly, from where you'd been studying the ground. Duo's closer to you know, only about a foot away, and his eyes are boring into yours. "Stop lying to me. What's wrong?"

You can't stand it anymore. You tear your gaze away from his, staring fixedly at a rock five feet to your left. "I told you, nothing's wrong. And besides," Your voice cracks, and inwardly you curse at it for giving you away at a time like this. "And besides, how would you know if something was? You've only known me for a few days."

"Let's just say I know," Duo tells you. He slips his hand under your chin and tilts your head so you're looking at him, and you can see in his eyes that he's telling the truth; he's completely convinced that there's something you're not telling him. You can feel the beginnings of tears start to form in your eyes, no matter how hard you try to make them go away. "It's about the mission, isn't it?" he asks. "Please. Tell me." You're almost lost in his eyes, and you're tempted to give in. You need to tell someone how you feel; it's tearing you apart…

'But what about the mission?' your mind screams at you. 'You're not even supposed to HAVE emotions! Just carry out the stupid mission and be done with it!'

'Forget the mission,' another part of your head says. 'You know you can't deal with this right now. And besides, Duo's waiting…'

Listen to the first voice in your head. This could end everything - the return of OZ, the troubles that they're causing… and your life. - go to page forty-five

Listen to the second voice. Tell Duo about the mission; what you're supposed to do, how important this is, and how scared you are… somehow, you know he'll find a way to help. - go to page forty-six

Listen to the third voice. It's telling you that you're crazy, since you have voices in your head arguing with each other, and you agree… - go to see a psychiatrist (haha! XD Sorry guys, you'll have to do this on your own time. I don't have time to make you go get help. *nodnod*)