Scene Six thru Ten: Gundam Wing After Dekim
Honorable Soliders
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man of honor is that the latter regrets a discreditable act, even when it has
worked and he has not been caught.
know about you. Honor is what you know
about yourself.
Chang Wufei
had learned a few very important lessons during the Dekim Barton uprising and
right after it. He learned that people,
especially civilians, never learn and as a whole they are slow to change and accept
change. He learned that fighting a war
for personal ideals or desires was wrong because it was nothing more than a
slaughter, a way of seeking vengeance for wrongs you perceived.
He looked over at Trowa Barton, his
comrade in arms, sensing somehow that the other teen wanted to say something to
him but that he needed to be patient until he spoke.
feeling like he had to atone for his actions.
“We
shouldn’t be heroes,” The banged teen said to him.
“But we are,”
Wufei silently closed his eyes and pushed away the memories of his dead wife
and her hopes. “They call us heroes and
whether we like it or not we have a role to live up to.
Trowa
glanced over at Wufei. He wondered if
the Chinese youth felt any remorse at having joined Marimeia and Dekim
Barton. Even though they had fought a
war together Trowa still could not ask such a question.
missing, along with Heero Yuy. Trowa
wondered if Wufei was thinking about that brief betrayal just then.
“They’re so
fickle,” Wufei huffed. “We were
terrorists during the war. Now we are
saviors. But didn’t we kill innocents?
worse to live with. I think that’s part
of what pushed me more firmly towards my ideals in the end.”
“The people
don’t understand us Wufei,” Trowa briefly met Wufei’s eyes before lowering his
to the floor once again. “They never
will. They don’t know what it means when
you miscalculate and put too much explosives down and watch innocents die.
someone, because we have the blood of thousands.
“I was
wrong to join Marimeia,” Wufei shook his head.
“I could not see that it was nothing but a slaughter for a man who
claimed to be furthering Treize’s goals.”
“We all
have innocent blood on our hands,” Quatre stepped in through the door, joining
his two friends. “We can’t change that,
can’t take back what we did. All we can
do now is to remind the people of what we did and why we did it.”
Wufei
nodded in agreement. True peace was hard
to obtain, an ideal that most people could dream about but it too was
remote. They had not fought for nothing,
they had fought to try and make that dream a reality.
that dream a reality.
“Are you
twing ing to see Lady Une today?” Quatre asked after a brief pause.
undisclosed base for security reasons while they finish up a few things around
Preventer Headquarters.”
“We may as
well go and see her together Trowa,” Wufei stood and watched as Trowa unfolded
himself from the window seat. “I would
be glad to have the company.”
Trowa
nodded. Together they left Quatre and
headed outside.
Wufei
grabbed his motorcycle, a gift from Duo just before he had disappeared.
off towards their futures.
For Wufei, he had resolved to
become a full-time Preventer. It was the
only way that he felt he could make up for the mistake of fighting for Marimeia,
for betraying his people. Also it was
the only way he could regain his honor and wash the taint that he had put on
himself and his family name. He had
pledged to Meiran, his wife, while she was dying that he would fight for their
people, the peace of the colonies and the world at large and also for the
weak.
Unlike Wufei Trowa had decided to
go back to the circus unless the Preventers needed him for special operations
that would require a Gundam Pilots training.
His home was with the circus and his sister; he owed it to her to spend
some real time with her and to assure her that he was safe and doing fine.
They both came roaring into the
main PrevenHeadHeadquarters, the guards on duty allowing them to pass through
without ID because they were known on sight.
They parked right outside the main building.
out of his way, recognizing authority when they saw it.
“Chang Wufei and Trowa Barton,”
Zechs Merquise approached them with ease and a pleasant smile.
Trowa
nodded in answer for both of them.
smiled slightly at the familiar form of silent language.
“Come with
me then,” Zechs waved a hand and turned around to head in the opposite
direction. “I’ll be able to get you
through all the security around here, which is rather pointless since Une is
about to leave this evening.”
Wufei
looked the blond man up and down, noting some changes in him.
far cry from the former Lightning Count.
It was a change, but this was peace and war machines had to adapt and
change to fit the times.
Zechs
walked them through several check points, all the guards waving him along.
well known and well remembered. Trowa
had a feeling that he always would be.
Zechs Merquise was not a man that one easily forgot just because the
fighting was over. Wufei glanced over at
Trowa and they both could tell that they were thinking the same thoughts.
“Well,”
Zechs said outside of an office where top Preventer agents worked.
something.”
Both Pilots
watched as he opened a small panel and disconnected a yellow wire from the
bunch of multicolored wires. He smiled
as he closed up the panel.
“Any time
you want to get the drop on Lady Une just disconnect that wire,” Zechs
smirked.n stn style=\'mso-spacerun:yes\'> “It goes from her assistant’s
intercom into her office.”
Trowa gave
a half smile. Zechs’ antics reminded him
of Duo’s only not nearly as outlandish.
The three of them marched through the open hallway that opened into the
offices and up to the flustered assistant.
“Merquise,”
She growled out with a slightly worried frown.
“Did you disconnect the intercom again?”
“Perhaps,”
He smiled.
“I don’t
think I’m cut out for this,” She sighed.
Zechs said
nothing, leading the two Gundam Pilots straight into Une’s office.
Zechs but once the door was firmly shut behind the little group her frown
disappeared. She looked between the
three of them and merely shook her head, setting her dispatches aside.
“You’re
going to give Jennifer a nervous breakdown,” Une looked straight at Zechs with
a brief look of reproach. “Kindly stop
or find me a new assistant to take her place when that happens.”
mal>
“Yes Lady,”
Zechs said with a brief smirk.
“Would the
two of you care to talk with me individually?” Une asked the two Pilots out of
courtesy. “Or shall we conduct business
all together?”
Trowa and
Wufei shared a fleeting look. Wufei gave
a tiny smile to his comrade and Une had a feeling that if it were just the two
of them alone he might even give a tiny laugh.
They were so different now that the conflicts were over, now that they
had had time to relax.
“Why not
together?” Trowa asked taking a seat next to Wufei.
“So it
doesn’t bother you to discuss your futures in front of each other and Zechs?”
She asked gesturing to the tall ex-White Fang commander with a slight smile and
twinkling brown eyes.
Trowa
merely stared at her for a few moments.
She sighed and motioned for Zechs to take a seat on the small
couch. Obviously things were very
different if the two Gundam Pilots were comfortable talking in front of two
former enemies.
“So what
are the two of you here for?” Une asked being straight forward with them.
“We came to
first inform you that Duo Maxwell, along with Heero Yuy, has also gone
missing,” Wufei spoke in moderate tones.
“We weren’t absolutely sure until yesterday.”
“We thought
that he had just gone off because he was upset,” Trowa elaborated once Wufei
stopped speaking. “He does that from
time to time. Even during the war.
word to anyone. We think he’s gone for
good.”
“Why didn’t
you report this right away?” Une demanded sourly, sore that she only knew where
two out of five Pilots were.
“They’re
Gundam Pilots Lady,” Zechs jumped in on their defense.
and can do as they please. If Yuy wanted
to disappear and if he hadn’t been able to break out of the hospital on his own
he would have gotten help from Maxwell.
As for Maxwell, we both know that he would be able to get away no matter
what measures we took to keep track of him.
If we were unsuccessful in OZ
what makes you think it would be any different now?”
Une looked
at her most trusted friend with some surprise.
Silently she agreed but she still had to voice her displeasure.
peace stayed firm and with two of the Gundam Pilots missing it made her job
that much harder. There was not so much
of a visible symbol to dangle in front of the media and two missing Gundam
Pilots was bound to stir up the gossip.
“I wish to
join the Preventers full-time Lady,” Wufei said breaking the silence.
possible and you feel that I am qualified enough for the job.”
“I’m going
back to the circus Commander,” Trowa informed her with a slight bow of his head.
stand-by for any missions that require a Gundam Pilot’s specialty.
and Wufei knows how to reach me.”
“Can you
take annual tests to prove your skills haven’t slipped?” She asked the former Heavyarms
Pilot.
He
nodded.
It was all
settled then. Une looked at Zechs and
then over to Wufei. She smiled to
herself and Trowa nearly smiled himself when he realized what she had planned.
“You’re
about to get yourself a new partner Wufei,” He told his friend with no trace of
mockery.
“Zechs and
Wufei,” Une smiled at Trowa.
“Congratulations, you’re now partners and both of you will share equal
duties as team captains. I’ll leave you
two to talk things out for a moment while I get another cup of coffee.”
The three
of them watched as Lady Une, one of the most feared members of OZ, strolled out
of her office for a mere cup of coffee.
Zechs looked at Trowa and then turned to Wufei, his new partner.
“I have a
request partner,” Zechs ran a hand through his hair, a nervous gesture.
into my apartment and be my roommate.
Things are already bad enough. I
was wondering-” He trailed off.
“There are
two bedrooms?” Wufei asked.
Zechs
nodded looking hopeful. Trowa and Wufei
could both tell that he was pretty desperate.
Zechs was not the kind of man who wore his emotions so freely,
especially not emotions that could be easily used against him.
trained so thoroughly ttheythey were unlikely to drop that training even though
it was no longer needed. Years of
hardship had likely made it permanent and even though it was not needed old
habits were hard to break. \'>
“Very well
Merquise,” Wufei said after brief consideration.
“Of
course,” Zechs agreed with relief.
“Then it’s
settled,” Wufei stood. “We>“We have to get
back to Quatre’s for dinner. Will we
need to do anything else here this afternoon?”
“No that
should be it,” Zechs moved and opened the door for Trowa and Wufei.
lasslass=MsoNormal> The three
moved in relative quite. Their futures
were planned out now, there was no casual banter, and it was not needed.
choices they had made in Une’s office that day.
Each of them were soldiers and they still had their honor, however
bruised and battered it was. They were
no longer enemies, just comrades in arms.
Trowa and
Wufei walked to their motorcycles after saying goodbye to Zechs.
taking a longer look at it, remembering the last gift Duo had ever given him.
“We never
really knew him did we?” Wufei said into the microphone imbedded in his helmet
as he gunned the machine to life.
“We did,”
Trowa said revving up his borrowed motorcycle and communicating to Wufei on the
private comm.-channel. “But we each saw
a different side of him. He was so much
more complex than the rest of us and he showed different parts of himself to
each of us.”
“I never
gave him anything in return,” Wufei said passing cars in perfect tandem with
Pilot 03. “I wonder if Duo will be upset
about that.”
“No,” Trowa
answered. “Duo will understand.
a whole.”
“How do you
suddenly know so much about Duo?” Wufei asked.
thinking about him a lot over the past week,” Trowa replied.
observed but felt weren’t important.
He’s out there somewhere Wufei and he will be keeping track on each of
us whether we know it or not. And when
he wants to he’ll make contact with us again.”
“You’re
sure then?” The Chinese youth turned into Quatre’s driveway.
“More than
I am about Relena’s ideals,” Trowa confirmed.
“If I had to I’d follow Duo on whatever mission he had, even if he
suddenly appears five years from now. I
know he never lies so any important mission that Duo Maxwell has is just that,
important.”
Wufei
nodded. He understood a little more about
Duo. He understood that the Deathscythe
Pilot had as much honor as a member of the Dragon Clan even though he was born
a street rat. Birth did not matter; it
was what a person chose to make of themselves that counted.
As the two
teens put their motorcycles away they silently promised the other to keep that
same trust between them as Maxwell had kept with them.