"Maybe you shouldn't have knocked him out," Duo said dryly. "He probably knows where Deathscythe is."
"He's just a flunky, forget about him." Heero tugged at Duo's hand. "Come on, we have to leave, right now!"
Duo nodded and looked in both directions, exasperatedly. "Which way?"
"To the left." Heero held up the keycard. "We don't have much time."
"I know. But I'm not leaving without my Gundam, Heero. I need it."
"I don't want you to take unnecessary risks," Heero protested. "Duo, we better..." He was cut off as Duo put his finger to his lips.
"I was stealing mobile suits on L2 before you were sent on your first mission, secret agent," he said. "Look at you, Heero, you're running on the last of your reserves. You can barely stand up straight! Have a little faith in me. I know what I'm doing. We should get out of here so you can get some rest, mister."
Heero had ignored all the warning signs of his body until now, and he continued to suppress his exhaustion forcefully. "I'll bathe and sleep once we get back to the Peacemillion," he said, gruffly.
"Peacemillion?" Duo looked confused. "What's that?"
"Didn't you know Howard had a spaceship?"
"The sneaky bastard..! I should've known though; he has a vehicle or ship for everything." Duo heaved a sigh. He quickly hugged Heero, pulling him close. "All right, let's get out of here." He grabbed the keycard out of Heero's hand and went to the left. Heero followed him, keeping his eyes peeled for enemies. He was worried. Nichol had spoken to Quinze and told him that Epyon had landed. How much time had elapsed since then? Quinze should realize by now that the pilot of Epyon hadn't been Zechs at all.
Duo used the keycard to open door after door, his face one and all frustration. "All these hallways look so much alike," he said, not bothering to hide the annoyance in his voice. "It confuses the hell out of me!"
"I couldn't find a layout of the base," Heero said. "I ran into Nichol…"
"Nichol? The guy you knocked out? You sure have friends in the strangest places, Heero."
"He's not a friend," Heero started vehemently, until he saw Duo's wide grin. God, he was really tired if he reacted like this to an innocent quip.
Another hallway, another door. Duo halted. "Fuck."
"What's the matter?"
"This lock requires a thumb print," he said. Heero groaned. He had seen Nichol press his thumb on one of these doors only once - and now they had run into it. "What do we do now?"
"I don't have the right tools to run a bypass," Heero said after studying the lock. "The electronics are too complicated. If only I had my complete kit..." He stared at the lock as if his deathly glare could open it. "The research laboratories are behind this door," he told Duo. "I saw scientists working on mobile suit prototypes."
"Deathscythe could be there!"
Heero nodded. "Those scientists might know where the Gundam is. We have to split up, I'm afraid. You'll go search for Deathscythe. I'll have to find myself another suit to escape this base. Remember our initial coordinates in space? We'll rendez-vous there."
"I remember." Duo didn't like the idea. "We better stick together, Heero."
"I know, but we don't have much of a choice right now. A Gundam doesn't fit two people."
"Lousy design." Duo's voice trembled a little too much and the joke fell flat. The next second, he grabbed Heero at the shoulder. "I'll go back and chop off that Nichol guy's thumb."
"Wait, what?"
"I'm the God of Death," Duo said, with a sinister gleam in his eyes. "I'll kill anyone if that's what it takes!"
"No, don't." Heero didn't care in particular about Nichol, but he cared about Duo. He talked so lightly about the God of Death, but that didn't mean Heero wanted to see him turn into one. "This is a massive, intricate base. There has to be more than one exit! We just have to find the right hallway, the right door."
"Heero, we can't go on much longer," Duo said. "You need rest, and I-"
"I trust you," Heero said. "I know you know what you're doing."
Duo grinned. "That's more like it!"
No alarm. No panic. No one running around. Nothing but deadly silence in those long, cold, dark corridors and hallways, created by a crazed architectonic mind in a pattern with military precision. They both lost count of how many doors they opened, how many corners they took.. and still, they didn't find another way to reach the research laboratories, or an elevator to the higher levels of the Lunar base. Heero ran out of energy and breath, and came to a halt. Worriedly, Duo put his arms around him.
"We're going to make it, Heero." Soothing, nonsensical words. "Let's find a place to rest."
"We... we can't afford that kind of luxury." The world was spinning. He hadn't eaten since the early morning, and the intense fight with Zechs had drained him. Heero was about to collapse, and he knew it. "The right door. The right hallway. We're so close."
"We don't know where we are, Heero," Duo said matter-of-factly. "This is a mega-sized labyrinth and without a decent map, we won't find ourselves an exit. And as I'm calling the shots now, I say that we're going in here-" he brusquely smashed his hand against the keypad of a random door and it slid open, "so you can get some rest."
Heero was too tired to protest. The room was dark, and he could hear Duo fumbling around for a light switch. "Goddamn fucking crazy Lunar Base."
"I'm sorry, but you're trespassing," a female voice rang out. Both Heero and Duo froze on the spot.
The lights went on, revealing a calm and composed, slender young woman standing in the exact middle of the room. She was surrounded by impressive control panels, all screens black. Her head was covered by a huge helmet, leaving only the lower part of her face free. Long blond hair flowed behind her cat-suit clad body, serenely moving with the modest gust of the air conditioner.
"The great Heero Yuy," she said. "Secret Agent 001. And your... friend, Duo, the only survivor of the massacre of Maxwell Church. Thief and rebel from the L2 colony."
"Master thief," Duo said coolly. "Who are you and why do you know all of this?"
"My name is Dorothy Catalonia," she said. "And I make it my business to know. Knowledge is power."
"Cliché, but true." Duo looked around the room as if it was perfectly normal to encounter someone like Dorothy, dressed and acting like this. He spotted a chair and audaciously, he retrieved it and without another word, all but dumped Heero in it. "So, Dorothy Catalonia, do you have a map of this base? Me and my friend would like to get out of here."
"Sorry, but I don't have a map. Besides, you're not supposed to leave anyway. By all means, you-" she pointed at Duo, "should be rotting away in a cell, and you," this time her finger pointed at Heero, "should be dead, at least three times over."
Heero frantically searched his mind, racking his brain for answers. Her name didn't ring a bell, but it didn't sound unfamiliar either. Had her name been on any of the lists of the Secret Service? She reminded him of Zechs with her blond, long hair flowing like that, but she couldn't be his sister... Relena. He forcefully steered his thoughts away from her.
"You're talking with too much knowledge," he said, not bothering to keep his annoyance out of his voice. "Who are you?"
"I see that Zechs didn't bother to talk about me," she said, and somehow it seemed to excite her. "You see, I learned all that I know about you, from him. He talked about you with great respect, really. He called you a worthy adversary. Honorful, blah blah blah. He was looking forward to your great duel, but as you're here and he's not, I take it Zechs is dead."
"If you truly listened to what Zechs told you," Heero said, "you would've known that I don't prefer to kill as quickly as he does."
"So he's a prisoner of war, then." She chuckled, not disturbed in the least. "Even more perfect! The martyr of the colonies. A veritable Nelson Mandela, held prisoner while the Earth refuses to reform. A lonely warrior behind bars."
"You studied politics," Heero said. "Earth politics, if you know about Mandela."
"Correct."
"Who's Mandela..?" Never having had a solid education, Duo wasn't familiar with the names of the major historical leaders of Earth. Heero put up his hand, not to shush him but to sign to him that he would explain later.
"Bush, Obama, Gorbatchev, Poetin... the leaders of the free world. Earth. Yuy, the prophet and pacifist of the colonies, the man you share your name with. Darlian, and -"
"Relena," Heero said, realization settling in. "You studied together with Relena."
"My my, Zechs didn't exaggerate your powers of deduction." Dorothy smiled again, without any true emotion to it.
"Look, lady, I don't care what or who you're talking about," Duo cut in. "I want to know what's with that weird thing on your head."
"Oh, you mean, this thing?" She tapped with her finger on the large contraption. "I'll tell you what it is." Behind her, the control panels and screens came to life, lighting up with software programs. "This allows me to control the mobile doll system."
"What?" Heero shot up straight from his chair. "You can't be serious!"
Her lips drew into a tight, bloodless line. "I can't be serious? How dare you! Not another word, Heero Yuy, or I'll release the mobile dolls into orbit!"
"You can't!" he said, matching her vehemence. "Zechs agreed to..."
"Zechs isn't here," she all but snarled. "I made no deal with you whatsoever. What did you think – that you could walk into Lunar Base and save mankind?"
"Lady, you're obviously out of your mind!"
"Duo, don't." Heero didn't want him to interfere. Duo was unable to see the delicate spiderweb in front of him: the tangled politics, the lies, the deceit of Operation Meteor. Duo spoke from his heart; but as he didn't know the background of the entire situation, his words could anger Dorothy, and if she released the mobile dolls, it would mean the end of the Earth.
"Yes, don't. Run along, little thief." Dorothy made a dismissive gesture with her hand. "I grant you to leave this room. Go look for your Gundam and get lost. I'll even give you a hint: go to the left, second door on your right, and you'll find the elevator. Press on the 'Clear' button; it'll take you down to the hangar where the suit is stored."
Duo threw a suspicious glare at Heero. "And I should believe you because..."
"I have serious business to discuss with your friend." Dorothy's voice went up in pitch. "Now go, before I change my mind."
"Go, please." Heero wanted to kiss Duo more than anything. It suddenly felt like this was their last moment together. "Do as she says. Once you've got Deathscythe, find Chang as soon as possible. Leave this place."
"Wufei? But..."
"Remember the promise I made," Heero said.
"But I didn't make any promise," Duo said.
Heero shook his head. "It's not necessary. I know... I know, Duo. Now please, go!"
With one last, unhappy look, Duo finally left and the door slid close behind him. As soon as he was gone, Heero forced himself out of his chair and stood up straight to face his enemy. He remembered Zechs' words: "I told you that there were... others. At Libra. Lunar Base. Tsubarov. Quinze. Dor... They're all there." Dor... Dorothy Catalonia. She had to be the true mastermind behind it all. But how? She looked so young, but if she was a classmate of Relena's, she had to be a little over or under a year younger or older than the Queen of the World herself. She tilted her head when he got up from the chair.
"Good... on your feet."
"You will not release the mobile doll system." Thanks to his experience as a secret agent, Heero managed quite easily to keep his exterior calm and in control, no matter how much turmoil he felt within. Duo was on his own now. He trusted him completely, Duo could take care of himself. Heero focused his attention on Dorothy. He had faced dozens of precarious, delicate situations before. "I had an agreement with Zechs."
"Do you really think Zechs is in charge?"
"No. Not anymore, at least. Like you said, he's a prisoner of war now. And judging from your reaction, I doubt he'll be of any value during negotiations."
"Negotiations? You'll soon see that there's no room for negotiations, Heero." The helmet made it impossible to see any expression in her eyes, but her voice was curt and polite, yet still holding an unspoken threat. "I have an agreement with Zechs as well. When a man goes down, he stays down. He's out of the group and the next one will take his place. We don't welcome losers in our midst."
"What's the goal of your group?" He noticed that the readings on the control panels behind the girl fluctuated. Heero wished he was close enough to shut the system down, but he had to be careful: he had already guessed the control of the mobile suits was linked to Dorothy's helmet, and if something happened to the girl, the entire fleet would be released into orbit.
"I'm not as simple-minded as Zechs. To me, Earth is more than just a part that can be taken out of an equation. As if destroying the planet could correct the entire balance."
"The balance of what?"
"The balance between Earth and the colonies, of course. We all worked on this plan for ages," she answered. "Dismantling the Secret Service was the first step. Everything went perfect, until you popped up again. Zechs had anticipated it though, he never believed for a moment that you had died. It would've been for the better though. It would've saved us a lot of trouble."
"You talk about life and death so easily," Heero said. He kept his attention focused on Dorothy, while his mind was reviewing all the options he had to overpower the girl, shut down the system and escape the Lunar Base: so far, very few. He was exhausted, and he needed all his energy to deal with Dorothy.
"What, do you want me to be contemplative?" A brusque laugh. "Or do you think I'm some naive girl who doesn't know what she's talking about? I've seen death, trust me. I've seen it all happen around me. War is horrible. Dying is hideous."
"If you truly think so, you shouldn't be in command of the mobile dolls and threatening to release them, all to instigate a new war."
Dorothy didn't move. It bothered Heero that he couldn't see her facial expression because of the helmet. He had a hard time reading her; what was going on in her mind?
"I said I had an agreement with Zechs, not that I shared his goal. He wanted to destroy Earth to stop all the fighting."
"And what is it you want?" Heero asked.
"I want people to fight," Dorothy answered, laughing. "It's the ultimate fate of mankind! Nothing can be achieved without fighting. Conflict is the core of human existence. Nothing is thrown into your lap, nothing is for free. You want peace? Total peace? Then fight!"
"You're out of your mind!"
"Am I? Oh yes, I forgot. You have seen it all, haven't you? How people long for peace? I mean, it's not like you had a job as a secret agent, preventing people from starting up another war. Oh my, Earth and the colonies are such peaceful places, working together, being the best of friends - nobody ever wanted to disturb that, right?"
Heero balled his fists. "Your sarcasm is misplaced," he said. "Besides, there will always be people longing for peace, and people longing for battle. You can't create a war just to take out some bad apples!"
"No, you don't understand me. How disappointing." She turned, just a little, her head towards the blinking screens. Heero quickly took a step closer, before she turned back into her original position again. "Zechs wanted to hand the solution to mankind on a silver platter, by doing the fighting for them. I think mankind is fully capable to fight themselves, and I want to see it!"
"By unleashing faceless, nameless Mobile Dolls," Heero pointed out. "What's the point of that?"
"Honor and glory." Dorothy made a wide movement with her arm. "Honor and glory for the people! How much is mankind willing to sacrifice and save itself? How hard will they fight, how much effort will they take? How much is their own survival worth to them?"
"You can't," Heero said, baffled. "You just can't... do you want to test mankind? Is this what it's all about? Some kind of 'survival of the fittest' game?"
She scowled. "This isn't a game to me, Heero. I'm very serious. Remember that just one command from me will activate the entire mobile doll fleet. Don't underestimate me."
"I don't." He didn't lie. She had maneuvered herself into this position, somehow bypassing Quinze, Tubarov, Zechs himself and who knew who else was involved... and to be at the heart of the command center wasn't something to be taken lightly. He wanted... no, he needed this to end, before it got out of hand. "I can see how hard you worked on this. You are the one who brought everyone together, like a grand mastermind, I'll give you that. You managed to manipulate all the factions and their leaders into the position you wanted, saving the best one for yourself: the ultimate command of the Mobile Dolls."
"Why, thank you," she all but preened. "Contrary to what you might believe, I'm not out for revenge. I don't care about Earth, or humankind in particular."
"That's not true." He wondered how well she could see with the helmet on. Dorothy barely moved, but he took it that the helmet granted her some kind of vision; infrared perhaps. It was probably impossible to approach her without being noticed. "You allowed Duo to leave. You let him go, because you care, Dorothy. You could've killed him, you could've separated us... but you let him go."
Another laugh, as if he had told her the biggest joke she'd ever heard. It grated on his nerves. Could he have misread her so badly?
"That's so sweet," she said when she finished laughing. "I didn't let your friend go because I care, Heero. No, I let him go to see how far you will go." Honor and glory. "How much will you sacrifice to save Duo? How far will you go to save his life?" She started to laugh again, albeit strained. Heero was surprised to notice that her words didn't provoke him. A relationship was a liability, a weakness... he had believed for his entire life that a relationship was nothing but trouble, not worth the effort, that it could be used against him... but that wasn't it, not at all! It was also his strength, his passion, his force! He trusted Duo, he believed in him, he loved him – Duo wasn't a liability, he was the love of his life! Heero straightened himself once more, and stared straight at Dorothy.
"How far?" he said, voice strong and confident. "Simple. I would give my life to save him. I would sacrifice the entire universe to save him. Don't underestimate me, Dorothy Catalonia. I would kill you, and everyone else on this base, to keep him safe."
A moment of silence. "Remarkable," she finally said, with a little bit of awe in her voice. "Zechs told me you were passionate, but we both thought it pertained to your work as a secret agent. So it's... remarkable that you're also passionate about people. About others... about someone who's more than a friend."
"You have my answer." Heero refused to back down. "Is that enough to satisfy your curiosity?"
"Not everyone is as perfect or as passionate as you," she said, almost derisively. "But that doesn't matter. Now it's time to step up to the plate." She took a step back. "I haven't seen anything yet! I will release the Mobile Dolls, right now!"
"No, don't! You-"
"I need to see the honor and glory left in mankind!" Dorothy raised her voice. "My grandfather died for all of this. He-"
"Your grandfather?"
"You met him. You killed him, without giving him a chance to defend himself!"
Heero tried to match a face or a name to Dorothy Catalonia's grandfather, but nothing came to his mind. "Who..?"
"Dermail, Duke Dermail," she bit at him. "My grandfather managed to smuggle the Gundanium chips, the building blocks of this entire operation! Without him, Operation Meteor would never have existed!"
Dermail... his first contact. Heero remembered the man, and how he had played cards with him. For all his talk about the grandeur of war, Dermail had been easy to sway with cigars and some poker. Faintly, he could hear the man's ideas echo in Dorothy's words; now it started to dawn to him.
"You've been deceived, Dorothy," he said. "Yes, I met him, and I was there when he was killed. I didn't pull the trigger, though. Zechs did. He wanted to pin the murder on me, to discredit me as the perfect secret service agent I was."
"Zechs?" For the first time, Dorothy's appearance seemed to be disturbed, off-balance. "No! My grandfather died gloriously, for the sake of restoring honor to mankind!"
"He died with a bullet between his eyes, killed from a distance by a coward!" Heero lunged at the girl now she had lost her composure, if only for a second. He worked her to the ground, and with a high-pitched scream, she hit her head with the giant helmet against a control panel. Immediately, a counter started, the numbers winding down fast. Dorothy's scream dissolved into laughter, distorted and high-pitched.
"You're too late! It doesn't matter! You'll have to fight, and you'll have to sacrifice as much as I did!" She started to scream as Heero put his hands on the helmet and tried to take it off. He searched for latches, for restraints, anything to unfasten the giant thing. Dorothy didn't cooperate, she moved and bucked her body, but finally, he managed to take the helmet off and he threw it into the corner with all his strength. The contraption smashed against the wall, and a cracking sound was heard. Uncaring for the helmet, Heero looked back at Dorothy. She looked so young, with flawless skin and wide, blue eyes, as if she was scared ... but the brief moment of shock passed by quickly and it was no longer fear, but anger and confusion he saw in her eyes. She clawed her fingers, and instinctively he braced himself for an attack. His body tensed up, but nothing happened. Dorothy crawled over the floor to retrieve the helmet, breathing heavily. Despite his fatigue, Heero was faster and yanked the helmet away from her. She wasn't that easily defeated. Dorothy grinned at him, as if she was amusing herself.
"Now you get to prove yourself," she said, triumphant. "Now you get to sacrifice and kill for your friend. Save humankind, Heero! You just launched the mobile dolls."
"Stop it, Dorothy," he said. "Tell me how to stop it!"
She looked up at him, and this time he wished he wasn't able to see her eyes after all. With the helmet on, she was the great mastermind, manipulative and calculated... but without the helmet, she was just a young schoolgirl indeed, and the triumphant tone in her voice was belied by the fear in her eyes. The tall, huge wall she had build around herself had crumbled the moment she had heard the truth about her grandfather's death, and what was keeping her sane was the faint, distorted hope that someone would prove her wrong; that mankind would stop fighting, that the mobile dolls would bring peace, even if it was a twisted, forced kind of peace... without another thought, Heero landed his hand in her neck, a chopping movement that rendered her unconscious. She slumped in a heap on the floor and a strange silence hung in the room. Not even the control panels made the slightest noise. The counters continued, the numbers winding down. Heero shivered violently. Just now, he could hear an alarm in the distance.
It looked like the Lunar Base had woken up from its slumber.
Chapter 15 | Chapter 17 (not up yet)