Description: A new threat... an unknown enemy... a whole new frontier...                  

Gundam Wing: Type 2 

Episode 7: Journey to Hell

In the year After Colony 200, humanity's age long curiosity to discover life beyond the Earth was answered. Aelan Marcus and Kiron Gorrs came from the distant planet of Eden to observe humanity, and with the orders to destroy humans if they became a threat.

Their mission was to undertake several unexpected turns, as the people of Earth proved to be more cunning and resourceful than even the wisest of Eden had imagined. Now the battle to save humanity begins in earnest, a battle that could alter the course of the galaxy itself…

The connection was rather smooth, despite Amore's worries that the fold would be unstable. As Heero and Relena looked around the destination point, they were awestruck by the incredible display before them.

The small receiving area they were in was a blur of lights and activity. They stepped off the raised platform, and walked to what they assumed was the door, it slid aside silently, and a sequence of lights emerged, forming a lighted path to their right.

With a shrug, Relena asked, "Shall we?"

They slowly followed the lighted path through the portal bay, and suddenly an automated voice replied in an incomprehensible tongue. The seeming gibberish continued for a few more seconds, then when it fell silent, the path of lights began again. This time it shot off to their left, lighting a path in the increasing darkness.

"What's going on here?" Relena asked as the hallways grew darker. Soon, only the light from the path below was illuminating their surroundings. They continued to proceed down the path, and Relena started to become anxious.

"There's something not right about this." Relena said softly, but she couldn't tell if Heero had even heard her. Finally, the lights ended, and from there, Heero and Relena were left in darkness. That is, until the entire chamber was bathed in a wash of bright light.

Heero and Relena covered their eyes for a moment while they adjusted to the sudden change in brightness. When they finally were able to see clearly again, they found themselves in the middle of a large chamber, with an assembly of human-like beings sitting in a tiered balcony above them.

They were right in the middle of the Tenant Council of Eden.

One of them spoke, but neither Heero or Relena could determine just which one was speaking. "Welcome humans. It is not often that we agree to meet with those who could cause us harm."

Relena took a deep breath, and said, "I am Relena Peacecraft…"

"We know who you are." The voice interrupted, "Just as you know who we are. We want to know why you are here."

When Heero didn't say anything, Relena said, "We are here to extend a promise of peace to Eden."

There was silence for a second, then the voice answered, "How can you extend peace when you do not even know the the meaning of such a word?"

"How can you say that?" Relena demanded, "I and many of my kind have striven…"

"LIES! How can we expect humans to respect the people of Eden when you can't even respect yourselves? Your own companion is one of the most brutal murders of your kind, and yet you bring him here to display your message of peace?"

At that, a holographic image appeared at the center of the chamber. It displayed quite clearly the image of Wing Zero engaged in combat, at times obliterating up to 30 enemy suits with one blast. That began a seemingly endless parade of Heero's battles, in his suit and outside.

"This man has even tried to kill you, Relena Peacecraft. Can you honestly say you trust him?"

That question caused Relena to lose herself in her thoughts…

In her mind, she was back in her office just after the state's address, as she watched Heero click the detonator.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!" The crowd in the ballroom below shouted.

When nothing happened, she realized that she had closed her eyes in anticipation of her own death. Opening them, she saw Heero grab her hand, and lead her to the open window.

"What is going on, Heero, what are you doing?" Relena asked, trying to pull away, "That's a three floor drop! What is going on here?"

Heero looked right back at her impatiently, and said, "We don't have much time before that bomb goes off for real. For now, can you just trust me on this one?"

Relena didn't have to think for very long before replying…

"Yes." Relena answered in her thoughts and in reality. She stared at the gathered Tenants of Eden, and continued, "Yes, I trust Heero, even with my life. You have only seen part of the picture when you see his battles."

"We see all we need to see." The voice from the Tenant Council retorted, "We see a destroyer. Whether in defense or not, he is a destroyer none the less. With that in mind, Earth is just as much of a threat to Eden as we had thought."

When Heero began to speak, even Relena was a little taken off guard. After all, he hadn't said a word, or even acted in such a way as to suggest he even knew what was going on, since the pair had arrived on Eden.

"Yet, you send your tenants on missions of destruction on a regular basis. If I am to be a judge as to the destructive nature of humanity, then the tenants you send to destroy entire civilizations should be a judge to the destructive nature of Eden." Heero replied, "You are a race that is no better than humanity, you merely hide your destructive nature under the guise of defense of your world. If defense or attack really means no difference, you should realize the error of your position."

"HOW DARE YOU?" The voice of the Tenants screamed, "YOU WOULD SUGGEST THAT WE ARE NO BETTER THAN YOU… HUMANS?"

"I do more than suggest." Heero answered, "Just the few minutes I have spent listening to your self-righteous proclamations have PROVEN what I merely thought to be true."

"SUCH IMPERTINENCE!" The voice seethed, "But what is to be expected of such an inferior and barbaric race?"

"It is time for judgement to be passed." The voice of the Tenants announced, "Your presence here has merely affirmed what we have feared. Humanity has become a threat that must be eliminated for the sake of Eden and the galaxy. You shall be sent to Hell as an example of those who try to invade Eden."

Relena couldn't believe her ears. "You had already made your decision before we had even come here! How can you call yourselves enlightened?"

Any further comments however, were cut short by a sudden electric shock that rushed through her body. She collapsed to the floor in pain, and the sound of Heero dropping to the ground next to her was the last thing she heard before darkness set in once again…

Meanwhile, back at North Am…

Admiral Noin stepped into Aelan's office, and informed, "I'm sorry, but there is still no word from Heero or Relena. According to Relena's secretary, she had asked for a communication with Advisor Kiron, then left soon after. As for Heero… no one has any idea where he is."

"Thank you, Lucrezia." Aelan nodded, then asked, "Is it all right if I call you that?"

"Normally, I prefer people to call me Noin, but since I get away with calling you by your first name, I suppose it's only fair."

"Thank you." Aelan answered, "Even though I tried to avoid it, I have gotten on a very personal level with the people here. It was very… awkward to continue under such false pretenses."

Duo, meanwhile, sat in front of his computer terminal, checking over the details of Heero's and Relena's disappearance. True, everyone else had been over it about a hundred times (he had not really counted), but he couldn't think of anything better to do.

He felt a tap on his shoulder, and heard Hilde ask, "Gee, what does a girl have to do to get a guy's attention?"

Duo jumped out of his chair in pleasant surprise. For a few blissful moments, he forgot all about Heero and Relena. He quickly kissed her on the lips, then drew her into a tight embrace. "What are you doing here, babe?" He asked happily, "Not that I'm complaining. I've always wanted you to drop by."

Hilde smiled wryly, then pushed herself away, "For Christ's sake, Duo, I'm in uniform. Such displays are frowned upon."

"Well then, why don't you and I go somewhere private, and you can…"

Hilde put up her finger, derailing that train of thought quickly, "Don't even go there, Duo. I only tagged along with Advisor Kiron for this little trip so I could visit, then I'm going right back up again. We don't have the time to fool around…"

With a mischievous smile, she added, "…This time."

"Wait a minute. Advisor Kiron's here? Why?" Duo asked.

Hilde shrugged, "I don't know. I just heard he was heading to North Am, and I asked to tag along."

"So, what news is so important that you had to come here in person, Kiron?" Aelan asked. Noin herself was slightly confused as to why Kiron would take an emergency trip to North Am.

"I heard that you were looking for Heero Yuy and Minister Peacecraft." Kiron said, "I think I might know where they went."

"I was about to ask you about that when I learned you had left to come here." Aelan admitted, "Did Relena mention anything to you about where she was going?"

"Actually, she demanded that I give her access to the Tenant Council." Kiron answered, "I was such a fool. What was I thinking?"

"You gave her access?" Aelan gasped, "You realize what's going to happen to them, right?"

"Yes. They'll be sent to Hell."

Noin interceded, asking, "Hell? I take it means something other than what I know it means."

"Actually, there's not much difference." Aelan explained, "It's a natural prison beneath the surface of Eden. It's where all who oppose the ideals of Eden go, along with any hapless soul to happens upon my homeworld."

"The reason I'm here is to ask for your help." Kiron replied, "I've now made two critical errors on this mission to Earth. The Tenant Council probably already discovered that I gave Relena access to Eden, and they'll probably send someone to… take care of my mistakes."

"You want me to pull them out of Hell." Aelan finished, "It'll be difficult, but you are right. The Tenant Council will be on to you, and I can't let Heero and Relena suffer in that awful prison."

"You'll really do it?" Kiron asked, the relief washing over him, "Great."

Aelan nodded, and said, "I suggest you make yourself scarce, Kiron. I'll take care of Heero's and Relena's dilemma. Hopefully, you won't have to stay in hiding for long. I hope that the Tenant Council will be able to accept Earth and humans eventually. Until then, you better stay alive, my friend."

As Kiron left the office, he replied, "I will…"

Somewhere unknown…

Heero couldn't see a thing. He opened his eyes, but that didn't help at all.

He was surrounded by total darkness.

Lifting himself up so that he was on his hands and knees, he tried to use his other senses to gain some sort of bearing as to where he was. His hands felt damp earth; then they touched something hard. At first he thought it was a rock, but it was too smooth. As his hand moved across the long protrusion from the smooth bump, it became painfully obvious.

It was a bone.

Suddenly, he was afraid for Relena. Jumping to his feet, he shouted out her name, but heard no response. Suddenly desperate, he called out for her again, but there was still no response. His mind raced in terror.

'What happened to Relena? What if she's… no, she can't be dead… she can't be…"

His mind drifted back to a time before, and a person that he almost didn't recognize as himself…

"I know all about you, Heero." Relena stated simply as they danced. Heero really wasn't too concerned about this event. As a matter of fact, he wasn't even fully sure why he had come here in the first place. Come tomorrow, he would be gone, leaving nothing but footprints.

Relena spoke again, asking, "Are you still going to kill me?"

Heero didn't take long to simply reply, "Yeah."

Then, it was four years later. Heero sat down next to Relena at the campfire he had built. They had managed to put a lot of distance between the Presidential Estate and themselves, which meant that they could rest for at least a while.

"Why did you do this, Heero? Aren't you ever going to kill me like you said you would?" Relena asked.

This time, his reply was not nearly so quick.

"No…" Heero answered his own thoughts. "RELENA! WHERE ARE YOU?"

When silence answered him again, Heero was overwhelmed with an emotion he had not felt for a long time, total, inconsolable sorrow. He had only felt it once before, when a little girl happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

This time was worse. The girl before had been a stranger, a passing kindness that Heero had not thought much of at the time. This… was someone close to him, as much as he had tried to distance himself. She had gotten through the armor, and now she was gone.

"Relena…" Heero muttered, and for the first time that he can remember, he cried. "This can't be happening… THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!"

Then, he heard a soft moan. "Heero… do you have to be so loud? My head is pounding."

Heero quickly snapped out of his grief, and quickly located the location of the sound. She had been out cold not even a few feet from him. Gathering his rampant emotions, he quickly regained control of himself.

He helped Relena to her feet, just as she moaned, "Heero? Why can't I see anything?"

"I'm not totally sure. It's probably that we're in a place that there is no light coming in from anywhere." He replied.

"I'm scared…" Relena said feebly.

Heero had to resist the urge to hold her, and soothe her fears away, knowing now wasn't the time. He had to figure out where they were, and how to get out.

"Don't be frightened, Relena. So far, there doesn't appear to be anything that can harm us." Heero tried to soothe her.

It didn't seem to work. "SO FAR?" Relena griped, "Gee, thanks for settling that little uneasiness."

From the distance, Heero suddenly heard voices, and it was obvious that Relena did too.

"Well… so much for 'so far'…" She said softly.

As the voices came closer, Heero recognized the speech as similar to the message that he had heard when he and Relena had arrived on Eden. Could these be natives of the planet? If so, what were they doing here?

The voices surrounded Heero and Relena, and it appeared that the other residents of this place were as curious to Heero and Relena as the pair was to them. A sudden, eerie silence was followed by what sounded like a question. Heero shook his head, and answered, "I don't understand you."

Another moment of silence, then it was followed by a cacophony of voices, that started to echo each other. As the tempo and volume increased, their tone suggested some very violent feelings.

Suddenly, Relena screamed, "LET GO OF ME!"

Heero merely reacted, turning Relena around to the other side of him, and swinging out with his left foot blindly. He felt his kick deliver a grazing blow to someone, and the target suddenly screamed out in rage.

Just as Heero was certain that the mob was going to attack, he felt the ground beneath him and Relena give away, and they plunged deeper into the unknown.

----------------------------------------------------

Next Time…

Heero and Relena find themselves in a totally different part of Hell, with a person that Heero had heard of before. As Heero and Relena are lead on a tour of the terrible place they are trapped in, Aelan arrives on the rescue.

However, Aelan's actions cause an uproar that leads to the Tenant Council to order HIS extermination.

Coming in Episode 8: The True Traitor Revealed