29-June-2000
Title: The Hunt ()()()()()()()() Notes: This is a *direct sequel* to our previous fic, ESO, and picks up about two weeks or so after the conclusion of that story. This is the most recent entry in what I am now dubbing the Frozen Colony Arc (whoo hoo, we have an Arc!!! Doesn't that sound impressive? ^_~). Many references are made to events in the previous fics. I would like to think this would not be annoying to anyone who hasn't read the previous stories, but I might be on crack. In the event that anyone is interested, the *chronological* order of these stories is as follows, and all can be found at GW Addiction. [Discoveries: Her Fallen Count; The Frozen Colony; Down Time in Hell; The Rematch; The Future; The Power of Goodbye; and E.S.O.] ESO SPOILER: for those of you who read ESO or don't mind being spoiled, Wufei revealed to Zechs at the end of that story that Treize was still alive, which events actually happened in The Future. We do not know at this time how many other characters will come into the story. This is a multi-parter, but will definitely NOT be anything like the length of ESO (sigh of relief heard all around).
Author: bonnejeanne (bonnejeanne@yahoo.com) and vonceia (vonceia@yahoo.com>
Archive: GW Addiction http://www.oocities.org/fenris_wolf0/ and if she chooses, Darkflame http://members.xoom.com/riouka/gwpage.html
Category: yaoi, angst
Rating: NC-17
Pairings: 6x5/5x6 so far, mentions of 1x2 and 5x1x2
Spoilers: Series, Endless Waltz, fics of ours
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing characters and universe are the property of the copyright owners. Our stuff is ours. No money being made here. As with all our fics so far, while our goal is to stay as in character as possible, any discrepancies are our mistakes.
Feedback: Any and all comments, feedback, critiques welcome, be they short or long.
Warnings: Yaoi, LEMON (graphic sex)- not in this section. No one is intentionally bastardized, but we do not guarantee that our interpretations of characters will agree with yours, so a general OOC warning.
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Once at home, Zechs made few calls. One was on a private line to Lady Une.
"Zechs," Lady Une said, looking into her monitor.
Zechs nodded once in acknowledgement. "Lady Une. We have a viable lead. It will take us out of contact for a couple of days. It seems that our subject has been busy, but we are at least a week behind," he said.
The Lady adjusted her glasses back up on the bridge of her nose. "I see," she said. "That's a substantial gap," she said, amazed that her tone did not betray the conflict she was feeling inside. This would be the test. Getting through the reports and calls while maintaining her outer structure was the game. It would not be as easy this time with the knowledge she had about herself and the call she had received the evening before. She concentrated on Zechs.
"True," Zechs said, with a deep sigh. "But what we're about to do is vital to the mission and will answer many questions on how to proceed from there. We will contact you as soon as we can. By the way, we will need a stand-by status placed on one Aldo Rameus."
Lady Une looked down and entered the name. "Done," she said, then looked back up to the screen. "Anything further?"
Zechs shook his head. "Not until we have a chance to check this lead," he said.
"Fine then. And Wufei? How is he?" Lady Une asked.
Zechs turned to the Chinese pilot and moved to one side so that he might speak to Lady Une himself.
Wufei however was on a call of his own and simply waved briefly and nodded to Lady Une.
When Zechs had placed his call to her, Wufei had used his own comm to place a call to an apartment in the L2 cluster.
Duo answered, and immediately called Heero over. "It's Wu-man!"
"Maxwell you know... oh never mind," Wufei said, feeling too pleased to see him to continue the customary argument about his name.
Heero materialized at Duo's side and placed a hand on Duo's shoulder. "What's goin' on?" Heero asked.
"I'm with Zechs," Wufei, and the slightest of flushes to his cheeks said a great deal more about the subject, which he quickly moved on from. "We are following a breadcrumb trail. It seems to be leading to Epyon."
"Hn," Heero remarked. "Why? Treize wanting his suit back?"
"It almost seems that way - but I don't know," Wufei said. "I've been thinking a lot about many things. About the questions I never asked him. About why he made the war happen." Wufei shook his head. "My thoughts aren't clear right now, but we're going into space and I wanted to let you know what was happening so far. In case... you are needed."
Heero nodded. "We're there," he said, then remembered a piece of the conversation that he and Treize shared when Heero found him a prisoner of Romefeller. "I don't know if this helps, but at the time, Treize told me he built the Epyon not as a weapon, but to guide him to his future. Apparently, he did not see one when he used the suit, because he wanted me to shoot him. He also said something about defining his life through battle... Don't know if it means anything anymore, but that's what I remember," he said, reaching up and taking Duo's braid in his hand.
Wufei listened closely and nodded. "I don't... know what he wants, I doubt I ever did. But I don't think he will try and start a war. I have to go. I'll contact you at my next opportunity."
"Take care, Wufei," Heero said. "We'll wait for your call. And tell Zechs, hi."
Wufei smiled. "I will." He nodded at both of them and signed off.
Heero looked up at Duo. "He did him," he said.
Duo burst out laughing. "No shit! From what I could see, he did him, all right.... *well*! Damn shame... I want tapes."
"It's not over yet," Heero said, with a shrug.
Duo tilted his head, studying his serious partner. "You talking about Wufei and Zechs? Or that suit... Epyon?" he asked, suppressing a slight shiver at the name.
"Actually, I was talking about Wufei and Zechs, but it applies to both. The last time I saw Epyon, I took its arm off." Heero mused.
Duo nodded. "Suits can be rebuilt," he said. Then he cocked his head slightly. "Wonder what *she* would think about the Epyon..."
"If you're talking about Alfa, I think she would be interested in it, but probably want to modify it. It's got Treize's mind, which is probably why I could never understand it."
The braided boy continued to look thoughtful. "Yeah," was all he said.
Heero looked up at his thoughtful companion and shook his head. When Duo was ready to share, he knew he would. "I've already packed us up in case Wufei needs us. I'm going to get something to eat. I'd rather it be you, but I'll settle for a sandwich," he said, then turned and headed to the kitchen.
"Well why didn't you *say* you were hungry!" Duo exclaimed, jumping up and running past Heero to the kitchen. "I have this great recipe I've been wanting to try... it's called... 'Taco Surprise'..... sound yummy?"
"Anything that doesn't kill me, makes me stronger. Go for it," Heero said and took up position in the kitchen.
Duo nodded, his braid bobbing, and he tossed an apple to the Japanese boy and then began pulling things out of the food storage compartments.
Wufei turned to Zechs. "Heero and Duo say hi," he said, smiling slightly.
Zechs looked at Wufei with raised eyebrows. "Great," Zechs said. "I take it they're doing ok. Lady Une sends her best as well."
The Chinese boy nodded. "So are you going to tell me where we are going, or do I just need to follow you and be surprised?"
Zechs chuckled a little. "No. I'm sorry. I just got a ... never mind. We're going to Resource Satellite MO2. That's where I left Epyon," he said.
Wufei nodded. Unwillingly, he found himself thinking of the day of the battle over Earth, the day Zechs had disappeared in the explosion of the Libra's engines, and Treize had impaled himself on Wufei's trident. The day he'd spent, alone, sifting through the debris of the spacefield until he'd found his enemy, his victim, the man he was again searching for.
"I was thinking about another time," he said aloud to Zechs. "The day L5 was destroyed, and you came with Wing Zero and Peacemillion and tried to get me to join you. Remember?"
Zechs chuckled again and nodded. "The day you nearly took me out and the day I nearly took Peacemillion out? Yes, I think I recall that day. It marked my blowing holes into things era," he said and then moved to sit closer. "What were you thinking about that day?"
Wufei closed his eyes for a moment, then looked at Zechs. "Justice," he said. "Romefeller came hunting me. My clan... destroyed the colony so I could get away. I watched them... I didn't know what they were planning. It was laid on me not to dishonor their sacrifice. I made it my mission to stop anyone who used weapons in space. Their sacrifice... my honor... could not have accepted the idea of an alliance."
Zechs looked down. "I understand. Sometimes honor is exacting. Still, that was quite a burden to place on your shoulders... and yet I understand that as well. When my family was destroyed, I took on a similar task because there was no one around who would do so. Things like that take a large and heavy toll." he said.
Wufei shrugged. "Would you like to know something amusing?"
"Sure," Zechs said, looking at the exotic pilot.
"I was in the Wing Zero once. Heero told me to take it, when we were ambushed by a bunch of mobile dolls and Altlong was badly damaged. He said it would show me my enemies and my future." Wufei said, watching Zechs.
Zechs smiled. "Zero system," he said. "I remember it well... Let me guess. I was one of those enemies."
Nodding, Wufei said, "You and Treize were my enemies. And the Zero showed me that my future was not to fight alone - but with the other Gundam pilots."
"Hn," Zechs remarked. "That was by far more positive than what Epyon gave me. All I could see was obliteration in a fiery ball of flame," he said and then shuddered.
Wufei reached over and placed his hand on Zechs'. "Yet you kept fighting," he said. "And both of my enemies became lovers."
Zechs smiled slowly. "Yes," he said, reaching up. He touched Wufei's face. "So, what do you make of that, Wufei Chang? Perhaps, none of us were enemies, but just could not understand what was being said."
Wufei looked into Zechs' ice-blue eyes. "Perhaps we should have been listening to our hearts, instead of machines," he said softly.
"I think," Zechs said, leaning over and kissing Wufei's mouth, "That would have been the wisest action of all."
The former resource satellite M02 looked like some enormous monster had taken a bite out of it. That wasn't too far off - the monster had been the huge beam cannon of the Libra. It had sliced nearly a third of the area of the oblong mass away. Used in the days of the big battle over Earth as a staging area by Treize's Earth Alliance forces, it had been stripped and abandoned, save for a large war memorial plaque carved into the rock on the outfacing side.
Zechs guided the small ship he was piloting around the satellite, giving them a close look at it's pitted, weapon-scarred surface.
Under his guidance, the little ship darted into the "bitten-off" section, and he slowed, surveying the area visually at close range. Then he maneuvered the little ship close to the rock surface and began and delicate landing.
Using a magnetic anchor to secure the ship, the two inside closed their faceplates and emerged from the ship, with Zechs leading, space-walking the inner surface of the satellite.
Suddenly Wufei's eyes widened and his breath caught. Tucked neatly into a nearly invisible niche in the rock, he suddenly saw the dark outline of a demon. Turning a small handheld beam at it, the face of the Epyon was revealed.
The red Gundam was blackened, it's surface blasted, and one upper limb was missing. It stared darkly back at them, like a dead god.
Zechs looked at the ravaged mobile suit and a profound sadness wash through him. He clenched his jaw tightly, seeing the horrors line up one by one in his mind. He knew in his heart that he had disregarded the mobile suit as being nothing more than a tool, a thing to be mastered and used to accomplish his own made desires. Too late, he found himself time and again, struggling to breathe and to survive the visions that the machine had returned for victory. He moved forward to open the hatch wondering if that end he had been given was near.
The hatch opened easily, as easily as if it had been yesterday that he'd left it there, instead of more than a year.
Zechs moved as if to go inside and looked back for Wufei. A part of him wanted to keep the Gundam pilot as far away from the machine as possible... keep him safe.
"Zechs..." Wufei said over the suit radio.
"Yes," Zechs replied.
"Two things. One... why is it still here? And two, let me do it. I had less trouble with the Zero system than anyone else. I'm not haunted by this thing. Let me."
Zechs opened his mouth to object, but then thought of the last thing he and Wufei had discussed before coming back to outer space. Turning, he shook his head. "I need this, Wufei. Time to put this machine to sleep forever. Thank you, in any case," he said and then moved.
Before Zechs could complete the movement, he caught the glint of light on something out of the corner of his eye.
Looking up, at the same moment as Wufei's hand clamped onto his arm, he saw a third suited figure. This one was pointing a hand-sized beam rifle at him.
"It's good to see you, old friend," a familiar voice came over his radio.
"Treize," Zechs said slowly, the name uttered from his mouth like a breath. Zechs felt his body unfold to its full height. "Why do you haunt me so?"
"That was never my intention, old friend," Treize answered. He floated down, coming closer, but his aim on the beam rifle never wavered.
"Then what was your intention?" Zechs asked, feeling a quiet calm settle over him.
"To help bring about the beginning of a new humanity," Treize said. They could see his face now. In the suit helmet, it looked virtually unchanged. "I never expected to survive it. Blame young Chang there for that."
"He acted out of his conscience towards you, Treize. That you survived the war is a miracle.. a gift. Tell me, did your new humanity include Wufei?" he asked, hardly believing that Treize stood before him.
Treize smiled. "Wufei *is* that new humanity I was seeking," he said. "He and the others. Even you, Milliardo. You have no idea how proud you made me that day. I watched you grow into something beyond me. I'd have been happy to die then. But you are right. It's a gift. Time for me to use that gift."
"How?" Zechs said, watching the former General. The power he exerted had not dimmed and a few things began sorting themselves in Zechs' mind.
"When the time comes, old friend," Treize said. "Reclaiming my alter ego here is only the first of my tasks. Thank you for bringing me to it. There was no transmitter. That was a lie."
Zechs' eyes narrowed slightly. "Perhaps," he said. "But it did bring you to me as well. You do not get the suit."
Treize smiled again. "You are at your most noble when protecting something, Milliardo. What are you protecting now?"
Zechs looked at Treize and felt the chess game strike up once again. "The suit was not meant to survive the war either. It no longer belongs to this universe. You cannot have it," Zechs said.
"However it *did* survive," Treize answered. "As did we. Therefore maybe it has something left to serve. You didn't answer my question, Milliardo. What are you protecting now? You were willing to die once for what you believed in. Are you willing to die today?"
Zechs smiled slowly. "Yes," he said. "I am willing to die today. This suit threatens the peace."
"If that is true, then it has something left to teach us," Treize said. "Are you willing to watch others die? What are you protecting? The peace? Or something more personal and fragile?" The beam rifle moved in a short arc and was now pointing unwaveringly at Wufei's chest. "This boy, this Gundam pilot, has always been ready to die. He is ready now. Will you allow him to make that sacrifice, just to keep me from taking the Epyon?"
Zechs' fists balled tightly. "No," he said, finally. "I will not. He is by far the best of us all. We should have died Treize. That would have been justice."
Wufei's move was sudden and unexpected. Zechs felt and saw the blaster beam go by him, narrowly missing the Chinese boy by inches. It missed because instead of lunging towards Treize, and into the path of the beam, Wufei had lunged downwards, diving for the open cockpit of the mobile suit. He entered it like an arrow hitting the center of a target, and hit the control to close the hatch in the same movement. Then the Epyon began to come to life, and Zechs was exposed outside with Treize's rifle sighting on him.
Treize actually laughed. "Beautiful," he murmured. "I'm not alone, Chang. I have friends waiting above."
Wufei heard and nodded, as the visor of the suit closed over his face and the cockpit system powered up. "Zechs," he said. "I'll keep it from him. Forgive me. And stay alive."
Then he fired the suit's thrusters and the Epyon took off at top speed.
"Run fast and far, Wufei," Treize said softly.
"All right, old man, " Zechs said, facing Treize. "We are expendable. How shall we do this?"
Treize shook his head. "You are not expendable any more, my friend. Unless you wish to leave Wufei to the mercy of the Epyon, and those I have already employed to track it down. You have to stay alive now. Unless you are content to leave his fate to others. He has friends. Does that satisfy you?"
"What are you doing, Treize? This is not a sound plan." Zechs said.
"There are only two ways to find out. Defeat me, or join me. Choose now."
"No!" Zechs said. "I am no longer an Oz soldier. You ordered me dead and I died. What do you plan to do?"
"Since we both died, I would have thought we were even," Treize said. "There are no ways around this, Milliardo. Join me, and I will tell you my plans. Or defeat me and you will learn them by doing so. No other options, old friend."
"I will be your prisoner," Zechs said. "To do otherwise, would invalidate my word." He looked at Treize and raised his hands in surrender.
Treize smiled. "That was not one of the two options." He gestured with the rifle. "Return to your ship, old friend. Since you won't join me, the only way you can find the answers you seek will be to defeat me. I look forward to facing you for what will certainly and finally be the last time."
Zechs looked at Treize and nodded. "Is there something you wish to pass along to Lady Une?" he asked.
Treize nodded. "Tell her... soon."
Then Treize hit his suit thrusters and darted upwards, disappearing around the edge of the rock above.
Zechs moved to his vessel as quickly as possible. Once inside, he began doing what he could to track and record. He then placed a call to the Preventers office and Lady Une. Inside, he prayed to whatever god would listen that he could find Wufei intact.
End of Part 6 - TBC
Sure would like to hear what you think of this!
bonnejeanne & vonceia
Please send comments to: bonnejeanne@yahoo.com or vonceia@yahoo.com