"Yuy! Wait up! Wait!"
Heero halted mid-step and turned around again, brusquely batting at Wufei. "What do you want, Chang?"
"To show you something," Wufei said. "In here."
He pointed to a closed door, which he opened easily by pressing his palm on the electronic access panel next to it. Heero followed him inside, into an empty cabin. He had no interest in marveling at Peacemillion's impressive technical and engineerical wonders.
"What is it?" he asked impatiently.
"Watch." Wufei pulled a small, black device from his pants pockets and showed it to him. It was a delicate, highly sophisticated mini micro projector. With a flick of his thumb, Wufei switched it on, and it displayed an image on the wall, blurry at first. As soon as the image was sharp enough to watch, Heero's heart almost froze over. He recognized the projected layout - it was a building plan of a mobile suit, the very same mobile suit that had engaged in battle with Duo.
"How did you get this?"
Wufei ignored his question. "Its name is Epyon," he said, voice strained. "It's the Gundam built by Treize Khushrenada."
"Epyon... Gundam... Khushrenada?" Heero looked at Wufei with horror and shock on his face. Treize Khushrenada had taken over the Romefeller Foundation after Septem's death; the botched transaction with the circuit conductors was still fresh in Heero's mind. It was the event that had turned his life upside down, in more ways than one. "How do you know?"
"I was investigating Khushrenada at Quatre's request," Wufei said and clicked the mini projector to show the next image, this time displaying Epyon's backside, the whip-like chain coiled menacingly around its leg. "After Septem's demise, Khushrenada took the stage, but his opinions differed greatly. He wanted to build a Gundam himself, for honor and glory, as to do battle like a gentleman, and may the best man win. He knows that war is dirty, and he knows that Romefeller thrives on selling weapons and suits to the highest bidder. Quatre feared that Khushrenada was going to use Romefeller's resources to build a Gundam anyway. And as usual, Quatre was right."
Heero was stupefied. "So that was why he was so adamant to get the conductors repaired."
"Among other things, yes." Wufei showed the last image, a schematic of Epyon's electrical and engineering system. "He has gathered all kinds of sympathizers around him, calling themselves the Treize Faction. Romefeller has lost their grip on him. He's going to lead them into war, just as they had hoped for - but not to make profits, but to actually take a stand and fight. That wasn't what they had planned for."
"Why?" Heero had to process this new information. Not long ago, he witnessed a heated discussion between Quatre and Treize, in which the latter was denied, rather vehemently, to start building a Gundam. This was while Quatre himself was rebuilding the Gundams, and he had been masterfully manipulating everyone into position for his own plans. Heero had encountered intelligent people before, but Quatre had orchestrated everything like a genius.
"Believe it or not, Khushrenada opposes the mobile doll system just like we do." Wufei switches off the mini projector and returned it to his pants pocket. "But like I said, he wants to fight like a duel, one on one, for the greater good. This is not how a war is fought. I respect him for his dismissal of the mobile doll system, but this time calls for violence, not for diplomatic intervention, as much as I loathe admitting it. We can not achieve peace with words only, unfortunately."
Relena. "This Epyon... Treize is the pilot?"
Wufei shook his head. "No. Khushrenada does not pilot the Epyon. His friend does."
"What! Who?"
"Zechs Merquise."
Heero's jaw went slack. "Khushrenada and Merquise know each other?" He all but yelled.
Wufei cringed at the sheer volume of Heero's voice. "Keep it down, Yuy! Yes, they do know each other, but I could not investigate any further. I had to run for my own life, as all hell broke lose when Winner was arrested. I did not have the time to look into details."
When Heero didn't answer, Wufei took a deep breath. "I want to ask a favor."
"A favor?"
"Yes. Allow me to accompany you to MO-II," Wufei said. "My Altron is as good as complete and it is right here, on board the Peacemillion. It only needs some paint work. I want my Nataku to be perfect, but there is no time for vanity when it comes to a war."
"Nataku?" Heero parroted.
"This way," was Wufei's short answer, as the door slid open on his command. Intrigued, Heero followed him. You're not the only one to have lost in this war. Wufei lost his wife. He was too upset about the news of the connection between Khushrenada and Zechs to pay full attention to his fellow pilot's background. He would like to know Wufei better, and learn about his roots, but there was so little time. Even so, Duo was still much more important than Chang Wufei. Heero felt his whole body ache as he thought of Duo, somewhere out there, captured, maybe even tortured...
Wufei navigated his way through several decks until they reached the belly of Peacemillion: a large hangar separated in several bays, one for each of the three other Gundams, standing upright, surrounded by scaffolding. Heero could see that Trowa's HeavyArms and Quatre's Sandrock were also in the final stage of completion. Altron Gundam, equipped with a twin beam trident and claw-like extensions on the arms, looked even more proud than Wing Gundam, standing in the bay next to it.
"Dragon fangs," Wufei said as he noticed Heero looking at Altron. "Built-in flame throwers on each extendable arm. It is perfect for melee combat."
"Amazing," Heero mumbled, truly impressed. He recognized some of the workers, Sweepers who had also been on Howard's ship, back on Earth. Their technical skills were amazing, if they had been able to finish the Gundams like this. He wasn't going to underestimate Howard's knowledge of engineering and mobile suits anymore. The man would be an asset to the secret service. "Do you know how to operate it?"
"Do not forget that I was longer involved in these plans than you," the Chinese warrior answered. "I had my basic training and we were ready to start our training in the field. Quatre worked on these plans for years."
"What's going to happen to him?"
"As far as I know, he is under house arrest," Wufei said, not bothering to hide his disdain for bureaucracy. "His lawyers will get him out, but if it is taking too long, his private army will break him out. The Maguanac Corps. is very creative and has a vast array of methods to free their master. He's aching to join."
"I can imagine." Heero hadn't heard of Quatre's 'private army' before, but by now, he wasn't much surprised about anything anymore.
"Winner is a master strategist, Yuy. He always acknowledged the risk of being discovered, and took that into account from the very start. He is prepared for this, believe me, but it is going to take some time. I have faith that he will be with us at the right moment."
"Merquise ratted him out," Heero blurted out.
"How do you know?"
"He made sure the transaction with the conductors was botched, he wanted me out of the way to take over the secret service. He also made sure to eliminate his enemies carefully, picking them off one by one. Zechs has always been good in long-term strategies, just like Quatre. But only one of them will have the longest breath and outsmart the other."
"I put my money on Winner," Wufei said. "Master strategist Merquise might be, I am convinced that Winner's course of action is the best one, in the long run." He showed a tentative smile, albeit wryly. "Let us go!"
Heero chose a suit his size and changed into it, making sure everything was buckled and attached the proper way. He grabbed himself a space helmet before walking towards Wing, refueled and ready to go. After entering the cockpit, he busied himself with the control panels and fired up the engines of the Gundam. His fingers moved by themselves, already familiar with the buttons and levers. The adrenaline rush was also familiar. He was going to search out the enemy, and Merquise was going to be a formidable one. His former colleague wouldn't be easy to conquer, nor would he surrender quickly- and he knew where Duo was. Heero couldn't take any risk if it came to fighting this particular opponent.
"Duo, where are you," he voiced out loud. "Where are you?" Remember my promise... no matter what, I'll always come back for you.
"The airlock is open," Wufei's voice rumbled through the communication link. "I leave the honors to you, Yuy."
Heero engaged Wing and his suit started to walk. On the internal camera feed, he saw Altron Gundam following suit with careful, though confident steps. The bright green and red colors really gave the suit the look of a dragon flaring into life; it fitted Wufei's character and roots perfectly. Nataku wouldn't be one to be trifled with in battle. The air lock opened its outer doors and Heero adjusted the controls for Wing to move freely through space. His stomach felt a little queasy, as always when he was surrounded by the vastness of the galaxy. Heero allowed his stomach to settle a little, before wrapping his fingers around the steering levers. Taking a deep breath, Heero shoved them forwards, kicking the engines into overdrive and Wing took off, towards MO-II's coordinates.
"MO-II right ahead of us," Wufei pointed out when they reached the resources satellite. His voice was calm and level headed, lacking the joy and exuberance of Duo's timbre. Heero's chest tightened when thinking of his lover. With every passing second, he missed him more. As difficult as it was, he had to stop thinking about him, and focus at the task at hand. When they approached MO-II, Heero saw, just like Wufei, the mobile suit waiting for them.
"Chang! That's the same suit I saw at Barge! It's Eypon!" The cameras zoomed in on the suit. It was indeed the same Gundam design, clad in crimson red armor with the chain in its left hand. It had a menacing scowl on its face, if that was even possible.
"So... who comes knocking at my door?"
"Merquise! How did you get this frequency, you bastard!" Heero's voice rang out in the cockpit. He tried to get himself under control, but his anger brought out the worst in him. Zechs knew where Duo was. He had to tell him where Duo was!
His opponent chuckled. "Oh, but I got a lot more. And there's no need for name calling, Heero." He had the nerve to "tsk" at him. "I see that you also got a lovely Gundam for yourself. Who's the friend you brought?"
Wufei remained wisely silent, and Heero didn't feel the need to introduce him. "Stop this, Merquise. You're trying to start a war! Tell me your demands, we can work something out."
"Work something out? No, we're far from 'working something out'. You have nothing to negotiate with, and I hold all the trump cards. Epyon is stronger than your pathetic Wing, and I only need to give one command to release hundreds of thousands mobile dolls and send them to Earth. There you go, 001."
"Why?" Heero roared.
"My my, what emotions, Heero. In all those years we worked together, I thought you were a robot. Now you're even screaming at me. Something happened to you, didn't it?"
"Heero, do not allow him to provoke you!" Wufei's voice. Heero's fingers trembled, close to the command panel to take the buster rifle out. If he fired, he would take out only Zechs, wouldn't he? He was sorely tempted... but Zechs knew where Duo was. The thought went in a continuous loop through his mind. Duo. Duo. If he killed Merquise right here, right know, he would never find him. One more thought struck him: not only mobile dolls might be present on MO-II. The beam of his buster rifle would hit the satellite as well, and what if humans were...? He shivered.
"Listen to your friend." Zechs' voice was infuriatingly calm and composed. "I allowed you this moment to talk, Heero, if only to show you that I'm not the madman you hold me for."
"Explain yourself," Heero demanded. He was met by silence and when it took more than a few minutes, he thought that Zechs was ignoring him.
"You never did get tired of it, didn't you?" Zechs sounded almost...childlike, curious.
"Tired of what?"
"Exactly. That's why I thought you were a robot, Heero. You accepted mission after mission, working around the clock, dealing with megalomaniacs, murderers, wannabe tyrants and insane men or women who wanted to bring the ESUN down. You never asked why, you never cared, it was the mission and only the mission for you."
"So what?" Heero felt his stomach churn. He had an inkling where this was going to, but his anger was still getting the upper hand. He'd never been so angry before.
"So what if you were a robot? That's fine by me. I don't care. You never were my favorite colleague anyway." A faint, humorless snicker. "You are perfection, Heero. No emotions, no soul. I guess I should congratulate you with your superiority."
"That's enough, Merquise. Get to the point!"
"Fine. I will." The Epyon moved slightly, drifting slowly, leisurely, towards Wing. Heero's fingers shifted closer to the control panel of the beam saber; if Epyon came just a little closer, he was going to pull out the weapon. "My point is, that I got tired of it. Did you know why I joined the secret service? Not for my own honor and glory. I truly wanted to save people, I wanted to save mankind from those ludicrous subjects who couldn't deal with the ESUN, who wanted their own little kingdom, who wanted to plunge Earth into war over and over again."
Heero listened intently, just like Wufei, who remained silent on the shared communication link.
"I got tired of the wannabe dictators. I got tired of arrogant shits who had the gall to form an army of their own. I wanted to protect people from their own stupidity, their own misguided opinions, but the longer I dealt with them, the more tired I got. All this thirst for power, for conflict, for war… those were the people I wanted to protect? Morons who would kill each other the first chance they got? Perpetuating the cycle of death and destruction? If I had to listen to one more idiot who thought that war was the perfect solution..." an ominous silence, "...then maybe war was indeed the perfect solution."
"They were just fools, Merquise," Heero said. "You can't let them get to your head! A few individuals with delusional thoughts shouldn't be the reason for a war!"
"No, you're right. You're absolutely right. They shouldn't be the reason, but they made me start doubting myself. If I couldn't protect the people no more, why shouldn't I end the conflict once and for all? I was seriously considering taking out the focus point of all this conflict... Earth. And then, Operation Zero System happened."
"My mission," Heero said.
"Yes, your mission. We have the same level of clearance - we're both 00 numbers. I read the mission files, I looked at the pictures."
Heero thought he heard Wufei gasp, but he let it slide.
"The mission went to you, of course. Only you were able to infiltrate in the Romefeller Foundation, in such a complex web of factions and people. I stood at the sideline, and for once, it felt right. While you were busy, I could go ahead and take matters into my own hands."
"Your coup d'état," Heero said sourly.
"If you want to call it that." Zechs was utmost calm. Epyon had stopped moving. "To fulfill my goals, I had to get rid of some people, yes. But I'm not a ruthless killer, even if you think so. Une is alive, the other 00 numbers are alive. Nobody at HQ got killed or injured."
"You simply incapacitated them," Heero said. "Disabling communication, strategically placing your own men, and trying to get rid of me!"
"I knew you didn't die in that botched transaction," Zechs continued, dismissing Heero's words. "Not even that mangled corpse could fool me. Everyone thought you bit the bullet, but I was convinced you were still alive. I had to put my plans into movement a little faster than I thought, but it all worked out in the end."
"Did you kill Dermail?" Heero demanded to know.
"He was an unfortunate victim," Zechs said, "and I regret to say that I had a hand in it, yes. It was necessary. With him out of the way, I tried to discredit you, to turn you into a rogue agent. It didn't work, and I had to wait for my next opportunity."
"The conductors transaction."
"Yes, and that got Septem out of the way."
"Clearing the path for your friend Khushrenada," Heero hissed. He was met with surprised silence.
After a moment, Zechs continued again: "I should've known that you're versatile and resourceful enough to get your information from quite the surprising sources. I'll admit that you were the best agent in the service."
"You were... no, you are one of the best," Heero said. "Merquise, this isn't necessary. Why the need for war? You just can't go and take out Earth."
"Why not?" It was said with so much disinterest that it made Heero's skin crawl.
"Think of the people living there! Lucrezia..."
"I have long since stopped believing in the innocence of the people, if that's what you mean," Zechs cut him off, sharply. "This is my moment, Heero! I see what's going on. You may be blind, you may enjoy your work, but I want to end this charade. Operation Zero System is a godsend! It made me realize what was going on: rebels on L2, building a system to launch an attack on Earth. Mobile dolls, a veritable army, and all they needed were the Gundam building plans to base the system on. So they send out a thief to retrieve those plans."
"Duo..." Heero whispered. Now he understood where Epyon came from: Zechs had made contact with the rebels on L2, and he had managed to see the building plans, stolen by Duo; Zechs and Khushrenada had based Epyon on the exact same principle of the Gundams.
"A master thief, a war orphan from L2 and an amazing treasure trove of Gundam knowledge," Zechs said triumphantly. "And now I've got him, leaving you empty handed, now Heero?"
"You fucking piece of motherfuckfuckfuck-" Heero let out another string of colorful expletives and after he had finished, the communication link was dead for a few minutes.
"Impressive," Wufei's voice came, "I can clearly hear you studied under Maxwell."
"Zechs!" Heero all but slammed the buttons for the communication link, ignoring Wufei for now. "What do you want!"
A static crackle. "Fight me," Zechs said. "If I win, I'll release the mobile dolls. If you win, I'll turn myself in and hand over the command center of the mobile dolls."
Chapter 12 | Chapter 14