Formalities:  I don't own Gundam Wing or any of these characters, la-la-la...

Heero's Peace - Part 4

"DNA confirmed, sir - he is a match for both Odin Lowe and Akashi Dori Lowe." General Hydek took a deep breath as he nodded.  He knew that without the benefit of a test, all he had to do was look at the boy.

"Thank you, Langston.  He's waiting in my office."  The general turned to walk out but paused and said, "I think I'd better take those reports with me.  He'll want to see the proof."  He walked out, lab papers in hand.  He had waited nearly 16 long years, never giving up the secret hope that Odin's son was alive. He should have been prepared for the boy to have no memory of this kingdom or his family.  The poor lad just stumbled onto his destiny and now his whole life was going to change.  The general stopped as he passed a large set of carved oak doors.  He figured that young Odin, or Heero as he called himself, could wait a few more minutes.  He pushed on one of the massive doors and searched for a few minutes until he found what he wanted.

Heero sat in Hydek's office; his laptop perched on a corner of the general's desk.  He typed frantically, but hadn't found what he was looking for.  If he was this Odin Lowe, Jr., a king's son, how is it that there is no information or record of him anywhere?  There was nothing on the Lowe family; it seemed as though Lowen's history began only after the Alliance invasion of AC 182. Frustrated, he slammed the screen down and sprung up from the chair.  He should run and get out of here.  He could slip out unnoticed - maybe he'd have to knock someone unconscious and steal a uniform, but it's not like he hadn't done that before.  He still had his gun...  More than anything he wished Relena was there. She would know what to say - what to do.  "I can't rule some country," Heero said to himself.  He stared out of the window that looked over the town and half-heartedly crafted a mental escape plan, but he couldn't make his legs move to act on it.  He heard a door open and close and the sound of the general's footsteps walking towards him.  'Maybe the test proved him wrong,' thought Heero, who still didn't bother to turn and acknowledge Hydek's entrance as the general walked to his side.  Instead, a folder was shoved under his nose.  He reached up languidly and opened it.  The papers had hundreds of slashes and numbers and he paged through them finally reading the match confirmation on the final sheet.  Feeling strangely numb, he lowered the folder and looked at the tall graying man standing beside him.  Hydek patted him on the shoulder and handed him a rather large and dusty leather-bound book.

"I thought you would want to see these," he said kindly.  Heero opened the book and two faces stared back up at him.  One was a smiling, square-jawed and slightly older version of himself with the same hair color, skin tone and cobalt blue eyes, only those eyes twinkled happily.  Seated next to the man was a very pretty young woman wearing a pale blue-flowered kimono, her delicate face glowing as her slender hand showed off a large sapphire ring.  "Your parents," Hydek said in the same kind tone.  "Odin and Akashi on their wedding day.  You resemble your father greatly, but I can see your mother in you as well." Heero's eyes were transfixed to the page.  'Mother and father.  I had a mother and father...'

"Would you like some time alone, son?" Hydek asked.  Heero gave a slow nod, and the general quickly obliged.  Heero walked slowly back to one of the overstuffed leather armchairs, never taking his eyes off of the picture.

The old tunnels that ran under Lowen Town were cold, dank and damp with slippery walls and even slicker floors.  Duo's mood was getting continually more sour as his feet went out from under him for about the fifth time.  Trowa caught him by his shirt collar, nearly strangling him, but at least preventing him from hitting the ground.  "Thanks, buddy," Duo mumbled, thinking that if he still had Deathscythe, he could have just blown up the place by now instead of spending twenty minutes freezing and falling on his butt.  Their guide, Lieutenant Kahn, finally stopped in front of a murky looking grate.  He pried it off the tunnel wall and climbed in, motioning for the rest of them to follow.  They crawled a few feet through and equally slimy passage before coming out in another set of tunnels.  Marius turned to his three companions and pointed to a dimly lit portion of the new tunnel.

"They're storing their guns and bombs in that direction, and the briefing room is around the corner farther up.  Last time I was here I found plans for Aries suits."  They crept silently to the first room carved out of the stone. Flashlights in hand they took inventory of several crates of semi-automatic rifles, handguns, bullets and grenades.

"Quite a stock pile they have here, " said Duo, tucking a newly loaded pistol into his waistband.  He pocketed a few grenades, amused by the expression on Quatre's face as he did so.  "Just in case," he smiled wryly, walking casually out of the room.  They continued down the tunnel to find the briefing room, which was deserted as well.  There they found nothing but a table, a few chairs and maps of colony and resource satellite positions.

"No markings on the maps," said Quatre.  "Who owns the house above this place, anyway?"  Marius glanced up at the ceiling.

"Andrew Dorn.  He's only recently retired here.  He says he was in the oil business, but I did some investigating after word of the Lowen Faction reached us.  Turns out we're pretty sure that Andrew Dorn is just an assumed name. We've had unconfirmed reports that he's none other than General Niles Tremen."

"Who's that?" asked Quatre.

"Only the man who authorized the invasions of the Sank and Lowen Kingdoms by the Alliance sixteen years ago.  He's responsible for the deaths of the Lowes and the Peacecrafts, and probably countless others.  He disappeared about eight years ago, when Triez Kushranada started moving up the ranks.  He feared Triez for some reason.  I know he thinks this is the safest place to be because Lowen has no ruler and he figures that everyone who might know his true identity is either dead or too young to remember.  We still haven't been able to connect him officially to any of these illegal arms or the mobile suits.  If we could find evidence that he was involved in the assassination attempt on Relena Darlian..." Marius was cut off as a loud "clang" that seemed to come from above resounded down the hallway.  "We better go - now.  We can't confront them, not yet."  The four of them moved silently along the dark wet walls and out the way they came.

  Upon returning to the palace, they found Heero still in the general's office, poring over the photo album.  He glanced up as his three friends entered, but said nothing.  He didn't know what to say to them.  Duo was looking over his shoulder at the photos in the album while Quatre and Trowa were standing off to the side.  He placed the book on the desk, still open, and looked around at the other pilots.  He flipped back to the first page and pointed at the photo.  "My parents," he said in a toneless voice.  The others gathered around and paged through the album slowly.  The smiling faces of Odin and Akashi Lowe greeted them in several pages of wedding photos, followed by snapshots of a tired looking Akashi and a proud Odin beaming at a tiny bundle in his arms.  Beneath the photo was a caption that read "Odin Lowe, Jr.  - August 02, AC 180 - 8lbs. 2 oz."  The photos that followed showed happy family moments; picnics, the baby cuddling a teddy bear, learning to walk, a birthday party.  Quatre, Trowa and Duo fixed their eyes on the little boy with the dark brown hair and uniquely blue eyes.  It was Heero, no question.

Quatre turned, wanting to say something to him, but Heero's eyes silently implored him to say nothing.  Heero finally found his voice, the soldier in him taking over.  All of this was taking away from the task at hand, he told himself.  It waited for sixteen years; it will keep a little longer.  "What did you find out?" he asked.  They looked shocked, first surprised by the sound of his voice, and second by the question he asked.  Duo was the only one to see this for what it was, 'Classic Heero,' he thought, and was the first to answer.

"We found guns, bombs - some pretty serious looking stuff," he said as he laid the pistol and grenades he had taken from secret room in the tunnel on the desk. "There's definitely a headquarters there, or, there used to be."

Quatre took a step forward, a pained look on his face.  He stared at the ground for a few moments and then looked up and spoke.  "Heero, it's possible that the man responsible for all this is the same person who commanded the Alliance invasion of Lowen and the Sank Kingdom.  The man who... who killed your parents, and Relena's.  Probably the same one who wanted to kill Relena as well."  He stepped back and bowed his head again.  Quatre always hated being the bearer of bad news, but Heero looked typically unmoved.

"Sir!"  The young man stiffly saluted the tall sixty-ish black haired man sitting by the fire in the second floor office.  The soldier was pretty well out of breath, having run all the way to Oleander Court.  "Sir, you won't believe this.  Odin Lowe's son - he's alive!  General Hydek confirmed it with a blood test."  The man in the chair quickly leapt out of it, looking stunned and wild-eyed.

"You're lying to me!  Odin Lowe, Jr. is DEAD!"  He tightly gripped the young man's throat as he thrashed, gasping for air.

"Sir, it's true," he heaved.  "I wouldn't lie to you, sir.  He showed up this morning and Hydek recognized him at once."

The older man loosened his grip around the young soldier's throat.  "Damn Hydek.  I was a fool not to have killed him as soon as I got here!"  He began to pace the room.  "And what of the Peacecraft girl - is she dead yet?"

The soldier gulped, afraid to speak the truth.  "No, sir," he said cautiously. "She's in a coma."  He stepped back toward the door, ready to bolt at any sign of agitation showed by the older man.

"You - go find Hans Yahl and report back to me at once.  You are to go and kill Lowe and I want Yahl to get to the Sank Kingdom to make certain that young Miss Peacecraft does not wake up!"

"Yes, sir!" shouted the soldier, grateful to be leaving.  The older man stood by his window looking out into the night sky.  'It's not over yet, Tremen.  That other cursed Peacecraft might have gotten a few of your mobile suits, but you're not defeated.  Don't lose focus.'

Had he really expected to sleep?  Heero tossed and turned, finally giving up and throwing the blankets to the floor.  He walked over and sat down at the desk in his room where he had placed the photo album.  It all seemed too surreal, like a cruel joke.  He came here to find a would-be killer, not to be a king. Maybe it was Duo's sick sense of humor and they were all in on the prank, trying to get a rise out of him.  He sighed.  No, not when Relena was hurt.  He rested his head on his hands and thought of her, picturing her face giving him one of the many smiles he had never returned.  Suddenly he remembered the unopened letter in his jacket pocket.  He reached for it, and this time he tore the envelope open without hesitation.  The scent of roses again struck his senses as he opened the pages and was greeted by her neat, regal and looping handwriting.

"Heero,

I suppose I'm writing this more for myself than for you.  Chances are that you'll never see it, but somehow I can't help thinking that it might find you somehow, though I might never.  There are so many things that I've wanted to say to you ever since the first day we met, but the opportunities never presented themselves.  It seemed there were always more pressing matters. First, I want to thank you, Heero.  Not just for all the times you've saved my life, but for giving me the strength and courage that I would never have found without you.  You said once that you were nothing compared to me.  Heero, that's just not true.  I am what I am because of you.  You made me see the struggles of the people in the world and on the colonies, and you made me care.  You showed
me something in myself that I never would have seen on my own.  I learned the meaning of truth and conviction and true selflessness from you, who were willing to give your life for your cause.  You inspired me to do no less and to look deep inside myself and find my soul.  You have given me more than my life; you've given me the things that I needed to fill my heart.  And you, Heero, you fill my heart as well."

He noticed that the handwriting grew a little shakier and ink was smeared and splotched in a few places.  'Was she crying?' he wondered.  'Crying over me?' He continued to read the letter, hanging on every word.

"It might come as no surprise for me to tell you that I wish you would stay close to me.  The only time I can feel truly at peace is when you are by my side, and each day you don't come reopens the wound that I bear for you in that place in my heart.  Heero, why do you keep running from me?  Perhaps if I knew the reason, my mind and heart could be at ease.  Is it simply because you don't care for me as I secretly always hoped that you would?   If you felt for me even a fraction of what I feel for you, I'm sure you would come.  I could never work up the courage to tell you, and sometimes I'm glad I didn't because I might only feel more foolish than I do now.  But, I've always wanted to tell you.  I love you, Heero.  I'm not quite sure when it happened, or where or even why, but I am more sure of that than of anything else that I know to be true in this world. If only you loved me, too.  At least I've said it, and for that I can feel some
small peace.  Just know that I love you.

Relena"

Perhaps he would have been more surprised had the day's events unfolded differently.  Or maybe he was truly not surprised at all.  There had always been that part of him that longed for her, and new that she longed for him as well, but he never could bring himself to admit it.  "The only way to lead a good life is to act on your emotions."  He said it out loud.  But these were not emotions
he was used to.  He sat there and read her words over and over, "I love you, I love you, I love you," letting them fly through his brain.  He breathed in deeply, inhaling the roses.  And he wasn't quite sure if he meant to say it or if he ever consciously entertained the thought, but the words came out of his mouth just the same.  "I love you, too."

Heero sat for a few minutes and then reached to turn out the light.  As he flipped the switch, he heard the handle on the door to his room jiggle and twist.  The distinctive sound of a lock being picked scraped and clicked in the otherwise silent room.  Without thinking Heero dashed to his bed and threw the blankets over a couple of pillows.  He grabbed his gun and faded into a shadowed corner of the room, behind the door.  It creaked open and a black clad figure slipped through it, his eyes trained on the bed.  The figure drew a gun, and trembling, he pulled the trigger once, and again, and a third time.  A snowstorm of feathers swirled around the room as the bewildered man roughly yanked the blankets back.  Heero heard doors slamming and footsteps running down the hall toward his room.  The man in black looked franticly around the room for means of escape, but all he saw was Heero Yuy.

"I'm over here," Heero said in a calm tone, stepping forward as he aimed his gun at the man's head.

The door flew open and Duo, Trowa, Quatre and General Hydek all stood there, looking alarmed and ready to fight. The black clad man dropped his arms to his side, giving the illusion that he would come quietly.  But at the last minute, he raised his gun and shouted, "ODIN LOWE MUST DIE!"

He fired sloppily at Heero, who easily jumped out of the way.  The next thing he knew, Heero heard another loud crack and the man in black was sprawled on the floor, Duo standing in the doorway, gun in hand.  They rushed over to the intruder who had taken a hit in the stomach.  A stream of blood trickled out of his mouth and he looked up at Heero, smiling, "I might have failed, but you'll never save your princess."  He was seized by a sudden tremor, and just as suddenly went limp. Heero said nothing at first.  He stood up and bolted around the room, throwing on his clothes.

"We have to go back to the Sank Kingdom - they're going to kill Relena!"

'The rest of the men wasted no time.  Hydek called for a plane and the five of them raced towards the Sank Kingdom, hoping they would not be too late.

End part 4 - more to come