Chapter 12: Escape to Battle

It was late evening and the OZ soldiers were still busy making changes to the mobile suits that they were using in this war. The sounds of clanging metal began to die down as the night wore on, accompanied by the sounds of bodies leaving the hangar as well. Soon even the remaining OZ mechanics began to show signs of exhaustion and were about to call it a night. Packing up their tools into their respective boxes they prepared to head out. One of the mechanics, a young woman with fiery red hair, got up to stretch and gave a loud tired yawn. Her partner, a man who seemed a few years younger with dark blonde hair, smirked at this.

"Getting too old for the job?" he asked jokingly with a grin on his face.

She turned her head to glare at him with angry green eyes and gave an indignant snort in reply, turning around to head for the platform elevator. Her partner saw this, and his own eyes widened in surprise as he also got up and started to run after her. "Hey, I was only kidding! It was only a joke," he pleaded as he chased after her, "I didn't mean anything by it. Honestly, I didn't! C'mon, why do you have to act like this? Hey, wait up, will ya!" he shouted again as he continued to run in her direction.

Fortunately for him she stopped when she reached the platform elevator and was standing near it with her arms crossed over her chest as she gave him another glare. When he caught up to her he lowered his eyes and head in shame and muttered a soft apology. To this she gave a soft sigh and boarded the huge metal platform, gesturing for him to get on as well. Pressing a switch, the machine began to move and the sound of the metal elevator filled the enormous hanger. During that time the young OZ mechanics remained fairly quiet but resumed their antics once they had reached the steel floor. As they headed towards the exit, the shadows of both the Neo Epyon and the WingZERO loomed over them as they walked. Reaching the exit, the sound of metal doors sliding open and then closed signaled their departure.

"Hn." Heero grunted as he moved out of the corner that he was hiding in. He had been there the whole time that the mechanics were there and he felt what they were feeling: tired.//How long does it take to add upgrades to a mobile suit anyways? Four hours is more than enough to make changes to those machines. Well, it doesn't matter, as long as they didn't touch my WingZERO. If they did...// But first things first and that meant that he had to get out of there. Yep, he would be leaving the OZ base tonight. Three days was way too many to be spent in hiding. The youth was practically a rodent, scurrying through vents and raiding the kitchens. His lips curled up into a cruel smile as he walked over to the OZ mobile suits to give them a closer inspection.//What were they called again?... Oh yeah, Geminiís. Humph, OZ has got to come up with a better way to name their mobile suits; they're starting to run out of constellations.//

As he walked over to the mobile suits he made careful notes on what he was seeing. The ones with the upgrades were a navy blue color with dark green trimmings instead of the camouflage green that was the standard. They didn't look that much different from the originals but that was how OZ wanted it. When he reached one of the suits his eyebrows perked up slightly noting that they had changed the firearms on the suit. Instead of one that seemed to shoot out shells it looked like a beam rifle. His eyes widened a bit when he noticed the thrusters and boosters on the suit. It was probably faster than the norm since the engines looked like the ones that were found on the Tallgeese.//Why didn't I see any of this when I was going through their files? Did they just think of this now or was there another level that I didn't reach? Dammit.//

Heero continued his inspection for another fifteen minutes, making sure that he remained a good distance from it. He couldn't get any closer to it for he knew that they were wired with alarms, and he didn't want to set any of them off. One thing that was undeniable was that they had made some definite changes to the internals; he just wasn't sure what those changes were. Abandoning the inspection he turned around and started to walk in the direction of the Gundams that were stationed in the back.//At least they're not wired like those mobile suits.// A dark smile crossed his face as he slowly began to close the distance between himself and the towering machines.

The room was dark but the form of a figure could still be seen lying on a bed with its back to the mattress. The faint lights of various buttons and switches of the machines that also occupied the room illuminated the outline of its face. Her hands were placed behind her head and her eyes were closed as she slept a light sleep. The doctors did a great job on her and now the girl's face showed what had always been there for the past few days: nothing.//They managed to lose that Gundam pilot that I had captured but no one will tell me how it happened. Whitenburg won't even mention it around me and he is usually so keen on details. It doesn't matter though, but I have been doing nothing but training for the last two days. That means that the real battle is about to come. That means that I will have to pilot the Neo Epyon again. That means that I have to fight again. That's fine with me. Orders are orders.//

"Ladies and gentlemen, please calm down," Milliard pleaded as the conference started to take a turn for the worse. The elder Peacecraft was in a meeting with representatives from the Sank Kingdom's bordering neighbors and a few diplomats from Earth and the colonies who felt that the meeting was too important to ignore. They were there to discuss the situation with OZ now that the organization had revealed themselves to the rest of the world with those latest attacks. Many of them were afraid that the small attacks would quickly escalate into something more, even a war that would rival the Eve Wars or the coup d'etat by Mariemaia. The others weren't surprised when the Sank Kingdom gave their support to the Gundams considering the relationship that they had in the past with one another. The only problem with that was the fact that they had found out about the recent attack on the base in North America and that the attacker was WingZERO.

"How can we stay calm when we know that OZ is out there ready to attack at any moment?!" an overweight man from a country to the north shouted from his seat. "Along with that, what are we going to do about that Gundam that's turned against us? I mean, if that one is now on the side of OZ then who's to say that the rest of them aren't as well?!!"

"You know as well as the rest of us that those Gundam pilots would never do that!" another representative wearing glasses shouted from the far corner of the conference table. "The reports that we received from that military base confirmed that WingZERO also attacked the other Gundams and that those Gundams were trying to do all they could to protect the base."

"It was probably a trick that they came up with to gain our trust and support so that they could undermine us from within," the fat man stated as he leaned on the table so.

"That's ridiculous!" a middle aged woman exclaimed from the seat next to the man with the glasses. "The Gundams and their pilots have always been on the side of the people and have done all they can to ensure their safety. We have seen enough of it in the past to know that it's true! They fight for the people not OZ or any other organization and you know it."

"Things change," the large representative started, "as do people. We can't always expect the Gundam pilots to have the same interests now as they did in the past. I still say that we shouldn't trust those pilots fully." That earned him a glare from Noin who was standing in one of the corners of the conference room, observing the meeting with intense interest.

"They just wouldn't do that," the woman stated once again in a determined voice.

"Then how do you explain WingZERO?" a short and stout man from the opposite end inquired as he tilted his head to the side.

"It was probably a plan devised by OZ to divide up loyalties," the man with the glasses stated as he began to calm down.

"I say that we should try to make some sort of deal with OZ so that we can avoid a war," the large man began again as he leaned back against his cushioned seat, folding his arms against his chest at the same time.

"What guarantees do we have that OZ will respect and honor any agreements that we would make with them?" Milliard seethed as his eyes narrowed on the overweight representative. "If they wanted to negotiate then they wouldn't have fired first without just provocation." His expression didn't change as he waited for the other man's next statement.

"We have to do all we can to try and spare the people of Earth and the colonies from another war," the representative began, "they have had enough of it in the past and I don't think that they can handle another one now." The fat man obviously cared about his country and its people despite the tactics that he was willing to use. "I just don't want to see any bloodshed; we have had too much of that."

"Blood has already been spilled, representative," the elder Peacecraft stated coldly, never taking his eyes off the other, "all we can really do is to try and make sure that we can keep it to a minimum. Now, before we adjourn this meeting I want to know how many of you will be siding with OZ? Just know that if you do so then you will be going up against the Gundams; they will be your enemies, as will we. This is not a threat of any kind. I'm just stating the obvious should you choose OZ." The young ruler looked about the room and saw that no one was raising their hands or making any other gestures that said that they agreed and took that as a good sign. "If you please, ladies and gentlemen, this meeting is adjourned. I wish you a safe trip back to your respective homes or lodgings."

Milliard then got up and slowly made his way towards the exit with Noin joining him as he reached it. The sound of moving chairs filled the room as the others followed suit and walked towards the door, following in the Sank ruler's steps. Soon the entire area was empty of its previous occupants as the last of the diplomats filed out. The group walked down the halls of the Sank building with its ruler and his companion in the lead. They passed a few halls when Milliard suddenly took a detour, gesturing towards a servant to lead the others to the front door. The men and women said their farewells as they continued onwards; Milliard and Noin still proceeded to walk towards a door. Upon opening it the two were instantly greeted by the four Gundam pilots.

"Oi! How could that fat jerk say all those things about us!?" Duo fumed upon seeing them. "I'm tempted, and I mean really tempted, to get into my Gundam and do some serious damage to him, but I'm too much of a nice guy to do that."

"I guess that means you heard everything that went on in the meeting," Noin commented, happy to be finally saying something after having stayed so quiet during the conference. She had only been there to make sure that Milliard was safe and protected.

"How about it, Zechs," the Deathscythe Hell pilot began with a grin, "can I go and chase him down with Deathscythe Hell? I promise not to hurt him, just give him a little scare, that's all. So?" There was a sadistic gleam in his eyes when he said that which made the others give him a questioning 'are you sane?' look.

"Any aggressions on your part, whatever they may happen to be, will just add fuel to the fire. That's something we really don't need right now," the tall, platinum blonde man said as he slumped into a chair. "We have to make sure that they don't find out that Relena is with OZ." He leaned his head against the chair's cushioned back, letting out a sigh of exhaustion as he did so.

"They're bound to find out sooner or later," Wufei said from the window sill that he was sitting on, turning his head towards the others as he began to say something more, "all we can really do is to try to find Yuy and Vice Foreign Minister Darlian and stop them before that happens or at least try to lessen the shock." He turned his gaze back to the outside, monitoring the diplomats and representatives as they got into their respective rides. He continued to watch them until they were completely out of sight.

The Japanese pilot looked it over for the third time to see if there had been any modifications to his suit. He was lucky to have found his flight suit, which had been stuffed into one of the OZ lockers in the hangar. It still fit him, and the helmet was intact as well. When it seemed that everything had met his expectations he moved his right hand into the suit's side pocket. After a few seconds of searching he found what he was looking for and slowly began to pull out the object: WingZERO's detonator. He stared at the small device, thoughts running in his mind as to the significance that the object held. Unlatching a clasp he removed the protective glass casing that guarded the detonator's red button. The youth fingered the object thoughtfully in an almost possessive manner; glad that it was safe and that no one had found it out, or else he would have lost a very important option.//If I self-detonate WingZERO then I can end everything right now... It will be more than enough to destroy this base and the war can end before any more people get killed... I can end everything, my life isn't that important compared to everyone else's... but... but then I would kill her as well... she's still here... the people still need her... I...// He shook away the last thought.

Shutting out all thoughts in his mind he stood there on the steel floor, quiet and still holding the detonator in his right hand. Letting out a soft sigh he replaced the glass casing and put the device back into his flight suit's pocket.//Not today I guess...// He looked to where the Gundams stood and smirked as he began to make his way towards the towering beasts once more. It was getting late and he had to get out of that base as soon as possible if he was going to get the information that he had 'acquired' to the Preventers and the scientists on L1. He stopped for a while and looked into WingZERO's ever-emotionless face as if he was trying to make a connection with it then turned his head back to where it was originally looking. Making his way to the platform elevator again he carefully put on the flight helmet, sliding the visor in place so that his face was now hidden from view.

As he reached the machine he got on and pressed one of its switches causing the contraption to groan slightly before it began to make its way up. Heero took that time to lean back against its railing and get some rest, no matter how short it was going to be. After a few minutes the platform had reached the top of the metal walkway and the youth was already proceeding to jump off of it. The sounds of his footsteps on the walkway echoed through the empty hangar until he finally came upon his WingZERO. The Japanese pilot ran his right hand over the smooth surface of the Gundanium cockpit door until he found the switch. The door made a slight hissing noise as it was opened but its pilot made no move to get inside. Heero froze in his position, his mind was debating on whether or not he should leave or stay to make sure that everything was taken care of.//Why?... all I need to do is go in and leave... that's all so what's holding me back?... Re-NO! It's not her!//

With that he jumped into the seat of the cockpit and strapped himself in. He pressed a button on his control console and the cockpit door slid over the opening, protecting its pilot from the outside world. The young man closed his eyes momentarily as he turned on the Gundam, letting himself get used to the feel.//I hope this works.// The humming of the Gundam's engines seemed to soothe him in a way as if it were welcoming him home. His hand moved to press itself against his chest and he smiled inwardly when he felt the disks that he had obtained earlier were still there. He opened his eyes again and now they were full of determination and conviction, nothing was going to stop him now: nothing.

Maneuvering his Gundam with skill that came to him as naturally as breathing, they walked over to the platform that would take the both of them away to the outside. Freedom. It was so close that he swore he could taste it but there was a strange feeling that accompanied it. It made his chest ache, and he longed to rid himself of it if he could. This wasn't the time for it and he knew that it would jeopardize everything if it kept on going like that. Now was not the time for mistakes or second thoughts or feelings and emotions. He stepped onto the metal elevator and waited for the program to take effect.//If I programmed it correctly, it should be activating itself right about... now.// Subconsciously he patted himself on the back for the good work and relaxed, letting the elevator take them to the surface. The sound of the elevator filled the hangar. Although it was fairly quiet compared to other machines, the noise still made Heero uneasy and he looked around to make sure that no one had heard.

It was minutes before he could even make out the faint moonlight that began to pour from the heavens. He looked up and he saw the dark endless night, sprinkled with clusters of stars, greet him with its familiar silence. It would be awhile before he was going to be completely out of the dark tunnel and he waited with unequal patience. As soon as he was only ten feet away from the surface he fired up his thrusters and boosters and flew off into the inviting darkness leaving behind the pains of his heart.

"!" The girl's eyes shot open from her light slumber and she lifted her body from the bed, searching desperately around the room. What was it that had jarred her awake? What was that strange feeling that she felt only a few moments ago? It was a nagging that told her that something was missing; something that was important. In one swift action she pulled herself up from the bed so that she was now sitting on the edge of the mattress. The girl looked into the dark room, thinking that maybe something would make itself known if she just stared hard and long enough. She wouldn't sleep now; she couldn't sleep, not until she found out what had happened.

The Japanese pilot made his way through the terrain, flying at an incredible speed, although careful to not be seen by any enemies that would happen to be around. The night was all too welcoming. His gaze was hard as he tried to concentrate on his surroundings yet found it difficult so he opted to try and focus on the upcoming plans. He would first go to the Preventer's Headquarters to drop off a copy of the information, hoping that Sally and the others would be able to do something with it. Then after that he would head to L1 to meet with the old men and see if they could give him a hand with a few things. Speaking of the old men he reached out with his left hand and pressed a button.

The image of Doctor J appeared; the aged scientist's face had a look of surprise on it before that shock turned into a slow smile. "It's been awhile, Heero. How are you doing? I take it that you've just finished a mission." His old eyes were full of relief that Heero couldn't pick up.

"I've been to the OZ base," the Japanese boy stated in his familiar cold and monotone voice, "and I have data that needs to be looked at immediately."

"OZ, huh?" the aging man mused thoughtfully in his mind before he was pushed aside by another man with a mushroom haircut and a large nose.

"What kind of data did you acquire?" he promptly asked, not bothering to say 'hello' or any other form of greeting.

"They're on the Tamashii units and Operation ZERO," the Japanese pilot replied coldly, "I'm on my way to the Preventer's Headquarters to drop off a copy then I'll be heading off to L1. I need you to make a few modifications to WingZERO."

"What kind of modifications?" the creator of 02 inquired as his eyes narrowed onto the young man.

"I'm sending it to you right now," Heero said as he pressed a button on his Gundam's computer.

The faces of the two men were deep in concentration as they scrolled down the lengthy data that was given to them on the screen. However, their faces were soon contorted into a look of surprise as they got down further and further. Professor G's head popped up suddenly with a questioning look on his face as he began to move his lips. "Is this correct?" he asked with an accusing glare.

"This is very interesting, Heero. Care to tell us why you would need this?" the older man with snow-white hair inquired with a smile on his face, he opened and clicked his robotic hand as he spoke.

Heero returned the other's glare. "That's my business. Just be ready to make those adjustments once I get to L1."

"Is it possible though? WingZERO might not have enough room to accommodate such changes to it," Doctor J spoke up in a more reasoning voice.

"Hn," the young pilot began, "I've already checked over the data three times. The numbers that I've come up with will work. They won't compromise WingZERO's internals."

"Are you sure?" his mentor asked again.

"Yes," the youth replied again in a tired but firm voice.

"Why do you need these?" Professor G asked again in a much harder voice than before.

To that Heero just reached over and turned off his communication to the lab, smiling a bit to himself when he did that. Explaining things now wouldn't do much good; he would have plenty of time for that once he reached L1. It had to work. It could be the deciding factor in the final battle yet to come. The wheels had already been set in motion and there was no turning back now. He knew that if OZ was going to win over the Gundams then she would have to use it but then again OZ had the numbers and they didn't. The youth also knew that if he was going to defeat her then he would have to employ the same devices but he couldn't guarantee how he would handle it. Yet, if all went according to how he had planned it then the people would have their Vice Foreign Minister back, and he could disappear into the shadows once more, although he wasn't sure if that was what he wanted now, especially after all that had happened. Focusing back on the mission at hand he concentrated on piloting his Gundam, staring out at the screen with sheer determination. Time was running out, and he couldn't waste another second.

After about half an hour of flying, Heero looked around his cockpit once more, checking to see if everything was still operational and that no one, especially someone from OZ, was following him. His gaze fell on the fuel gauge, and he saw that it was starting to run low. He either had to hurry now or make a stop somewhere and contact the others. Not wanting to have them tease him about asking for help he decided to hurry up.

"Hello!?" an urgent female voice shouted over his com-link, "WingZERO! This is the OZ division two Gemini squad!" The feminine voice sounded a bit familiar but that familiarity was lost to the danger of the situation and the static of the transmission.

Not wanting to lose the transmission or to waste any more fuel, Heero began to land in a nearby evergreen forest. He made sure that the Gundam was well hidden behind the towering trees and thick brush, trying not to disturb too much of the habitat at the same time. The Japanese pilot then became quiet as he waited for what the voice would say next.

"We need your assistance!" The girl yelled again before more static interrupted her plea. "We are currently in battle with the four Gundams. Two thirds of my squad has already been eliminated and there are only a few of us left. I'm sending the coordinates to you right now..." Yet again more static and interference. "Please, we need your help!" Then more static before the transmission went dead.

//They must think that I'm her.// He smirked at that thought. When the transmission didn't come back after a few minutes, he wondered if he should go there or not. If OZ was in a fight with the Gundams then they wouldn't stand much of chance for long, Geminis or not. Then again, if the pilots were there he could give them the disks, and they could take it to the Preventer's Headquarters, and he could refuel and leave directly for L1. With his mind made up he started up his engines and boosters and began to fly to the coordinates that were sent to him minutes earlier. It didn't take him long to see the destruction off in the distance. The area looked to be a military base and it was covered with fire and smoke; the majority of the buildings had already been destroyed.

Firing up his thrusters, he began to descend slowly onto the concrete ground. It was worse than what he had seen in the distance; nearly everything was destroyed and there wasn't a sign of life anywhere. He turned the Gundam's head to the sides to see where the enemy had gone, reaching out to pull forth his beam sabre as he did so. A bright light appeared as he activated the weapon. Gunshots were heard to his left and he made his way to it, careful to keep from being detected. When he reached the area he saw two of the Geminis being backed into a crumbling wall by Altron, Heavyarms Kai, and Deathscythe Hell. Heero decided not to make his presence known just yet so he slowly walked in the direction of the cornered mobile suits.

*CRASH*

Before he could even take two steps he was suddenly tackled to the ground by a very large and very heavy object. He pivoted WingZERO's head to the side to see who it was, sure that it was another OZ mobile suit, but instead he saw the familiar head of Sandrock Kai.//Quatre?!?! Dammit! They must think that I'm Rei!// He quickly maneuvered his Gundam and easily dislodged himself from the other mobile suit. In a flash he was up again but was met by Altron who had decided to disengage from the battle with the inferior suits. Before Heero knew what was happening Altron had extended its left dragon fang and knocked the beam sabre out of WingZERO's hand. Angry, the Japanese pilot was about to strike out at the other but a sudden force rammed into his side, knocking WingZERO face first onto the ground once more. He looked up to see that it was Heavyarms Kai, he was about to say something when he saw that the OZ mobile suits that were previously near the wall were now making their way to them. One of them brought up their gun and aimed it in his direction on the ground. He closed his eyes to ready himself for the impact that was about to come.

Two shots were heard being fired off. "Huh?" Heero questioned as his eyes shot open to see what had just happened. He looked around and saw that the hands of WingZERO were now covered with a strange white substance. It was apparently sticky: when he tried to move his Gundam's hands he couldn't. It was very sticky when he failed after a second attempt. All of a sudden there was a strange weight on top of his Gundam that pushed WingZERO more forcefully onto the ground.//Kuso! What the HELL is going on here?// Heero tried as hard as he could to free himself from the weight but it was useless. Deciding that there were no other options left to him he pulled out the detonator from the pocket of his flight suit.//At least I'll be able to save them... Good-bye Relena... Huh?//

It wasn't working. He was still there and alive too. The youth was sure that he would have been blown up into pieces by now.//What the HELL is going on?!!// He thought again, turning his Gundam's head to the side to see what was happening. Dark wings framed by the bright moon and night sky fell into view. "Duo," Heero seethed through clenched teeth as thoughts of killing the braided baka filled his mind. So Duo was the one that had de-activated WingZERO's self-detonate system.//I'll kill you for that!// When he felt the other's weight shifting off his own Gundam he made his move. In one swift motion Heero unfurled WingZERO's wings causing Deathscythe Hell to fly across the grounds. Not wanting to waste the wonderful opportunity that was given to him he charged up his thrusters and boosters to see if that would help in setting him free.

After a few moments he managed to pry his hand free and he reached with it to get at his spare beam sabre. However, before he could get to it a robotic hand grabbed his and slammed it to the ground, causing WingZERO to fall on its back. Heero looked up and saw that it was the other OZ mobile suit, and he cursed silently under his breath. His mind raced as he tried to assess this new situation when he saw another Gemini begin to walk in his direction, drawing its gun in the process. Without warning it fired and WingZERO was hit again with the unknown substance which now pinned his briefly freed arm to the ground. It fired again and WingZERO's legs were now immobile as well.

"What the-?" the engine noises had died down and the screens in the cockpit went blank. He turned to look at the fuel gauge and saw that it was disappointingly low, not enough to support the major functions of battle and flight. He cursed again under his breath. Things weren't looking too good and he couldn't self-detonate WingZERO.

His eyes widened in horror as he saw Sandrock Kai approach with its heat shotels in hand. The others followed suit, like a flock of vultures that was about to descend on a wounded prey. The majestic Gundam stopped when it reached the fallen mobile suit and it raised its weapons high into the air. They glowed a dangerous red and in one quick swipe it sliced at WingZERO's cockpit door with the sharp tools. The attack wasn't hard enough to cut directly through the Gundanium but it was enough to make a huge scar on it. Something akin to panic flooded into the Japanese youth as his mind worked again to see if he could free himself. Sandrock Kai lifted its arms into the air once more then brought it down again, tearing through the Gundanium. It repeated its action again and was ready for another strike. Before he could finish his task, Heero, left with one other option, activated the only thing that was still functional under his present circumstances.

"I'LL KILL YOU ALL!!!!" then silence.

"Kuso!" Duo yelled in surprise as he brought his Gundam to a dead stop, his hands were covering his ears as he felt the impact of that statement through his com-link, "He talked!!"

"Duo!" Quatre's familiar soft but worried voice called out to the Deathscythe Hell pilot - he had halted his Sandrock Kai as well - "Did you hear what I just heard?" He lowered his heat shotels as he spoke.

"Who didn't hear?!" the American boy retorted, "That was loud enough to wake the dead, on Earth and in space!"

"T-That was Yuy talking," Wufei's shocked voice suddenly popped up, "I thought that they couldn't talk unless they were spoken to. What in the name of Nataku is going on?"

"Look over there," Trowa's voice told them as he pointed Heavyarms Kai's hand in the direction of the fallen WingZERO.

They watched as a small figure climbed out of the broken cockpit door. The night wind tousled his hair as he took off his helmet, placing it in the crook of his right arm. Deep Prussian blue eyes were held in a penetrating glare as the Japanese pilot stared at the group of mobile suits, seeming to melt through their armor as he did so. They stood there in silence as the obsidian night turned to morning gray, the sun not far behind.