Part Twenty-five;
*Everything*

     Paato Chuenchifuaiv;
     *Subete*

The shining little courage
      I lost some time ago
      Let's go find it!
          itsuka nakushita
               kagayaku yuuki no kakera o
               ima sugu sagashi ni yukou!

Always living on the edge,
   that's when you worked best
         girigiri no ga keppuchi de itsumo
               hontou ha honryou hakki suru taipu datta ne

Dreams are crying because of
   a concrete world called reality
         yume ga naiteru
              genjitsu to iu concrete no kabe ni

You can't move, can't shine
   and eventually are too confined
         ugoku nai  kagayake nai
              itsu no ma ni ka kakomare sugite

If you do best when dashing
   through obstacles, that's fine
         shunhatsu ryoku de norikiru
              no ga tokui nara  sore de ii

Don't be embarassed,
   throw away your pride
         hazukashi ga razu
              yokei na pride throw away

The feelings you desire
   until they come back
   Let's start back from zero!
         motomeru kanji
              yomi ga eru sono toki made
              ichido zero ni modosou!

          [##]

Duo stared at the young soldier before him in disbelief...

          [##]

News of Alliance rebellions on Earth had made the Oz soldiers in space nervous, making it remarkably easy for Trowa to enlist. He marked himself as having 'some' Mobile Suit experience and was immediately placed into a training battalion.

Easy.

          [##]

Well he sure as hell couldn't out run them, not in his condition, so Duo tried the innocence ploy. " A-ano... Kanojo, I really don't know what you're talking about. "

[kanojo = young lady]

          [##]

Quatre shifted his weight nervously as he and Iria waited in the spacious office he knew all too well.

" Iie, I will not allow it. Tell that damn scientist he can go to hell! "

Quatre winced at the memory. Why oh why had Iria brought him here? How had she even known to? After what felt like a hundred thousand battles on Chikyuu, meeting his father after going against his wishes still scared him to the point where he trembled.

Iria noted his condition and smiled kindly, " Daijoubu, Quatrekun. "

Quatre smiled weakly back.

In that very moment, the head of the Winner family walked through the door. " Iria-- " he broke off his greeting and stared at his only son in disbelief. " Quatre... " his voice lowered, " okaeri. " He moved to behind the desk and stared first at Quatre, then at Iria. " What is the meaning of this? "

" I knew that you would want to see him, now that he's returned, Otousan, " Iria answered.

Quatre stared at her. " O.... tousan? "

She gave him a bright smile. " Hai, Otoutokun. "

[otouto = little brother]

" Quatre... " Winner's voice had quieted again, and he looked at Quatre through the thick sandy hair that fell forward into his face. " Why have you returned? Have you given up on your foolish quest to Earth? "

Quatre's back stiffened. " Iie, Otousan. I have returned to space to put a stop to Oz's control over the colonies. I cannot allow-- "

" That's Enough! "

Quatre looked shattered. " D-demo... "

" I will not hear it! We are pacifists, and you have broken that, turned your back on it. Now Get Out! " Winner turned his back on Quatre.

Quatre swallowed heavily, not protesting as Iria guided him out of the office.

" Gomen nasai, Quatre... " Iria apologized outside. " Even with the things that have been happening lately... " She lowered her head and broke her sentence off. " Well, I thought maybe seeing you would knock some sense into him. "

Quatre stared at his elder sister wordlessly.

She looked at him, now a saddened note on her kind smile. " Saa, would you like to see where your machine was built? "

Quatre nodded. The pain in his heart stabbing him as he said, " I need to build a replacement for Sandrock, I hope there's enough Gundanium left. "

Iria nodded and led the way.

                [##]

" Urusai! "

Duo cringed as Hilde cut him off. Nope, that wasn't going to work.

                [##]

Wufei paused outside his old home. The breeze stirred by the weather generators ruffling his overcoat and ponytail. Looking to the side, he could see the crest of the hill where... Meiran...

Hardening his expression, he pushed his gaze further to the city... which now stood even more empty than he'd left it. The colony might as well have been abandoned. But the Chang family refused to leave. This was their home, and they would not relent. Stubborn lot, the Chang family. Wufei got his ways honestly.

But with that stubborn pride, came a susceptibility to corruption: and the air here didn't feel right.

Wufei entered the hall, making his way past surprised students and attendants all the way to the reason he had left.

Dropping to one knee, he greeted stiffly. " Master Lo. "

" Wufei, " the old man sighed, " why have you returned? This colony will only mean your death. "

" I cannot die, " Wufei said firmly, glaring up at the old master, " I have no one to mark my grave. "

              [##]

So, Duo tried the direct approach. " You know, you could arrest me... but then you'd never know where my Gundam is. "

Hilde's mouth twisted into a smile. " So you admit to being a pilot. "

Duo sighed inwardly. The God of Death was digging his own grave. How ironic.

                  [##]

" Miss Rilina, I have a proposition for you, " Dermail stated, after sitting at his desk. Rilina and Dorothy sat before him, side by side. The contrast between the two of them struck even Dermail himself. While Rilina had a somber look and was formally dressed, Dorothy had a self-assured smile and still wore the fuku from the school in the Cinq Kingdom. It was enough to
draw his pause to an uncomfortable length, and he cleared his throat before continuing...

" Treize Kush Renada has officially stepped down as the Oz Representative. He was becoming... unwieldy, shall we say. "

" So he didn't step down so much as he was forced to that decision. "

Duke Dermail paused, staring at the girl who had seen through his deception to easily. " Perhaps, " he acceded, " But with that being the fact of the matter, we of the Romafellor Foundation need a new figurehead. We need someone new to lead the people of the Foundation, of Oz; of this very planet. Treize worked well for a warring age, but in this era, where people are fighting for peace, well, they need to know what they are fighting for.

" Miss Rilina, " he leaned forward, resting on his forearms, " in the past there was some unfortunate contentions between the Romafellor Foundation and the Cinq Kingdom. I am hoping that you will find it in your heart to forgive the sins of the past. "

" What are you asking...? " Rilina inquired.

" Become the new Representative: take Treize's former position. You will be given the title Queen and be able to build the new world you dream of -- through us. "

Dorothy gave a gasp and clasped her hands, turning to Rilina, " Oh! Isn't that wonderful, Miss Rilina? "

Rilina was giving him that cold gaze again, " Yes, Dorothy, it's wonderful. " She dipped her chin, but kept eyes on Dermail. The room was silent for a long time before Rilina finally spoke again. Her voice was level as she said, " I accept your offer, Duke Dermail: and hope that you remain true to your words. "

" Absolutely. "

              [##]

Duo gave up and bolted. He was caught within minutes, and taken into Oz custody.

              [##]

" Noin. "

" Yes? "

" I want you to return to the Cinq Kingdom without me. "

" But Rilinasan--! "

" No buts, Noin. I'm about to be executed by Oz for my behavior. "

" What?! "

" Don't worry about me. Zechs Marquis will die as promised to Treize, but Milliardo Peacecraft will remain. It's best this way, and with this Mobile Suit, there should be no complications. "

" Alright Zechs... "

The white Taurus broke formation and flew west, while the Epyon continued its south-southwest trajectory. It wasn't very long before the forewarned executioners appeared on the horizon

                  [##]

Dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit.... Duo cursed inwardly as he was escorted as a prisoner to a cell and pushed inside. ... dammit...

              [##]

Treize reclined, deep within his chair, listening over the computer to the sounds of battle.

" Where the hell--?! " " Watch out Niso! " " --too fast-- " " Epyon at two o'clock-- no, one-- twelve-- he's directly ahead! "

Now would be about the time. Treize lowered his chin and watched the tactical radar on the screen. Yes, an 'error' in judgement, a 'lowering of defenses', the 'end' of the battle...

" Treize... I know you're listening..." Zechs' voice sounded weary, the way Treize felt on the inside as he watched, " ... good-bye... "

Crashing. Explosions. Tactical shouts.

" He's down! Epyon is down! "

" Mission. Accomplished. "

Treize turned the computer off. Turning the chair around, he put his back to it and contemplated the darkness. Epyon was down, but not out. He was more of a designer than anyone gave him credit for. Treize mouth spread into a slow, satisfied smile.

" So ends Act Two... "

                  [##]

Duo sat and stared dismally at the wall of his cell. Sergeant San'nin...  she'd had such a nice smile that day...

" Fine then, I'll grant that, " San'nin took a deep breath, " When do you plan on going back into outer space? "

Duo shrugged.

" Well, if you could do me a favor, dear boy, " San'nin placed a hand on Duo's shoulder, " when you do, look up my daughter and get her away from Oz. "

Duo could feel the tension suddenly rise in the air. " What's your daughter's name? "

" Hilde. "

Aw God! How was he supposed to get San'nin's daughter away from Oz?! She'd just arrested him, for crying out loud! Duo hung his head in defeat.

It just seemed like his days were progressively getting worse...

  **

[So....can I count part 25 as some kind of a landmark? ~laughs~ Well, let's see... what kind of a plan do Treize and Zechs-excuse me, Milliardo-have going between them? How will Rilina fare as the Queen of the Earth? How's Duo gonna get Hilde away from Oz? Yeah, and, uh, other things. It's twenty to three in the morning what more do you expect from me? ^_^ See you next chapter!]

[Written by Inseiko, 2001]
     [Song: "Birth" by Masami Okui, OP for Cyber Team in Akihabara
      Lyrics taken from two sources:
           Romanji: http://www.animelyrics.com
           Translation: direct from Fansub]

[Additional Notes on the Lyrics:]
(1) As with the last chapter, some of the wording was altered minorly to make it more poetic, in no way did I change the actual translation. In Birth all I did was change 'feeling' to 'feelings' so that it grammatically fit with the 'they' in the next line.
(2) I chose this song because the five two-line stanzas reminded me of the pilots, if you're interested, the order goes Duo-Quatre-Trowa-Hiiro-Wufei. Agree? Disagree? Let me know! I'm always open to feedback.

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