Escorted by a fleet of mobile dolls, Trent took Duo outside of the colony, into space and positioned him in the Gundam. Duo took a quick look at the control panels. I haven’t been inside a Gundam. Why does it feel so... reassuring? Memories came rushing back to him. He knew this. He could do this. It was his training that kept him calm at the moment; everything that Professor G had taught him, came back to him, and strangely comforting him. His stomach had settled down and he felt another emotion boosting through his body; adrenalin. He knew this.
Trent put a helmet on him, complete with cables and floats.
“What’s with all the junk you attached?” Duo asked, rather irritated. The man grinned at him as if he had hatched an evil plan for world domination.
“Just a safety measure. To prevent you from doing something funny, I’ve set the mobile dolls to target the colony if you try something. I want to learn from you and the data, nothing else, kid.”
Duo gritted his teeth. Nobody called him kid but Howard... Howard who? Why did I think of him? And... why does it sound so familiar? The silver crucifix burned against his skin, as if it wanted to burn a mark on him. I have to give this back to Heero.
“Begin!” Trents’ voice came from far, far away. An elder man with mushroom shaped grey hair, shouting the same, replaced him. Begin!
Professor G. How could he forget about the professor? Duo had been a stowaway on his ship, raiding the food storage because he was so hungry. Members of the Sweepers group had caught him, and handed him over to the Professor. Duo had no time to get lost in memories.
The mobile dolls were attacking him according to their pre-programmed data. So Tubarov must’ve taught others how to handle them. Duo moved the Gundam alongside. He was too close to the colony to use the powerful buster rifle; he needed a more manageable weapon. He remembered Professor G telling him about other Gundam designs and in a split second, he found the button for the release of the beam sabre. Duo busied himself with slicing through the mobile dolls, when the cockpit went haywire. A yellow light flooded over him, possessed him and he began to see things double.
“Whaaaat....?” It was his fever, coming back at him. He wasn’t completely recovered. It was either that, or the Grim Reaper was spitting in his face. A humanoid monster, something akin to a Gundam, was flashing in front of his eyes, swirling with a scythe. Duo screamed and he moved the Wing Zero around. His senses seem to burst, seeping out of him, when suddenly calmness overtook him, and he breathed evenly.
My name is Duo Maxwell. I lived on the streets of L2 for seven years, in a gang run by a kid named Solo, who died of a plague. Maxwell Church took me in, but I was there only to see it burned to the ground in a fight between the Alliance and rebels. Father Maxwell himself gave me this crucifix. I stowed away on the ship of Professor G and he trained me until I was around thirteen. Then I was involved by a raid and ended up saving Treize’s life, and I took his offer of revenge and I went with him. I became an OZ officer out of delusions. Now I know who I am. I was destined to be a Gundam pilot and I betrayed my destiny. I shouldn’t be disappointed in Heero; he should be disappointed in me.
He didn’t even realize he was fighting off the mobile dolls as soon as they approached him.
The last doll positioned itself in front of the colony, and raised its beam cannon. Duo had somehow discarded the beam sabre and, still perfectly calm, he took the powerful buster rifle and aimed it. With serene calmness, he fired. At the same moment the Taurus went up in flames and the hot plasma beam of the rifle bored its way into the colony, he realised what he’d done. He never realized he screamed aloud. Duo cried, and the next second he came to his senses.
To his horror, he saw the last Taurus in front of him... impaled on his beam sabre. Duo pulled back and the lifeless unmanned mobile doll drifted away from him, only to explode a few seconds later.
“What is this?” Duo realised his voice was hoarse, almost broken from the force he had used to scream with. Debris of the destroyed Taurus suits was scattering around and it dawned him that Trent yelled in his ears.
“What did you see? What did the Zero System show you?”
“Inhuman... it’s fucking inhuman.” Duo let go of the controls, slowly and steadily. He almost growled. How shocking the Zero System was, it had shown him the way. He looked up, tears welling in his eyes. He knew who he was and what he was doing. He registered the proximity meters blaring. He looked at the screen, alienated as if he had stepped outside his body. The meters showed a whole fleet of approaching Taurus suits. Through the open communication line, an angry voice shouted: “Lieutenant Trent! Hand over the Zero now!”
Before Duo could react, Trent stood in front of him, and yanked him out of the chair.
“I haven’t seen enough! I can take more!”
“You would be losing to the Zero,” Duo mumbled, drifting away in space, watching a maniacal Trent taking place in the cockpit, shutting the hatch and arming himself with the buster rifle. “That system isn’t right. If anyone is capable of mastering it, it would mean they’re inhuman.”
He closed his eyes. What good did this news do him, now he was drifting in space? He felt as if he had no weight and no destiny. No worries, no haste. He stretched out his fingers as if he could reach a star. He saw lights from explosions, bright lights colouring the dark sky as someone had gone crazy and smeared out a whole palette of yellow and red. It must be the Taurus suits against the Wing Zero. Tubarov had decided to get rid of his subordinating officer. Duo couldn’t care less. He drifted, feeling numb. He was rudely jerked awake when a voice yelled at him: “Duo! Duo!”
“Hilde?” She must’ve been on his intercom frequency. He turned around and the fear clutched at his stomach. What had seemed comfortable one minute ago had turned into a horrifying experience. He was looking in the dark outer space, without an anchor. A mobile suit carrier was approaching him, and Hilde yelled at him via the intercom.
“Here I am, Duo. Hold on!”
She steered the vessel towards him and threw out a tether line he grabbed. He still didn’t utter a word when he was inside the airlock and waited patiently until he was admitted in the ship.
“What happened?” Hilde was behind the controls, looking frazzled and shocked.
“The man was insane,” Duo said, while taking off his helmet. He was shaking in his boots, the events replaying in his mind and in front of his eyes every time he closed them. He forced himself not to think of it and took a seat next to Hilde, who was steering the vessel towards the colony.
“Who are those soldiers who followed you? What did the guy want from you?” She asked him multiple times, then looked at him and finally inquired if he was all right.
“I’m fine,” he snapped, followed by an apology. Hilde was not the bad guy here. He waited before he answered. “It was Lieutenant Trent, with a very powerful Gundam.”
“Just as powerful as yours?”
It shook him that she referred to ‘his’ Gundam.
“I don’t have one,” he answered.
“Sure you do.” She looked more confident than ever. “Duo, what happened in the Gundam?”
“It was equipped with a special system; Trent kept referring to it as the Zero System. It had the possibility to show several outcomes of data, based on real battle data.”
“It predicts the future,” Hilde summarized, looking extremely shocked. “Dear God, who comes up with such a sick system?”
“I don’t know, I just don’t know.” He shook his head and regretted that immediately. He was about to puke.
“These are the kind of people who keep prolonging the war,” Hilde said. “If it wasn’t for this far-fetched fanaticism and people would talk more with each other, all this wouldn’t be happening.”
“Take me to my Gundam,” Duo said, looking unfazed. My Gundam, as if I’ve always possessed one.
“Sure,” she confirmed and reached to adjust the main console.
If she was disappointed that he didn’t go in on her remark, she didn’t say a thing about it. Duo searched the communication links, but couldn’t find anything on the Zero frequency. That meant that the suit was probably unmanned and Trent was dead. He registered the outbursts of heat and he assumed that the suits sent by Tubarov had carried out their mission successfully; they killed Trent and captured the suit to haul it back to wherever the delusional Chief Engineer was.
Hilde piloted skilfully the carrier back to the docking port and when they had solid feet on ground, Duo noticed how much he swayed. Sweat broke out on his face and Hilde asked him again if everything was all right. He denied her an answer and almost screamed:
“Take me to it!”
She didn’t answer him, but went before him to the junkyard and passed all the piles of scrap metal and other junk. They finally stopped in front of a large hanger.
Hilde opened the doors. “Here it is, Duo. It’s been waiting for you.”
The lights went on and revealed the Gundam, standing up in the back of the huge hangar. Duo didn’t need to think twice. This was the Gundam that he saw when he was in the Zero and he was almost about to sink on his knees and pray.
Gundam Deathscythe Hell rose above him, dark and silent, cloak closed. The samurai shaped head seemed to look him right in the eye and Duo walked towards it as if in a drunken haze.
“No one has opened it. Chang Wufei brought it here and he was glad to get rid of it, as if it scared him. Chang Wufei! No one has the enter codes, Duo.”
“I do.” Duo put his hand on the console in front of him and clicked on ‘on’. The yellow letters flashed in front of his eyes and he keyed in the code. Shinigami. For you are the God of Death, created by the God of Plague, and I’m your henchman. Let me in, Shinigami, for there are battlefields to reap and souls to harvest.
Hilde sucked in a deep breath. After he had keyed the code, the eyes of the Gundam responded by turning green and with one swift move, the cloak unfolded and spread its bat like wings.
“Dear God...” she stuttered.
Between the protruding golden ribs on the chest, the hatch of the God of Death opened invitingly. Duo waited until the cable winch came down, took it and rode up.
“Duo, what are you doing? Duo!” Hilde screamed.
Duo took his place in the cockpit and he felt at home. He was calm; a different kind of calm from when he was in the Zero. He was home. Duo clamped his hands on the controls and the hatch sealed close. Hilde jumped aside when the massive Gundam lifted its leg and started to move forward.
Another leg moved forward. Duo had set the walking control in motion without really realising what he was doing. It was second nature to him. The professor had trained him beyond belief, burning his training into the marrow of his bone and the core of his brain. He wondered why he had forgotten about the man himself. Was he so really occupied by his revenge, and he had betrayed it all for this? Duo heaved a sigh. The Gundam was walking out of the doors, Hilde following suit.
The external cameras of the suit fixed on her and he saw her small figure, clad in tender purple and pink colours.
“Hilde, I didn’t even thank you properly.” He switched on the communication link and opened a line to repeat his words. “I thank you, but now it’s time I do something for you.”
“What?” He could clearly see her mouth forming the word.
“By leaving,” he simply stated. “As long as I’m here, I will pose a threat to this colony and its inhabitants. It’s for the best if I were to leave. Trent isn’t probably the only person who knows that I’m here, and seeing my relationship with Treize, maybe more people are out for my life. Farewell Hilde, take good care of yourself. Maybe we’ll see each other again.”
He saw her lift up her hand, as to wave at him-- he smiled at the gesture. Even though she couldn’t see it, he put up his hand to wave back and with one swift movement; he set the walking mode back in motion. The suit walked to the air lock, not far away located from the junkyard. He raised the hand to push the buttons to open the lock and stepped inside. He felt strange. At ease, but still strange. What was going to happen? What was he going to do, and what was Heero up to? He remembered their exchanged kisses as if it was yesterday, and Heero had cared for him when he was sick in the Sanq Kingdom.
Heero had talked about this girl, Relena Peacecraft, with a fierce passion in his eyes that Duo wasn’t sure if it was love or devotion. He snorted as tears almost sprang into his eyes. He wasn’t going to cry over Heero. They were soldiers, and the fact that they could die any day was very clear. What was it that held them together? The few kisses they shared in the class room? No, it weren’t just kisses; it was something more, something he couldn’t put his finger on. He didn’t really believe in love at first sight, but he’d felt an instant… bond with Heero, from the moment he bumped into him at the Lunar Base. Duo shook his head again and tried to get rid of the headache. The air lock beeped the signal that it was safe and the outer hatch opened. Duo hit the boosters before the Gundam would fall out of the air lock and they came to life with a grumbling sound, as if they weren’t used in a long time.
Duo flinched. He knew how long the Gundam had been standing there, unused.
“I’m sorry old buddy,” he said, “Do you still think we could fight again?” He kept the cloaking device activated because he didn’t want to be picked up by any radar device. Where to go to now?. There was only one thing to do-- return to the Sanq Kingdom and find Heero. And then, then what? Was he going to proclaim his undying love for Heero? Heero had cared for him, but did he care for him because he was useful in this war or because he really loved him?
The travel was long, and blissfully silent. Duo sat back in his pilot chair, mulling over the recent events, and the impact of the ZERO system on him in particular. He wondered if he’d meet the other Gundam pilots. Duo was curious about them. They probably won’t accept me.
Once again, Khushrenada’s name felt like a millstone on his neck. The other Gundam pilots wouldn’t be too fond of him when they learned about his past and his connection to the former OZ leader. Duo gritted his teeth. He had overcome worse.
“If necessary, I’ll descend on Earth and set everything right myself,” he repeated over and over again. “I will now fight for others so they don’t have to, as I promised; I won’t be fighting only for myself.” He was now a Gundam pilot in name, but he severely doubted if the others would be waiting for him with open arms.
A proximity meter went off and the heat detector measured increased heat waves. Duo switched on the external cameras and searched for the source of the heat. He found it: two white Taurus suits were fighting off mobile dolls of the OZ space forces. It brought him a foul taste in the mouth. OZ!
The closest white Taurus had run out of firepower. The pilot threw its empty weapons at the black Virgo mobile doll, who simply discarded them with one blow. Duo moved his hand towards the buttons that made the uncloaking device uplift its wings. He waited until his warmth meters skyrocketed. A huge explosion had caused the rise in the meters, and Duo was even more baffled when he saw a mobile suit hurling towards the white Taurus. He had seen the mobile suit before, the white massive Gundam with the curved cutting weapons. It rammed the Virgo, sending them both sprawling through outer space. Without a second thought, Duo allowed Deathscythe Hell to open its hands and he caught both of them.
Silence reigned in space. Not a single sound. Duo felt a little smug, knowing that he couldn’t be detected by any radar system. Thank you, Professor G. I remember your lessons about stealth. You were right, all the time. The pilot of the second white Taurus seemed to search, hesitantly moving from left to right. Duo decided that now was the time to reveal himself and he uncloaked the Gundam. Deathscythe Hell opened its massive wings, strengthening its demon like appearance and instantly causing fear and terror in his opponents. He released the white Gundam that carefully put itself in an upright position, and pushed the Virgo suit away from him. With one whirl, Deathscythe grabbed its massive twin beam scythe and the green plasma energy flared, describing a huge arc. Duo didn’t hesitate. He cut the enemy suit with one swift swipe, neatly and exactly in half. It exploded on impact. Duo launched his buster shield towards the other suits. He moved with grace, he moved with an ease that came naturally to him. Deathscythe dealt with the enemy suits and Duo felt the power... and felt that he was alive. Death has never made me feel so alive before.
With all the enemy suits defeated, Duo followed the example of the other pilots; he opened the chest hatch and carefully prepared to tread outside, safely secured with a tether line. The white Taurus opened its hatch and a young boy stepped out, looking confused.
The Gundam brought back memories. Duo recognized it from the transport debacle in Siberia: it was the one who had launched the missiles at him. He’d managed to dodge the attack because of his cunning pilot skills, but his Aries had been ripped to pieces. Duo snorted. His Aries was a mangled bicycle compared to the Gundam. He stepped out of his cockpit and carefully placed his feet on the hatch. The Gundam pilot also stepped out and Duo didn’t pay attentions to the third one, the other white Taurus suit.
The communications lines were open and he was startled by a male voice, asking: “Duo Maxwell, is that you?”
“Yes, it’s me, Duo,” he answered, wondering why the pilot knew his name.
“Do I know you?” It was the pilot of the Taurus who had run out of firepower.
“I’m one of the best friends you ever got!” Duo said jokingly, trying to lighten up the atmosphere. He miserably failed.
“I’m sorry,” the pilot mumbled, sounding young and clearly confused.
“Lieutenant Duo Maxwell, from the Specials?” A female voice shrieked in his ear. Duo almost cried out of the sudden impact of the voice. He cringed because the woman didn’t even try to hide her fear and horror.
“Is that you, Lucrezia Noin?” He wasn’t entirely sure. He’d only met her once at Lake Victoria, and had caught rumours of an attack, targeted at the pilots in training there, supposedly caused by another Gundam pilot. And now I’m one of them. How can I be one of them if I can’t even make up my own mind and feel the way I’m supposed to feel? If I’m such a mess myself, how can I expect them to accept me amidst their ranks? He carefully steered his train of thoughts away from there. He took her silence as a confirmation.
“Lieutenant Noin, how are you,” he answered, almost drawling. He couldn’t see her face because of the grotesque space helmets. He didn’t receive an answer, and saw the three exchanging looks. Even Lucrezia Noin has switched sides. How come I’m not the one changing?
“I thank you, from the bottom of my heart,” she suddenly said and it startled him again. Was it for saving those two?
“Are you coming with us, Duo?” The Gundam pilot sounded like he was inviting him over for tea, as if they knew each other for years.
“Are you sure?” He couldn’t think of any other answer.
“I’m sure. There’s a resource satellite nearby, owned by my family. We can talk there.” His voice was perfectly calm and normal, yet Duo was sweating like a pig. He tried to get a grip on himself. What was he thinking? He used to command guys twice his age around!
“Lead the way,” he answered meekly and stepped back into the cockpit. His cameras fixed on the suits before him and he followed them like a lamb to the slaughterhouse. He couldn’t keep from fondling his crucifix.
Duo hadn’t realised how tired he was until the Gundam was safe and docked. Next to Deathscythe stood the other Gundam, as if they were the best buddies of the world. He lowered himself down with the cable and when his feet touched the ground, he suddenly felt like a traitor.
A blonde boy, a teenager like him, approached him with open arms.
“We haven’t been officially introduced, Duo. My name’s Quatre Raberba Winner.”
“The Winner family?” Duo was impressed, and shook hands with him.
“Thank you, Duo.”
“Thank you, too,” Duo answered confused. He looked at the other boy, slender and tall, with auburn hair in a uni bang, covering the left side of his face.
“What the… officer Barton?” Was everybody a Gundam pilot in disguise? He was shocked to see him looking at him with a blank expression. “Officer Barton?”
“I’m… Trowa Barton,” the young man repeated, but didn’t sound very confident. Duo noticed Quatre to avert his eyes and focus his gaze at the floor.
Lucrezia Noin hadn’t changed much since the last time he’d seen her, but the determined look in her eyes was undoubtedly as strong as ever. She stepped in before Trowa.
“A lot of things have happened, Lieutenant. Too much to discuss in a few minutes. I take it you have some news to report yourself.”
“Well, yes, sure,” Duo answered. “How’s Zechs?” Duo had lost contact with the Lightning Count after Operation Daybreak, but he had picked up rumours about the man. Treize had mentioned that Zechs was also diverging from OZ’ path.
She flinched, but saluted for him. “I hope Zechs’ doing all right.” She sounded strained and extremely under pressure. “With your permission, I would like to retreat now, sir.”
“Sure,” Duo answered and watched her walking away. Why in the hell would she salute for him? Trowa looked like nothing really mattered to him. Quatre wore a shocked expression; maybe because he casually used the name Zechs, he didn’t know. He stifled a yawn.
“Please accept the hospitality of the Winner family, Duo,” Quatre finally said, still in his calm but quite commanding voice. “Before we talk, it’s better to get some rest and something to eat. I know you’re full of questions, so am I-- but it has to wait for now. I’ll have someone show you your room and bring you some dinner.”
“Thank you very much.” Duo couldn’t do anything but to thank him. He had to earn their trust and he couldn’t really blame them for not exactly immediately trusting him. An Arabic looking guy bowed before him and said: “This way, sir.”
Duo felt smelly and stinky after the hour-long flight and really hoped he could discard his old clothes. He was brought to a room with an adjacent bathroom and he could almost howl with relief. Duo stripped himself of the smelly clothes and made a beeline for the shower.
When he felt the hot sprays of water, he sighed aloud. The empty blackness of space flashed shortly in front of his eyes, but it didn’t frighten him anymore. I was born between the stars. I’ve never been really a child of the Earth, though Earth was kind to me. I’m not a child of the colonies either. How can I ever relate to them, to the toiling and suffering, if I’m not one of them? Tiredness overcame him. He washed his hair, marvelled about the rich stock of supply of hair lotions and conditioners and gave into the luxury to rinse and lather twice. He turned off the tap, stepped out of the shower cabin and noticed that his clothes were gone. He was embarrassed by the sheer thoughts of the smelly clothing and hoped they had a good washing machine. He dried himself off and dressed in pyjamas.
Duo saw a covered tray on the small side table and he took off the lid. It was a simple meal of meat, vegetables and a few bulky potatoes, but it tasted like heaven to him. He couldn’t remember how he reached his bed; when his head hit the pillow, he was asleep.
-----------------
Someone poked at his shoulder and he grudgingly opened an eye.
“My apologies sir, but it’s time for your breakfast. Master Winner has asked for you to join him.”
It was the same attendant from yesterday, smiling a bit wanly. Duo yawned and stretched his arms. On a short command of the attendant, two others came inside the room, reeling a rack of clothes. Duo questioned about his old clothing, and got the short answer that ‘they wouldn’t do for Master Winner’.
Duo complied and dressed himself in black attire, and made sure the white collar of his shirt showed. I’m sorry, Father Maxwell. I royally fucked up.
After he was fully dressed, he was bid by the servant to follow him. Duo drew a deep breath. How nice Quatre appeared on the outside, he couldn’t assume he was also nice on the inside. Heero hadn’t told him much about the other pilots. Nervously, Duo hardly paid attention to the furniture and the rooms they passed on their way to ‘Master Winner’. The guy has his personal army of servants. He was suddenly afraid.
They halted for a door and he was announced.
“Mister Maxwell for you, Master Winner.”
“Thank you Auda, that’ll be all.”
Duo tried not to feel uncomfortable. Quatre was sitting at the breakfast table, lifting up a gigantic porcelain cup.
“Won’t you join me for breakfast, Duo?”
“Eh, sure,” Duo answered and took a chair. A servant popped out of nowhere, asking him if he wanted tea or coffee. Duo settled for coffee.
“Have something to eat,” Quatre encouraged him. There was a lot to choose from: loafs of bread, fresh fruit, jams and cheese. They finished eating in silence, sometimes disturbed by servants who replenished the dishes and the cups. Quatre finally dismissed them and took a sip at his tea before speaking up.
“You’ve come quite recommended. You have an outstanding record, mentioning your superior piloting skills and excellent insight on mobile suit engineering and tactics.”
“I don’t have anything to complain.”
“You may be angry with me, for doing a background check. I was longing to do so the day I heard about you.”
“I don’t blame you for not trusting me,” Duo said.
“You saved me and Trowa, that’s all that counts for me. And Heero, of course.”
“What about Heero?”
“He vouched for you.” Quatre took another sip. “He really didn’t need to, you know. I’ve never seen someone so in love before, and any friend of Heero is my friend, no matter where they come from.”
In love? Duo realized he was tearing up the napkin and put it quickly aside.
“Even when they belonged to OZ once?”
“Belonged… or supported? There’s a great difference between those two.”
Duo averted his eyes. “I served OZ, convinced that I was doing the right thing. After the Alliance was overthrown, I really thought I was helping the colonists by sticking to OZ and their ideals. Little did I understand that I was only replacing the ones behind the helm. It didn’t make a difference. Still..” he hesitated, “I don’t want to sugar coat my words or actions.”
Quatre nodded and finished his tea. “Let’s go to the living room.”
While the servants bussed the breakfast table, the two pilots moved to the adjacent room, furnished in the same style as the other room. Quatre seated himself in the comfortable looking couch, while Duo took a seat on the opposite end of the couch.
“How’s Heero?” he asked.
“The last thing I heard from him, was that he somehow managed to get into contact with Treize.” Quatre looked pensive. “I haven’t talked to him since we both left the Sanq Kingdom.”
“What would he want from Treize? Is it about me? Don’t they hate each other?”
“I know it has nothing to do with you.” Quatre heaved a sigh. “It’s about a new Gundam, I’m not sure. The Winner database is large, but not large enough. I left Sanq Kingdom to return to my own men.”
“I see.” Duo was confused.
“I’m glad Deathscythe Hell accepted you, meaning that you’re the right pilot. That’s what I know and that’s what I accept. I esteem the scientists wise enough to not let someone they don’t trust, open a Gundam. I don’t have to know everything.” He leaned forward. “However, you piloting Deathscythe doesn’t mean immediately that you’re on our side... does it?”
“I don’t even know what sides there are to take.”
“What were you thinking when you entered Deathscythe?”
“Do you really want to know?”
Quatre smiled and put his hand over his heart. “Yes, I really want to know.”
“I wanted to go back to Heero.”
“I thought so.” There was no judgment or condemning in his voice. He opened his blue eyes and said, “We were fortunate yesterday having you around, Duo. As you’ve noticed, Trowa isn’t really the Trowa you know. He’s one of us Gundam pilots, but he has lost his memory due to an... unfortunate accident.”
“The Zero system?” Duo asked, breathless. Quatre looked pained.
“Yes, it had something to do with the Zero System. It’s terribly dangerous and... well, never mind. We were talking about you.” He smiled again.
“Do you know how the colonies are treating us? They deny every relationship with us. We’re considered outcasts, Duo. There couldn’t be any more wrong moment to join us.”
“I don’t know if I’ll join you,” Duo objected. “You seemed to have accepted me, but what about the rest of the pilots?”
“I can’t speak for the others. You seem to be on the good side. I can’t say that I’m very happy if you should only do this for Heero. I want people to join with one hundred percent dedication for the cause, not because of other feelings.”
Duo remained silent.
“We’ll be leaving for a search in an hour,” Quatre said softly, looking at Duo. “There still is the fifth Gundam pilot to encounter. Chang Wufei.”
Chapter 7 | Chapter 9 |