Petite Rebel 11/12
Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2004 4:09 pm
Chapter Eleven: True Colors Shown, A Broken Mind and the Truth at Last
Heero sat up abruptly in the cot in the infirmary. Something was going wrong, and he knew it. He could feel it in his blood. It seemed to his mind; all traces of Hilde had vanished. He couldn?t understand it, but some how his instincts told him he had to get out to that battlefield at any cost. And being a man of acting on emotions as well as primary instincts; he shot up and out of the infirmary like a bullet, racing as fast as he could along the cold marble hallways of the Sanq palace to the elevators to the Gundam hangers situated far below.
?I?m sorry Relena...? He mumbled as he hit the secret switch to the final Gundam far below where the rest usually took refuge. He entered in a skin tight black flight suit from the elevator, and took a few quick glance checks around the bay before proceeding to face the Gundam hidden in the dark shadows. ?Hmm.? He grabbed the guy-wire and pulled himself up to the cockpit door and opened it crawling inside. ?Hold on everyone.? He muttered and shoving the helmet on his head and strapping up the hatch closed on his form settling into the controls.
The engine roared to gigantic life for the second time, the eyes glowed a bright blue as they had before and the gigantic machine stood up on its massive titanium alloy legs. The computer screen inside glowed in front of Heero?s deft fingers, little white numbers and words flew across the screen telling Heero all he needed to know. He nodded solemnly and set his eyes on the hanger door. It swung open with the loud creaking accompanied only by the rusty metal of unused gears. ?Mission accepted.? He said and the thrusters came online and he blew out of the hanger full thrust.
~*~
Relena woke with a start and reaching out a hand to feel the empty place beside her as she sat up. It hadn?t been a dream...She was still on the cot in the infirmary. So where was Heero? She rolled off the cot and placed a robe over herself, when she heard a loud roar of a Gundam?s engines. She gasped and ran to the closest window just in time to see the Gundam Hilde had last used blast out from under the palace and away toward the far off explosions marking the battle. She sighed and placed a hand against the glass, shaking her head. ?Good luck, Heero...? She muttered as the mecha disappeared over the horizon.
~*~
He was at full velocity, but he felt like he wasn?t getting anywhere. The landscape zoomed beneath the mecha?s feet but he couldn?t feel the movement of the machine. He wondered briefly if this Gundam had been completed and was safe to fight in, but it only lasted a moment because he was upon the battle scene like a bee to honey.
The scene before him was enough to choke him. He stopped dead in the air, though no one seemed to notice that a new machine had arrived. There was Wing Zero, in it Hilde, he knew, attacking and destroying the Sanq?s forces. She had made quick work of the Gundams, which lay in straggling heaps of almost scrap metal in Zero?s wake. The mechanics were going to have a joyride with these fix-ups.
Heero scanned the area and gasped when he saw DeathScythe in much less then healthy pieces. Did this mean she had killed Duo? It couldn?t be possible! What had gotten into her?! They had worked so hard on getting her memory back, what could have turned her against them now?
He spotted HeavyArms, trying desperately in vain to regain balance. Heero flipped on the com and his ears were suddenly filled with the voices of all the Gundam pilots begging Hilde to remember-Heero shook his head rapidly and swooped down kneeling beside the mortally damaged HeavyArms Gundam. ?Trowa!? He yelled through the com. ?Trowa what is going on here??
Trowa?s static filled voice came back through ?He-Szzxt-o? What are-Szzxt-doing out here? Szzxt?
?Never mind!? He shot back, ?What?s happening? What?s wrong with Hilde??
?Heero?!? It was Quatre. ?Heero why are you here?!?
?Reasons, Quatre! Now give me the low-down!?
Trowa worked at fixing the com-links reception and quickly responded. ?It?s Dorothy, Heero. And Lewis.? Heero gasped. ?They were behind this whole assault, and came back to kill Relena, take over the Sanq and collect Hilde. Dorothy had a device and it hit Hilde hard taking away all her memories again.? Trowa explained.
Heero hissed low and darkly. ?That bastard...?
?We have to save her, Heero!? Quatre called.
?We have to save ourselves first!? Wufei shouted out.
?No, you guys save yourselves. Heero and I must save Hilde at all costs.? Trowa said. Heero eyed Trowa and kept silent. ?She?s our sister...? At this Heero let out another slight gasp. ?I?ll explain later, we have to get her memory back, or at least take the Wing Zero down! It?s headed for the Sanq now!?
?I-I?m helping!? Duo?s voice came on through the link.
?Duo! You?re alive! I thought Hilde had killed you.? Heero hissed.
Duo smirked, blood covering his broken face. ?You have no faith! Nothing can kill Shinigami.? He wiped his face on his sleeve. ?That?s my girl in that death machine of yours Heero, and I?m going to help save her, no buts about it.?
Heero smirked slightly. ?Have it your way, Shinigami. -The rest of you! Wufei, Quatre, Zechs, Noin, Lady Une, get away from here! Stop who and what you can of the White Fang,? Heero paused noting the black suit standing against the flames, gleaming at him and mocking him. He took a deep breath and added, darkly, ?and take him out too.? He indicated the black suit with Rodney Lewis in it. ?Leave the rest to us.?
?Right.? Une said through her broken connection. ?Sanq forces! Move out! I?ll take care of Lewis.? A grin curled upon her features.
Lewis cackled lightly. ?We?ll see how you do against me, Colonel Une.?
Une smirked.
Heero, Trowa and Duo watched as they left. Trowa turned to the other two. ?All right, the best strategy in a fight such as this is for two of us take her down and the last tries to get her out. She?s become a threat to us as well as herself now. No telling if she?ll loose it and hit the self-detonation switch.? The others nodded and headed out, leaving Une and Lewis to do battle.
~*~
Hilde wasn?t in her right mind, and somewhere inside she knew it. But it seemed her mind could no longer control her actions, only a fierce insanity that kept a maniacal grin on her face and the voice of Lewis moved her limbs. Rodney-the bastard-She hated him with everything she had; it ate away at her mind, soul and body.
Other voices were invading too. Ones vaguely familiar but nothing close to recollection that she could surmise. They were yelling at her to remember. Remember what? There was nothing to remember, only that she had to destroy the Sanq and kill Queen Relena, then all would be well. But those voices! ?DAMN IT!? She cursed holding her head. ?SHUT UP!? The Wing Zero stopped dead in its tracks of moving it was less then ten meters from the entrance of the Sanq.
?Hilde-listen! You don?t want to do this! Think of everyone!?
?Hilde...your one of us now and forever...don?t let Lewis get to you.?
?Dorothy and Lewis do not control you, stop, remember us, please.?
?Quatre, Wufei, Sally, Noin, Zechs, Heero, Trowa, me! Think Hilde! Please, remember.?
Those voices! Those names! This was too much. Her psyche broke down again. Thousands of images, sounds-feelings rushed through her mind. Invading her memory making it nearly impossible to see straight. The whole of a lifetime rushed between the spaces in her eyes. People, places, things, food, loves, hates, pains, dreams and ideals all wielded significant power in her head. She screamed. ?AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!?
Suddenly Wing Zero was on the move again, and the pilot within was less sane then before as the side effects of the serum took effect and the Zero system accidentally kicked in. Her mind swimming with an over flow, her eyes widened and her mouth cracked open a bit, her irises became a halogen florescent pink with a gold rim; courtesy of the Zero system, all traces of the bright lime green gone.
?Shit, it?s not working...? Trowa mumbled.
?Thanks for the update Trowa! I think we noticed!? Duo shot back.
?Hrnm...? Heero growled and reared off to confront Hilde from a different direction.
?Hey! Wait for us Heero! She?s important to us too!? Duo called and followed Heero.
Hilde was wreaking havoc on the Sanq, destroying it and any mobile suit that got in her way. At this point she didn?t give a damn what side it was for. She went along fast as lightning, slicing and shooting at every available target. A carrier flew up above the Sanq, Hilde put the thrusters on upon seeing it and shot up, lifting her beam cannon and taking aim. Once in range she opened fire and shot it down. As it fell she watched with a maniac gleam to her eye and began to laugh; low at first and then getting louder.
As the three Gundams tried again and again to confront Wing Zero and its pilot on safe terms, she blew half the Sanq to ashes and less then rubble. Women, children, men and elders ran crying, screaming and fearing as she tore through every building she saw. Then she spotted the Sanq palace.
Her strange grin grew a bit wider as she looked upon the majestic house sitting atop the relatively small hill in front of her. Wing Zero?s feet turned from the penthouse its beam saber had been desecrating, and moved slowly to the palace gates, stepping on them to get there. Heero turned the black and red mecha. He was in just in time to catch her sudden rearrangement in attack. As Trowa and Duo were occupied with White Fang suits that had managed to get past and into the Sanq, Heero seemed to see Hilde move in slow motion. Finally he reacted.
?NO!? He screamed and all at once the thrusters of his Gundam blasted and he shot forward faster then light and grabbed Wing Zero?s wrists before Hilde could manage to get any closer and pull the beam saber up for a strike.
?Hilde! Listen to me! Listen to me and only me, focus on my voice, and do not let anything interfere with my voice, ok? - Never mind the ok, just focus on what I?m saying-listen. You do not want to destroy the Sanq, you do not want Relena dead, and you are not part of White Fang! You are not our enemy! You are-my sister...? He tried desperately to talk Hilde into sense; it seemed to be weakening her resolve to destroy the Sanq palace, so he hoped.
Inside the cockpit of Zero One, Hilde was in utter pain and inner turmoil. These last words from this boy-who was he?!-Heero-He was Heero! She looked up slightly holding her head, which was now bleeding profusely and weakly, switched on her com-link. ?H-Heero?? She asked tentively, her pain induced voice sounding pathetic over the channels and airwaves.
Heero heard her--and for the first time a full-size smile of relief cut through his face. ?Hilde...? He breathed.
But the break didn?t last long, for soon Hilde was thrown into a drawback and her head burst again with things, memories. She screamed again.
?Hilde?! Hilde! What?s wrong? What?s happened?? Heero sounded frantic. Duo and Trowa over heard this now that they had moved in closer after destroying the White Fang suits.
?Heero? -What? What?s wrong? What happened to Hilde?! Why is she screaming like that?! What happened!? Duo hollered over his com-link, becoming hysterical.
?I don?t know, Duo! Shut up so I can find out!? He spat back.
But it was too late. Wing Zero stumbled back, shoving away from Heero?s suit, and it stood there as the pilot inside killed her voice. ?I...I-I can?t--deal with it!? They heard the shuddering last cry of Hilde?s hoarse voice over the link.
?Deal with what Hilde?? Trowa asked, also sounding frenzied.
?Too--many--no! No more! I-can?t...it hurts! Oh god it hurts!? Came her rough reply.
?What hurts?? Trowa asked again.
?I have to end it...? She gasped. ?I know I caused all this...and I can?t deal with this pain!? She hissed again and they all heard a click over the COM as she hit some button inside. Suddenly all around her red sirens and lights went off. All other lights turned off and she was bathed in a flashing red glow, as she huddled in her seat holding her head. ?It has to end...?
?What?! Oh my god! No! Hilde hit the self-detonation switch!? Duo screamed out.
?Fuck!? Heero yelled.
?We have to get her out! And fast!? Trowa cried, backing up his beaten HeavyArms a safe distance and un-strapping as quickly as he could and within seconds he was leaping from his cockpit and running like the wind to the Wing Zero as it prepared to detonate, Duo and Heero close behind. Unfortunately they were to late in getting to the Wing Gundam. Just as they reached it exploded and the three boys were nearly blown back, shielding their eyes as the explosion blew past them sending heat and flames licking between their feet the force of it nearly pushing them down.
Duo moved his arm slightly opening one eye to survey what had happened. ?Oh my god-Hilde!? He screamed and ran toward the molten mess of what was left of the mecha. Trowa and Heero drew their arms slowly down after Duo ran off and looked at each other quickly before breaking into a swift run and following Duo through the metal chaos.
As the boys searched for Hilde?s possibly mangled and bloodied body, the battle was drawing to an end in the battlefield. Une was raptly fighting with Rodney, intertwining assaults and beam saber blows trying to get the upper hand of the battle. The Gundams had finished off the last of the White Fang suits and Zechs and Noin gave the command to go back to the Sanq.
?But what of Lady Une?? Quatre asked, still cradling Dorothy in the crook of his arm.
?She can take care of the rest herself; we do not have the energy or the health of the Gundams in our favor.? Zechs said, preparing to put his thrusters on.
?Zechs is right guys; they are literally breaking to pieces as we sit in them. They need repairs, there?s nothing left we can do here without loosing some vital parts.? Noin concurred.
?And, don?t you still have Dorothy Mr. Winner?? Zechs asked with a half smirk that no one could have seen.
Quatre mumbled something and Wufei just smirked. ?I told you, Winner, that woman would be running White Fang. She may be insane, but she is strong, for an onna. But, I agree with Zechs and his woman...? Noin snorted indignantly. ?We should head back, leave Une to her own destiny. She can decide her own integrity.?
Quatre sighed half-heartedly. ?All right, I suppose you?re all right. Let?s break off and head back. We did take an awful beating, and it appears all White Fang suits have been destroyed.?
?I just hope they didn?t have any time to call for reinforcements.? Noin muttered.
?That was their reinforcements, Noin. We just fought and destroyed over two hundred and eighty suits. That, I would say, is quite an army.? Zechs commented as they all began to trump back to the city, unknowing of the tragedy occurring there.
~*~
Une made a final swipe with her beam saber as Rodney?s back was turned, that hit it. The weak spot in this Gundam turned out to be in its back. Une stepped back in her purple Taurus.
?AAGH!? Rodney screamed and started coughing. ?You fight well, Lady Une...I?ll give you that. -In fact, I fear I am beaten. You have hit the exterior detonation switch.?
Une gasped. ?Get out! Before it explodes, man!? But Rodney just chuckled.
?Get out and have you take me back as prisoner? To possibly try to extract the Ultimate soldier serum from my mind? I think not Lady. This serum will go with me, and since I am now defenseless and am at risk of being caught by the enemy...I will die instead.? He laughed mechanically. ?On top of that, the information is hidden in the secret base that you will never find.?
?No you fool! I would no sooner let Dorothy die than you would; you are human too, are you not?! Save yourself!? Une tried to fight sense into him. He laughed again.
?Lady, Lady, Lady, too much compassion on the battlefield is not good. That is your weakness. Work on that. I have many followers, someone will take my place some day and continue the fight for the Colonies? freedom of the United Earth Sphere Alliance. This may not be over. I just have one last request before this Gundam explodes with me inside.?
Une?s mech took a cautious step forward. ?And what is that?? She asked.
?Take care of my children well for me after I?m gone. Heero, Trowa, Dorothy and Hilde especially. My little perfect, perfect soldier...take care of them. Farewell my dear Lady Une!? And in saying these last words his Gundam totally imploded in on itself instead of outward, so it was quite evident he was not alive when Une took the chance to open her brown eyes and look again.
?Damn!? She breathed. ?That bastard...? Her Taurus dug through the debris of the mecha but found nothing in it at all. ?Gah! Either he really did die-or he escaped! -Hrrm...Well there is nothing to be done, we have won for now...? Her Taurus turned to face the destruction of the battlefield and the smoke and fire from the Sanq Kingdom. She sighed and her thrusters went off flying her back toward the city to make sure all was well.
~*~
All the Gundams were gathered around in a circle now, Relena and Sally were out of the palace and in the debris left by the Wing Zero. Everyone was searching for Hilde?s body under any piece of scrap metal or concrete within the explosion?s radius. Finally with a little help from Heero and Trowa, they lifted up the emerald green chest plate that had shattered in the explosion, under it in a scraggily heap lay a girl in a formfitting but harshly ripped and shredded black and gray flight suit, covered with blood. Her white hair was covered in ashes and caked with blood. No one could see her face as it was face down and her wild, long, white bangs were covering it up.
?Hil-Hilde!? Duo yelled and immediately dropped the breastplate and bent down to pick the girl?s upper body up and cradled it in his arms and lap. Everyone had heard his strangled cry of her name and came rushing over to them. Duo took his own blood soaked fingers and brushed away the matted, tangled and disheveled bangs from her eyes, as her head lolled back in the crook of his arm. The girl let out a choked gasp for breath but didn?t stir otherwise. ?She?s still alive!? Duo cried, happiness resounding, but that awful twinge of fear that she might not be so for long definitely and defiantly still ringing in his tone.
People breathed again, but no one moved an inch, they all stood stalk still as if one step in any direction might break her fragile thread of life and she?d be gone forever. Hilde coughed then, hard and heavy. She could barely breathe for nearly a minute as blood flew from her lips as she hacked. Duo looked frantic as he tried to calm her. When she fell back into his arm, her eyes flickered open, no longer a florescent pink, but back to lime green, but a dull lifeless green, if that. ?D-Duo?? She croaked, sounding so much worse then when she had nearly died two years ago on him after Libra.
?Hilde...? He managed, but he couldn?t get any other words out. His emotions were raging about his head and his body could not determine which to use against her. All the words he wanted to say came rushing to his mouth, but seemed to stop just before his throat, getting stuck and taking a detour instead.
But she smiled at him, even though it was weak and somewhat forced, that knowing smile she had used on him so many times before White Fang, the smile that told him she knew what he was thinking. She tried to speak-but it came out in a sort of odd croak, sounding nothing like a voice at all. Still she tried. ?Duo...I-remember now...I remember it all...My whole life before White Fang, Duo. I remember.? There was a resounding gasp from the surrounding people. She ignored them all ultimately.
Duo finally found his voice, it too coming out as a sort of odd croak. ?Do you? You remember everything?? She half nodded, but cringed and grunted slightly. Her neck was broken apparently. ?Don?t move! You?ll make it worse!? Duo said to her in a harsh whisper.
?Shut up...? She muttered. She creaked her head to look at the people around her, even though it hurt. She saw whom she sought. ?Heero.... Trowa...? She put out her gloved hands toward the two boys. Duo looked up at them. They carefully came forward and knelt by her, each taking her hand in their own. ?I-I know now,? she broke to cough hard, she came back gasping for air and her sentences were more broken now as she fought for air; ?that you-- are my-si- siblings, brothers...? At this a slight gasp came from Relena, but she made no further action. ?And I know, -t-too, that despite-- how weird it is, Dorothy-- is our true mother...but I don?t know-- if I?ll survive this-but-- it?s ok, I?m surrounded by the people-- I love best and my friends. -- I just want you all to know I love--you and I?m so sorry for--everything.?
Heero looked at her and tried all he could to bite back the tears that were forming in his Prussian blue eyes. Trowa made no facial action, but let his tears fall, quietly onto his true sister?s hand as he watched her fight for air. She turned her paling face back to Duo whose eyes were completely shadowed as he shuddering with repressed tears. She smiled weakly at him again, and drew her hand up along his cheek, brushing away his bangs to reveal his water filled azure-violet irises peering at her. ?Duo...? She whispered. ?Don?t cry for me...After all--the pain-- I?ve caused you...just let-me go...? Duo stared at her horrified.
?No, Hilde! NO!? He yelled at her and she cringed again at his loud voice, Heero looked sharply up at him. Then his tone softened significantly, as a sudden revelation came to him and he drooped his head in shame for not realizing it sooner, because now it was probably too late. ?Hi-Hilde...I love you-I-I can?t let you die. I had searched for you for two years blindly, not really thinking about why-but now I know, even if it may be too late, and-I finally found you again, and I am not letting you go! You have to live Hilde, if you can find it in your heart to love me in return, even after all I?ve done to you in the past weeks; scaring you out of your wits and such...I promise-? She stopped him in mid-sentence.
?Duo-? But he stopped her again.
?No! Think about the rest of us! Your newfound brothers...Relena, Sally, Zechs, Noin, Quatre, Wufei, Une! None of us want you to die...please, Hilde, live.? He said nearly sobbing now, but not quite.
Relena took a step forward. ?Yes, Miss Hilde. Live. Do not die and waste the rest of your life.?
Noin took a stance ?Yea, and this war was not your fault! You can?t blame yourself for something you were forced into with no available choice.?
?Plus the war is over now. We have won.? Zechs stated quietly.
?Please Miss Hilde, do not die on us. We are all so young, and still have a full life ahead of us.? Quatre added his two cents in.
Heero looked at his sister and sighed slightly. ?Hilde, we have been Gundam pilots for going on four years now, we have to deal with the same things everyday...You can not use that excuse to die.?
Trowa half nodded. ?It would be unfit...? He said tersely.
Hilde was getting paler, but she half snorted a laugh at Trowa. ?Maybe---so, ? she breathed. ?But I can?t stop-- this now...I-I?m coming to my--last leg...I am going to die...?
Wufei growled halfway and took a meaningful step toward the girl. ?Hilde, you are no weak woman. In fact I would say you are the strongest onna I have ever seen, that includes my dead wife Meiran...? He stopped speaking at the mention of his precious Nataku.
Sally came up and put a hand on his shoulder. ?Hilde, if your getting that kind of praise from Wufei, then you know it?s worth living it out.?
Hilde smiled a very, very tiny smile. ?I...am...loosing...my strength...but...if you all...want me...to live...I will...try...? She looked up at Duo then who looked back at her with intense eyes, her face was ghostly white and her lips were turning a slight shade of blue. ?Duo...? She whispered. ?I?ve always loved you, ever since the first day we met...remember that for me...?
Duo looked at her stunned, but quickly lost the surprised look as he leaned down and drew her cold lips to his. ?Hilde...? He breathed her name into her mouth as if it would be her lifesaver and be her ?Breath of Life?. But alas, her arms went slack, and her breath ceased to come and her lips were suddenly as ice. Duo sat up abruptly. ?Hilde? NO! Hilde wake up!? Trowa and Heero?s eyes went wide and Sally jumped to her side.
?Move aside Duo!? She yelled and proceeded to give the girl mouth to mouth resuscitation. Everyone stood by ice still again, praying silently and watching hopefully as Sally worked to get her to breathe again.
All at once Hilde?s breath was back, but Sally didn?t stop there, instead she commanded everyone to help her move Hilde to the infirmary, she wasn?t out of the woods yet, but there was still a chance to save her. ?No one is going to die on my watch!? Sally yelled as they rushed Hilde to the Sanq?s hospital wing.
~*~Chap. 11 fin.~*~
Heero sat up abruptly in the cot in the infirmary. Something was going wrong, and he knew it. He could feel it in his blood. It seemed to his mind; all traces of Hilde had vanished. He couldn?t understand it, but some how his instincts told him he had to get out to that battlefield at any cost. And being a man of acting on emotions as well as primary instincts; he shot up and out of the infirmary like a bullet, racing as fast as he could along the cold marble hallways of the Sanq palace to the elevators to the Gundam hangers situated far below.
?I?m sorry Relena...? He mumbled as he hit the secret switch to the final Gundam far below where the rest usually took refuge. He entered in a skin tight black flight suit from the elevator, and took a few quick glance checks around the bay before proceeding to face the Gundam hidden in the dark shadows. ?Hmm.? He grabbed the guy-wire and pulled himself up to the cockpit door and opened it crawling inside. ?Hold on everyone.? He muttered and shoving the helmet on his head and strapping up the hatch closed on his form settling into the controls.
The engine roared to gigantic life for the second time, the eyes glowed a bright blue as they had before and the gigantic machine stood up on its massive titanium alloy legs. The computer screen inside glowed in front of Heero?s deft fingers, little white numbers and words flew across the screen telling Heero all he needed to know. He nodded solemnly and set his eyes on the hanger door. It swung open with the loud creaking accompanied only by the rusty metal of unused gears. ?Mission accepted.? He said and the thrusters came online and he blew out of the hanger full thrust.
~*~
Relena woke with a start and reaching out a hand to feel the empty place beside her as she sat up. It hadn?t been a dream...She was still on the cot in the infirmary. So where was Heero? She rolled off the cot and placed a robe over herself, when she heard a loud roar of a Gundam?s engines. She gasped and ran to the closest window just in time to see the Gundam Hilde had last used blast out from under the palace and away toward the far off explosions marking the battle. She sighed and placed a hand against the glass, shaking her head. ?Good luck, Heero...? She muttered as the mecha disappeared over the horizon.
~*~
He was at full velocity, but he felt like he wasn?t getting anywhere. The landscape zoomed beneath the mecha?s feet but he couldn?t feel the movement of the machine. He wondered briefly if this Gundam had been completed and was safe to fight in, but it only lasted a moment because he was upon the battle scene like a bee to honey.
The scene before him was enough to choke him. He stopped dead in the air, though no one seemed to notice that a new machine had arrived. There was Wing Zero, in it Hilde, he knew, attacking and destroying the Sanq?s forces. She had made quick work of the Gundams, which lay in straggling heaps of almost scrap metal in Zero?s wake. The mechanics were going to have a joyride with these fix-ups.
Heero scanned the area and gasped when he saw DeathScythe in much less then healthy pieces. Did this mean she had killed Duo? It couldn?t be possible! What had gotten into her?! They had worked so hard on getting her memory back, what could have turned her against them now?
He spotted HeavyArms, trying desperately in vain to regain balance. Heero flipped on the com and his ears were suddenly filled with the voices of all the Gundam pilots begging Hilde to remember-Heero shook his head rapidly and swooped down kneeling beside the mortally damaged HeavyArms Gundam. ?Trowa!? He yelled through the com. ?Trowa what is going on here??
Trowa?s static filled voice came back through ?He-Szzxt-o? What are-Szzxt-doing out here? Szzxt?
?Never mind!? He shot back, ?What?s happening? What?s wrong with Hilde??
?Heero?!? It was Quatre. ?Heero why are you here?!?
?Reasons, Quatre! Now give me the low-down!?
Trowa worked at fixing the com-links reception and quickly responded. ?It?s Dorothy, Heero. And Lewis.? Heero gasped. ?They were behind this whole assault, and came back to kill Relena, take over the Sanq and collect Hilde. Dorothy had a device and it hit Hilde hard taking away all her memories again.? Trowa explained.
Heero hissed low and darkly. ?That bastard...?
?We have to save her, Heero!? Quatre called.
?We have to save ourselves first!? Wufei shouted out.
?No, you guys save yourselves. Heero and I must save Hilde at all costs.? Trowa said. Heero eyed Trowa and kept silent. ?She?s our sister...? At this Heero let out another slight gasp. ?I?ll explain later, we have to get her memory back, or at least take the Wing Zero down! It?s headed for the Sanq now!?
?I-I?m helping!? Duo?s voice came on through the link.
?Duo! You?re alive! I thought Hilde had killed you.? Heero hissed.
Duo smirked, blood covering his broken face. ?You have no faith! Nothing can kill Shinigami.? He wiped his face on his sleeve. ?That?s my girl in that death machine of yours Heero, and I?m going to help save her, no buts about it.?
Heero smirked slightly. ?Have it your way, Shinigami. -The rest of you! Wufei, Quatre, Zechs, Noin, Lady Une, get away from here! Stop who and what you can of the White Fang,? Heero paused noting the black suit standing against the flames, gleaming at him and mocking him. He took a deep breath and added, darkly, ?and take him out too.? He indicated the black suit with Rodney Lewis in it. ?Leave the rest to us.?
?Right.? Une said through her broken connection. ?Sanq forces! Move out! I?ll take care of Lewis.? A grin curled upon her features.
Lewis cackled lightly. ?We?ll see how you do against me, Colonel Une.?
Une smirked.
Heero, Trowa and Duo watched as they left. Trowa turned to the other two. ?All right, the best strategy in a fight such as this is for two of us take her down and the last tries to get her out. She?s become a threat to us as well as herself now. No telling if she?ll loose it and hit the self-detonation switch.? The others nodded and headed out, leaving Une and Lewis to do battle.
~*~
Hilde wasn?t in her right mind, and somewhere inside she knew it. But it seemed her mind could no longer control her actions, only a fierce insanity that kept a maniacal grin on her face and the voice of Lewis moved her limbs. Rodney-the bastard-She hated him with everything she had; it ate away at her mind, soul and body.
Other voices were invading too. Ones vaguely familiar but nothing close to recollection that she could surmise. They were yelling at her to remember. Remember what? There was nothing to remember, only that she had to destroy the Sanq and kill Queen Relena, then all would be well. But those voices! ?DAMN IT!? She cursed holding her head. ?SHUT UP!? The Wing Zero stopped dead in its tracks of moving it was less then ten meters from the entrance of the Sanq.
?Hilde-listen! You don?t want to do this! Think of everyone!?
?Hilde...your one of us now and forever...don?t let Lewis get to you.?
?Dorothy and Lewis do not control you, stop, remember us, please.?
?Quatre, Wufei, Sally, Noin, Zechs, Heero, Trowa, me! Think Hilde! Please, remember.?
Those voices! Those names! This was too much. Her psyche broke down again. Thousands of images, sounds-feelings rushed through her mind. Invading her memory making it nearly impossible to see straight. The whole of a lifetime rushed between the spaces in her eyes. People, places, things, food, loves, hates, pains, dreams and ideals all wielded significant power in her head. She screamed. ?AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!?
Suddenly Wing Zero was on the move again, and the pilot within was less sane then before as the side effects of the serum took effect and the Zero system accidentally kicked in. Her mind swimming with an over flow, her eyes widened and her mouth cracked open a bit, her irises became a halogen florescent pink with a gold rim; courtesy of the Zero system, all traces of the bright lime green gone.
?Shit, it?s not working...? Trowa mumbled.
?Thanks for the update Trowa! I think we noticed!? Duo shot back.
?Hrnm...? Heero growled and reared off to confront Hilde from a different direction.
?Hey! Wait for us Heero! She?s important to us too!? Duo called and followed Heero.
Hilde was wreaking havoc on the Sanq, destroying it and any mobile suit that got in her way. At this point she didn?t give a damn what side it was for. She went along fast as lightning, slicing and shooting at every available target. A carrier flew up above the Sanq, Hilde put the thrusters on upon seeing it and shot up, lifting her beam cannon and taking aim. Once in range she opened fire and shot it down. As it fell she watched with a maniac gleam to her eye and began to laugh; low at first and then getting louder.
As the three Gundams tried again and again to confront Wing Zero and its pilot on safe terms, she blew half the Sanq to ashes and less then rubble. Women, children, men and elders ran crying, screaming and fearing as she tore through every building she saw. Then she spotted the Sanq palace.
Her strange grin grew a bit wider as she looked upon the majestic house sitting atop the relatively small hill in front of her. Wing Zero?s feet turned from the penthouse its beam saber had been desecrating, and moved slowly to the palace gates, stepping on them to get there. Heero turned the black and red mecha. He was in just in time to catch her sudden rearrangement in attack. As Trowa and Duo were occupied with White Fang suits that had managed to get past and into the Sanq, Heero seemed to see Hilde move in slow motion. Finally he reacted.
?NO!? He screamed and all at once the thrusters of his Gundam blasted and he shot forward faster then light and grabbed Wing Zero?s wrists before Hilde could manage to get any closer and pull the beam saber up for a strike.
?Hilde! Listen to me! Listen to me and only me, focus on my voice, and do not let anything interfere with my voice, ok? - Never mind the ok, just focus on what I?m saying-listen. You do not want to destroy the Sanq, you do not want Relena dead, and you are not part of White Fang! You are not our enemy! You are-my sister...? He tried desperately to talk Hilde into sense; it seemed to be weakening her resolve to destroy the Sanq palace, so he hoped.
Inside the cockpit of Zero One, Hilde was in utter pain and inner turmoil. These last words from this boy-who was he?!-Heero-He was Heero! She looked up slightly holding her head, which was now bleeding profusely and weakly, switched on her com-link. ?H-Heero?? She asked tentively, her pain induced voice sounding pathetic over the channels and airwaves.
Heero heard her--and for the first time a full-size smile of relief cut through his face. ?Hilde...? He breathed.
But the break didn?t last long, for soon Hilde was thrown into a drawback and her head burst again with things, memories. She screamed again.
?Hilde?! Hilde! What?s wrong? What?s happened?? Heero sounded frantic. Duo and Trowa over heard this now that they had moved in closer after destroying the White Fang suits.
?Heero? -What? What?s wrong? What happened to Hilde?! Why is she screaming like that?! What happened!? Duo hollered over his com-link, becoming hysterical.
?I don?t know, Duo! Shut up so I can find out!? He spat back.
But it was too late. Wing Zero stumbled back, shoving away from Heero?s suit, and it stood there as the pilot inside killed her voice. ?I...I-I can?t--deal with it!? They heard the shuddering last cry of Hilde?s hoarse voice over the link.
?Deal with what Hilde?? Trowa asked, also sounding frenzied.
?Too--many--no! No more! I-can?t...it hurts! Oh god it hurts!? Came her rough reply.
?What hurts?? Trowa asked again.
?I have to end it...? She gasped. ?I know I caused all this...and I can?t deal with this pain!? She hissed again and they all heard a click over the COM as she hit some button inside. Suddenly all around her red sirens and lights went off. All other lights turned off and she was bathed in a flashing red glow, as she huddled in her seat holding her head. ?It has to end...?
?What?! Oh my god! No! Hilde hit the self-detonation switch!? Duo screamed out.
?Fuck!? Heero yelled.
?We have to get her out! And fast!? Trowa cried, backing up his beaten HeavyArms a safe distance and un-strapping as quickly as he could and within seconds he was leaping from his cockpit and running like the wind to the Wing Zero as it prepared to detonate, Duo and Heero close behind. Unfortunately they were to late in getting to the Wing Gundam. Just as they reached it exploded and the three boys were nearly blown back, shielding their eyes as the explosion blew past them sending heat and flames licking between their feet the force of it nearly pushing them down.
Duo moved his arm slightly opening one eye to survey what had happened. ?Oh my god-Hilde!? He screamed and ran toward the molten mess of what was left of the mecha. Trowa and Heero drew their arms slowly down after Duo ran off and looked at each other quickly before breaking into a swift run and following Duo through the metal chaos.
As the boys searched for Hilde?s possibly mangled and bloodied body, the battle was drawing to an end in the battlefield. Une was raptly fighting with Rodney, intertwining assaults and beam saber blows trying to get the upper hand of the battle. The Gundams had finished off the last of the White Fang suits and Zechs and Noin gave the command to go back to the Sanq.
?But what of Lady Une?? Quatre asked, still cradling Dorothy in the crook of his arm.
?She can take care of the rest herself; we do not have the energy or the health of the Gundams in our favor.? Zechs said, preparing to put his thrusters on.
?Zechs is right guys; they are literally breaking to pieces as we sit in them. They need repairs, there?s nothing left we can do here without loosing some vital parts.? Noin concurred.
?And, don?t you still have Dorothy Mr. Winner?? Zechs asked with a half smirk that no one could have seen.
Quatre mumbled something and Wufei just smirked. ?I told you, Winner, that woman would be running White Fang. She may be insane, but she is strong, for an onna. But, I agree with Zechs and his woman...? Noin snorted indignantly. ?We should head back, leave Une to her own destiny. She can decide her own integrity.?
Quatre sighed half-heartedly. ?All right, I suppose you?re all right. Let?s break off and head back. We did take an awful beating, and it appears all White Fang suits have been destroyed.?
?I just hope they didn?t have any time to call for reinforcements.? Noin muttered.
?That was their reinforcements, Noin. We just fought and destroyed over two hundred and eighty suits. That, I would say, is quite an army.? Zechs commented as they all began to trump back to the city, unknowing of the tragedy occurring there.
~*~
Une made a final swipe with her beam saber as Rodney?s back was turned, that hit it. The weak spot in this Gundam turned out to be in its back. Une stepped back in her purple Taurus.
?AAGH!? Rodney screamed and started coughing. ?You fight well, Lady Une...I?ll give you that. -In fact, I fear I am beaten. You have hit the exterior detonation switch.?
Une gasped. ?Get out! Before it explodes, man!? But Rodney just chuckled.
?Get out and have you take me back as prisoner? To possibly try to extract the Ultimate soldier serum from my mind? I think not Lady. This serum will go with me, and since I am now defenseless and am at risk of being caught by the enemy...I will die instead.? He laughed mechanically. ?On top of that, the information is hidden in the secret base that you will never find.?
?No you fool! I would no sooner let Dorothy die than you would; you are human too, are you not?! Save yourself!? Une tried to fight sense into him. He laughed again.
?Lady, Lady, Lady, too much compassion on the battlefield is not good. That is your weakness. Work on that. I have many followers, someone will take my place some day and continue the fight for the Colonies? freedom of the United Earth Sphere Alliance. This may not be over. I just have one last request before this Gundam explodes with me inside.?
Une?s mech took a cautious step forward. ?And what is that?? She asked.
?Take care of my children well for me after I?m gone. Heero, Trowa, Dorothy and Hilde especially. My little perfect, perfect soldier...take care of them. Farewell my dear Lady Une!? And in saying these last words his Gundam totally imploded in on itself instead of outward, so it was quite evident he was not alive when Une took the chance to open her brown eyes and look again.
?Damn!? She breathed. ?That bastard...? Her Taurus dug through the debris of the mecha but found nothing in it at all. ?Gah! Either he really did die-or he escaped! -Hrrm...Well there is nothing to be done, we have won for now...? Her Taurus turned to face the destruction of the battlefield and the smoke and fire from the Sanq Kingdom. She sighed and her thrusters went off flying her back toward the city to make sure all was well.
~*~
All the Gundams were gathered around in a circle now, Relena and Sally were out of the palace and in the debris left by the Wing Zero. Everyone was searching for Hilde?s body under any piece of scrap metal or concrete within the explosion?s radius. Finally with a little help from Heero and Trowa, they lifted up the emerald green chest plate that had shattered in the explosion, under it in a scraggily heap lay a girl in a formfitting but harshly ripped and shredded black and gray flight suit, covered with blood. Her white hair was covered in ashes and caked with blood. No one could see her face as it was face down and her wild, long, white bangs were covering it up.
?Hil-Hilde!? Duo yelled and immediately dropped the breastplate and bent down to pick the girl?s upper body up and cradled it in his arms and lap. Everyone had heard his strangled cry of her name and came rushing over to them. Duo took his own blood soaked fingers and brushed away the matted, tangled and disheveled bangs from her eyes, as her head lolled back in the crook of his arm. The girl let out a choked gasp for breath but didn?t stir otherwise. ?She?s still alive!? Duo cried, happiness resounding, but that awful twinge of fear that she might not be so for long definitely and defiantly still ringing in his tone.
People breathed again, but no one moved an inch, they all stood stalk still as if one step in any direction might break her fragile thread of life and she?d be gone forever. Hilde coughed then, hard and heavy. She could barely breathe for nearly a minute as blood flew from her lips as she hacked. Duo looked frantic as he tried to calm her. When she fell back into his arm, her eyes flickered open, no longer a florescent pink, but back to lime green, but a dull lifeless green, if that. ?D-Duo?? She croaked, sounding so much worse then when she had nearly died two years ago on him after Libra.
?Hilde...? He managed, but he couldn?t get any other words out. His emotions were raging about his head and his body could not determine which to use against her. All the words he wanted to say came rushing to his mouth, but seemed to stop just before his throat, getting stuck and taking a detour instead.
But she smiled at him, even though it was weak and somewhat forced, that knowing smile she had used on him so many times before White Fang, the smile that told him she knew what he was thinking. She tried to speak-but it came out in a sort of odd croak, sounding nothing like a voice at all. Still she tried. ?Duo...I-remember now...I remember it all...My whole life before White Fang, Duo. I remember.? There was a resounding gasp from the surrounding people. She ignored them all ultimately.
Duo finally found his voice, it too coming out as a sort of odd croak. ?Do you? You remember everything?? She half nodded, but cringed and grunted slightly. Her neck was broken apparently. ?Don?t move! You?ll make it worse!? Duo said to her in a harsh whisper.
?Shut up...? She muttered. She creaked her head to look at the people around her, even though it hurt. She saw whom she sought. ?Heero.... Trowa...? She put out her gloved hands toward the two boys. Duo looked up at them. They carefully came forward and knelt by her, each taking her hand in their own. ?I-I know now,? she broke to cough hard, she came back gasping for air and her sentences were more broken now as she fought for air; ?that you-- are my-si- siblings, brothers...? At this a slight gasp came from Relena, but she made no further action. ?And I know, -t-too, that despite-- how weird it is, Dorothy-- is our true mother...but I don?t know-- if I?ll survive this-but-- it?s ok, I?m surrounded by the people-- I love best and my friends. -- I just want you all to know I love--you and I?m so sorry for--everything.?
Heero looked at her and tried all he could to bite back the tears that were forming in his Prussian blue eyes. Trowa made no facial action, but let his tears fall, quietly onto his true sister?s hand as he watched her fight for air. She turned her paling face back to Duo whose eyes were completely shadowed as he shuddering with repressed tears. She smiled weakly at him again, and drew her hand up along his cheek, brushing away his bangs to reveal his water filled azure-violet irises peering at her. ?Duo...? She whispered. ?Don?t cry for me...After all--the pain-- I?ve caused you...just let-me go...? Duo stared at her horrified.
?No, Hilde! NO!? He yelled at her and she cringed again at his loud voice, Heero looked sharply up at him. Then his tone softened significantly, as a sudden revelation came to him and he drooped his head in shame for not realizing it sooner, because now it was probably too late. ?Hi-Hilde...I love you-I-I can?t let you die. I had searched for you for two years blindly, not really thinking about why-but now I know, even if it may be too late, and-I finally found you again, and I am not letting you go! You have to live Hilde, if you can find it in your heart to love me in return, even after all I?ve done to you in the past weeks; scaring you out of your wits and such...I promise-? She stopped him in mid-sentence.
?Duo-? But he stopped her again.
?No! Think about the rest of us! Your newfound brothers...Relena, Sally, Zechs, Noin, Quatre, Wufei, Une! None of us want you to die...please, Hilde, live.? He said nearly sobbing now, but not quite.
Relena took a step forward. ?Yes, Miss Hilde. Live. Do not die and waste the rest of your life.?
Noin took a stance ?Yea, and this war was not your fault! You can?t blame yourself for something you were forced into with no available choice.?
?Plus the war is over now. We have won.? Zechs stated quietly.
?Please Miss Hilde, do not die on us. We are all so young, and still have a full life ahead of us.? Quatre added his two cents in.
Heero looked at his sister and sighed slightly. ?Hilde, we have been Gundam pilots for going on four years now, we have to deal with the same things everyday...You can not use that excuse to die.?
Trowa half nodded. ?It would be unfit...? He said tersely.
Hilde was getting paler, but she half snorted a laugh at Trowa. ?Maybe---so, ? she breathed. ?But I can?t stop-- this now...I-I?m coming to my--last leg...I am going to die...?
Wufei growled halfway and took a meaningful step toward the girl. ?Hilde, you are no weak woman. In fact I would say you are the strongest onna I have ever seen, that includes my dead wife Meiran...? He stopped speaking at the mention of his precious Nataku.
Sally came up and put a hand on his shoulder. ?Hilde, if your getting that kind of praise from Wufei, then you know it?s worth living it out.?
Hilde smiled a very, very tiny smile. ?I...am...loosing...my strength...but...if you all...want me...to live...I will...try...? She looked up at Duo then who looked back at her with intense eyes, her face was ghostly white and her lips were turning a slight shade of blue. ?Duo...? She whispered. ?I?ve always loved you, ever since the first day we met...remember that for me...?
Duo looked at her stunned, but quickly lost the surprised look as he leaned down and drew her cold lips to his. ?Hilde...? He breathed her name into her mouth as if it would be her lifesaver and be her ?Breath of Life?. But alas, her arms went slack, and her breath ceased to come and her lips were suddenly as ice. Duo sat up abruptly. ?Hilde? NO! Hilde wake up!? Trowa and Heero?s eyes went wide and Sally jumped to her side.
?Move aside Duo!? She yelled and proceeded to give the girl mouth to mouth resuscitation. Everyone stood by ice still again, praying silently and watching hopefully as Sally worked to get her to breathe again.
All at once Hilde?s breath was back, but Sally didn?t stop there, instead she commanded everyone to help her move Hilde to the infirmary, she wasn?t out of the woods yet, but there was still a chance to save her. ?No one is going to die on my watch!? Sally yelled as they rushed Hilde to the Sanq?s hospital wing.
~*~Chap. 11 fin.~*~
