Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Survival ❯ Chasing Hope ( Chapter 13 )

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

Chasing Hope

Eh, here we go again…

I'm going to be mentioning a fair amount of the Episode Zero manga in here from here on out, tying it into how I'm planning on weaving this. So… I'm sticking to the canon like glue but shifting perspectives on it somewhat. I'm probably going to do this all with everyone to a degree… well, not the Relena one, that one just makes no real sense. I'm playing hard for realism in general, which the show has this love of ignoring, but hey. Anyhow, if you're confused about some of the things Heero mentions, I know there's at least scripts around the net, if not the full pictures… and if you're feeling particularly lazy and are dying to know instead of inferring, contact me and I'll lay it out.

I'm sorry I'm so slow about this all the time, but I really am trying… I know my long-term goals but the short-term ones keep catching me up and I'm working out exactly how to carry on the plot in the meantime because really long time jumps are a crappy way to handle it. So… yeah. Enjoy.

May 17th 197 - Wednesday - Brussels

“You amaze me more and more every day,” Dorothy announced delightedly as she sauntered into Relena's suite.

“I suppose that's a good thing,” Relena noted, continuing to rifle through clothes. “Are you packed?”

The other girl considered the clothing seemingly strewn about the whole bedroom. “I am…” She picked a dress up off the floor. “This is nice.”

“No dresses,” Relena declared from the depths of the closet. “No skirts; this isn't a pleasure cruise. We want to look calm, professional…”

Dorothy considered what she could see of the scattered wardrobe. “No white?”

“Too clean,” Relena agreed.

“Black?”

“Too somber,” she argued. “Too formal, too hands-off… And too military.”

She had always thought black was professional, herself… but they had made the new military uniform black.

Does that mean I should change?

“Navy or beige, then,” Dorothy decided, picking some bits of finery up off the floor and moving to toss them on a chair.

“Or grey.” She came out of the walk-in closet with three pairs of slacks in the colors mentioned over one arm and set them out on the bed. She wore a high collared blouse that was a shade of blue close to her eyes, the little hooks and buttons going from her shoulder up the side of her neck still undone, and otherwise only had her underwear on. “What do you think?”

“Beige,” Dorothy suggested, moving to latch up her collar. “The contrast is nice.” Hm, well, at least she'd already done her make-up and put in simple white gold earrings. “What other color of blouses are you bringing?”

“Red, brown, yellow, a different shade of blue, and black, in different styles,” she motioned to the part of the bed where she'd apparently been organizing what was actually coming.

“You need something for getting dirty in too,” Dorothy reminded her, pushing Relena's hair out of the way. “And more than three pairs of slacks, incase this takes a while. We can get our laundry done, but you don't want to look like old news, either.”

She pulled her hair over the shoulder opposite to the one Dorothy was working on. “So I should get a few more blouses too?”

“Something short sleeved,” Dorothy agreed as she finished working on the blouse. “We don't know how much warmer the amplifiers are making it, and it is southern China, if the world was still as it should be, it would be hot and humid.”

Relena sighed, pulling her pants on. “That sounds overly hopeful.”

“That would be why we're going,” Dorothy reminded her, moving into the walk-in closet. “Do you have your toiletries packed?”

“They're all in a tote on the bathroom counter,” Relena told her, sitting down to put on her shoes. “What should I bring for getting dirty?”

“Jeans and shirts you don't care about too much but still look good.”

“I think jeans would remind them of my age,” she argued.

“Everyone wears jeans, Lena, just stick with sober colors with higher waistlines, no hip-huggers or embroidery and sparkles.”

She couldn't help but grin a little at that. “Grab my hiking boots too, while you're in there.”

Dorothy offered up a theatrical sort of sigh. “Yes, my Lady…”

The other girl sniggered. “Come on, you're not supposed to give it up…”

Dorothy snickered a little herself, before going back to the put upon voice. “Of course, Miss Relena…”

Relena's retort was cut off as someone knocked on the door. “Come in!” she called. Looking back toward the closet, she commented, “You could have knocked, you know.”

“I have this universal key, though…”

“Um… is this a bad time?”

Dorothy ducked out of the closet as Relena looked over to the man… who looked very embarrassed, probably due to the fact that he was standing in what looked like the ruins of a clothing tornado… oh, and that was a bra at his feet, wasn't it?

The princess turned a bright pink, leaping over to snatch the thing up off the ground and throw it back into the closet… and into her friend's face. “Hey!”

“Oh my gosh,” she gasped, turning even brighter as the other girl pulled it off her neck and examined the delicate lace before tossing it over her shoulder. “Um…” She laughed weakly. “I'm almost done…”

“She's dressed and the plane leaves in twenty minutes, it's fine,” Dorothy retorted, dropping the pile of things she'd selected on the bed. “Relena, this is Colonel David Mitchell, your other bodyguard while we're away.”

“Nice to meet you,” he greeted warmly, tipping his officer's hat.

She frowned at him. “Mitchell?” Turning to Dorothy she asked, “The same Mitchell or-”

“Oh, yeah,” Dorothy added brightly to the guy. “Relena's all for the strike force idea, Jake was telling her you should be in charge of it.”

His face lightened somewhat, then immediately darkened a shade or two again. “It's not going to happen any time soon.”

She sighed. “Everyone seems to be saying that.”

“I think if I was religious I might start praying for disaster just to stir it all up,” Dorothy muttered. “Where's your suitcase?”

***

“I think if I was religious I might start praying for disaster just to stir it all up. Where's your suitcase?”

Relena stopped at that… it sounded like something she might have said during the war, wishing for fighting for no good reason…

“Oh, here it is…”

She smiled apologetically at the soldier and turned to help Dorothy load up the suitcase, mentally checking off everything she needed, making sure it was there… but at the same time, she couldn't help but think of the possibilities behind what the other girl had said. Fighting did open up opportunities… her brother's take-over of the Earth-Sphere proved that, if the numerous other examples hadn't. Good or bad, it brought change… And change was what she wanted, what she needed…

If it was necessary, why was it such a big deal? She had no confidence in her brother's right to rule, her own right, but it did need doing, the same way his own actions were likely what had kept the planet from getting worse than it was now, even though its current state was terrible…

This trip… this trip was a test to see if maybe she was any better than him, wasn't it? She had to do a better job, people needed them to all be doing a better job… not half-assing like Dorothy was almost constantly doing, not staying aloof as he tried to keep it all from crashing over his head like Milliardo… not standing on the side gathering information and leaving the decisions to everyone else, like Jake. No one had put all their eggs in one basket, it seemed like…

Risk all, win all. Lose all…

…and Milliardo would still put her in charge whether she'd earned the post or not.

Well, that doesn't sound as depressing as it feels. Then she would still have `succeeded', but she wouldn't be any better than him. She wouldn't have won the respect of the people… maybe she could win it then, and the old failure would be dismissed as her brother's work, but she would always feel dirty, the same as when she had been made Queen the last time, they really weren't her people… She had brought them around, but… she was sick of standing on other people's shoulders all the time. Heero's, Noin's, however many politicians, Treize…

She was going to earn it this time. She'd build up her own throne brick by brick with her own two hands if she had to. There was no room for failure; she would make a deal with the Chinese. This would be her landmark success… her first step down the path of proving her worth, not on family reputation and ideals but on hard, cold facts.

She went to grab her toiletry bag and tucked it into the space they had left in the suitcase, then went to pick up her carryon off the ottoman as Dorothy zipped the thing up. “I'm ready.”

Mitchell picked the bag up and started out of the room before she could grab it herself, and Dorothy moved in next to her to follow him out. They headed right to the plane then, apparently Dorothy and Mitchell's bags were already loaded… and that was it. This was her first major move…

She just hoped it went well.

***

Undetermined

Heero idly played with the options on the virtual car… It was a fairly pointless exercise, but surprisingly calming at the same time. It was some high end brand that he was sure he'd never be able to afford, and he wouldn't want to buy this one even if he could, it was too new, too flashy… but it was good to know what options were available for civilians. He would get a car eventually… and it was probably a good idea to know what he could ask after for without having anyone get suspicious. After all, if he managed to get pulled over, he also didn't want anything illegal or even terribly attention-getting under the hood… he just wanted it to be a capable vehicle. He had the reflexes to be perfectly capable of handling one of the extremely high speed motorcycles he'd seen the ads for - unlike all of the people buying them - but his leg was still an issue… and he'd like his body to be protected by more than air if he were to crash, presuming his leg healed well enough that he could honestly trust himself on one.

Not that he was going to even seriously consider getting a car until he'd caught up with Wufei, not to mention until he had gotten that well-made fake ID, but it was good to be informed.

And honestly, the stats were better than he'd expected… but the idea of putting something else into an engine casing that said a high enough brand to be vaguely believable was tempting. He was used to at least the original Wing's performance, for all that he wouldn't want all of that in a car, it'd be pointless…

Then again, this was presuming no problems arose with the money factor. He could only take bits and pieces now and again… He had no memory of how much he and Odin had earned, because money didn't really matter back then… and that was presuming his account hadn't been suspended or drained by fees after Odin's death and his own presumed one.

He could recall always wanting a Daewoo as his regular gun, and Odin had always said to pick something else… He had assumed it was expensive and noticeable as a child, but when he had asked Dr. J's people, they had only been too quick to hand one over. Not that people who had wanted him to fly a gundam would quibble about price on a handgun, but it was nondescript… and he had checked the market, it was in the average range. And all the pieces Odin had suggested, at least on the current market, cost more.

So why had the assassin been so against it?

Heero took a bite out of his bagel. It didn't make sense… but in all reality, not much about Odin did. He had always seemed sad for as long as he could remember, but he knew the man could be happy, he remembered his smile… but not ever actually seeing it. Odin had been happy once, and some part of him remembered it… but by the time permanent, reliable memory started, his father had been depressed. He hadn't known what to think when he'd announced that he was going to leave him on that colony after he did that last job… He'd said to have a normal life, that he'd be okay alone…

Heero hadn't ever wanted to be alone. He didn't want to stop working with his father, he had liked the it; the smooth lines of the weapons, the cool logic behind the tactics they used… A normal life had sounded dull, boring. He'd seen the games the kids played in the schools, and he didn't like them. There was a point to what Odin had him do… He'd been planning on sneaking back on the shuttle after him once the man tried to leave, announce he'd made his decision and would live how he wanted to, not playing at some silly game in a school…

But it was Odin who stayed on L3-X18999.

He reopened a window he'd minimized for a news site and considered it again. The government wasn't claiming the men who attacked Wufei… nor were they saying he was one of the gundam pilots. So either they weren't from Zechs, or they were the men who did his dirty work.

He wondered if, whoever they were, they were the same reason Quatre had disappeared. Maybe they had jumped him discreetly in the middle of the night instead of this all-out attack, where it wouldn't be enough to make the news… Just like the fight where Chang was shot in the arm didn't show up on the morning paper… at least not within five hundred miles of Jerusalem for the two and something weeks since he had told Dr. Srona it had happened. So either his search range wasn't wide enough, it was misreported, it had been covered up, or the reporters were just focusing on stories that might uplift hope.

Wufei had told Samuel he was trying to get to a safe house somewhere, but apparently it had been far enough that he was too worried about his wound to let its care wait. The safe house, though… if he made it there, Heero wasn't sure he'd be able to find him.

On the other hand, the existence of a safe house said he had support with the rebellion. He took another bite of his lunch. There had never been a question in his mind that Zechs needed to be unseated; he'd just lost the means to do it himself. He wasn't sure if the rebels would still consider him useful, with his leg… but he was already off the good doctor's charts for expectations of how well he might heal, and he had other skills outside of physical combat. In any case, he could still pilot a mobile suit just fine… and he still had both Wing and Zero's blueprints. He was an engineer in his own right; not a creator, at least not beyond minor modifications, but he was educated and experienced in building and repair. How else would he have been able to keep his machines afloat through the first part of the war?

The issue, however, was that he had leads on Wufei to go off of now… which suggested letting his intuition lead him about until he discovered some clue or detail he'd missed before. He disliked having to rely on something so tangible, but he'd already lost two days to trying to track more physical trails and finding nothing.

There were only so many places to go from here where Zechs wasn't too strong or weak in power… he wasn't terribly strong this far south, so their chances of safety were better, he and Quatre had reasoned when they were running before… but it also meant that there was nothing for the rebels to attack in Turkey. They were limited enough that they couldn't keep a safe house safe too far out of their own anchor points… so that meant north, which really meant east, since the country was a peninsula and Zechs was strong over by Istanbul, because it was only too easy to get cornered out on the water. Wufei wouldn't be stupid enough to take the chance that there might be an informant on the boat with him on the way over; he wouldn't want to risk the same trouble he ran into when he got off the train. Even while on the train, he would have taken precautions so that practically no one actually saw him, but chances were the only kind of ferry ticket he could afford would be the sort that offered no actual private space. Planes provided a similar dilemma.

There was a safety too in places with many strangers, so big cities… small town folk were only too quick to become suspicious, anymore. The police had an even harder time protecting them, especially this far south, so people took matters into their own hands. It was unlikely they would identify Wufei as a gundam pilot, but a teenager with a gunshot wound was very obviously trouble. Not that it wasn't trouble that city folk would also quickly shun, but they were more likely to not notice… and to keep to more of a “don't ask, don't tell” code.

He finished off his bagel and brushed off his hands, picking up his trash. He had already checked out his bunk at the hostel, but still had his duffel in one of their lockers for those checking in early or those with last minute errands, like he had claimed. He'd buy a bus ticket before he picked it up and go from the stop near there… and fan out looking for clues of the other man's passage to the east.

If it turned out he was wrong, he wasn't entirely sure what he'd do… but he hadn't entirely lost the trail yet.

***

May 18th 197 - Thursday - Amsterdam

Sin stared at the ring in awe. She wasn't exactly surprised, though she hadn't expected him to propose today, while they were setting up the shower… but…

“How did you afford this?” she asked disbelievingly. She'd secretly been admiring the thing from the shop window for years. “How… how did you…?”

His smile was proud. “I've been saving for a damn long while… and I kinda remembered you looking over there once, so I got Chaos to go past there with you last month, and Melissa said you were going on about the style on her mom's amethyst last year, so we narrowed it down from there.”

She didn't think she could smile any wider, but with how tight her face felt, she must have. “It's gorgeous, you're amazing…”

“Yeah, well, thanks, but you're starting to worry me a little, here…”

She giggled a little hysterically and more fell than dropped to her knees to be at the same level to kiss him, since he'd kneeled. “Of course I'll marry you.”

“Careful,” he started worriedly, resting a hand on her shoulder to steady her. “I would have stood up, you know.”

She giggled again and wrapped her arms about his neck, leaning over to kiss him. “Shut up.”

He closed the distance between them by pulling her into an embrace as their lips met and held her tight, one hand resting by her hip and stroking her belly with his thumb…

It had been an affectionate gesture he'd always done at the bit of skin where her shirt and jeans didn't quite meet, but really, it meant so much more now. The security of it all felt so good… Chaos had been right, Luc was the right choice, he was sweet and would make an excellent father to boot, but she'd been convinced Cal might come breaking down the door and break their whole world into pieces if she left him, that he would say everything she'd done, and she'd lose them both and be alone…

She really owed Chaos… she had never thought when that gangly, almost girlish boy came in on her and Luc arguing that he would become so important.

As if the thought had been an entrance cue, the demon asked, “Does it fit?”

Giggling more, she pulled away… to see that pretty much everyone was there, actually. “Hey, butt out!”

Shov laughed. “Come on, its our monthly drama, Chaos has just been stepping up to the plate every time, lately.”

“Come on, try it on!” Leah urged eagerly… she was holding a video camera.

“Oh, you are not!”

The other girl laughed evilly, making a “hurry up” gesture with her free hand.

“Since when do we have a video camera?” Sin demanded, though her foolish grin showed she wasn't actually upset.

“We don't, it's the Father's,” Chaos admitted. “I'll work on a figuring out a TV before I buy something I could borrow.”

“Come on, tell us if it fits or not already, before I lose the chain,” Nolan complained, holding the thing up for emphasis.

She stared. It, too, was finely made. “Oh, no, you guys, I can just put it on a thong until I have the baby if it doesn't, you shouldn't have-”

“The Sister insisted,” Melissa argued, tousling Nolan's hair affectionately. “She said she had another one she could use until after the baby.” She grinned. “Luc paid good money, can't risk you losing it because we're cheapskates, eh?”

“You guys…” She was starting to tear up. Damn the hormones… Everyone was just doing everything…

“Come on! Luc, make her quit stalling!”

Luc grinned and took the ring out of its case to try slipping it on her finger… and it actually went on.

“Shit, now I have to go back to the church…”

“Nolan!” Leah admonished. “This for posterity, don't cuss!”

Luc frowned, twisting it slightly, and Karina grimaced. “No, it's just a little too tight, bring it here…”

“Oh, good.” Nolan started forward, covering a yawn.

“You say it like you don't always go to the church,” Carlos noted.

“Yeah,” the kid admitted as he dropped to his knees next to his leader and undid the clasp. “But I was up all night doing my paper, so I'm tired, and it's cold.”

“I could have taken it back,” Chaos reminded him.

“Oh yeah, you just woke up, huh?” The thirteen-year-old tried to take the ring back off her finger but Sin giggled again as Luc smacked at his hand and slowly worked the thing back off himself. “Oh, fine,” he grumbled, fighting another yawn. “All possessive, huh?”

“Very,” Luc agreed, snatching the chain from him. “Git.”

Melissa sniggered, moving forward to pull her little brother to his feet. “Come on, go nap, you're dead on your feet. Let Luc have his moment.”

“His two minute long moment,” Leah noted.

“Ooh, we're counting?” Jamus asked, practically bouncing.

“And twenty-three seconds,” the girl returned smartly, blowing him a kiss.

“Dude, what are you on?” Mik demanded.

“He got laid,” Laura supplied.

“Laur!”

“What?”

“Camera!” her friend protested, pointing back at the thing she was holding.

“So?”

“Laura!”

“Now you have to stay together,” Chaos teased. “For posterity's sake.”

Jamus laughed as Leah rolled her eyes and focused back on Luc clasping the chain around his fiancée's neck. It was short enough that it sat just below the hollow between her clavicles and was easily visible… the same place Sister Isabel's cross sat. Sin fingered it for a moment and smiled at Luc before looking pointedly at the camera. “You are not filming the shower, I don't want anybody remembering how many toilet paper squares around I am.” She looked about for a second before deciding, “Okay, my knees hurt, I need help up.”

Luc automatically stood and reached down to help her. “So… we should probably finish getting ready for the shower… unless you want to run down to the church?”

She smacked at his arm. “I want to have a fiancé for more than an hour.”

“I'll go get the streamers!” Chaos announced happily, dashing out of the room.

“Okay!” Jamus agreed, following him.

“He's just as-”

“Don't even suggest it,” Leah snapped. She turned off the camera and more or less stalked out of the room.

“Oh, as if,” Sin muttered, rolling her eyes.

Luc sniggered. “Wow, Laur… just wow…”

“Since when were we putting up streamers?” Sin asked curiously.

“Since Melissa decided to buy them, I'd imagine,” Laura announced easily, moving for the door herself. Most people had melted away already. “I'm gonna go frost the cake.”

Luc kissed her forehead and moved to rip open the packaging on the paper napkins. “You'll put your real name on the certificate, right?” he asked. He seemed genuinely curious. “I mean, it'd be hard to explain to the little one…”

“Of course,” she agreed quickly. “I mean, even now, it's not…” She bit her lip. “It's Karina Tenbrook.”

“Karina?” he repeated slowly, then considered. “Kari?”

“Eh, Rina, generally.”

His smile was dazzling. “Alright.”

And somehow… she felt even better.

***

Unknown

Wufei sighed, leaning against the window. He felt like crap. Moving again… He really hadn't stayed in one place for more than a couple weeks for the past year. It was all for the best, he didn't want to get found, couldn't afford to be caught, but shit, would it hurt to keep a residence for more than a month? He understood, really, he did, his movements were important, he was an emblem of hope or something… but why couldn't he just work from behind the scenes?

Some idiot had tried to attack him with a pitchfork yesterday… a pitchfork. The stupid rural community was just a bunch of hics, not that that was exactly a surprise. It wasn't like he had any idea who he was attacking, just some boy who might be causing trouble, there were enough reports about gang movements and anarchist groups to make a nun paranoid, almost all of them about young men who thought they were going to be the cause of some grand revolution… And he hadn't even been able to make himself teach the guy a lesson, he had six skinny kids and a downright emaciated wife staring fearfully from over by the door who they needed him at his best to keep working… so he'd turned tail and run.

His pride was dying bit by bit… really, what would his father have said? Meilan? Well, it was probably his own fault for accidentally stumbling onto private property, so Meilan would have said the blow to his pride was justice, just as his criminal status was justice for running instead of staying at the battle to the end…

He let out another sigh. I make so many mistakes these days it's a wonder I'm not dead. Politicians make their moves and everyone else is at their mercy… Why was it that every bad thing that happened to him was heavily political? Meilan's death because of Treize, the destruction of his colony because of his prideful clan that had been so great a source of trouble they had long been exiled to a decrepit colony until they were forgotten enough to be killed off… The loss of his cause, again at the hands of Treize, as history and judgment became clouded…

Well, no. He was a fool, and a coward, and had knowingly allowed the tide to turn against his comrades; his incompetence had nothing to do with Treize, however much he wanted it to.

The glass of the window was cool and soothing, even if it made him more painfully aware of his failures, more miserable to his very core. This was justice, to make mistakes and have to live through the consequences, to try to repent and be ready to face failure again and again… but he would not back down this time. He would do what was asked of him, try to make something of himself, change the world to repent and make up for his cowardice… he would make his ancestors proud.

The bus's progress was slow, the countryside bleak and unforgiving… but he knew there was still hope to be had. His body was screaming from the constant abuse he was putting it through, but it would go for a while longer, and then there would be time to truly rest… and make more preparations.

Libra's crash, Zechs' takeover… They were his fault, and he would not seek forgiveness… but he would make it right again.

***

Unknown - Treize's hidden compound

China… Treize pursed his lips. If the girl was successful, then she would definitely leave her mark on the world, a good one… and it was unlikely that the Chinese government would turn down the opportunity for economic growth that the manufacturing of the amplifiers would offer. It would be a mutually beneficial relationship… provided the things worked, anyway.

“Sir?”

Treize focused back on the man giving the report. “How accurate will our information be?”

“Mitchell is with her, sir, as a bodyguard.”

“Excellent.” Mitchell was hardly a spy, more a man of action, but he was far from stupid; he would be able to tell them everything important about the agreement that was reached. “Does she seem loyal to her brother?”

“It's difficult to say, Your Excellency… she seems to keep Catalonia as her only confident.”

Catalonia herself was a puzzle. Too bad, really. “I suppose we'll have to wait and see, then.” Approaching them would be difficult, a single word from either woman could have his messenger shot for treason; he would have to tread carefully. Anyone he had close enough to actually talk to her was far too valuable to lose. He shook his head; there was nothing for it but to have patience. “How is our luck with hunting down Chang, then?”

Mm, school is hell, how's that? Soon, however, the semester will be done with and I'll be home free for… three weeks. Which actually will be spent working and physician shadowing and volunteering at different hospitals, so not a lot of free time, but hey, none of those entail homework, so it's alright.

Questions, comments? I'm really sorry about the slow updating, but I'm trying, honest.