Chapter 11: Unearthing the Past

"Heero did what!?!" Duo yelled at his friends when they told him of their recent battle. The American pilot had just arrived from L2 not less than an hour ago in one of the best moods of his life before it was quickly shattered by the shocking news. He had to fight back the urge to hop into Deathscythe Hell and track OZ down, intending to do some serious damage to their base.

"No mistake about it; it was definitely WingZERO that we fought against back there," Trowa informed him.

"There's no way that Heero would let them do that to him!" Duo protested. "If we have a hard enough time restraining that psychotic loon, what makes you think that OZ can!!? I mean it's HEERO for heaven's sake!" By this time he was absolutely furious and had reverted to Shinigami mode, something that was usually reserved for when he was in a cockpit.

"I wish that we could have had better news for you," Quatre replied, trying to soothe the rage that continued to rise in his friend.

"Dammit! This really sucks!" 02's pilot shouted as he slammed his fist into a nearby wall.

"Calm down Maxwell," Wufei spoke up from his seat at the conference table, "now is not the time to lose one's head. We have to concentrate on developing a plan to get both Yuy and Vice Foreign Minister Darlian back." He closed his eyes, crossed his arms over his chest, and leaned back in his chair.//The way he fought back there... it didn't seem like him. If he wanted to he could have killed us... it's not like him to hold back, even if he is under someone else's control... Kisama, we're losing this battle with every passing minute.//

"Wufei's right," Noin replied from her position near the window where she was looking out, "but I think that the Gundam pilots should lay low for awhile and let the Preventers take over until we can locate their main base." She turned her head and was greeted by many looks of surprise.

"What are you saying, onna?" came the Chinese man's question. He was obviously angry and annoyed by that remark.

"Yeah, just what do you mean by that?" Duo inquired as he leaned against the wall.

"Miss Noin," the Arabian pilot protested, "we can't just sit down and do nothing while our friends are in the hands of OZ. There's no telling what those people are putting them through." His usually sweet face was set in a deep frown.

"I understand your concern," the older woman stated, "but look at it this way... they managed to get a hold of Heero, what makes you think that they aren't after the rest of you as well?" Her face and voice became stern as she continued, "If that happens, then they would more than likely be unstoppable."

"Yes, but we can't just do nothing," the blonde boy replied again.

"Look," the Italian woman tried to reason, "If OZ had the Gundams along with their pilots fighting on their side then neither the Earth nor colonies will be able to stand up against them."

"If this were a different situation then I would have agreed with you," Wufei began in an even voice, "but right now we can't afford to lose any more time. The longer we wait the better chances OZ has of accomplishing their goals, whatever they may be."

"But how do you plan on stopping them when you don't even know where they are?" Noin asked as she tilted her head to the side.

The room became silent as the five of them tried to come up with some sort of suggestion that would help them in any way. Wufei was still leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed while Quatre took up a thinking position from his seat directly across from him. The American pilot had started pacing around the room, the pilot of Heavyarms Kai, who was standing in a corner, closely monitored his movements. Noin stood in her position as she held her arms across her body with her head hung down in thought.

"We will set a trap." Trowa's sudden suggestion caught everyone's gaze as they listened intently for details. They continued to stare at him in silence until a voice broke out.

"Go on, we're listening..." Duo urged, a slight smile creeping its way onto his face.

In one of OZ's medical labs, the doctors and scientists who had developed the Tamashii units were now hovering above an examination table, their experiment strapped to it. The girl had her eyes closed and her face was in its usual emotionless mask, however, none knew of the pain that was hidden behind it.//Why haven't you killed me yet?//

The guard that was sent to deliver the prisoner's food was the one to report the boy missing and the girl unconscious. Upon hearing the message, General Whitenburg had rushed from his inspection of the Gundams to the cell. He had ignored the men who were on the floor without giving them a second thought and sprinted to the girl's side. Surprisingly, he had shown concern when he tried to wake her up by shaking her gently. Shocking his men once again he picked her up and personally carried her off to the nearest med lab.

"How is she?" the General asked in a voice that was uncharacteristically full of fear and concern.

"Well sir, her vital signs seem to be in order. She's in the best of physical conditions despite her recent battle with the Gundams," the man with graying brown hair replied.

"Then why is she like this?" the younger man's question came out in a hard voice as he dangerously eyed the man in the lab coat.

"It appears to be the Tamashii units sir," another man who appeared to be the same age as the previous one but with black hair and a beard replied. He gestured over to the General to come over to a computer monitor to see the information for himself. When Whitenburg was there the doctor found it safe to continue. "Some of the circuits to unit 3 have been damaged but it looks as if they've been that way for about a week now. Can you offer any ideas as to how that could have happened?"

"Damn," the General cursed beneath his breath.//That transmission we sent her must have been too much for the units to handle.// He composed himself and a thought entered his mind. "If that happened a week ago, then why is she just starting to show signs of breakdown now?"

"We can't really say for sure," a doctor with dark brown skin answered, "but we think that it could have been due to her recent experience in the WingZERO."

"That can't happen," the man with the icy blue eyes stated, "their ZERO systems are exactly identical. We even checked to make sure that it was."

"Well," the oldest doctor began, "the system might be the same but the pilots who operated it aren't." He then began to read the printouts that a machine was giving of her mind.

"What do you mean by that?" His interest perked up a bit at the sudden statement.

"We aren't precisely clear as to how it works," the old man with white hair began again, "but we believe that the ZERO system starts to develop a certain feel for its main pilot." When he saw that the General still wasn't really sure as to what he was saying he continued. "The more a pilot uses that ZERO system, the more the program gets accustomed to that one pilot, knowing its brainwaves and thought process almost personally. Since that Gundam pilot has been piloting that machine for a longer period of time, then it is safe to say that he probably left a strong impression behind in the ZERO system."

"And the Tamashii units can do nothing to block out the influence of the ZERO system," the General finished for him and received a slow nod. "What are our possible choices of action? We can't replace it, then we'd risk causing her to experience a memory flood if unit 3 was removed."

"Hmmm.." the doctor with dark brown skin started as he placed his head into his hand in a thinking position, "we... don't have to remove the unit to repair it. By hooking her up to the direct program of unit 3, then we don't have to worry about her remembering while we replace the broken circuit. The process won't take as long compared to installing a completely new unit."

"How long?" the General quickly snapped causing the three younger doctors to jump.

"At most, it would take about two hours," he replied.

"Then get to it immediately," he snapped again. The others instantly began to busy themselves as he moved closer to the examination table until he was hovering directly above the girl. His face softened momentarily as he reached out his hand to brush aside a stray strand of hair and then going lower to softly caress her cheek. Like a passing gust of wind, the look of content disappeared and he rushed out of the door.

The four men watched patiently as he left the room, the oldest face showed much concern for the cold-hearted General. He sighed deeply and turned to his other comrades, his face still stayed the same. "I think that he still sees her in this girl."

//Whom does he mean by her?... It doesn't matter; I've got more important things to worry about right now. Hopefully I can understand more about those Tamashii units by observing this.// Heero tried to keep as still and quiet as he could while he lay on his stomach in the ventilation duct. It had only been a day since his 'escape' and while they believed him to be long gone from the base by now he merely hid himself. This was the opportune time to go search for information and get accustomed to the base.

As he watched the doctors attach wires to her head and pierce her arm with tubes, he made a mental note to hurt those doctors for their actions. This wasn't the prettiest of sights and he had never wanted her to ever look like this, full of wires and being poked and prodded like some specimen for a science project. However disturbing the scene he carefully burned everything he saw into his memory.//So, by being in my WingZERO she feels the impression that I leave in it. I wonder if it's the same way with Epyon... I wonder how long she's been piloting that thing... Maybe there's a way to save her after all... ::Don't let that fact soften you, Yuy. The possibility that she will remain under their control still exists:://

The metal door slid open and Whitenburg walked into his quarters in a slow and even pace. His living area was larger than most, many personal belongings decorated the walls and his desk. The man sighed to himself and sluggishly walked over to the other side of the room where his bed was located. Before reaching the bed he stopped in front of his dresser and looked into the mirror that hung directly above it. The sight that greeted him wasn't unfamiliar; it was something that was frequently seen every time he entered this chamber.

He saw his face fall from the stern mask to one that would have easily gained much sympathy from strangers. His eyes became tired in appearance and slightly drooped while his once set lip and jaw became a frown. The gleam in cold blue orbs diminished a bit as he continued to stare into the looking glass. This was a man of only thirty who had the soul of someone who had already lived a lifetime's worth of grief and heartache.//*sigh* I don't know how much longer I can survive this mundane routine. The years have really taken their toll on me, haven't they?//

Disgusted with his appearance, he gave a slight snort before walking the rest of the distance to his bed. He sat down on the edge of the soft mattress and buried his head in his hands; he was tired and exhausted. The General reached over to the stand that was beside the head of his bed and grabbed a flask of liquor along with a shot glass. As if the glass was new to him, he examined it with deep interest. It was a beautiful piece of work, intricately carved with designs of oak trees and a grassy meadow. His face frowned even more as he poured the liquor, which happened to be whiskey, into the small container. Swirling the liquid around for a while he downed the bittersweet substance in one fast gulp.

Whitenburg allowed himself a moment of peace as he felt the alcohol travel through his system before replacing both the flask and glass back in their original positions. Before he withdrew his hand from the stand he grabbed a picture frame that was resting next to the whiskey. The corners of his mouth curved up slightly as he stared into the framed photo, although his eyes became sad. It was a picture of two people, a younger version of himself and a woman with sandy blonde hair and warm blue eyes, sitting down in the shade of a large oak tree on a grassy green hill. He had his knees bent and his legs were spread apart while the woman sat between them with her back against his chest. They were both in military attire and it seemed that they didn't even know that someone was taking their picture.//Don't worry; I haven't forgotten the vow that we made... I wish you were here to see it though... we are about to revive our dreams... Oh God, I miss you so much. The nights always seem to get longer and the days just become more unpleasant with every passing hour... She's so much like you... that strong determination... that strength... those eyes...//

*FLASHBACK*

The beautiful day was drawing to a close as gentle winds swirled around a few leaves and made the grass dance happily on the hill. In the shadow of a large oak tree two people dressed in OZ uniforms were leaning against the large organic pillar. Soft, sweet laughter could be heard and the one with blonde hair and warm blue eyes turned her head to look up at her comrade.

"I can't believe you actually had the guts to do that to the instructor. Exactly what did you put in his coffee anyways?" She threw him a whimsical glance before turning her attention to the view of the city.

"Well, that's my secret," he answered with a smile. The young man continued to look at her lovingly as she moved from her position near the tree to the large shadow created by the tree's top. She stopped when she was exactly centered in the circular shade and clasped her hands behind her back. "What's on your mind?" He asked as he moved to join her.

"Well, tomorrow's our last day of training," she said in a distant voice.

"Yeah, so?"

"Soooo, we also get our ranking then and I have no doubt in my mind that you'll make captain or lieutenant," she said as she wrapped her arms around her body and allowed the wind to play with strands of her blonde, shoulder length hair, "and then you'll forget about me."

"How can you say that?"

"Well," she began playfully as she sat down on the ground, "I'm not as good a pilot as you are and I get nervous during the field operations while you're one of the top students in the class. I'll probably be a sergeant for awhile."

"What are you talking about?" he asked with a bit of fear and disappointment. "Didn't we both vow to change this world together when we were little? Don't tell me you forgot?"

"Of course I didn't," she replied as she gave him a smile, "I was just making sure that you hadn't."

He gave a soft chuckle as he seated himself right behind her. "Look," he said as he moved his arm over her shoulder to point at the setting sun in front of them.

*END FLASHBACK*

The General's hand traced over the glass of the frame and his lips curved into a bitter smile. Letting out one last sigh he put the photo back where it belonged and lay with his back on the soft mattress. The gray, metal ceiling was indifferent to his gaze and he absently placed his hands behind his head, his eyes slowly and eventually closed shut.//I hope that you're resting well, my friend... Don't worry, I haven't forgotten our vow...//

He had waited until the doctors had left the room and had taken the girl with them before he even attempted to move around in the vent. The Japanese pilot wasn't about to get captured for a second time; he was extra careful to make sure of that.//The control room is three rooms forward then one room to the right... but it's sure to have people in it... I need to send out a transmission... I need to uncover some information... I need a computer.// While crawling through the small tunnel he cursed himself for all the growing he had done. Back when he was only fifteen he never had much trouble sneaking in through tight spaces. Of course that had been years ago and he was now taller not to mention bulkier.

"Hn." Heero grunted in frustration when his familiar green tank top got snagged on a loose screw. He also had to find where they put his equipment, which included his flight suit, the laptop that was kept in WingZERO, and the detonator for his Gundam. The laptop was important but it could easily be replaced, he had most of the files on it saved on a master disk that he kept hidden in his room. Although the flight suit may not have seemed as necessary as the previous it was more important since WingZERO's detonator was located in one of its pockets.

After what seemed like a lifetime, the youth was above a grate and was already peering through it to check for any obstacles. Seeing that no one else was present in the room, he backed a few inches and then started to carefully remove the grate, placing it to the side once he was done. Lowering his head slightly through the opening he checked the room one more time before jumping down from the hole. He landed with a barely audible thud and proceeded to closely examine his surroundings, checking for security cameras or alarms. It was safe. The room wasn't the main control center but it had computers in it and that was enough to satisfy Heero.

Running his hands over the panels he soon located the switch to activate the console and almost immediately the light to its screen glowed the familiar eerie blue. Heero made sure that he was as quiet as he could be and softened his hand movements when he felt that they were growing too loud. He stopped what he was doing when he heard footsteps walk by the doorway and held his breath as he watched the door. Minutes passed before he resumed his work, taking out a small disk that he had hidden underneath the bandages that still adorned his shoulder and portions of his chest.//Getting shot at wasn't as useless as I thought. I have to thank Trowa when this is all over.//

Letting his fingers fly over the keys of the computers he began to crack code after code after code. He wasn't sure of where it would lead to as long as he got to the classified files, maybe even get some information on this General. However, he knew that the most important thing to find was the data on the Tamashii units. If he was able to get that then they'd be able to take the device apart layer by layer and maybe, just maybe, de-activate the thing without harming the girl.//Doctor J and the others would be more than happy to get their hands on this. They'd be able to figure the thing out in a few days, hopefully before the battle becomes too dangerous to stop... Before she becomes too dangerous to try and get back.// His thoughts were suddenly brought to a halt when he came upon a file about the General.//Well, since it's here...// He delved into the file with an almost unknown hunger and soon came upon what he was looking for.

"So when are we going to pull this off?" Duo's anxious voice interrupted their work for the third time that day. The remaining four pilots were in the hanger that was situated a few miles from the Preventer Headquarters, busy with some sort of work.

"Can you shut up, Maxwell?" Wufei's impatient one sliced the air. "Be patient, this is going to take some time, and we have to be careful. If we are not then we could all die. I wouldn't mind your death but I do mind my own."

"Aw, c'mon Wufei, you know that you don't hate me as much as you say," the pilot teased as he jabbed a finger into the ribs of the Chinese man.

"Don't count on it, baka," he smirked as he continued to make repairs to his Gundam, which was damaged a few days ago.

"Would you two just quit it?" Quatre himself was beginning to lose his composure as well. "We don't have time for this." He sighed to himself and picked up a stack of paper and handed it Trowa who entered it into a laptop.

The four did the remainder of their work in silence (for once). They began early that morning and had worked non-stop into late afternoon. Noin had to come in to deliver their meals for them. Occasionally they would glance at the empty space on the wall that was meant for WingZERO and their eyes would show a tinge of sadness and remorse. What Wufei had said was true; they could all die if they weren't careful, especially considering Heero's suicidal tendencies. Oh yes, no one left that out. If Heero had no qualms about taking his own life then he certainly had none with taking any one of theirs, at least that was how they saw it.

"Duo," a female voice rang out through the large hanger.

The American pilot's head automatically popped out from inside Altron's cockpit and he was grinning uncontrollably. "HILDE!!!" he shouted joyously as he quickly made his way down to the steel floor. Once his feet were on solid ground he raced over to the familiar thin figure and swept it in a bear hug.

"Duo," the girl started out softly, but became more stern when she thought he didn't hear her, "DUO, let go... I can't breathe... Duo, let go!"

The boy reluctantly eased his embrace and smiled sheepishly at the German girl. "Oops, got carried away there, didn't I?"

"Baka," she replied, eyeing him playfully.

"Is that my permanent nickname or something?" he asked with a confused look on his face.

"Keep that up and it might be," she teased and slapped him gently on the arm. "I came here to tell you that I got the rest of the materials you wanted."

"Really?"

"Yep!" Hilde smiled broadly as she placed her hands on her hips. "It was kinda difficult since you called me about it last minute but I got them."

"How didya do it?" he asked as he began poking at her side.

"Well," she began, swatting his hand away from her, "I had to call on all those favors that those people owed me. Some were more than happy to do so but some others looked kinda angry. How come you needed so much of the stuff anyways?"

"Because, Hilde, my dear," Duo exclaimed while giving her a sly grin, "we're going to build our own mobile suit."

"How's she doing?" the doctor with the graying brown hair asked as he entered the training room. "Any signs of complications?" He watched as she continued to do pull-ups on a bar that was about seven feet off the ground.

"None so far," the old man with white hair answered as he flipped through some paper on the clipboard he was holding. "She should be ready to get back into the cockpit after we finish this evaluation."

"Did you inform Whitenburg yet?" the one with dark brown skin asked.

"He wasn't happy that we woke him up," the old man replied, "but he'll be here in a few minutes to inspect her."

"He thinks too much about her," the bearded man commented.

"She was a guinea pig!?!" Heero's angry voice shattered the silence of the computer room. He quickly quieted himself up and checked to see if anyone on the outside had heard him. No one did. After downloading the information on General Whitenburg Heero found the files on the Tamashii units and even more important than that he came across the files for Operation ZERO. He wasn't expecting much, maybe some strategic plans on how to destroy the military bases or the missions that Rei would be doing. Instead he found a file that detailed the experiment with the Tamashii units from day one.

Apparently, OZ had been trying to develop the Tamashii units over three years ago, after the Eve Wars had ended, and had succeeded in making a prototype a little less than two years ago. He saw the data on the soldiers that were used as test subjects for the devices and its program. The soldiers were healthy males who possessed remarkable reflexes and piloting skills. They were reported as being well when they were planted with the small objects and the experiments seemed as if they were a success. That is until they were put under the ZERO system and its mind-altering effects. Neo Epyon hadn't been fully constructed at the time but the ZERO system was. As the soldiers were hooked up to the program they appeared to do well until something inside them snapped, something that wasn't unfamiliar but unexpected. The men didn't just start to hallucinate, they started to get violent and began slipping into insanity, and the doctors deemed it as a berserker state. The doctors weren't able to offer any sort of solutions and so the test subjects remained that way.

It took OZ another year before they could come up with any way to deal with the ZERO system, which was able to bypass unit 1 of the Tamashii devices. The doctors came up with several theories but the only plausible one was that the only subject who could stand the ZERO system was someone with the right mind to do so. The Tamashii program only went so far but if they were able to find the right subject then it wouldn't matter since that person would be under their control. It was originally planned to have all of their soldiers planted with the devices so that the ZERO system could be installed into their mobile suits but that was obviously abandoned.

After that they began their search of potential pilots that would operate the Epyon and eventually came upon Vice Foreign Minister Darlian. There were many protests from the doctors and officers but Whitenburg wouldn't budge from his decision. Some had said that he was doing this because of personal reasons and to some extent he was since it wouldn't matter to him if the girl had ended up as an unstoppable berserker. However, as the doctors saw the reasons behind the decision they agreed, somewhat reluctantly though. Since they had no real test subject to test out that theory their main choice would have to be that test subject. From there on the file went into detail about her training but Heero already knew what that consisted of.

"She could have ended up a berserker," Heero seethed through his teeth, "but they did it anyway!" The youth had to do all he could to contain the anger that was quickly building up in him, threatening to send him in a blind rage.//We could have lost her forever... I could have lost her forever...// He set all those thoughts aside and continued on with his task.