Chapter 13: Lies and Betrayal

The lights in the hallway were faint, allowing only enough making the area a dim gray. Soft but steady footsteps could be heard throughout the dark corridor as the outline of a slim figure appeared from the shadows. Blonde hair, softly highlighted by the artificial illumination, swayed back and forth as the girl walked. She looked as if she was in a fixed trance. Her right hand traced the wall, unaware of where she was headed yet knowing that she had to get there. Dark red eyes framed by pale skin stared emotionlessly into the oblivion before her. It must have been at least an hour since she awoke and began her currently unsuccessful search. Since then the young soldier had been wandering through the numerous OZ facilities, chasing something that only she knew existed. Without warning she stopped before a large door, instincts telling her that there was something she should see in there. Not even needing to turn her head to look at it she already knew what it was and moved her hand to press in the code that would allow her entry. The metal barrier slid open and a gust of air greeted her.

"..." Something was wrong; she knew it by the feeling that tugged annoyingly at her mind. Slowly, the girl turned around and entered the vast and empty hanger. The smell of motor oil and grease still lingered in the air as well as that of exhaust.//He was here... Hn.// With that thought in mind she began to survey her surroundings. Once she spotted the bare space next to the Neo Epyon she confirmed his departure. Surprisingly she wasn't shocked about the whole ordeal and remained impassive, not even bothering to go and inform the others. Instead Rei kept on walking towards the back until she was at the platform that would take her to the steel walkway above her. Every one of her movements seemed to be done in her subconscious, her mind still not her own.

When the platform came to a halt the blonde stepped off, taking a few seconds to look around and see if anything was amiss. Drawing in a quiet breath she stalked towards the menacing blood red monster that slept at the end. Her eyes locked with its eyes and she closed the gap that lay between them.//It's been too long...// The corners of her pale lips curved upwards into a dark smile, unknown thoughts floating through her mind. She stopped abruptly before the red beast and held her position, seeming to challenge its will and authority as she did so. Her hands ran over the smooth Gundanium, mimicking the move that was done earlier by another person, and she pressed the switch to open the cockpit. The slim blonde quickly jumped into the seat not bothering to strap herself in as she sealed herself inside the compartment.

The soft hum of the engines filled her ears as she turned it on making her feel comfortable yet uneasy at the same time.//Epyon?// The girl re-settled the emotions in her mind and her face contorted into one of determination as she set her gaze on the platform that connected to the upper world.//You cannot get away from OZ so easily... no one can.// Neo Epyon's feet pounded on the steel floor in a uniform pace as they made their way across the deserted hangar. When the two reached their destination they proceeded to get on but when they were about to command the machine to go up, the sound of a door sliding open filled the vast, open space.

"Get out of there, Rei," came the firm command of the tall, dark haired man.

The Gundam froze and stood there almost defiantly, staring at the small figure below it. The General saw this and his eyes became hard. "Now." The command was even firmer and this time the girl did not disobey as she proceeded to step off the platform. After waiting for a few seconds the man saw the cockpit door open, and the girl jumped down, landing on one knee. The red-eyed girl then stood tall and met her superior's unwavering gaze with one of her own.

"Just what did you think you were doing?" the General asked her sternly.

"Going after the enemy," she replied in her cold voice, her eyes never leaving his.

"The Gundam pilot?" the man had a confused look upon his face. "He already escaped days ago."

"Incorrect," the girl briskly responded, "He has just recently left the facility. WingZERO is missing and the room still holds traces of his presence."

That statement stunned the blue-eyed man. With a worried look on his face he scanned the room and after a few seconds confirmed her answer to be true. He cursed under his breath and tried to compose himself as best he could before turning around to face the young pilot. When he did turn around he met her strange eyes and a sigh escaped him before he was able to catch it. "That doesn't matter," he finally managed, "you're too important to lose. We can't afford to have anything happen to you at this stage in the game. Do you understand? Rei, you are the only one here who can control the ZERO system and those who can control the ZERO system control the fate of the war."

"I'm an invaluable asset," it was a simple statement but one that seemed to strike a strange cord in the man before her, causing his face to falter slightly.

"Training will commence at 0600 hours; you know the drill. Get some rest before then," his voice sounded a bit weary when he finished and he looked that way as well. Closing his eyes briefly to sort out some thoughts he opened them again and watched quietly as the girl unemotionally left his presence, exiting through the metal door. His shoulders slumped a bit when he was sure that he was alone, no longer having to keep the form of a stiff general for the moment.//An invaluable asset, yes... but much more as well. I wish those Tamashii units would allow you to see just how valuable your life is... that neither side is willing to lose you, but then you wouldn't be Rei anymore... and so you would be of no use to us. Once this is over, we will free you of your duties, I will see to that... I never thought that this would be the way that we would achieve our goals... did you, Anna?// Silence fell and then it was black.

The moment was tense and silence prevailed over the thoughts and statements that screamed to be let out. No, he wouldn't allow it, not now, not after what had happened. All that could be heard was the blowing wind as it hissed through the few remaining trees, stirring the leaves and making them dance. The tension was building by the minute and the others fidgeted in discomfort; that was exactly how he wanted it. He would have given a sadistic smile but that wouldíve broken the mood he so painstakingly tried to weave. No, they wouldn't be let off so easily. The others knew he was using all the strength he possessed to control himself and keep the anger at bay. For that reason alone they decided to keep quiet and hold their tongues. Finally, satisfied that he had caused them some pain with the waiting theyíd undergone, he began.

"Know that the only reason that all of you are still alive is because you may still prove useful against OZ. If that wasn't the case then I wouldn't have hesitated in taking all of your lives for that stunt you pulled on me," the voice was restrained but the threat in it was clear to the other four. He paused for a brief second and shifted his gaze to the fallen mobile suit. "You may as well have killed me since my Gundam will be out of service until it's repaired. The explanation better be damned good if you value your lives." He ended that statement with his trademark death glare, waiting for whatever excuse they were going to give him for damaging HIS WingZERO and for making him go through such an ordeal.//Oh, it better be a good one. Telling me that they thought that I was Rei won't be good enough for me to let them leave... alive.//

The four other youths appeared to be very nervous, the American and the Arabian anyways. Silently communicating with their eyes and hand gestures they soon nominated Duo for the task at hand. The usually jovial pilot hesitantly stepped forward trying to avoid the cold Prussian blue glare. "Well... ya see..." Duo began as his right hand scratched the back of his head as he fought to get at his voice, "we thought..."

"Hn."

"We thought that if we captured you then we could do something to deprogram you," he promptly finished, eager to get away from the maddening look in his comrade's eyes.

"You thought that I was working for them," he seethed; the anger in the Japanese pilot was starting to surface again.

"Not of your own free will," Quatre quickly assured him yet he was also a bit afraid of what the suicidal youth would do.

"From what they were able to do to Relena we assumed that they would be able to do the same to you," Trowa calmly explained in his steady voice.

"This was Trowa's plan, wasn't it?" the dark haired youth queried lifting an eyebrow in the taller pilot's direction. The others nodded and there was silence once more as the pilot of WingZERO closed his eyes in quiet contemplation. Minutes passed by and Wufei was getting a bit impatient but a look from Trowa told him that this was not the time to start a fight. The Chinese youth held back his annoyance waiting for the other to respond. After what seemed to be an eternity the WingZERO pilot finally broke the silence with a simple question. "How?"

As if on cue Trowa spoke up. "WingZERO attacked a desert base in North America about a week ago," he paused when Heero nodded his head in acknowledgement, "and we assumed that OZ had gotten control of you since you failed to report in after a few days."

"Since then we've been trying to come up with a plan to safely take you into our custody," Quatre chimed in.

"The idea was to render WingZERO's self-detonate system completely useless so that we could eliminate the possibility of you killing yourself and taking the rest of us with you," Trowa stated in his level tone.

"You don't know how hard we trained in order to make sure that that didn't happen," Duo wailed from his position next to Quatre.

"Those two Geminis," Heero motioned his head in the direction of the mobile suits that were left in the back, "seem different than what I saw at their base."

"Oi, did you say Geminis?" the American youth questioned with wide eyes but was ignored by the others.

"We built those specifically for this mission," the tallest pilot answered. "We designed them to look like the OZ suits but we made them lighter and faster so they would be able to keep up with WingZERO. The other suits on the ground were the ones we took out during the attack on the North American base. They proved to be useful in making this 'assault' on the base look more convincing."

"How did you know my location?" another question was thrown their way by the glaring young man.

"The satellites picked you up," Wufei stated flatly. "We had those things programmed to lock onto WingZERO's signal as soon as it appeared again." The tension was lessening a bit but none of them hoped for any sort of miracle.

"And you were able to set all this up in that amount of time?"

"We had everything loaded onto carriers beforehand, ready to set up should you decide to show yourself," the Chinese man smirked and crossed his arms over his chest, proud of their accomplishment. "When we confirmed the location you were headed to we just flew to an area that was near it. It was pure luck that this abandoned base was here so we decided to use it to make it seem more like an OZ attack."

"Who's in there?" Dark, dangerous, Prussian blue eyes indicated the two mobile suits whose pilots were still inside their cockpits.

"Ja, I guess you're going to find out sooner or later," Duo remarked as he rubbed the back of his head. "Oi, you two! You can come out now! I don't think Heero's gonna keep his composure for much longer and we'll need you if he decides to go crazy on us!" He screamed to the towering metal monsters then crossed his arms over his chest and waited for a response.

The cockpit doors slowly started to hiss as the locks were released. The two figures were still hidden in the darkness of the small compartments as they made their move to get out. Heero's eyebrows perked up a bit when he saw the forms slipping out just before they narrowed in annoyance.

"Ack! I thought I'd never get out of there," the perky German girl remarked as she lowered herself to the ground with the help of the suit's cable line. "It's been so long, I almost forgot how stuffy those things can get. So Duo... um, is he mad at us?" She turned to face her love and was rewarded with a sympathetic look. The girl gulped as she slowly maneuvered her head to acknowledge the angry pilot, almost jumping back at the glower that he was giving her.

"Don't worry, Miss Schbeiker," a mature, feminine voice reassured her. It belonged to that of Lady Une as she joined them, "I'm sure that he understands why we took such actions. It's not our fault we didn't know that he wasn't working for OZ. HmmÖ" The older woman looked again towards the Gemini and let out a sigh. "I never thought I'd be piloting a mobile suit again... not since..." Her eyes saddened as she trailed off, hints of tears forming at the corners of those eyes. She quickly wiped them away before anyone could take notice and she straightened up, ready to address the young man before her.

"Ahem, Heero Yuy," she began in her professional voice once more, "It's good to see that you came out of that unscathed. We tried our best not to cause you any serious or unnecessary harm. I hope you can forgive us." The woman then gave him a warm smile as she stepped closer to the youth.

"Hn. Is there an extra carrier that can take WingZERO back to base?" He asked abruptly and almost rudely.

"We can load WingZERO into one of the carriers that housed the spare mobile suits. I guess we should get started on the repairs as soon as possible," the Preventer leader replied.

"Don't worry about the repairs, I'm having them done on L1," Heero informed her and saw the confused looks on the other's faces and quickly added another statement, "I have to give them some things to look at as well. Just tell those people back at headquarters to have something ready to take me into space by the time we get there."

The tall General stood there in the small room, occupied with the things that were taking place in the adjoining room. In that area the lithe form of the blonde soldier was busy with her daily exercises. She was acting out the procedures she was to take in certain situations and he was paying close attention to every one of her movements.

"Your little doll seems to be in good shape," a deep, calm, and sly voice remarked.

Whitenburg didn't even need to turn his head to know who that voice belonged to. "What are you doing here, Dereks?" he asked in a cold and impatient tone.

"Just observing," was the cool reply as the younger man moved to stand next to the General in front of the one-way mirror. "I still can't believe that the girl in there is the same Vice Foreign Minister Darlian." He gave a low chuckle and shook his head in mock disbelief before focusing back on the girl's training.

"She's so very different from the other girl she used to be. For one thing, she's obviously much stronger but also more assertive... like she doesn't even hesitate in anything she does... so mechanical. Much more confident too... don't you think so?" He turned to face the older man, his left hand absently brushing some stray strands of reddish blond hair out of his eyes.

"Are you still disappointed that she was chosen to pilot the Neo Epyon?" Whitenburg queried a little smugly. He smiled inwardly when he sensed that his words had touched a nerve in the younger OZ officer. "I don't know why you're complaining, you get to pilot an upgraded Gemini. In my opinion they're almost the same, just a fraction slower and less powerful. The only real difference is the presence of the ZERO system." He looked into the other's brown eyes and saw cold fire that almost burned with hatred. "Captain Dereks, I am not saying that you aren't a skilled pilot. In fact, you rank among the top here and you're still so young. Pilots with your skill and talent don't come by this often and I am glad to have you among us. Why do you still hold a grudge against us?" His voice became stern and he wasn't going to let the other go without a response.

The other was quick to reply. "You insult us, General, or more correctly, you insult me. You have no idea how humiliating it is to be upstaged by a little girl," the Captain's eyes hardened as he made his case before his superior. "I've trained for years hoping to be able to pilot a machine as great as the Neo Epyon. You can't even begin to imagine my disappointment when that honor was given to someone who hadn't even set foot in a mobile suit before. Once I piloted the Neo Epyon my name was to be among the ranks of Zechs Merquise and Treize Khushrenada and the Gundam pilots... but instead I am to remain behind with the others. If you think that I'm just a bit upset then you're understating things." Having said his piece he firmly set his jaw, his lips thinning into a firm line. Dereks seemed to challenge his commanding officer in a way that bordered a bit on childishness.

Whitenburg gave a tired laugh that held a tinge of amusement. He breathed a heavy sigh and turned his head to the training room for a second before fixing his sights on the younger man. "If you consider my actions as a means of insulting you then know that I am also insulting myself. You're a good pilot; I don't doubt that, but I am far better than you. For one thing my mind is more focused than yours and I am not as quick to anger as you are. Even with all that I still don't consider myself capable enough to handle the Neo Epyon."

"But the pilot you have is nothing more than a doll! A puppet that you control with the slightest tug of the strings that you have attached to her arms and legs," the young Captain blurted out with fury. "She's like a robot you created with the technology youíve acquired through the years, but you know what they say about technology, don't you? They say that it's unreliable and I agree with that little statement... especially considering what happened a few days ago.... I knew that the Tamashii units weren't a hundred percent effective." The corners of his mouth curved up slightly when he saw the other man's stance falter.

"How did you find out about that? That information was to remain classified." Their conversation wasn't amusing anymore, not after that comment was thrown in.

"Things get around... you know what it's like," he replied as if he was totally innocent, his shoulders shrugging a bit. "The more important question is whether or not those Tamashii units can be relied on. What are you going to do if those things malfunction again?"

"They won't," his icy blue eyes fired up and venom laced his voice. "She will remain... intact until the time comes when we regain control over the Earth Sphere Unified Nation. What I'm more concerned with is your loyalty."

Dereks was now serious as well, there was no longer any hatred in his eyes, just agreement. "Don't worry about where I stand because I stand with OZ and I always will. Despite all the wrongs that have been done to me I will continue to support it against any and all obstacles. However, I can't say the same thing for that little marionette of yours. She's not a part of OZ and never will be, regardless of the fact that she's taking orders from you." He saluted, then did an about-face and started to make his way towards the door. The voice of the older man stopped him in mid-track.

"You're still a bit touchy when it comes to that, huh?" Whitenburg mused.

"Just make sure that she stays out of my way and things will be fine," Dereks snapped back. With all that said he continued on his way out of the room.

The General stared at his retreating form until it disappeared from his view.//You need more discipline, Dereks. You're a liability when you act that way, and liabilities are something I don't need right now. For your sake you had better not interfere with my plans.// His attention then shifted to the room in front of him and he observed the activities that went on in it.//She won't falter, I'm sure of it. We rechecked the units and I'm positive that nothing will go wrong. No matter how well the Tamashii units work they still can't block out some of your personality. Somehow you still manage to let a part of yourself show through the barriers that the device creates. Maybe it's because of your dedication to the future of this world that keeps you from being completely lost to the Tamashii units. We picked a good candidate for the job, but I wonder... was that malfunction a direct result of the damaged circuit or could that pilot have something more to do with it than the doctors say. She may be a doll to you, Dereks, but she can do things that you never will hope to accomplish in your life. Besides... a doll may be a doll but it still serves a purpose.//

He stepped forward and pressed a button on the intercom that was attached to the wall. "Rei, I want you to go through training routine number 16." His hand left the button but remained hesitantly close before pressing the button once again. "You also seem to be slightly off on your reaction time, try to fix that."

"Hai."

Heero was seated in the back of the plane with the other pilots and Hilde. They were on their way back to Preventer Headquarters, but the others couldn't wait until they got there to start bombarding the Japanese youth with questions. He was slightly annoyed but did his best to answer them without losing any of his bearings or temper. That took a lot of effort though considering the fact that Duo was the one asking the majority of the questions.

"C'mon, Heero, buddy, what happened when you were there?" his voice was full of eagerness. He sat across from the WingZERO pilot, lounging comfortably in his seat with an arm draped around Hilde's shoulders.

"I was beaten," it was said in an emotionless tone that held nothing of his true feelings.

"I could already tell from the marks on your arms and legs," he replied noting the bruises that adorned the grim young man. Heero had discarded his flight suit before he got onboard and wasn't surprised when the others gasped at the sight that greeted them. The fresh cuts and scrapes that he had scattered on his arms came from the recent battle he had had with the Gundams though. "But I imagine that it wasn't something you couldn't deal with since you're used to that already. Is there anything else though?"

"The girl's there." That caused the others to jump from their seats and they got closer to hear the details.

"Are you absolutely certain of that?" Quatre's anxious voice joined the conversation.

"She's the one who's been piloting WingZERO for the past few days, and she's the designated pilot of the Neo Epyon... she's good," his tone was flat but he was still able to convey the seriousness of the situation.

"Oi! Wait a minute! Did you just say Neo Epyon?!" The American practically jumped out of his seat with a shocked look on his face. "Don't tell me that OZ built another one of those monsters!"

"They did and they made it even better. I have the data on that and her training and the Tamashii units as well as that of the mobile suits they are using. Here are the disks that I downloaded the information onto," he said as he threw the small objects into Duo's lap. "Show Sally the ones on the Tamashii units. She might be able to figure out something about them."

"How is Darlian?" Wufei asked, surprising a few of them with his question of concern for the captive girl. "What? I have to know so that I can report it to Zechs."

"The girl's fine."

"Heero, what exactly happened in there?" Quatre spoke up again. "We have to know so that we can try to do something that can get her back. What are they doing to her? Is she being drugged? Just what are they putting her through?" The young Arab was getting a bit anxious and his voice quavered with fear and worry. "Please Heero, you have to tell us."

"If you want to know what's happened to her in the nine months that she's been missing it's on the disks. As for the past few days, nothing has happened. She's OZ's highest priority so they're hesitant in letting anything happen to her," he broke off for a second to look at the ground before he resumed. "Apparently, she's the only one there that can control the ZERO system."

"Darlian?!" Wufei commented in an indignant tone, but hurt was also present as well. Heero nodded and the Chinese youth's question was answered.

"If that's true then we may have more problems than expected," Trowa calmly stated from his seat next to Wufei.

"How large is their army?" this time it was Hilde who asked the question.

"Like I said, everything you need to know will be on one of those disks. You can see it for yourselves and leave me alone so that I can sleep. I'll be leaving for L1 as soon as we can load WingZERO onto a shuttle," the pilot then closed his eyes and leaned back into the seat. He was tired and his body sorely ached for relief, but his mind was the thing that needed the most soothing. As he drifted off things became incoherent, and he was no longer able to hear the conversation that continued without him.

"Poor guy," the German girl commented, "he's been through so much since this whole ordeal started." There was sympathy on her face, and she couldn't help but wonder what Duo would do if it was her and not Relena that had been captured and turned into a weapon.

"I know he won't admit it, but I think that he cares more about what might happen to Relena than about stopping OZ," Duo said from his seat as he placed his hands behind his head for support.

"Do you think it's wise to say such things out loud?" Altron's pilot warned, tilting his head at Heero's sleeping form.

"You mean Heero?" he turned his head to view the sleeping youth. "Nah, he's sleeping like a log. He may be the Perfect Soldier but even soldiers need their sleep once in a while. I guess we should be nice and let him rest until we reach headquarters."

The entire area then fell silent as they allowed the hum of the engines to ease the WingZERO pilot with its strange lullaby.

It was almost noon now and the activities in the training room were beginning to die down as Rei ceased her exercises in order to give the doctors time to record their data. She stood there next to the bars like an obedient child waiting to be told what to do. The morning exercises and routines would have had ordinary soldiers complaining hours ago but she was different. She was programmed not to complain just to comply. Her body ached but she knew they wouldn't hear of it, at least not from her. However, there was something that was beyond even her control, and, since she wasn't an omnipotent goddess, she had no say in the matter. Nature was stronger than will so she had to obey.

"Restroom," that was all she had to muster and they understood, dismissing her with the wave of a hand.

Giving a small nod the girl turned around and headed out of the room towards the facility. As she made her way along the corridor she silently noted that the base had become lively again and was now filled with scrambling workers. When she rounded the corner though, a heavy mass collided into her and pressed her against the steel wall. It was a body that was looming over her, one that was larger than her own and male. The man lowered his head close to her ear and greeted her.

"How's the little doll doing?" Captain Dereks sneered. "So they finally let you out for a breather, huh? Must be really difficult going through all that training, but I'm sure that you're handling everything that they're dishing out to you. So, what's it like in the Neo Epyon? I wouldn't know since you stole that opportunity from me."

"That's because I'm the better pilot," the girl didn't need to say more than what was needed, and it was enough to cause the other pilot to fume. Her eyes met his for a brief instance and fire sparked between them; the challenge was issued before she maneuvered her body from under his form. As if she was ignoring him, Rei calmly resumed her journey to the restroom that was down the hallway.

"Better pilot... but still a doll," the Captain commented to himself, "and dolls can be easily broken. Overstep your bounds and you'll find yourself at the end of a Gemini's gun."