Chapter 5 - Emotional Wreckage

disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or anything that has to do with it. I simply own this fic. Please don't sue me, I'm harsh broke!!! :(

*************************

Relena trudged upstairs. God, she was confused. She felt so dirty, so ashamed of herself. She lost Heero and she was going to lose Duo. She peered down the hall. Heero's room door was open. Maybe she could talk to him. Walking further, she looked in. Nobody was there, in fact nothing was there. He left her, he really left her. She felt tears start to well up in her already red eyes. Whirling around, she ran to the safety of her room. Throwing her bag down, she flung herself onto her bed and cried into the pillows. How could she have destroyed the one person she truly loved?

�Heero hates me now. God, I don't blame him. I've been too selfish and I let that happen. Why? Why did I have to be so stupid? He was the best thing that ever happened to me, and now he's gone. I love him so much,' she thought as she let her tears fall uncontrollably. Far away, someone was breaking too.

Duo sat down. He felt horrible. He hurt his friend in the worst possible way. He was lucky that Heero didn't kill him right then and there. He had been so calm, but Duo knew that Heero was breaking up on the inside. Letting his head drop between his palms, he closed his eyes and thought. Memories flooded his head. They had all been such good friends once. Laughing, hanging out together. That was all lost now. All because of foolishness and the inability to stop it from advancing. He wondered how Relena was feeling about this. She probably hated him now. Duo knew her heart was really with Heero. He was just a fling when they were both lonely.

Heero drove. His long fingers curling lightly around the steering wheel. He loved the way he could just drive aimlessly, just so he could rid himself of stress. This was far worse than stress. He had just lost someone he loved. Not in death, but in love. He knew that Relena loved him, but her heart was really with Duo. �The mission starts tonight. I leave her and everything behind. I loved you Relena, how could you do this to me?' he questioned. Foot pushing harder on the accelerator, he managed to reach Quatre and Trowa's home in no time. This would be the final goodbye. He hoped that Relena would be happy with Duo.

Trowa and Quatre were busy gathering supplies for the mission. They knew Heero would be at their house any moment. Looking at the clock, Quatre smiled at his koi. "Trowa, why do you suppose Heero's coming here? I mean, I don't mind at all, it's just that he lives with Relena. Why would he need to stay with us?" he asked. Obviously, someone had forgotten to fill the Arabian in. Trowa smiled back. He knew he forgot to tell Quatre, but it wasn't an accident. Relena and Quatre were good friends, and if he found out that Relena cheated on Heero, he'd be in a doozy.

"I don't know, koi. He never mentioned it. He just asked me if he could stay with us for a little while. He should be here any minute," Trowa said as he packed the last of his gun ammunition up in the small duffel bag.

Relena looked up at the clock. It was about 7:30 PM. Heero would be leaving in less than 5 hours and she didn't even get to say goodbye. �Where could he have gone? God, I never knew it hurt this much. I just wish I could sleep for so long and wake up one day to find that none of this mess ever happened. I love you more than you can imagine, Heero,' she thought silently, before letting exhaustion take over her senses. She still hadn't recognized the letter that was sitting on her dresser. Outside, the rains began to pour. It was truly a sad day for these troubled people.

Duo opened his eyes. He had been sitting in the same position for the past 2 hours. Cracking his stiff back, he got up to prepare for takeoff tonight. He wondered if Heero could even look at him. �I don't blame the guy. It's my fault this stupid mess started. I wish that night never happened. I wish Relena and I hadn't been drinking. I wish that I never existed,' he contemplated. This situation was becoming worse and worse. Stepping into the cold washroom, he flicked the lights on. White light flooded the otherwise dark room and Duo covered his sensitive eyes from it. He looked at himself in the mirror.

�Wow, this is what Death really looks like, huh?' he joked as he turned the taps on. Washing his face, he saw his red eyes. They hurt from hours of thinking with closed eyes. He nearly fell asleep from thinking so hard, but he made himself stay up. This was his punishment. To be regretful forever.

Heero got out of his car and unlocked his trunk. Pulling his box of belongings out, he shut the door and made his way to the door. Trowa was first to greet him as he took his box to a room upstairs. This would be the only escape from Relena. Even though he wished it hadn't happened this way. Heero kept wondering had he came 5 minutes later, would he have still seen them locked in such a passionate kiss? And at that, had he not seen it, would Relena have told him the truth. Most likely, no. Trowa looked at Heero questioningly.

"Heero, are you alright?" he asked.

Heero slowly turned his head towards Trowa. With sad eyes, he replied: "No. I feel like the World has slipped beneath my feet. How could she do this to me? I loved her so much, and then this happens. I don't blame Duo or her. I blame myself. I should have asked her when I knew something was wrong. I kept ignoring it and finally it caught up with me. It really hurts, Trowa," Heero admitted.

Trowa looked at how sad Heero was. It broke his heart that Relena and Duo could do that to him. Stopping, Trowa put down Heero's box of belongings. "Heero, I'm sorry it ended this way. I'm always here if you need to talk. It'll get better, I promise. You can only hurt for so long," Trowa stated.

Heero looked back at Trowa. This had been the first time he was so open with another person. Relena was usually the only person he would admit things to. It felt good that he had friends he could still trust. "Thanks. Come on, let's get ready to go. We have a long drive to the takeoff base," Heero said. He really was breaking up on the inside, but he trusted Trowa's words.

Time had passed and all the pilots were on their way to destiny. Wufei and Duo were first to arrive, followed by Trowa, Quatre and finally Heero. They all stood in eerie silence before Dr. J arrived. "Boys, this is high-risk. The doctors and I have upgraded your Gundams since you last used them. Hopefully we win this fight. No rebel colony can take over the World, not if they have to go against you five. The World's destiny is in your hands, make the right choice. Get in boys, we have a fight to finish," Dr. J stated as they all got into their Gundams. Would this be a final fight for all of them?

Engines ready for flight, each boy made his final wish.

�Sally, if I don't make it, know that I'll always love you,' Wufei thought, as his Gundam began to ascend.

�Trowa, I love you no matter what. Please make it through. If I don't make it, know Ill be there with you in spirit. Until the end of time, koi,' Quatre thought, as he too began to take off.

�Quatre, I know you'll make it. If I don't, live life without me. I'll be with you always, im mind and heart,' Trowa reflected.

�Hilde, I'm sorry I hurt you so much. Relena, I want you to forget about me. I can't make you happy, not after I did that to you,' Duo said mentally. He hurt so much right now, but that pain was acute. He wouldn't let it get in the way of this mission.

�Relena, I loved you so much. Be happy without me. I know now that I was never the one to make you happy, only causing you pain. Live life without me, it's better this way,' he thought as his Gundam soon took the lead.

All five boys followed the directions given to them by Une. They were to eliminate the rebel soldiers as quickly as possible, force their way through internal defenses and kill the leader, and destroy the colony as quickly as possible. It didn't seem that hard at all, but they didn't know that the rebel leader Akumi Tamehiko, had planned otherwise. He had the latest in mobile suits. Twice as strong as the Virgos, Tauruses, even the Mercurius and Vayeate models, the Gundam pilots were in the fight of their lives.

:: an hour into initial battle ::

"Shit, I can't hold them. Wufei, I need help," Duo called onto the transmitter.

Meanwhile, the other Gundam pilots were having a tough time themselves. Then new Capricorn models were amazing. They weren't easily defeated at all. In fact, they didn't even have pilots to run them. It was so reminiscent of the older mobile suits the guys had fought way back when. These models were persistent, and they had armour that could not be scratched. Not even the least bit. They blocked each Gundam's shot with ease, and fired back twice as hard. The Gundam pilots were hanging by a thread.

Trowa moved backwards and fired a round of missiles at the three Capricorns he was battling. They missed. Cursing, he thought of another way to kill them.

Quatre wiped the sweat accumulating on his brow. Throwing his left arm to shield himself, he moved forwards, charging into the two mobile suits. Metal scratched against each other as both mobile suits were slightly shaken from the impact.

Wufei was on fire. He managed to take out one Capricorn. Using his strategy, he let Shenlong's tail grasp the Capricorn's neck and twisted hard. This in turn caused the mobile suit to sizzle from the grinding of Shenlong's tail. Sparks flew and Wufei was victorious once more. Capricorn's head, the main power source of the suit, short-circuited and the suit fell.

Heero let Zero take over him. He felt all the rage built up inside him, release. Charging madly at the four mobile suits, he took out his buster rifle and easily defeated two suits. All the anger bottled up popped. He let beads of sweat run down his temples in rivulets. This was going to be one fight they would not lose. Not if he could prevent it. Slicing through the remaining two suits, he moved on to the base. He'd take out Akumi if it was the last thing he'd do.

Trowa shot one more round of missiles at the suits. Miraculously, he was victorious. How did this all happen? One minute they were indestructible, and now they fell like flies. He shrugged and finished off the remaining suits before following after Heero.

Akumi rose from his desk. Flicking another switch, he laughed. The Gundam pilots were amusing him. The only reason they were defeating his Capricorns so easily was because he was allowing it to happen. Akumi wanted to be able to defeat the pilots in other ways. He was skilled in all martial arts. Gifted as a strategist as well, Akumi was unbeatable.

Heero growled as Wing Zero made its way towards Akumi's base. His veins were dilated, his eyes almost bloodshot. The ZERO systems was taking over rather quickly. He hadn't felt a rush like that for a while. Letting himself go, rage took over as he sliced through the remaining guard suits at the entrance. Akumi would be in for the fight of his life.

Duo looked on at Heero. �Buddy, you're crazy. Don't do it, you'll die,' Duo thought as he finished off the last mobile suit.

Trowa was close. He followed Heero as best he could, be he knew that Zero had possessed Heero's subconscious. It was too late, and someone would really be finished.

Quatre wiped the last bead of sweat of his face as he too, moved to follow Heero. Goodness knew what lay ahead of them. Who knew? Maybe the Perfect Soldier wasn't quite enough to eliminate Akumi.

Zero set Heero down at the entrance and blasted through the force field that whirled around Akumi's base. Opening the cockpit entrance, Heero fell out of Zero, slightly winded from the fall. He wasn't strong enough to handle the upgraded ZERO system. Getting up, he cleared his mind. He ran. Long strides until he reached the doors. Letting a mighty kick, the metal door fell, hanging by its hinges. Heero ran through the twisting corridors. He knew in his mind, exactly where Akumi was.

Akumi laughed once more. He could feel it. Heero Yuy was coming, approaching his chamber door. �It'll all be over soon. They may call you the Perfect Soldier, but you're far from it,' Akumi thought as he gathered up his weapons. To fight the Perfect Soldier, he didn't need items for defense. He needed to clear his subconscious, focus on the target, and take what was wrongfully his.

Heero's heart thumped wildly against his chest. It wasn't because he was running, but because he felt something. Almost like a premonition. He knew what would happen in the end-he wouldn't survive and Relena would end up with Duo, just the way she wanted it to. He shook his head of the heavy thoughts. They would not weigh him down in a time like this. Nearing Akumi's chamber, he tucked his gun in the back of his pants. If Une's information was right, he didn't need weapons to defeat the enemy. He needed something else. Something he didn't know, something he didn't understand.

Trowa reached the base and jumped out of Heavyarms. Running quickly, he used instinct to find the right way to Akumi. Grabbing his loaded gun, he managed to retrace Heero's steps to their destiny.

Heero knew where he was going. He stopped at Akumi's door. Steadying himself, he calmed his nerves and kicked the door down. There was no need for polite entrance.

Akumi's head shot up from his desk. Heero was here. Seeing the door snap, he knew it was time. Getting up, he pushed his desk aside. They would fight to the death, even if it meant both of them. "Yuy, so glad you could make it," Akumi said, as he snarled.


AN: Okay...I said I would write one more chapter, but this one was turning out to be really long, especially where my plot was going. Has it meandered??? I think it has, but it's too late now! I have nothing else to fall back on. Anyways, please read and review. I know some of my Gundam terminology wasn't up to par, but while watching the series way back when, I tried to understand the characters rather than the way their Gundams work. So, don't murder me if I didn't know the correct terms. The last chapter should be action packed. It'll be filled with violence, death and even a little angst. It should be a doozy. Thanks for taking time to review. You're a very good person.
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1