"Be a bit more
quiet, will you?"On the Pacific Ocean, far away from the former Japan.
Swimming in the darkness is a huge salvage ship. Its size can also be guessed from that fact that the crane ship, which is attached to its side and which is used to recover material from the bottom of the sea, pertains to the lighter class.
Everywhere on this salvage ship there are factories. They are covered by roofs and one cannot learn from the outside what is on the inside. Now, two mobile suits are deposited here.
They are the mobile suits which Zechs and Treize call 'Gundams'.
One is the flight transformation type that Zechs has sunk in the ocean. The other is the black type which attacked the Pisces and Cancer suits during their underwater investigation. These are the two suits.
"Hi there! I said 'hi'!!"
Approaching the flight type Gundam while raising his voice is Duo, the black-clad boy who helped Heero escape from the Alliance hospital. Heero is sitting beside the hatch of his own mobile suit and works on a computer which has been drawn out from the cockpit.
"What's that! You're ignoring our friendship! Isn't it so? Even though we wanted to fix your Gundam together with mine, you've just declined."
The black suit is Duo's Deathscythe. Just like his suit, Duo is clad in black clothes and also wears a black cap.
"I don't want any other person to touch my mobile suit. It's only that."
Heero's answer does not leave any questions open.
"Well said, but you still don't have any spare parts. If you don't have any parts, no matter how skillfull an engineer you are, you can't do the repairs. A mobile suit is not repaired with force and skill, like your leg. Got it?"
Duo shakes his head and causes his braid to swing around.
In this amazing matter, Heero has drawn and set his own leg, which he had broken during his escape from the hospital. In case of a fracture, when the bone is broken and when it is set there are shock syptoms. That's how much is hurts. One cannot imagine with common sense how it is possible to heal something like this of your own power. Even if he used a brace now, it would be quite impossible.
"Why did I end up saving such a guy? He's silent, unfriendly, reckless and wants to die immediately on top of it. Besides, even though I introduced myself, he hasn't even deigned to answer. Aaah! Oh well. If I were you, cursed with such a melancholic character, I'd have stopped being human a long time ago."
With the salvage ship, Duo has brought in the two Gundams which Heero has sunk in the open sea at the military port, and is repairing each one of the spots which were damaged by the torpedoes. The friend whom he contacted yesterday before going into the hospital is the responsible person for this salavage ship, an elderly man called Howard. He's the friend Duo has been instructed to contact once he has arrived on Earth.
Howard had told Duo that he would like to repair the other Gundam additionally.
But Heero had just said he'd do it alone and declined the repairs. No matter how sympathetic a friend is, even he can only be dumbfounded at this, more so if said friend has rescued him and has additionally done a salvage for free.
"Hey!"
Heero addresses Duo who shrugs and sighs.
"What's up? It's a bit late to start collaborating with us."
"Be a bit more
quiet, will you?"
Duo looks up at Heero. Then he raises both hands, palms up, and sighs heavily.
"Yes yes, I am very sorry."
When Duo wants to turn his back on Heero, an electronic sound, 'beep', comes from the open cockpit of the mobile suit.
"What's that?"
Heero jumps into the cockpit. Following him, Duo runs up the suit and peeks into the cockpit.
"It's a mission."
Following the monitor with his eyes, Heero nods and types on the keyboard.
"The enemy is bringing Gundanium alloy from space? Understood. Tomorrow morning I will carry out the mission."
"Hey, how do you want to do that with the suit in such a condition? There's no way you can do it...."
Heero fixes Duo with a cold stare.
"You can't do it. I can."
"Yes yes, I've been so bad."
As a sign of capitulation, Duo cheers to him while jumping down from the chest of the mobile suit.
But, even the cockpit was the same.
Remembering the cockpit he quickly glanced into, Duo's face becomes serious.
There's no reason for this to be a coincidence.
As he turns around towards the mobile suit that has the same form as his, a bitter voice resounds inside him.
It's not only that. The character of that guy, keeping others away. He could be my mirror image.
When Duo looks at his counterpart, who hasn't introduced himself, he senses those feelings coming up.
He knows as well as I do that at the end of these missions there will be death. I have decided to enjoy the time until then and spend it as I like it. Contrary to me, this guy thinks that 'until then' does not exist. But, even if appearances are different, the content is the same. If we fail, we and the mobile suits just disappear. Failure in a mission is not forgiven. That's how much things are similar to me.
Frowning, Duo turns his back to the mobile suit.
Well, it will probably be best to leave things as they are.
That's how Duo judges the situation and decides to go to bed right away.
He notices that this was a mistake when the sky is not yet bright.
The roaring of jet
engines resounds from the factory, and the Gundam, which has transformed
into its flight mode, takes off into the deep blue sky.
"I can't believe it! That guy repaired it in one night!"
Duo has heard the roaring and has gotten up in a hurry. He looks after the bird-like suit, which is flying away, and shouts this as if he truly admired him.
In that moment, a cry comes from the factory.
"We've been had! The guy has taken parts from here!"
"What?!"
Shocked, Duo runs to the factory. There the black Gundam Deathscythe is lying, with its armor taken off and parts taken away.
"And just when I've praised somebody, this happens. Damned!! I'll show you ingratitude! Because next time we meet, you'll pay me back!"
Duo's shouting is swallowed by the brightening horizon.
The Middle East - a vast desert stretching through a former conflict zone.
In this region, scattered countries have formed their own state, independent of the "United Earth Sphere Alliance". Because of this, as states opposing the Alliance, they are often regarded as enemies and become the target of attacks. In order to defend themselves and protect the independence of their states, many countries have their own mobile suit troops.
The troop called Maguanac Troop is one of these troops.
A huge villa on the border of a city is the headquarters of the Maguanac troop.
From this villa comes the figure of a boy, who has only one small piece of baggage and walks through the dusk with an air of detachment as if he went only for a walk. It's the Gundam pilot who has attacked the Mediterranean Corsica base.
"So you're leaving after all?"
Raising his voice from the window of the villa is the other Gundam pilot who has attacked the base in the very same fashion. With his noble features and slender figure he suits the windows of the villa better than the cockpit of the mobile suit.
"I won't stop you. But please let me know at least your name. My name is Quatre Raberba Winner."
Finally the boy stops. He fleetingly turns his face, covered by his bangs, towards the boy standing at the window of the villa.
"I don't have something like a name. But if you want to call me something, it's Trowa. Please call me Trowa Barton."
After saying this, the boy disappears into the darkness.
"Thank you, Trowa. We shall meet again."
Quatre says goodbye with his cheerful voice. Behind him, a man in the prime of his life approaches. He has a dark beard and a sturdy appearance, which says that he truly is a warrior. He's the commander of the Maguanac troop, Rashid.
"Sir Quatre, is it okay to let him go just like this? The guy knows our headquarter...."
"It's fine, Rashid. He's not such a talkative man."
Quatre interrupts the man and shakes his head.
"And if he attacks us?"
"That's what I would welcome. I guess that would mean that I could meet him again?"
Quatre excludes the terrible fact with simple words and remembers the events of yesterday.
After succeeding in assaulting the Corsica base, the forty Maguanacs and Quatre have come back to the base by air. Quatre has let the boy named Trowa and his mobile suit fly with them as guests. Of course, as can be concluded from Rashid's earlier words, all the members were against it. But Quatre showed a smile which said "it's okay". After this, nobody in the troop could resist.
Yesterday evening,
a party was held to celebrate the return of the troop, but Trowa
didn't say his name and stared absolutely quietly with a cold
gaze at the conditions of his surroundings. Today at noon, when
Quatre started to play the violin, Trowa moved of his own will
for the first time. Taking out the flute from the shelf, he matched
the melody of the violin.
And we were a good ensemble! The tone of his flute was gentle and calm.
While Quatre hears the noise of the big truck upon which the leaving Trowa has laid his mobile suit, he remembers this time.
The tone matched peace exactly. It would be great if an age came where this ensemble would fit, but... will we able to see such a time?
As Quatre looks up into the evening sky, he heaves a sigh.
Rashid watches the sixteen year old boy, who is looking up at the stars from the window, for a long time. When he hears the sigh, his face becomes a bit less stern.
"Is something the matter?"
"No, nothing of importance."
"The night in the desert becomes cold. It would be better to eventually close the window."
"Right, I will go to bed already."
"Have a good night, Sir Quatre."
After bowing, Rashid leaves the room.
Quatre distinguishes himself in his capabilities as a mobile suit pilot and in his abilities as a commander. But he is still a boy. Besides, he has basically a kind heart which is not suited for battle. Rashid knows this so well it hurts. For him, the existence of this boy is something he absolutely has to protect.
A mobile suit pilot who can fight on the same level as Sir Quatre. He just prays that this boy is really not an enemy.
That's what Rashid thinks while walking through the corridor. It has to be avoided at all costs that Quatre, who is already challenging OZ and the Alliance to battle, has to face more problems.
Fighting to protect Sir Quatre....
That's the top priority mission of the forty men in the Maguanac troop led by Rashid.
The night in the savanna of central Africa is freezing, as if belying the red hot sun of the day.
If you're a person not used to travelling, you have no other alternative than to freeze to death and become the prey of the hyenas. But it seems that the boy now standing on this soil does not have the slightest intention of freezing, even though he is clad only lightly in a short-sleeved shirt and the pants of a Chinese dress.
The boy... It's the boy of Chinese descent who has introduced himself to Noin as Wufei.
Without a gun, without anything Wufei shows himself as an unarmed figure.
A few hyenas are prowling in the neighbourhood. Are they thinking
that exactly the right prey has appeared? Growling, they shorten
little by little the distance.
Suddenly Wufei emits a shout as if he were spitting out the whole energy collected in his body.
"Powerless people are not to wander about!"
At this roaring, the hyenas acknowledge Wufei as being a stronger being than they are. They run away dejectedly.
Wufei remembers the battle with Noin a few hours earlier. The hyenas, who only attack weak persons, leave the same impression as he himself did.
"After a battle with a weak opponent, I feel useless!"
Spitting out the inside of his raging heart, Wufei shouts out towards the sky.
Then, on a beach of the former Japan....
Relena stands alone on the beach near the space port where she has met Heero for the first time.
She doesn't know why, but she would like to meet Heero again. Since he has escaped from the hospital two days ago, he hasn't come back to school either. Even if she knows that he's still alive, the fact that she can't meet him again squeezes her heart.
Even if he has truly the intention to kill her, she doesn't care. If he does it, she can at least meet him once more.
She seriously thinks
so.
That's why Relena puts both hands to her mouth and shouts loudly "Heero! Come quickly to kill me!!"
The shout resounds in the same dawning sky that Heero takes off into with his mobile suit.