PHEW!!! (Wipes huge sweat drops off her forehead) Well, this is the sixth
and final part of Trial by Fire. I am so happy that there are readers like
you that have been following this. Thank you all so much for the comments
and compliments. I hope that you are happy with the way this saga ends.
There is an important note at the end of this fic that I hope you read.
Thanks again for the support and Enjoy! SkyLark


DISCLAIMER: Okay, none of the characters are mine other than Kumi and Sette.



Trial By Fire
Part 6
by SkyLark



The courthouse was the busiest that it had been in months on this Monday
morning. Matthews and Johnson had arrived there just as the first wave of
people entered the massive building. They were both attired in long coats
that fell to their ankles. Matthews was limping badly, on account of his
wounded leg, of course. They were in black from head to toe and paid no mind
to the people around them as they walked the halls and went to the second
level. They were two of the only people who moved to do just this.

Once they arrived to the tip of the marble stairway, they looked over the
balcony. Everyone who entered the building could be seen easily from that
spot. “Perfect,” Matthews whispered. “With the silencers on our guns, nobody
will know where the bullets came from. There are balconies like this all
over.” “Yes, but one of us needs to be on the ground to get a close range as
well, we’re not going to take any chances. I want every bullet we have fired
at that kid,” Johnson quietly stated. Matthews nodded, “I’ll head down
there. They Yuy and his boyfriend have to pass the corridor just ahead. As
soon as you see him take the first bullet, that’ll be your cue to shoot.”
“Agreed,” his partner replied.

Matthews then went to the ground level and became mixed with the swarms of
people entering the building. He found a secluded corner just before of the
corridor where his target would be heading. With all of the confusion from
the crowd, nobody noticed him or his partner. It was just the perfect set
up. Neither he nor Johnson would ever be connected to the murder of Heero.
Where they were stationed, they were close to the entrance of the building’s
stairwell that was to be used in an emergency. They could easily sprint to
the stairwell and break out of the building that way, with their black car
parked just beyond the doorway. The plan was a deadlock. Nothing would have
kept them from carrying out their job. All they needed right now was Heero’s
presence.

Duo and Heero pulled into the parking lots next to the fifteen-story- high
courthouse. Duo jumped off of the bike while his lover continued to sit
there, staring at the building as he clutched to the cross around his neck.
He felt a hand gently fall on his shoulder as he looked up into soft, violet
eyes. “You okay,” the American asked gently. Heero smiled and nodded as he
stood. Duo offered his arm out. The Japanese pilot’s smile grew as he took
the offer. Duo had armed himself with two guns that rested on his hips, just
as a precaution. His long coat kept them from sight.

No person on S9 was allowed to own a gun unless they worked in the defense.
So, there would not be any metal detectors to be found anywhere. Duo, being
a Gundam pilot, would be allowed to have a weapon in any case. But, he knew
that there were still two men that were out to kill the man he loved before
giving his testimony. There would be nothing to stop when from binging guns
into the courthouse. This was why he wasn’t going to take any chances. The
faces of the two soldiers that escaped death that night on the lake burned
in his memory ever since then. He was determined to introduce them to death
at any cost.

Before stepping inside of the huge doors, Duo had a terrible feeling as he
stopped in his tracks. “What’s wrong, Duo?” Heero asked as he saw the look
of concern on his face. His lover turned and whispered, “If anything
happens, just make sure you get in the courtroom. Once you’re there, you’ll
be safer with the guards inside to protect you. We can‘t make a scene. If we
do and there‘s a shootout, the case will be delayed.” “You have the same
feeling I have, then,” Heero sighed. “Duo, be careful, please,” he
whispered. Duo kissed his lips and smiled, “I will. I’ll be right behind
you. Just get into the room and give your testimony. I’ll be there as soon
as I can.” Heero nodded and walked ahead of his partner through the doors.

Duo paced himself slowly behind his lover as he eyed all of the surroundings
carefully. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. The faces of the
vast crowd didn’t bring any familiarity of those young men that almost
killed Heero twice. The gap between the pilots became great, as they wanted
it to be. His lover walked on ahead as he went on scanning the building
without drawing attention to himself.

Matthews watched as Heero walked past him. “You’re mine, Yuy,” he sneered to
himself, looking for his partner to appear. He walked from his post and
waited to see any signs of the braided pilot anywhere. There were too many
people, everywhere he turned. “Damn it,” he cursed silently, knowing that he
couldn’t waist anytime. He walked in Heero’s direction quickly, forgetting
the terrible pain in his right leg. He had been brandishing his gun as never
lost sight of his target not far ahead of him. Just as he was about to
remove the safety clip, he heard the safety of another gun click off, right
behind him and he froze. “Don’t fucking think of it, asshole,” a voice
behind him growled deeply. Matthews never turned around but could feel the
barrel of the gun press against his back.

The voice continued, “Just take me to where your friend is, and we’ll go for
a little walk. I could always take care of you right here and now if you’d
rather.” Matthews’s face grew red with hatred as he hissed, “Bastard.” “Aw.
And I thought that you liked me all this time,” the man smiled behind him.
“Move,” he ordered. Matthews walked to one of the back stairway that he and
Johnson were going to use for their escape. The alarm would not sound, since
he and his comrade cut the wires first thing that morning.

Matthews and his capturer were alone as the door behind the was closed.
Matthews was forced up against the wall as the man holding him at gunpoint
searched for any and all weapons, throwing them to the ground. He had two
guns and a long blade. Two strong hands then spun him around to look into
piercing violet eyes. Duo smirked, “All right, bastard, where’s your friend?
I know he’s here somewhere, too.” “I have no idea what you’re talking
about,” Matthews chuckled.

The American punched him swiftly in the gut as the soldier doubled over,
coughing for air and groaning in pain. “I’ll only ask one more time,” Duo
threatened as he pointed the gun at the fallen man’s head. “Where is your
friend?” “Right here,” a voice above him called just before he shot at the
braided pilot from the stairway just overhead.
Duo managed to avoid getting hit by the bullets, but he was quickly tackled
to the ground by Matthews who regained his composure.

The two men wrestled violently as they threw each other into the walls,
kicked, punched and did any and everything that they could to stop their
opponent. Neither were able to regain possession of their weapons during the
struggle. Johnson finally made it to the ground level with his gun ready as
he tried to get a good aim of the America. The two had been fighting too
quickly and violently for him to be able to keep him in his sight for long.
“Johnson, help me!” Matthews cried as he went on fighting.

“Johnson! Johnson!” his friend yelled. But there was nothing left of the
young man. Duo knocked Matthews across the room with a punch across the
face. Once he landed, Matthews was close enough to retrieve one of his guns,
however, his opponent now had his guns back as well. Matthews fired a bullet
at the pilot, which was dodged, and flew up the stairs. Duo growled, “Shit!”
as he ran after him. For a man with a whole in his right leg, Matthews ran
up the stairs at great speed. He and Duo exchanged shots.

On the second level, Johnson stalked through the deserted halls to make his
way to the doors of the balcony of the courtroom. Duo to the security
problems, the balcony had been off limits to everyone. A handful of guards
had been stationed there to see that nobody tried to get to the balcony.
However, Johnson make a quick job of shooting them down before they could
call for help. The silencer on the gun made it impossible for anyone to know
that there was trouble. Johnson smiled in admiration of his work. Once the
floor was cleared of any other life, he crept through the doors and onto the
balcony. It was perfect, not one soul below him knew that he was there. And
he had a clean shot of the stand where the fourth witness was sitting as she
was cross-examined.

Neither man stopped as they charged upward. When they reached the fourteenth
floor, Matthews managed to graze Duo in his left arm with a bullet. The
pilot yelled in pain, but only took a second before continuing climb.
Matthews went on to aim his gun at the man in pursuit of him. He pulled the
trigger, only to find that he was out of bullets. “FUCK!” he screamed as he
fled to the last floor. The soldier kicked the door opened that would lead
him to the roof as he flew out, gasping for air and sweating terribly. Duo
was right behind him as he shot him in the left leg. Matthews fell,
screaming in pain and bleeding badly.

The braided pilot slowly walked up to him, guns pointing at his forehead. He
had a cold, frightening look on his face as he stalked in his prey’s
direction. Duo placed this guns back in their halters and grabbed Matthews’s
shirt to pull him up to his feet. Matthews looked into his eyes in terror as
he gasped, “W-who are you?” “Name’s Duo Maxwell,” the pilot answered darkly.
“And you hurt my Heero,” he sneered. “Time to pay for your sins.” He
proceeded to use Matthews as a punching bag as he punched and kicked the
beaten soldier.

After several rounds of inflicting this upon him, Duo threw the young man
back into the door that led to the stairwell. Matthews fought to stand on
his feet, his face beaten in badly and hardly able to move. He looked up to
the pilot just before his neck was grabbed. The American held him over the
banister while his enemy cringed and cried. “Please don’t,” he begged. “Tell
Satan I say hello,” Duo grinned. “NO!” Matthews shouted. The Gundam pilot go
of the man’s throat. The man fell, screaming the whole way down.

Matthews’s body crashed into the stairs all the way down on the fifth level.
His bones cracked and shattered loudly as they sit the surface. Blood
trickled from all over as his lifeless form once it finished rolling down
the flight of steps. Duo ran past the bloody sight as fast as his feet could
carry him back to the second floor. He knew the second soldier was heading
for the balcony of the courtroom.

* * * *

In the courtroom, the fourth witness stepped down from the stand as the
prosecutor rose. “Your honor, the prosecution calls upon its fifth and final
witness, Heero Yuy.” The Japanese pilot rose from his seat in the back and
made his way to the stand, all eyes upon him. Reinhart and Starks shot him
the most threatening looks he ever received. Heero turned away from them,
after returning the same glare as he went to sit. A Bible was presented
before him as he placed his hand on it.

As the bailiff went on to say, “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole
truth and nothing but the truth, so help you, God,” lone man stood on the
balcony as he pulled his last gun from his belt. He smiled evilly as he
chuckled deeply to himself. “This is too easy. Good riddance, you son of a
bitch,” he growled. He was just about to pull the trigger when a bullet
ripped through his head. He fell to the floor, face down. Not a sound had
been made as the gun that shot him also had a silencer. Blood oozed all over
the balcony. A figure stood behind by the doors of the balcony, looking upon
the dead soldier. The person was dressed completely in black, spare the deep
purple, hooded cape that fell over the dark attire. No face could be made
out thanks to the hood as the figure silently stepped out into the hall.

Duo stopped in his tracks when he reached entered the second floor. The
figure stood still before him. The two individuals stared at each other in
silence. After a long pause, the mysterious figure’s lips smiled as the head
gave a nod and quietly walked past Duo. Just as they did this, they took
something from their pocket and placed it into Duo’s hands. They never
stopped to say anything as they went on walking through the doors leading to
the stairwell. Duo flew through the doors of the balcony and gasped at the
dead body of Johnson. The blood was everywhere now as it formed a pool under
the lifeless form.

Duo looked to the envelope that the unknown person had thrust into his
grasp. The front of it simply read, “Heero.” Duo’s eyes shot opened as he
ran out of the doors and to the stairwell to see if the figure was still
there. He was not surprised to see that the person was nowhere to be found.
He sighed and smiled, “Thank you, whoever you are.” He gave up looking for
them as he ran back to the courtroom.

The prosecutor walked up to Heero as he sat in the stand. “And you were with
Reinhart and Starks the night that the Fresh Field Village was destroyed,
correct?” Heero replied, “Yes.” “Could you tell us exactly what happened
that night?” he asked. Heero lowered his head and gripped the crucifix
tightly. Just then, the doors in the back of the room opened. The sound was
enough to break the tense silence and brought all eyes upon the person
entering. Duo smiled as he tiptoed to the front of the room and sat where he
and Heero could look to each other. When he sat, he winked to his lover and
nodded.

Heero smiled and returned the nod as he began, “I was under training with
Reinhart and Starks that night. Once our original mission was carried out,
they weren’t satisfied and wanted to see what they themselves could do.
Fresh Field was the closest civilization to where we were sent originally.”
The prosecutor nodded and ran a hand through his thick, blonde hair. “And
what happened after they had made it clear that they wanted more?” he
inquired. Heero continued, “They proceeded to the village and began
attacking. I tried to stop them, but they threatened me by saying that I was
insubordinate to their orders. I was ordered to stay back and watch. They
leveled the whole village to the ground in a matter of minutes. There was
nothing anyone in the town could do, since the attack began late in the
night.” He went on into great detail of the destruction that he was forced
to watch.

There were loud gasps throughout the room as people began to whisper amongst
themselves. The two lawyers of the defendants looked to their clients with
wide eyes. “Order in the court,” the female judge called as she knocked the
gavel down a few times. Reinhart and Starks had their heads lowered the
whole time, their faces red with rage.

“What else, Heero?” the prosecutor questioned. “For your being
’insubordinate,’ what did they do to you?” Heero wasn’t sure if he would be
able to answer he question as he looked to the ring on his right hand. He
rubbed it gently with his left index finger as he looked up to his partner.
Duo’s smile was no longer there, knowing that this was testimony was
difficult for the man he loved. He simply gave a soft nod. Heero took a deep
breath and closed his eyes, “They raped me, as they would anytime they felt
I made a mistake.” The gasps and whispers became much louder as the gavel
hit the judge’s desk once again.

The two lawyers clenched their fists as they gave disgusted looks to their
clients, who still had their heads down. The prosecutor went on, “Finally,
Heero, what happened the last time that you saw Reinhart and Starks?” The
pilot responded, “They admitted that they loved the thrill they got from
destroying that village and wanted more. They had informed me that they
weren’t going to just stop with that.” “Thank you, Heero. I know that this
hasn’t been an easy task for you.” Heero nodded as the prosecutor took a
seat.

A pin drop could be heard throughout the room as there were no words that
could do justice to what he just been said. The judge took a moment to
gather her thoughts as she cleared her throat. Looking to the lawyers, she
nodded, “Your cross-examination, council.” The older of the two lawyers
stood and sighed, “Duo to Heero Yuy’s testimony...” he took a deep breath,
still in shock of what the young man had said. “We would like to decline and
ask that Reinhart and Starks be placed behind bars immediately.” Every body
in the audience of the courtroom jumped to their feet as they jumped,
applauded and cheered loudly. Reinhart and Starks never changed their poses
as they listened to the commotion around them.

Duo sprinted to the front of the room the same moment that Heero jumped over
the stand and ran to him, both with huge smiles of relief on their faces.
The embraced as they laughed and cheered. Duo softly kissed the Wing pilot’s
lips as they embraced again. “You did it, Heero,” Duo whispered in his ear.
Heero’s smile went from ear to ear as he tightened his grip around the other
pilot. “Order! Order!” the judge demanded. It took a few minutes for
everyone to calm and sit down.

Once there was silence in the room again, the judge nodded and began,
“Lieutenant Reinhart and Commander Starks.” The defendants rose, their heads
hanging still. “You will be placed into custody while the jury decides
whether you will be given life in prison or the death penalty. I will not
allow you to remain in my court any longer.” The two men were taken off by
the guards. They both turned to look at Heero and Duo to give them cold
stares. The pilots simply smiled and waved to the two of them as they were
escorted out of the room.

“Mr. Yuy,” the judge called. Heero rose as the woman smiled to him. “I wish
that there was a way I could change your grim past. Thank you for displaying
the courage that you have today. You’re to be commended.” Everyone in the
room rose to their feet and applauded for them. Duo smiled as he joined in
the standing ovation. Heero smiled and nodded to everyone as he waved. “This
case is over,” the judge announced as she hit the gavel on the desk one last
time. Slowly, everyone began to exit the room. Duo and Heero embraced once
more as they walked out of the room arm-in-arm.

* * * * *

The mysterious figure slipped unnoticed as they ran through the streets’
alleyways. Once they were out of the city, they approached a desolate field
just beyond the civilization. Removing the hood, their long silver strands
of hair fell along her back, in its ponytail. She chuckled and went on
walking through the field. Hidden amongst the enormous hills, she went into
a black Gundam that resembled Wing Zero perfectly, aside from the difference
in its colors. Jumping into the cockpit, she turned on the monitor.

An anchorman was broadcasting the story of the trial just outside of the
courthouse. “Reinhart and Starks and now in custody awaiting the verdict
that the jury is now debating. Only, they are not debating on whether they
are guilty or not...They will be deciding whether they will have be
sentenced to death or life in prison.” The young woman smiled as she sighed
and lied back in her seat. “Thanks to the testimony of Heero Yuy, the book
had been thrown at the defendants as there was no question that they are the
ones responsible for the crimes they were being tried for.” “Great job,
Heero,” she whispered.

Just then, another transmission was coming in. “Sette?” she asked as the
pilot’s image came onto the screen. “Kumi!” her friend cheered. “I’ve been
trying to get a hold of you for a long time now.” “What’s wrong?” Kumi asked
as she sat up. Sette typed a commands into her Gundam’s controls. “I am
relaying this information that I had just received. You should be getting it
now,” she replied. The monitor in Excalibur began to show the images and
information that was on the disk Sette was given. Kumi took a close look at
the information. Her face turned pale and gasped, “My God.”

Sette nodded, “Doctor J is alive. He managed to escape death during the war
after all.” “I was so afraid of this,” the young pilot sighed. She knew that
the information was true. “Where are you now?” she asked Sette. Her friend
sent the coordinates. Kumi nodded, “I’ll be right there.” With that, she
piloted her Gundam to soar off.

* * * * *

Back in the apartment, Duo’s arm had been bandaged as he told Heero the
whole story of what happened with Matthews and Johnson. “And you couldn’t
tell if the person was a man or woman?” Heero asked, upon hearing of the
mysterious person who killed the man in the balcony. Duo shook his head,
“No, the clothes were too baggy to be certain.” He pulled the envelope from
his pocket. Handing it to his lover, he continued, “But they handed this to
me.” Heero accepted the envelope and studied the writing on the front before
opening it. He sat on the bed and pulled out the paper. He unfolded it and
read aloud, “Dear Heero, Just wanted to say Happy Birthday. I’m so proud of
you. Take care and I look forward to seeing you again some day. Love Always,
Kumi.”

Duo’s eyes and mouth widened as he gasped, “That was your cousin the whole
time?” Heero smiled and closed his eyes, “I should have known. She’s one of
the two people that I know will always watch out for me, no matter what.”
Duo smiled, “She‘s just as talkative as you are.” Heero laughed, “I know.”
He placed the letter back into the envelope and sighed as he got to his
feet. “Let’s go home,” he smiled. “Yea,” Duo nodded as they took their
suitcases and left the room.

* * * * *


Sette and Kumi were reunited as their suits hovered along the boarder of the
Colony’s sky and the dark void of space. “I have to go and find Doctor J.
Knowing him, he’s only going to be looking for myself and Heero. I don’t
want to be a puppet of his any longer...I know that Heero feels the same,”
Kumi stated. Her friend nodded, “I’ll do whatever I can to help you find
him. I have a feeling that it’ll take some time before you’ll get a fix on
his location.” The silver-haired pilot whispered, “Yea.”

The suits soared off into space. “Are you going to tell Heero about this?”
Sette asked. Her friend shook her head, “He’s been through enough. I want to
make sure that this information really is true, and that Doctor J is
actually alive and trying to call us back to him.” The tomboy sighed, “I
don’t blame you.” Just then, she gasped, “By the way, how did the trial go?”
Kumi chuckled and simply stated, “The good guys won.” Sette smiled, “Cool.”

* * * * * *

Back at Quatre’s palace, the pilots sat at dinner after their reunion that
afternoon. Another birthday cake had been made for Heero as the pilots sang
“Happy Birthday” to their comrade. Heero smiled and blew all of the candles
out. His friends clapped and cheered as they sat. The Wing pilot went on to
cut some slices of the vanilla cake as hey were passed between the five of
them.

Once they finished the dessert, Heero placed his hand on Duo’s knee as he
stated, “Well, there’s something that Duo and I need to tell all of you.”
The trio leaned forward in their chairs a bit at this announcement. “Sure,
Heero,” Quatre smiled. “What is it?” Duo and Heero looked to each other and
smiled. “Heero and I have been in love for a long time,” Duo answered.
Trowa’s face lit up as he nodded, “Yes.” “Duo and I are lovers.” There was a
pause as the three pilots had their jaws and eyes wide opened. “You mean
it,” Quatre gasped. The pair nodded.

Trowa slammed his hands on the table as he got to his feet. He stretched his
hand, palm up, to Wufei. “PAY UP!” he cheered. Heero, Duo and Quatre laughed
hysterically at this. Wufei growled as he took a twenty from his pocket and
placed it into his friend’s hand. “So it really doesn’t bother any of you?”
Duo asked, still laughing. Trowa shrugged, “Well, I’d be lying if I said
that I won’t need time to adjust to the two of you, but I am just happy that
you’re happy.” Wufei even smiled and shrugged, “I agree with Trowa. It’s a
shock that we’ll get used to.” Quatre nodded, “You’ll always have us for
your friends.” Heero sighed and smiled, “Thank you.” Duo replied the same
way. The five pilots went on to sit, talk and laugh until late that night.


End

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Okay, to see what happens with the whole Doctor J dilemma, you need to read
“The Past Returns,” since that’ll tell you where that part of this story
goes. Also, I am really in need of stories, plots, and any creative idea
that you have to offer to continue “Just the Beginning.” If you haven’t read
that yet, plaese do. This will be my longest series and I need all the help
that I can get. I will accept any and all ideas that you have to offer.
Please, e-mail any ideas to cyclone2996@hotmail.com

Thank you!

SkyLark