DISCLAIMER: Gundam Wing belonged to Sunrise and co. I’m not making any profits out of this, so don’t sue. Oh, those you think you’ve never heard before belong to me. And feedback is very welcome, people!☺
TIMELINE: The story takes place after Survival of the Fittest, I’d say almost two years. This is the second installment of the “Shattered” duology.
NOTE: To avoid confusion, I have italic-and-bold the clones’ name. Hopefully, that could help you understand who’s who.
SHATTERED WALLS II: THE IMMORTALS.
By Arayelle Lynn.
The meeting was thrown into chaos the second they heard the explosion. Trowa and Dorothy burst into the room at about the same time Quatre reached for the comm. “What happened?” he asked as soon as Auda appeared on the screen.
The Arabian’s face was grim. “We’re under attack.”
Three pairs of eyes met. Then two pairs broke away, running towards the exit. Dorothy faced the representatives. “Everyone, please remain calm. Mr. Winner is going to contact the Preventers and supervise the defense.” She paused, sensing their distress as the earth shook again. “This colony isn’t without its own defense troop. We still have the Maganac Corp.”
‘And two Gundam pilots to back them up,’ she added to herself.
>>>@@<<<
Mylin was just reaching Gundam Altron when she discovered that someone else had already beaten her to it. “Wu Fei?” she said, questioningly. The Chinese pilot spared a glance at her before zipping up his flight suit.
“Thanks for taking care of Nataku for me,” he said, after a few seconds. “But it’s time both of us soar in space together.”
At first, she didn’t know how to react to his words. She had expected him to fly again but never this soon. Something had changed Wu Fei in the past few days and she was surprised that she hadn’t noticed it before. And so, she nodded. “Good. No one could ever pilot Nataku better than you.”
Wu Fei nodded his thanks. He then slipped on his helmet. Mylin jumped from the Gundam, guiding herself towards a Preventer White Taurus. Even without a Gundam, she wasn’t going to miss the fight.
“Don’t get killed, Wu Fei Chang,” she muttered to herself as she prepped the Taurus.
>>>@@<<<
“Oh! Hey, look,” Duo-clone snickered, staring mockingly at the screen. “It a couple of Gundams and their little Arabian brigade.”
The others looked at their screens and saw forty mobile suits and two Gundams hovering between them and the colony. They each recognized the identical mobile suits even far away. Wu Fei snorted. “Can’t believe that those old thing are still flying.”
“Don’t worry, our Gundams will make a scrap metal out of those suits,” said Quatre.
“Orders, Heero?” asked Kylie.
“You heard what the duke ordered. Attack and destroy.” Heero smiled, crookedly. “Leave none alive.”
Kylie crooned, making a beeline towards Sandrock. “This should be fun.”
>>>@@<<<
“They’ve reached the colony,” Agent June Willis reported. She had been one of those who survived the MO V attack. “They’ll engage Gundam 03 and 04 in thirty seconds.”
Lady Une bit her lips, watching the screen. Heero and the others were still far away from the colony. Ascending from Earth with all the gravitational pull certainly took a long time. Their only hope was that Trowa, Quatre and the Maganacs were able to handle themselves long enough for help to arrive.
>>>@@<<<
“Here they come,” Quatre heard Auda said. He tensed.
“Remember. Whatever we do, we can’t let the colony fall into Winteridge’s hands,” he said, reminding them of the importance of a pacifist colony. “Rashid’s team will remain where they are to ensure safe passage for the representatives’ retreat.” He began issuing orders. “The rest of you will be joining me and Trowa. We’ll hold off the new Gundams and the mobile suits until help is here.”
“Roger that,” came a chorused reply.
“Good luck, Master Quatre,” said Rashid.
Quatre led the others out. “Thanks. We need all the luck we could get.”
>>>@@<<<
“Prepare to die!” Trowa spun out of the way, just as one of the clones flew passed him. He turned his Gundam around to face the attack.
“Look out, Trowa!” Quatre warned, as another clone smacked into Heavyarms.
“Master Quatre!” he heard Ahmed cried, as he was knocked down. He bit his lips as he struggled to gain control of his Gundams. He was just in time to avoid another attack.
“Better worry about yourself first, Winner,” said a familiar voice. “Because we’re here to destroy you for good.” Quatre turned to see two Gundams, red and black, towering over him. The red one held a red beam saber in its hand and the other, a heat whip.
“Thought I stop by and say hello to you,” said a second voice. His own!
“You’re not me,” said Quatre, taking out his heat shotels. He turned to the other Gundam. “And you’re not Kylie either.”
“Yeah, we’ve covered that area already,” said Kylie, coming from the black Gundam. “Can we fight now?” With that, she began her attack. Quatre knocked aside her whip with his shotels, only to receive a blow from his double.
Quatre grunted from the impact, his seat belt bit into his flesh. But he was determined to fight on. Fingers dancing along the keyboard, he allowed his Gundam some time to scan the new Gundams to gain the upper hand.
As if sensing his efforts, the red Gundam took another swing at him. “In case you’re wondering, yes, our Gundams do have the same schematics as your Gundams. In fact, they are built based on your Gundams; particularly the one you called Wing Zero.”
Startled by the voluntary admission, Quatre blocked another blow from Kylie. “And they have names too, such as yours,” his clone continued his narration. “Mine’s Gundam Ares, Kylie’s Gundam Nemesis.” He paused to take another swipe at his original. “The ones fighting your friend Trowa are Gundam Hades and Gundam Poseidon, piloted by Duo and Wu Fei respectively.”
“And the one that is pulverizing your Maganac friends is called Zeus, piloted by the copy of your perfect soldier friend.”
Quatre gritted his teeth as he was locked in a close combat with his clone. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Simple,” Kylie answered, hitting him from behind. “A dead man can’t talk.”
>>>@@<<<
‘Quatre!’ Trowa’s mind screamed as he saw Sandrock being thrown back by the red and black Gundams. Momentarily distracted, he barely missed the tip of Gundam Poseidon’s beam trident.
“Don’t worry about your friend. He’ll be space dust before this is over,” said Wu Fei, swinging his trident again. Trowa blocked that one, only to be hit by Gundam Hades’ missiles. Heavyarms spun for a moment before he finally regained control.
“Wish I could say differently about you,” said Duo’s clone. “Or your Maganac friends.”
Remembering Quatre’s faithful guardians, Trowa spared a glance at them. He saw them engaged in a ferocious battle with Heero’s double. Though there were ten of them there, their number was swiftly reduced. Most of them were disabled by Gundam Zeus’ beam spear.
A few light years away, dangerously near to the L4 colony cluster, the other members of the Maganac fought Winteridge’s gundanium alloy-made mobile suits.
‘If things continue at it is, the Maganac will be wiped out before help gets here,’ he thought, narrowly missing Gundam Hades’ beam scythe. It reminded him so much of Duo’s scythe except the beam radiated a red light, like the other beam weapons of the clones.
“Look out, Auda!” he heard someone yelled over the comm. He turned just in time to see the golden Gundam Zeus, sank its spear into a Maganac mobile suit. Then there was an explosion. Only it did not come from the brown suit.
Instead, it came from Gundam Zeus.
“Help is here!” said one of the Maganac, Abdul. All of them turned to see Wing Zero making a beeline towards Gundam Zeus. Behind him, Gundam Altron and the Preventers’ Tauruses followed.
“Ohh… goody,” said a voice, coming from Gundam Nemesis. “More people to kill.” She turned to the two boys. “I leave you two to get reacquainted.” With that, she made her way straight to the newly-arrived.
“And you’re fighting me,” said a familiar voice, coming from Altron.
“Wu Fei?” Trowa gasped, seeing Altron coming at his way.
Gundam Poseidon turned to greet the blue-green Gundam. “So, you’re back, huh? Never mind. Fighting the alien girl was never satisfying enough.” Then, the green Gundam rose to meet Altron.
“Since my original has obviously chickened out, I guess that leaves you,” said Duo-clone. He swung his scythe again. “Too bad. I was looking forward to wipe that silly smile of his.”
>>>@@<<<
Mylin saw the black suit coming at them. “Where is she? Where’s my worthy opponent?” a transmission came from the new Gundam. Mylin identified the voice even before the face appeared on the screen.
She tensed, navigating the Taurus to meet the Gundam. “She’s not here. She won’t be fighting anyone anymore.”
“Really?” came a smirk from the face which Mylin once considered as her honored enemy.
She smiled, snidely. “On the other hand, I am available.”
“So, be it,” said Kylie-clone, nodding. “However, don’t expect me to play nice with you.”
“Don’t worry. I never played nice with your original anyway.”
>>>@@<<<
“They’re engaged!” Agent June reported.
“Status,” Lady Une barked, feeling the tension thickened.
“The odds are still against us,” the young agent answered. “The clones are obviously stronger than the Gundam pilots.”
Lady Une bit her lips. “They have two advantages over our boys,” she mused. “They’re all totally removed of the boy’s natural weaknesses. And they’re more attuned to the Zero System than all of the Gundam pilots combined. Plus, now they’re fighting in their secret weapon. Their own Gundams.”
“They’re out to destroy our Gundam pilots this time,” she said, glancing at Duo Maxwell, who was working on a nearby console. Again, Lady Une resisted the urge to call off the Gundams, knowing that if L4 fell, nothing could stop Winteridge from descending onto the Earth.
Seeing the tension on her superior and friend’s demeanor, Sally turned to Duo. Though he was working hard, scanning the new Gundams for signs of weaknesses, she could see that his face was white and his jaw clenched. Occasionally, he would ball his fists as if trying to stop himself from rising up and leaving the room.
Meanwhile out there in space, his friends were fighting for peace in the universe as well as for their very lives. And here he was, sitting in the comfort of the control room, completely away from any danger. It ate him up but Sally found herself loathingly grateful that at least one Gundam pilot was away from the battle. It made her think that if the others failed, they could rely on the remaining Gundam pilot.
Provided if he hadn’t completely lost his will to fight.
Suddenly Duo stood up, knocking the chair over. “I’m going,” he announced. Sally closed her eyes, partly rejoicing and partly grieving over his decision. He turned to Lady Une. “May I borrow one of your suits?”
Lady Une nodded. “Hangar two.”
Without another word, the former Deathscythe pilot took off. Sally watched him, silently praying. “Don’t you die, kiddo.”
>>>@@<<<
Heero panted, taking that short interval between exchanging blows to recover his breath. The battle had taken place for hours and he was getting tired as the time went by. Not to mention, the Zero System were weighing him down. Not far away, his friends were showing signs of fatigue as well. Most of them could barely fend off their enemy’s attacks, having not enough strength to come as the offense.
Contradictorily, the clones seemed to be as energetic as before. Only this time, they had ceased playing around with the Gundam pilots and were now going for the kill. It was only a matter of time before one of the Gundam pilots would crumble and impale by their own clones.
“Argghh…” he heard one of his friends cried, just as the battle between him and his clone intensified. Heero took a split second to check the screen and saw a Taurus lost one of its arms. “Duo!” he heard Quatre yelled out. The blond pilot was cut off when he was slammed in by his clone.
Heero swore. He cursed Duo’s stupid decision to join the battle. If the laughing fool had thrown aside his shame and pilot Deathscythe, Heero would’ve welcomed his presence in the battlefield. But now, even piloting a specially modified Taurus, Duo Maxwell was more a liability than an asset. He was starting to distract all of the Gundam pilots.
“Focus, Quatre!” he said to his friend. He then grunted as a missile hit his Gundam.
“Tell that to yourself, Yuy.”
>>>@@<<<
Mylin put her Taurus between Duo’s and the incoming gundanium-made mobile suits she previously found out called as the Furies. She slashed at the enemy, hoping to buy enough time for Duo to recover from his clone’s sneak attacks. A few meters away, Trowa gained back the attention of Duo’s clone, drawing him further from Duo and herself.
She spared another glance at the others. She saw Gundam Altron locked in an intense combat with the green Gundam called Poseidon. None of them were showing signs that they actually aware of the other world but their own.
Heero was also in a similar situation. The gold Gundam called Zeus had Wing Zero locked in a tight battle. She saw Heero aimed the buster rifle but a second later discarded it, having run out of power. Now, he only had his beam sabers to rely on since he had run out of missiles earlier in the battle.
Far away, another fierce battle took place. This time between Gundam Sandrock and Gundam Ares. Sandrock was finally showing signs of trouble, since its pilot had to lead and strategize the whole battle at the same time battling an impossible foe.
Watching all these, Mylin couldn’t help herself from wondering; Zeus, Hades, Ares, Poseidon, Nemesis, the Furies. They were all the names of the ancient Greek deities. The Gundam pilots were well known to be perfect soldiers. So, since the clones’ genes were rid of the Gundam pilots’ weaknesses, could that be the reason why they named their Gundams according to the ancient gods? Could it be that they think that they’re far more superior to the entire human race?
‘After all, the original Gundam pilots are superior humans,’ she mused, destroying a Furies after a hard pummeling. ‘Is it safe to say that the clones are like the gods themselves?’
Her musing was interrupted when she caught a slight movement from her left. She spun around, narrowing missing a heat whip. “Nice move,” said her opponent. She blocked an attack from behind, threw a kick at Mylin’s Taurus before grabbing Duo’s other arm and threw him into the alien. “But I’m not easily fooled.”
Not far from them, one defending mobile suit exploded.
>>>@@<<<
“Abu!” Quatre heard Auda cry. Despair tearing at him, Quatre turned to see a Maganac MS exploded. “Noo…!” He screamed, as one of his long-time friend being swallowed by the red inferno. “Noo…!” The Maganac was now reduced one member.
Grief overwhelmed him. Tears filled his eyes and rolled down his cheeks. In his mind, he recalled the gentle but quiet man, who had been the best cook among all the Maganac Corps. Now, they would never taste his special chili kebab anymore.
“Master Quatre, look out!” A warning tore into his consciousness. Quatre recovered in time to see a red beam fell onto him. But his momentary distractions proved to be fatal as he heard the unmistakable sound of burning metal.
>>>@@<<<
“Quatre!” Heero saw the red Gundam impaled its beam saber into Sandrock’s torso. Through the comm. Heero heard the unmistakable sound of a pained gasp and heard someone yelling his friend’s name. Only after a while he realized that it was him.
“Heero!” He recovered quickly, acting more by instinct, jinked his throttle aside. Wing Zero ducked a fatal blow. But the spear managed to take Wing Zero’s arm. And with it, Wing Zero’s beam saber, Heero’s only weapon.
>>>@@<<<
“No!” she growled, running her fingers tirelessly along the keyboard. She cursed her inability to help, to join the battle. And she cursed herself for succumbing so easily to her emotions. But mostly, she cursed herself for taking too long a time.
“Come on, come on,” she slammed the keyboard, glaring at the screen. Her fingers drummed the keyboard impatiently as the incoherent words scrolled up. She had been at it for hours but it seemed like an eternity. She knew that she had to work faster if she was ever going to help Heero and the others.
‘Hold on. Please hold on,’ somewhere inside her, a tiny voice pleaded.
Suddenly there was a beep and the words ‘Configuration completed’ appeared on the screen. Without wasting anymore time, Kylie tapped into Heero’s channel. “Heero!”
>>>@@<<<
“Heero, listen to everything I’m telling you and do it,” came Kylie’s voice. There was a hint of desperation in her voice in which he understood. “No question ask.” She added before he could open his mouth.
“Understood.”
“Enter the word ZERO now,” she instructed. Heero did so and pivoted just in time to fend off his clone’s attack. “A symbol will appear on the small screen on your upper left.” Heero looked up to see something that looked like a horizontal loop appeared on his screen. “Touch the screen with your left palm to activate it.”
“Activate what?” he asked, suddenly feeling very cautious.
“Just do it!”
Suddenly Wing Zero jerked violently. But before Heero could counterattack, he saw a Taurus slammed into his clone’s Gundam. Then the Taurus stood poised between him and the gold Gundam. “I’ll cover your back, Yuy. That wife of yours may have something that could help us,” said Mylin.
“Heero!”
Nodding, he touched the screen. A red light scanned his palm, as the cockpit began to hum. Suddenly, the yellow glow in the cockpit was replaced by a white glow as Heero found himself becoming slightly lighter, as if he was floating in space. When the white glow finally subsided, he was startled to see that he was able to see the stars clearer than before.
Five words danced across his vision, though he couldn’t see the screen anymore. The words read ‘Now activating Zero-Infinity system’
“What is this?” he asked, in wonder.
“It’s the Zero-Infinity system,” Kylie told him. “I got no time to explain it but now, you’re seeing through your Gundam’s eyes. And your Gundam can move as you will it.” As if on cue, Heero moved Wing Zero’s arms. He was surprised how easily he could do it.
Then Kylie’s face became dead serious. “You only have 180 seconds, Heero. Make it count.”
“Roger.”
>>>@@<<<
Mylin fought like she had never fought before. When she faced the clones before, she had been piloting Wu Fei’s Gundam Altron, the Zero system fully on. She didn’t know how but the Zero system seemed to have a different effect on her. It made her powerful and free. Nothing disturbing or out-of-control happened when she was using the Zero system. It had been… perfect for her.
So now that she’s in a Taurus, she felt as if something was missing. Her every movement was hindered, every thought felt like a burden. She felt as if she was being pulled down by its weight. It was as if she was learning to fly a suit again.
Not that she had ever been a good pilot. In fact, compared to the Gundam pilots, her piloting skills were minimal. An Emperor’s Eye hardly had a need to be in the front line of a battle in a Mican suit. In fact, it was dire that an Emperor’s Eye keeps away from the battlefield and work in complete secrecy.
But now she can hardly call herself an Emperor’s Eye, although what she had been will always remained what she will be in the future. She was not even a Gundam pilot, and definitely not a soldier. “I am someone who is looking for something that I have lost,” she said to herself. “Someone who will be destroyed unless she watch herself,” she chastised herself, blocking the clone’s blow.
Then she was jolted out of her seat when some missiles hit home. She cursed herself for forgetting the other clone. She then pulled the throttle up, only to discover that she was dead in space. ‘The blast must’ve blown my engines!’ she concluded, again cursing herself. She waited for the end.
Suddenly like a bolt of lightning, Wing Zero rammed into Zeus. Then, with an agility that is impossible for an MS, Wing Zero twisted around and sank his beam saber into Nemesis, disabling it. Still maintaining its impossible human-like agility, Wing Zero flew over to the dazed Gundam Zeus, its beam saber brandishing menacingly.
>>>@@<<<
The battle was a blur to him. He hardly noticed what was happening around him. His only focus was on his own battle and the struggle to stay alive. He knew that he was getting tired but still, this was a battle for survival so unless he wants his life to end needlessly, he had to get by.
“What the…” he suddenly heard his opponent gasp, astonished. Now that his opponent was distracted, Trowa poised for another aim when suddenly a lightning fast movement caught his attention as well.
Not far away, he saw Wing Zero taking deadly swings at the enemy’s MS and at the same time, fighting Gundam Zeus. And actually winning! Trowa didn’t know what happened but the way Wing Zero was moving, the way it reacted to its enemy’s attacks, he knew that it was an impossible feat. Wing Zero seemed so light and free and its movement mirrored one of a human, or more precisely its pilot.
“What’s going on here?”
Before he could find his answer, Winteridge’s face appeared on the screen. “Retreat, my children. The battle is over.”
“Roger,” Trowa heard Duo-clone said as he turned to him. “I don’t know what happen, Trowa Barton but you can be assured that we’ll be back. And this time, we’ll destroy you for real.”
>>>@@<<<
When Wing Zero powered up to pursue the retreating Gundam, Kylie quickly reached over for the comm. button. “No, Heero, don’t! You have no time. Switch off the system now,” she instructed. For a moment, nothing happened. The indicator on her screen showed that the system was still on. Fearfully, she bit her lips, wondering if this was the great aftereffect that she had been fearing of. That the pilot would be unwilling to release the sensation that the system had conjured up.
Then the system was shut down. Kylie let out the air that she had been holding. “How are you feeling?” she asked, cautiously.
Heero’s voice was strained and tired. “What was that, Kylie?”
“Come back and I’ll tell you all about it.”
“Roger that.”
Kylie sighed, slumping on the wheelchair. Although she hadn’t been in the battle, she felt the strain too. As her head swam into unconsciousness, she pulled herself awake. “Dr. Farrell,” she said, through the comm. “Your team might be needed in the docking bay.”
The fair haired physician nodded, cutting off the line. All deed done, Kylie finally allowed a minute of much needed nap.
>>>@@<<<
Though their victory had come up as an unbelievable surprise, the Gundams were greeted with cheers. Luckily, Lady Une had limited the number of agent on-duty in the docking bay and doubled the medical team to smooth things up. She had also ordered Noin and her team to remain in L4 to foresee things there. And with her, went Zechs.
So as the heroes of the day landed in the bay one by one, Sally found herself waiting anxiously. Being a former military medic, she knew that her presence would be needed. Next to her, was Tricia Farrell-Burnett. Her face was set and ready.
The minute Heavyarms landed, supporting Sandrock, Dr. Farrell-Burnett began to issue commands. Trowa exited his Gundam and went over to Sandrock to check on its pilot. A couple of medics came over and helped him lower the unconscious pilot onto a stretcher. Dr. Farrell-Burnett never failed to notice how Trowa was favoring his left arm as he followed the trio out.
Then Wu Fei emerged from his Gundam. He had a nasty cut on his forehead but this time, his face was spared from the angry frown he usually wore. Instead, he looked confused, almost mystified. And following him, was Mylin and Duo or rather, the alien supporting Maxwell. There was a long gash on his arm that was still bleeding profusely. The medics quickly rushed up to him.
Other injuries included some Preventer agents as well as the Maganac Corps. Rashid was there, supervising his men. The loss of one of his member was momentarily forgotten as he looked after his surviving team, worrying over the state their beloved master was in.
Lastly, came the person that made the impossible possible. This time, Sally was surprised to see Kylie waiting outside the cockpit as Heero appeared. She wheeled her chair over, cautiously observing him in great detail. Heero, on the other hand, was looking so tired it was as if he had aged a year.
He took a few wobbly steps towards her only to collapse on her lap.
>>>@@<<<
“What the hell happened?” was the first question that came out of Kylie’s mouth as she stalked into the room.
“Yeah, what was that?” Heero-clone supported, having taken most of the insults.
Duke Kent Winteridge and Instructor D exchanged glances. Then both of them looked at the dissatisfied clones, calmly. “It seems that our enemy has a few surprises still. It could be that they’d been keeping this secret weapon until they found the right time to use it.”
“But the question is what is the secret?”
“It’s a new system,” Heero-clone answered. “I’m sure of it. It could be some form of a Zero System that we’ve never heard of.”
“In that case, then perhaps we have a problem.”
Quatre-clone looked at their leader. “What are we going to do about it?”
“Simple,” said Winteridge, nonchalantly. “We’ll simply uncover its secret.” He turned to Instructor D. “Contact the spies. I want to know about this system.” His right hand man nodded in obedience. “And maybe it’s time we get in touch with our friend as well. He’ll be very interested to know about this.”
AUTHOR REPLIES: Alright, no excuse this time. I am a bad author for leaving my readers for far too long. *Bow* I’m so sorry. It’ll happen again though I’ll try my very best to avoid it. Anyway, about the Zero-Infinity system, I know that for those who have read Starling’s fic, you’re familiar with it. The fact is, I have been planning to write something on a special Zero system and name it Infinity since forever. I guess, Starling beat me to the punch. So, I just renamed it Zero-Infinity.
Yippie! I love this part.
Justin: You rock! Your feedback is one of those I really love. Thanks for the compliment and the tips. And *winced* I hadn’t thought about giving the poor guy a name! Thanks for pointing that out to me. I’ll think of one right now.
Ha… ha… actually, I CAN imagine Heero on a killing spree calling out “puppies, puppies, puppies”. But only if he’s seriously broken by the Zero System. Ha… ha… that was hilarious!!!
SilverRocks: Thanks for the feedback. And sorry for keeping you wait.
Mara Roberts: It’s okay. I know how college life can be. See? It took me a month to update! I’ll just go browse around for a beta reader. Hey, you think they’d put an ad?
Starling: I always appreciate your tolerance (excuse me!) and effort to keep ZT alive. And the will to face tardy writers like me. I know I promise this chapter by Friday but ended up sending it on Monday morning. If you were my lecturer, you’d fail me straight away *shudders*. Kiss Corran for me.
