Metamorphosis Part 7
Without warning a tall ecliptical shadow loomed above the northern hills. A thunderous roar caused every compound personnel's head to turn towards the clamorous din.
Gundam Hearyarms cleared the hilltop setting, with surprisingly supple ease considering its massive tonnage, just inside the main gate. Like an ancient colossus, the towering collection of mayhem and destruction stood still and muted staring with murderous malice in its vacant "eyes".
But the Gundam's statuesque poise didn't last long. Quite the opposite of Trowa Barton's impassive nature, the burning emotions of war boiled inside the Mecha's Gundanium guts. With startling speed the walking mechanical demolitionist began its version of total genocidal renewal of the OZ stronghold.
The nearest building literally disintegrated moments after a micro-missile found its way inside. Its neighboring structure quickly followed suit encouraged in its explosive incineration by Heavyarms' machine cannon.
At the compound's farthest end, momentarily spared from the Gundam's attack, panic-stricken pilots climbed aboard Aries Mobile Suits. Like a swarm of hornets, the MS Squad flew in a modified "cluster" formation.
On the Squad Leader's command they fanned out aiming to strike Trowa's terrorizing titan from all directions at once. Unfortunately their stinging assault had little impact on Heavyarms' ruinous rampage and the mission rapidly became a bout of suicidal futility.
Trowa's bloodthirsty beast threw out an all-encompassing spray from its gatling gun. The angry "bees" began to drop like swatted flies.
A few pilots, more loyal to themselves than OZ, decided that the great military organization was not worth their lives. A trio broke off the foolish charge. Banking to the left, climbing to avoid the deadly spray, they took refuge behind the outer perimeter buildings.
Heavyarms continued its focused agenda to level the entire complex with the least amount of effort. With unrelenting tenacity, Trowa's Gundam walked straight down the compound's center turning its torso to fire left then right.
Briefly it would pause, no doubt to sight in a distant target, then the ammo would fly hot and heavy. Now only a few structures on the furthest fringes had not either been blown up outright or had become victim to the flinging debris and unchecked fires.
*********
Heero and Quatre crouched by a retaining wall as sparks and ash rained everywhere. Across the "street" Zechs and Wufei maintained a similar protective posture. Their retreat had been temporarily cut off by Heavyarms' compound rearrangement but they were quite content to wait out Trowa's calamitous playtime.
"He's really raising hell!" Wufei yelled above the ground rocking explosions.
Zechs nodded deciding not to try to shout over the noise.
The entire area quaked once more. "Do you think we ought to move?" Wufei wondered loudly as stony pebbles and dirt vaulted over the wall.
Zechs covered his head leaning closer to the wall. "Might be a good idea." he stated shaking grit from his lengthy hair.
"I think a rapid relocation is in order." Wufei yelled to his teammates across the way.
Quatre's head tilted upwards, his neck craned at an odd angle. "That relocation better be quick." he announced as blue shade from an Aries slipped over the rebels.
The Soldier Suit hovered just above a flaming rooftop. Orange reflections tinted the MS's faceplate obscuring the pilot sitting inside. Now the Gundam quartet crouching squarely in its gun-port's sights had no doubts of its intension to fire.
Trapped between the narrow confines with a building on one side and the wall on the other, the fugitives were "fair game". Knowing it would not do any good but solely out of desperation, Wufei raised up on one knee determined to empty his pistol at the enemy MS.
"Run for it!" he shouted as bullets ricocheted off the suit's front.
"What in the hell are you doing?" Zechs yelled as a bullet ricocheted above his head ripping out a chunk of concrete.
Wufei stood up squeezing off another set of shots. "RUN!"
The Aries leaned forward centering its Chain Rifle on the pesky and, in the plot's opinion, foolhardy man with the pistol. By the increased humming, loud enough to be heard even above Heavyarms' havoc, everyone knew that the Aries' rifle was "powering up".
"Wufei come on!" Zechs called realizing that his fellow pilot had not made any attempt to join in the retreat.
"I said run, damn it!" Wufei yelled out the order.
Zechs swore softly under his breath. "Not this time."
Staying low he ran across the open space, skirting beneath the Mobile Suit that was taking dead aim at Wufei. "GET DOWN!" he screamed grabbing the brash Chinese shooter around the waist and throwing his slim body sideways.
A bright burst turned the smoky twilight blue-green, then orange, before a section of the retaining wall blew apart. Everyone hit the ground as flying debris pelted everywhere.
A second blast, however, took on a different form. As the fire-tinged haze whipped up in a swirling funnel cloud Heero and Quatre strained to find where the Aries had been.
Heavyarms' head and shoulders showed through the tree branches. A twisted blackened frame was all that was left of the Mobile Suit. "Withdraw." Trowa ordered over the outside speaker, "I'll cover your retreat."
As the dust cleared, Heero, Quatre and the headstrong Wufei, realizing they had survived, sat up in their various spots on the litter strewn ground. The Aries's blast had blown out a large part of the wall and the building's side. The explosion had spread a field of rubble and wreckage at least ten meters in all directions.
It took the stunned group a long moment for their brains to bring their thoughts into some semblance of order. It would be even longer before the ringing in their ears stopped.
Heero sat in place brushing off his dusty clothes. Slowly, by measured degrees, he began to make sense of the destroyed surrounding. Then panic grabbed hold as he did not see Zechs anywhere. Rushing to his feet Heero's knees wobbled. Standing too quickly made his blood rush backwards producing a cold sweat, leaving him dizzy and weak.
With an askew wobble he forcefully fought for control not for his sake but for his missing comrade-in-arms. "Zechs?" he questioned reeling again.
Wufei took Heero's arm steadying his friend. "Take it easy."
Heero's cobalt eyes blazed as he jerked away from Wufei's grasp. "Let me go." he growled. " Damn it Wufei this is all your fault!" he shouted as a wave of alarm crashed over.
Clumsily Heero sidestepped his Chinese comrade. Not caring if more Aries might be lurking nearby he began picking his way through large chunks of broken wall. In his increasingly fearful state Wing's master found himself grasping and flinging aside much heavier pieces of rent material than he thought he could lift.
"Heero!" Quatre called afraid that Heero would hurt himself among the maze of shattered stones and crumbling concrete.
Heero ignored the calling as he staggered further inside the littered labyrinth. By the wall's far end a trace of platinum hair, coated with a dusty white overlay, was almost completely concealed as the pale shades blended perfectly.
"ZECHS!" Heero screamed.
An equally encrusted body, arms and legs bent into a compact curl, lay on its side. Zechs' face was partly covered by more of his lengthy mane that was also sprinkled with pale powdery residue.
"Zechs." Heero choked out Duo's savor's name.
Resting one knee in the powdery grit, an anxious hand reached for the long strands covering Zechs' face. Heero's fingers paused just short of their goal, hovering in midair, afraid of what they might find beneath the Epyon pilot's tangle tresses. A reddish hue had already tinted the hair laying directly on Zechs' forehead turning the silver tresses an odd russet color. Was the bleeding from minor cuts and scratches or would Heero find bone-bare gashes spilling out a rushing crimson flow?
Heero took in a shaky breath then exhaled with a hard centering puff. The drawn back bangs showed several long abrasions. One deeper slash above Zechs' right eyebrow, oozed out a fresh scarlet stream. The bleeding did not come gushingly but the discharge was steady and didn't seem inclined to stop on its own.
Heero used his grimy thumb to mop away some of the blood before it ran into Zechs' eyes. Despite his gentle touch Zechs flinched. A sucking intake of dust-laden air brought on a raspy wheeze. A rattling cough caught in Zechs' lungs. The wrenching congestion seized tightly causing him to bend inwards at the waist.
Heero dropped to both knees taking hold of Zechs' jacket. Sliding his friend's contraction contorted frame against his chest, Heero propped up Zechs' sagging shoulders as best he could. Wrapping his arm about his middle, Heero drew in tighter to bracing Zechs' bowing spine as a stronger convulsive fit swept through his insides.
The Rogue Ace doubled over with a quivering breath falling limply over Heero's arms. "Zechs! No!" Heero begged, "What in the hell am I supposed to do with you?" he hissed struggling under the larger man's unbalanced weight.
Still weak from his own battle with OZ the Perfect Soldier had no choice but to lower Zechs' lax body to the ground. Pushing back stands of matted hair, twice as dark from a mixture of sweat and blood, Heero leaned over his fellow pilot. Sweating and shivering Zechs gave no response as Heero again called his name. Whitish lips pressed together as piercing pain lanced across his ribcage.
"Don't do this," Heero pleaded, "Please, not now."
A low moan sounded in Zechs' throat. One grit stained hand lifted slightly only to flop across his stomach. Eyelids, heavy with weakness, couldn't open to picture Heero's worried face. The calling of his name, floating somewhere outside his perceptive range, jumbled into a fuzzy roar.
Wing's master laid his hand on Zechs' forehead. The moist skin felt hot, much warmer than his ashen cheeks. "He's burning up." Heero mumbled as his frustration at the injustice being forced on he and his comrades wormed its way through his gut.
Heero was afraid that Zechs was too sick to be aware of what was going on around him but somehow he had to find a way to break through the feverish confusion. "Zechs how are you going to help Duo like this?" he sighed as his own strained system was quickly giving out.
Quatre knelt on one side of Zechs. Wufei squatted on the other side laying a hand on Zechs' hot forehead. "You are right this is my fault." he whispered lowering his eyes away from Heero's anxious face.
"Wufei...I" Heero began.
Wufei raised his free hand signaling for silence. He closed his ebony eyes. Inhaling slowly, exhaling with a steady hiss of air, his breathing took on a measured rhythm. Eyes pressed tight in concentration Chang Wufei summoned up his Clan's meditative techniques of mind and body control.
Opening his eyes the Lone Dragon converged his physical and mental focus into a single mindset. Starting in his fingers he began to gather Zechs' fever, to pull the elevated temperature through his hand, his arm. As the hot currents rose higher into his shoulders beads of sweat broke out on Wufei's brow. His breathing quickened as he put all his concentration into cooling Zechs inflamed body.
Zechs twitched. Heero took his hand. A second jerk squeezed hard enough to hurt Heero's fingers. "Please Zechs fight, fight for Duo."
Zechs lethargic eyelids fought to open. Wufei's focused eyes, as black as the backside of the moon, held their trance-veiled stare. "Zechs." he called softly.
Slowly Zechs eyes opened then aligned directly with Wufei's piercing orbs. "Wufei." Zechs mouthed out the name.
A slow blink ended Wufei's sightless stare. "He will be all right." he announced with a slight quiver in his husky voice.
Zechs shifted his sight until it focused on Heero. A weak smile showed that he recognized his brother-in-arms. "Welcome back." Heero said squeezing his hand.
*********
Satisfied with Zechs' return to some degree of normalcy, such as could be expected under the circumstances, Heero turned to Wufei. Holding out his hand he more ordered than asked, "Give me your gun."
Wufei hesitated as he wondered what had prompted the unexpected request. A peculiar smirk, bordering on bizarre, flickered across Heero's lips. "Trust me."
Reluctantly Wufei gave into his comrade's mysterious requirements as he slapped the pistol into his outstretched palm.
Quatre was not at all comfortable with the peculiar gleam in fellow pilot's eyes, "What are you going to do?"
"Take care of some unfinished business." the Perfect Soldier stated pivoting about to leave. "Get Zechs back to the rendezvous point, I'll join you in a few minutes."
"HEERO!" Quarte called after the exiting pilot. Wing's master didn't respond. Quatre started to call again.
"Let him go." Wufei advised, "There are some injustices that cannot go unpunished."
With Quatre on one side and Wufei on the other, Zechs was supported and guided to back to the rescue team hiding in the forest. Now a bit more lucid Zechs sat under a tree content to let one of the medically trained Maganacs tend to his injuries.
Wufei leaned against a second tree, arms folded across his chest in a pseudo calm posture. Trowa kept his place in Heavyarms' cockpit just in case any OZ stragglers decided to renew the fight. But judging by the dense columns of smoke spiraling from the compound and the red-orange hue that tinted the sky, the band of rebels reckoned that no more challenges would be forthcoming.
Quatre paced along the tree line, paused, checked his watch then asked again for the third or fourth time. "What to you think Heero is doing?"
Each time Wufei would shrug in a noncommittal fashion and each time Quatre would cut his eyes at the irritating Chinese man, let out an exasperated sigh and begin his back and forth circuit again.
*********
Heero slipped silently along a heat-scorched wall stalking his quarry with predatory grace. Moving like a cat, Heero's muscles rippled and tensed as he closed in on the object of his hunt.
He knew, deep in his instinctual gut, that the brutal Commander had not succumbed to Heavyarms' carnage. He could feel Rico's evil permeating the entire area. Yes, Duo's avenging dark angel could taste revenge and it was sweet.
Commander Rico hurriedly loaded a box into a truck then ran back into his office to gather up the last of his personal belongings. In his heightened stated of trepidation Rico's foremost thought, his single goal, was escape.
Heero Yuy stopped by the partly opened door as all of his senses told him that Rico was inside. With a single solid kick the door crashed back hitting the wall, its hinges snapping with a keen crack, resounding like a pistol shot.
Before the OZ Commander could think much less react, Heero's hand clamped about his throat. The enraged soldier's storming momentum carried both him and the shocked Officer to the opposite wall where Rico was slammed with sufficient force to make him see stars.
In wide-eyed terror, Rico grappled against the Perfect Soldier's powerful grip. As Heero closed his hand and the High Commander began to strangle the barrowed pistol was jabbed under Rico's chin and angled straight at his throat.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't splatter your damn brains all over this wall?" Heero hissed curling his finger tighter on the trigger.
Rico's windpipe began to collapse. Knees began to buckle. A sickly gray shade washed over his skin.
"Or maybe I'll just squeeze you lustful, fucking, worthless life out one speck at a time." Heero growled through anger-clenched teeth.
Letting the pistol hold Rico's head in place, Heero suddenly released his grasp around his throat. The Commander wheezed sucking in a forceful gulp of air. His chest heaved as his nearly asphyxiated lungs struggled to refill.
Keeping the sidearm centered, Heero reached into the top of his boot. The orange glow of fire shining through the window shimmered across a slender bladed knife that Heero had hid away for such occasions.
With a throaty growl Wing's Master pushed the knife's razor sharp point into Rico's throat with enough pressure to break the skin. Bloody droplets began to bead from the puncture.
"Or maybe...." Heero continued displaying the same leering grin that Rico used earlier when he had "propositioned" the object of his lascivious debauchery.
With the same anticipatory lewd sneer Heero put Rico on notice of his reciprocal intensions to "pay back in kind". "Maybe I'll teach you to keep your impotent genital desires under control." He announced drawing back the lethal blade.
"NO! PLEASE!" Rico pleaded as the knife slashed out with a deadly flash of silver.
A high-pitched wail rose with such volume that even the Gundam teammates waiting at the border heard it echo through the tree line. Then nothing...not a sound.
*********
Heero materialized out of the gray smoky smog. Wufei's pistol was carried in one hand, the blood-bathed knife dangled loosely from equally scarlet stained fingers.
"Where did you go?" Quatre demanded obviously fretted from his endless pacing.
"To visit an old friend."
"Rico." Zechs stated with surety as a peaceful sense of completion soothed his battered body and eased his weary mind.
"Did you kill him?" Wufei wondered as Heero retuned his pistol.
Heero glanced back in the compound's direction. "Commander Rico was alive when I left him." he stated matter-of-factly.
"Heero?" Wufei questioned as he was becoming more disturbed by the sheer savagery in the Perfect Soldier's eyes. "Heero what did you do?"
A twisted smile bloomed on Heero's lips. "Let's just say," he beamed wickedly, "that the stallion is now a gelding."
TBC...
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