[FRESH HELL: 86 IT FROM ORBIT] it may have won nanowrimo 2013 but at what cost [4/6]

[omaewokorosu]

FRESH HELL: 86 IT FROM ORBIT
it may have won nanowrimo 2013 but at what cost
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

Previously on Fresh Hell: 86 It From Orbit:

“Here, this is for you.” She smiled at him and Aodhan hesitantly took the flower before her dog barked and ran off, pulling the girl.
“Ah! Mary! Wait, Mary!”
He watched her run off before contemplating the flower. He placed it in the billfold section of his wallet
WHEN I READ THIS PART TO MY WIFE SHE LITERALLY SAID
"Wallet? What wallet?? Heero doesn't carry a wallet! He just shoves everything in his shorts!"

Meanwhile I was like "why the fuck would he put it in a wallet it would get crushed, the stem would get broken in half, what the absolute fuck"

WELCOME BACK EVERYONE to part four of I Know It's a Rough Draft But What Happens When the Rough Draft is Irredeemable Shit? aka Let the Sun Fade Out. I am your host Karu, and this is my co-host Morticia.

(Karu gestures to a purring Void on their lap. Her ears twitch and she purrs louder. Something catches her attention and she resigns her co-host position effective immediately.)

I swear to god she fucking knows when I'm about to spork some shit lmao.

“Lieutenant Zechs, there is a COM Link request authorization for you.”
Zechs looked up from the latest from Treize to the co-pilot of the carrier craft they were using to patrol Earth’s atmosphere for any threats.
“From who?” He figured it was from Treize.
Why would Treize need to request a fucking COMM request his connection should be considered "trusted", no?

The co-pilot pressed a few buttons. “Doesn’t say. Must not be a recognised shuttle.”
Zechs raised an eyebrow. “I’ll allow it.”
Otto or Randy: Lieutenant, there is an unknown shuttlecraft requesting to communicate with us. No ITENT or anything.
Zechs: Meh it can't be someone with bad intentions I'll allow it
Randy: Sir, are you sure?
Zechs: Absolutely.

No picture popped up on the screen, just a staticy, black mess.
“Lieutenant Zechs,” the voice said. “Cadet Aodhan Clark here. I have a few things that might interest you.”
shouldn't that be "Lieutenant Zechs, this is Cadet Aodhan Clark. I have some intel that might be of interest to you"? Like that feels more "Heero" to me. But what the fuck do I know?

“Such as?” He didn’t feel like scolding him for not reporting to Treize in months.
“Do you have any information on mobile suits called ‘Gundams’?”
Zechs shook his head. “No.”
I mean OZ knew that Gundams existed, but outside of that they didn't have much. Like. They knew it was part of Operation Meteor...

“Would you like some?”
“What kind of question is that?” Otto asked.
It doesn't sound like something Heero would ask like that tbh in this situation like I know Heero speaks quite informally right

but if in this AU he's basically a military brat I feel like him asking, "Would you like some?" is kind of insubordinate lmao "Would this information be of any interest or use to you, sir?" would be better.

“Otto,” Zechs warned. “I expect a report on this, Cadet.”
“Why get a report when you can experience it yourself? I’m at Lagrange Point AX, headed for GY. Meet me there, you can see for yourself then.”
The COM Link beeped once before communication was lost.
“Set the course for GY. I want to see what a Gundam can do.”
All of the things regular mobile suits can do but better? Like Gundams are just highly advanced mobile suits with the armour plated in Gundanium.

*

Over back at the Gundam, a message flashed on Heero’s screen.
Mission 1 altered: approaching OZ carrier mobile suits on board
Shoot it down before entering atmosphere.
“Shoot it down?” Heero questioned. “Amazing how Dr. J found out so fast.” Or are they watching their radio channels? No. Dr. J would know then. Plus the frequency I used is secured.
He stopped and moved to face the oncoming carrier in the distance.
Might as well make this a good fight.
What was the point of switching back to Heero's POV when it was just like, a paragraph??

*

It wasn’t much of a fight considering it was “staged”.
But we won't describe any of it at all we'll just glance over it like "yeah it happened but meh" 

Heero ended up in the ocean, hitting the floor. He wasn’t all that far from the shore—the fight took him off course. He removed his hands from the controls and leaned back in his seat.
“Should I get a salvage crew together so we can take it in for analysis?” Zechs asked over the COM Link.
“No. I’ll destroy it.”
Zechs shook his head. “Let us analyse it.”
“I’ll get you the data and all that other stuff, but let me destroy it.”
LMAO

why is Zechs even asking questions he's not the subordinate in this situation Heero is

"I'll be getting a salvage crew to retrieve the Gundam. I'll take it from here."
"No. I'll destroy it."
"That isn't up to you, Cadet. You don't get to make that decision."
"I can give you the combat data and everything else you would want analysed. I'm still going to destroy it."
"No, you are not. Stand down at once, Cadet."

“Why?”
“Because if I don’t, the person whose order I’m following will find it suspicious.” Heero’s hand lingered over the END COM button. “You and I are to be enemies, Merquise. Forget I’m OZ. I am your enemy—treat me as such.” He ended all communications.
So we are...going back to following canon?

What the fuck is the point of this?

Now to get out of here.
His suit had a self-detonator linked to his gundam. It’d destroy it, no problem.
Using it will kill you.
Heero scoffed. Who the hell cares? Nameless boy. Weapon for war. I’m not even considered human anymore.
Now this would be all well and good it it were canon Heero we are talking about but since this is an AU (or supposed to be an AU) where Heero has a vastly different childhood experience, where his father is fucking Seis Clark who is kind of a Big Deal™, where he is not nameless, where he has family and probably friends, where his upbringing was pretty normal insofar as a military family goes?

I call bullshit on this.

Was he ever? Treize send him out here so easily, knowing full well what the price was, what Dekim was doing.
Yeah, Treize more or less sent you out to die. Die for what I don't know.

Better off dead than showing Mom and Father the monster I’ve become.
His suit had enough oxygen to get him to the surface. No further missions had been given. He sent Treize a quick email before abandoning the Gundam that took fifteen years to build.
snerk

Would Heero even know that?

(Can you send emails via Gundam???)

Not worth trying anyway—would I even die? His last attempt hadn’t gone so well—the gun jammed. With my luck, the self-detonation system won’t trigger or something.
He made sure his helmet and air supply were secured before exiting the cockpit and swimming to the surface. He didn’t feel how cold the ocean was, only knew it was cold due to his visor fogging up every time he exhaled. He broke through the water surface and threw off his helmet. He wouldn’t need it. He headed for the shore, which was thankfully empty. He appeared to be at some kind of port. Military or civilian, he didn’t know.
How does Heero, someone who is part of the military in this, not know the difference between a military vs civilian spaceport??? 

Once he hit sand, Heero stripped off his suit and tossed it back in the water. He snuck up the beach towards steps leading to a fence door.
Fence gate you mean? 

It was thankfully open. Across the road were a young couple talking and admiring the view. Near Heero was a motorbike. The key was in the ignition. No helmet, but Heero didn’t feel he needed one.
Thinking dumb shit like this tracks for a teenager... 

He walked the bike away a good distance from the couple before riding off. He needed an alibi of some kind while he looked for a way to destroy the Gundam.
Who would suspect a student of terrorism?
Okay so so far we are now...doing the canon storyline? I guess?

*

The past few hours in Duo Maxwell’s life had been rather uneventful. He’d overheard chatter about a sunken mobile suit in the area and something inside him told him he needed to check it out.
This doesn't make sense, there would be no "intuition" or whatever telling Duo about a mobile suit, he tags along with the Sweepers, who basically comb places for scrap they can use to either make money or repair Deathscythe for Duo.

So far, there was nothing but a shitload of water and sediment, but no mobile suit.
I hope he's not using radar. Gundanium is electromagnetically neutral. Sonar would work.

He ran a hand through his fringe as he muttered, “Dochreidte!” under his breath.
Me to Jay: this word looks German but I don't think it is
Jay: can confirm it's not

It's not part of any conlang I've made so idk where tf this word came from; if I had to guess meaning it's like "dammit!" 

“Where the hell is this thing?”
Have you considered sonar? You would be awful at deep sea salvage. Like I am p sure he actually uses radar and that's how he finds Zechs' Leo but then he's like WHERE IS THE GUNDAM

like idk follow the alarm noise WOO...WOO...WOO...WOO...

He himself was in his Gundam, cloaked so OZ couldn’t see him. A Cancer swam by him, then another.
“Shit, OZ is lookin’ too.” He combed the ocean floor more, unsure of what this suit would even look like—he assumed a Taurus or a Leo.
If it were either of those they would show up on his radar. Also the Taurus wasn't unveiled yet at this point so it would be either a Leo or an Aries or maybe a Cancer or Pisces if he thinks it's just a run-of-the-mill MS. 

His eyes spotted a pretty looking mobile suit and as he approached, an alarm began to sound.
“Looks like mine, down to where the self-destruct’s located.”
literally up the ass lmao

He pulled out his beam scythe—which wasn’t an ordinary beam scythe—and angled the blade so it pointed straight down before stabbing it to disable the self-destruct alarm.
“Nice piece of machinery,” Duo remarked. “Too good for OZ. And since you’re similar to mine, I can use you for spare parts. Not gonna let ‘cha just rot here.” He grinned, about to call for the Sweepers to help hoist it up before a voice over the Com Link said, “OZ suits coming towards us.”
“For us or the Gundam?”
“Hard to say. Could be both.”
They couldn’t have spotted Duo—he had his radar frequency jammer activated.
Deathscythe doesn't show up on radar!!! None of them do!!!! Gundanium is electromagnetically neutral!!!!!!! meaning it doesn't give out or bounce back the waves radar uses!!!!!!!

If anything, they’d see the Sweepers first.
“Let me deal with them,” Duo said, pressing a few buttons on the console. “Then we’ll surface this thing and take a closer look at it when we’re back at base.”
“Roger that.”
Duo’s eyes paid careful attention to the radar as he moved away from the nameless, similar looking mobile suit to his Gundam, beam scythe at the ready. A Cancer suit hovered above it.
Wonder if it’s worth hackin’ into their COM Line to see if they know anything. He shrugged, already starting the process. Can’t hurt to try.
“Clark said that it fell around this J.A.P. point and Lieutenant Zechs confirmed these coords,” said a heavily staticked voice.
“So this must be the Gundam,” said another. “But how would—”
“Who the hell knows?” He sounded angry. “You gonna help me with this thing or not?”
Duo snuck up behind the one farthest away from the fallen Gundam and soundlessly slice it in half. Stealth was the name of Duo’s game. Why be noticed if you didn’t have to be? He moved on to the pilot closest to the disabled suit.
I mean it wouldn't be soundless lmao also Duo is okay so long as he doesn't move...

“Sorry, dude,” Duo said, grinning sheepishly. “I can’t let you take that suit.”
He raised the scythe over his head before slicing through, hot plasma through metal.
“Sheesh, after that military base, this was almost way too easy.” He sat back in his seat, the adrenaline from making two beautiful kills steadily dropping. He looked at the sunken Gundam again.
“So you’re just like mine, huh… Where’s your pilot? Taken by the sea?” He looked towards the surface. “Probably better off.”

*

“I’m certain you’ll just LOVE Saint Gabriel Academy…um…”
“Heero Yuy.”
The woman leading him to his classroom stopped for a brief moment.
Wasn't the woman the nun teacher lady

“Y-Yes, Heero… We have plenty of opportunities here as far as extracurriculars and plenty of people to befriend.”
As they walked the halls, Heero couldn’t help but wonder just how stupid these people must be to believe his story, that he was orphaned and sent here to learn how to socialise with others his age since he’d been abandoned his whole life. Which wasn’t exactly false, but not true, either. They took pity on him and he was now their “charity case” so they looked more appealing to the snobbish parents whose equally snobby children attended here. “This is only temporary” was a mantra in his head by now.
wow this Heero sounds like an even bigger sad sack of shit compared to his actual canonical self, and not in a good way

I only have to be here long enough to get rid of the Gundam and disappear.
After all the things he’d been put through—the death of his mother,
I thought his mother was alive?? 

being abandoned by someone he considered his father, only to be left in the care of a sadistic man whose intentions were not driven by love, but by lust for power. Heero was a thing to be used and broken and controlled and perfected. Dekim always laughed if you suggested Heero had a soul, or feelings, or thoughts of his own.
For an AU this is strangely like...canon compliant to an extent...

I’m not human, but for now I must pretend to be.
“Here is your classroom,” the woman said, stopping in front of a large wooden door. “If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.” She smiled warmly at him and he flinched when she touched his shoulder—Heero didn’t want her warmth or touch or pity. All of those things were for the weak.
"I can't stand the weak. They're always nervous about being attacked next. They can't trust anybody and never have their own opinion. I can't tolerate such people! [...] Nobody is strong. All of humanity is weak! And that includes you and me!"

So what's that about warmth etc. being for the weak and something not for you?

The ones who Dekim said wouldn’t be able to be leaders.
Jay: Says some guy who lost all of his hair and thinks his shit don't stink.

Heero stepped inside the classroom and felt every single pair of eyes on him as his palms began to sweat
His palms are sweaty, Mom's spaghetti 

and his eyes darted about the room, looking at the windows and all other possible escape options. The gun holstered at his back was but a small comfort in this unknown territory, in this place filled with strangers.
1.) Heero doesn't use a holster
2.) His gun is never loaded
3.) is he going to break through a window during class and defenestrate himself???

“We have a new student joining us today. Would you like to introduce yourself to the class?”
Heero looked over their heads, body positioned in an “at ease” stance.
“Heero Yuy,” he said. “Pleasured.”
He could see some of the girls lean over to each other and whisper. He felt so exposed, so vulnerable.
why

“You can take the empty seat by Relena. Relena, please raise your hand.”
A girl with straight medium blond hair raised her hand high above her head.
“Go on,” the teacher said when he didn’t move. Heero finally put one foot in front of the other and sat down on the seat next to the girl who showed herself to be Relena.
“It’s nice to meet you,” she said with a soft smile. “I hope you enjoy it here.”
Heero pretended he didn’t hear her. He had no plans to stay, after all, and therefore no reason or need to get too attached to anyone here. He needed an alibi while he gained access to a computer here, hacked into the nearby military base, and destroy the piece of machinery Dekim tried to create him for.  Then maybe he’d be free of the leash Dekim tried to keep him on.
Okay so... This doesn't really...make sense... Why would he need to hack into the military base? He's literally part of the military. He can just, you know, bust out his ID and go through the front door.

*

Duo was on a boat with a couple of the other Sweepers men. The two men were laughing and joking, but Duo wasn’t sharing their good mood, though he usually did. He was too busy thinking about that suit. What if the pilot was alive? Would he come back for it? What kind of guy were they?
They tried to get rid of the evidence, Duo thought, as he leaned against one of the sides of the boat, tossing a glance at the sea. There was a nice breeze, but Duo didn’t really feel it.
If there’s one out there like me, do we have the same mission? Are there others?
“Something on your mind?”
Duo shook his head. “Nah. Just admirin’ the view.”
“It’s just ocean,” said one. “Nothing too exciting.”
“No ocean in space,” Duo said. “Just… Just thinking about that suit we found.” And the pilot who abandoned it. He looked at his watch.
“Should be coming at high tide so no one will see. Then we’ll hoist it on the carrier and bring my baby and her present home.” He grinned.
Maybe I’ll bump into the pilot in the process.
why is Duo so obsessed with this pilot who may or may not be dead like that's just fucking weird

*

As soon as school was out, Heero bolted for the exit of the classroom.
Hopefully not exiting via the window but through the door instead. 

He didn’t want to talk to anyone, especially the girls who eyed him and then giggled to their friends. He ducked out the nearest exit door, which wasn’t an exit at all, but the entrance to a balcony overlooking the courtyard of the school.
And then jumped and took off running...? 

It was quiet here, no one else was around to bother him, thankfully. He didn’t need people asking questions he didn’t feel like answering. He leaned against the railing, arms resting on top of it, as he inhaled the light, floral scented spring air.
You don’t get this on the Colonies.
He watched students file out in a flood down below, not really paying much attention. This school vaguely reminded him of the Academy. There were a number of gardens in the courtyard, and when he was younger and a fellow student with Noin and Zechs, he’d peer at them through the bars and Noin would give the names of the flowers. Normally, he’d feel some sort of nostalgia at memories like this. These days, he felt an extremely muted version of it. Almost like it wasn’t there at all.
I’ve forgotten what it feels like, he thought, to remember something and feel something.
You've only been doing this like a year what the fuck

A bird landed on the railing near his elbow and hopped around a bit. He peered at it, his features softening, before the doors opened and out came a few girls, maybe five or six, headed by that blonde girl in his World History class who said her name was Relena. They looked excited for something, and Relena appeared to be holding an envelope. He tilted his head and cocked an eyebrow, but otherwise said nothing. She held out the envelope.
“Here, this is for you.”
The girls around him clapped.
“What is it?”
“It’s an invitation to my birthday party tonight. I hope you can attend.”
Her birthday party is tomorrow night. 

She smiled at him as he took it. He examined it for a bit. Overly cursive writing graced the front of it. He could feel the stares and the expectation of a yes from her. She didn’t know him—they had just met. Why would she invite a complete stranger? Besides, he had no plans to stay very long, just long enough so no one could pin the Gundam—or anything else—on him. He could easily disappear into obscurity, wash his hands of Dr. J and OZ and start over.
He could just...go back to OZ...? Like okay, I don't think this fic knows wtf it wants. Does it want an AU Heero or a canon Heero? What is the point of having a "canon compliant AU" when you could just write for the canon anyway? Like it doesn't make sense. Either do the AU or don't. It's like you're trying to do three or four different fics at once. "Heero starts off as an OZ soldier", "Heero is a Gundam pilot who defects to OZ after landing on Earth", "Heero chooses option 2 instead of option 3 when J tells him he's going to do Operation Meteor after all", "things are like canon but Different"... Did I miss one? The result is this muddled af fic that has both too much going on and nothing at all going on. It's all contradictory in some way.

Regardless of what he planned to do—or not do—he wasn’t going to get involved with anyone here. If there was no chance to get attached, then it wouldn’t hurt when he had to leave and there’d be no chance to really miss him.
And like, the whole thing with Heero here is...yes, this is Canon Heero, but this Heero doesn't have the same backstory or childhood or even circumstances. He's a cadet in OZ. He fights, I'm guessing, for Earth and believes in OZ/Romefeller's mission (or Treize's mission depending). He's 14. He hasn't gone through any horrific shit until a series of events that shouldn't happen but happen nonetheless occur and we end up doing Canon But Poorly. Heero, being a soldier to start with more or less would have better knowledge of things like explosives so would he have actually had the incident with the little girl and her dog? The fact that it doesn't seem to be as traumatic as it should be is both in line with the fact that Heero was already training to engage in combat in some way and also not because I am not sold that this is how AU Heero would actually act. I am not sold on anything in this fic.

It's like my younger self just changed one thing and expected everything else to be different instead of following that thread down, which is what I do now. I literally chart these things out to make sure that the changes (the "causes") lead to and go in the direction of what I want to happen (the "effects"). It involves knowing how he works psychologically. My younger self stated in one of the planning plurks for this fic that they wanted to break Heero psychologically, but I am not seeing how that would occur or when, because my younger self didn't plot all of that out in detail from Start to Finish, it just branches off into other directions and none of them have a conclusion. That's why this doesn't work. Heero is doing shit that to me doesn't make sense. What is his motivation for doing this or acting like this? There isn't any.

If you hate me, you won’t miss me when I’m gone. He took the envelope in both hands and tore it right down the middle, letting the pieces fall to the ground.
Okay but why is this Heero doing that? I feel like this Heero wouldn't do the invitation ripping thing, he would just hand it back to her and go, "I'm sorry, I'm not interested," before moving on like... There is a reason why Heero does this in canon but if things have changed and changed as drastically as they were supposed to... 

Relena’s face went from a smile to a frown and Heero didn’t care, didn’t care went she turned away or heard the gasps from the onlookers, a few who called him some choice words or said things like, “You could’ve just told her ‘no’.”
Relena sniffled. “You’re so cruel…”
Heero looked away. “Cruel is putting someone on the spot so they have no choice but to accept your invitation or look like an idiot in front of all these people.” He pushed away from the balcony railing.
1.) He has a point.
2.) He's still a dick for really no discernible reason, because he doesn't have the same reason Canon Heero does to be an asshole to Relena, who saw him on the beach and thus if asked about some rando washing up on the shore, could easily identify him by face and name. He had reasons. This Heero does not.

“Please—”
“I don’t do parties,” Heero interrupted. “If you want to keep living, stay away from me.” He pushed through the crowd that had since gathered. “I don’t need your kindness.”
I mean Heero can be a dick I guess if you really want him to be but I need the reason for it and I need that reason to make sense.

The halls, thankfully, were pretty empty, so the only noise he really heard was the sound of his own footfalls echoing off the walls. Hands shoved in the pockets of the, in his opinion ‘dorky’, school uniform jacket.
Those commas I don't think should go there. It should be Hands shoved in the pockets of the school uniform jacket that was, in his opinion, 'dorky'. or something like that. Also it's a sentence fragment so His hands were shoved...

I don’t need friends, he thought, as he pushed the heavy front doors open with his shoulder.
Again, this doesn't really make sense in this fic plot situation. Heero is a soldier or was a soldier or whatever the case may be for OZ. OZ is more like the special forces branch for the Alliance. They do, among other things, recon work and undercover shit. A huge part of being undercover is acting as if you belong there and have been there the whole time. Blending in. Heero canonically does this very poorly for someone who is literally trained in black ops. I feel like in this AU, whatever the fuck it is, Heero would be more apt to do things correctly. Blending in, playing the part of a poor boy nobody loves (maybe) who was granted a scholarship to attend and is otherwise a pretty normal teenager. 

He was greeted by a large gust of wind. Something like me…doesn’t need friends to function. Obeying others and completing mission objectives. That’s what I was created for.
Again, this is more in line with what Canon Heero would think, because he was trained by Odin Lowe from 6-8 and then J handled from 8 to 14. His Gundam pilot training is what actually fucked him mentally and would make him, you know, Heero. AU Heero doesn't have the same background. He's been in the military academy for as long as Canon Heero was training under Dr J. So like. This is not how AU Heero should act imo.

But what do I know I'm only a character expert.

For now, though, he had a mess to sort out. He looped around the building, trying to avoid contact with anyone. Thankfully hedges close to the facade of the building helped tremendously with that.
I think it’s around here…
Heero would find a way into the computer room. He just needed to remember which windows would lead him to it. He shielded his eyes against the sun as he looked higher up on the building before spotting the strange looking plant in one of the fourth floor windows.
Bingo.
You know, you could probably just fucking walk into the computer lab like a normal person but Canon Heero at least thinks he's fucking slick as hell and always seems to do shit that makes his life harder, not easier. He doesn't know "work smarter, not harder". Canon Heero is the type to overcomplicate otherwise simple things. AU Heero, idk why he would climb through the fucking window when he is otherwise pretty well adjusted imo (or he's supposed to be) like. He doesn't need to overcomplicate shit. He would probably just find the computer lab, make up some bullshit about needing to use a computer or whatever for a school project, and then do the shit he needs to do on a computer facing away from whoever is supervising him.

*

Duo had half of a sub sandwich in his hand. He’d just finished the first half and couldn’t seem to get enough. He couldn’t remember eating one on L2 that tasted like this. And this one had a bit more spice to it, like the meats were unevenly spiced. He wouldn’t find that on L2, either. Or peppers that were sometimes sweeter or sometimes more sour.
News at 5: 15 Year Old From Space Orgasms Over Hero Sandwich 

Food on the Colonies tasted the way it did, that sort of ‘blandness’, because it was all engineered and grown in greenhouse laboratories.
lmao what the fuck is a "greenhouse laboratory"

you grew shit in a greenhouse. that's fine. 

All peppers taste the same.
I mean bell peppers all do kind of taste the same tbh but I find this hard to believe tbh with you 

Seasoned meats all have the same sort of seasoning throughout. Chicken tasted more like chicken served out of a fast food joint than something taken from a real animal.
They have farms in space.

(At least in UC they do.)

I see personally meat being more plant based than actual animal protein. So plant based meat, cheese, milk... It would be easier to manufacture and esp during a time when the Colonies couldn't like, communicate or do anything with each other, animal products would probs be imported from Earth and would be very expensive. 

Anyone on Earth wouldn’t know just how great their food was in comparison.
And for Duo, who had only been on Earth for a few hours? That was something important. Right now he was experiencing all the natural counterparts to the artificial and automated things, such as wind. Earlier in the day he’d been caught in a surprise rainstorm and he’d confused everyone by asking if there was a weather system malfunction. Someone answered with, “Well, the meteorologist said there was an approaching low pressure front headed this way… So there was a possibility…”
I will admit I do enjoy these little details like surprise weather events because for a Colonist I feel Earth's unpredictability would be very confusing and disorienting. Especially with like, thunder.

He’d asked the owner of the small deli how they knew it would rain if there was no ‘scheduled weather’. He got a confused look in response, like he was some kind of alien.
when you think about it Spacers are technically extraterrestrials since they're not born on Earth...

Duo found a bench overlooking the shoreline and sat down on it, draping one arm over the back of it before taking a bite of his sub. The sun was sitting lower in the sky and the sky graduated from lighter blues and pinks, to farther away where it was much darker blue.
This does not do sunsets justice jfc I am not expecting a Bob Ross sunset consisting of Alizarin crimson and Pthalo blue and Prussian blue because what the hey but be careful because that's a very strong and intense blue, it'll eat up everything if you let it but like if Duo has never seen a sunset before I expect a lot more description

"Karu this is a rough draft."
Okay? A rough draft that has to hit at least 50k to win NaNoWriMo. Being descriptive as fuck would be beneficial.

They didn’t have sunsets in the colonies either.
well no, the sun doesn't set lmao they just close the windows that look out into space for nighttime.

*

Heero’s fingers glided over the keyboard as he hacked into the nearly non-existent security system for the school computers.
IT WAS 1995 OKAY your floppy diskette is fucking encrypted using tech that is extremely outdated by today's encryption standards even.

Also keep in mind at this point Windows 95 wasn't released yet so Heero would be using MS DOS. Probably 6.

A few keystrokes led him to the student record directories,
probably a lot of function keys getting used lmao 

and it was there that he easily altered or deleted anything that might come back to bite him later.
Once that was settled, Heero looked into how he might destroy anyone trying to take the Gundam.
There is a military base nearby…
He entered his credentials before proceeding to the list of weapons kept there. He scrolled through them.
If they’re from OZ, I can just tell them who I am and give them ID. If they’re rebels with mobile suits, I need to be able to take them out.
You're gonna torpedo fucking Colonial rebel terrorists????

The base was small, so most of the weapons were small. Firearms. A few mobile suits. RPGs. He was looking for explosives. His eyes scanned through multiple lists, his fingers hurting from abusing the scroll wheel on the mouse.
THEY DIDN'T HAVE SCROLL WHEELS BACK IN 1995

YOU'RE LUCKY YOU HAD A MOUSE WITH THREE BUTTONS a right, left, and middle button MOST HAD TWO and they were the smallest fucking mice too and you had a fucking BALL YOU HAD TO CLEAN and the things that allowed it to MOVE IN DIRECTIONS HAD TO GET CLEANED that's what we're fucking dealing with here 

Surely a military base on an ocean side port had some kind of defences…
Torpedoes. He clicked on them,
...I suppose there were some things that had mouse support but I think the majority of DOS applications used keyboard inputs since the mouse wasn't always a thing YES I KNOW I'M OLD SHUT UP 

leading him to a page filled with all sorts of information.
These should do just fine. He found out where they were located at the base. He’d have to move a few off them out. He wasn’t sure if OZ was after him—or rather, the pilot—so he wasn’t sure if the Pisces and Cancer suits would be there. But anyone could get their hands on mobile suits and Heero wasn’t stupid. With a plan in mind, he logged out of the computer and headed back to the window.
You can't be fucking serious– 

Sure he could go back out the window, no chance getting caught by a teacher for being in the halls after hours.
Okay but you could get caught fucking CLIMBING OUT A WINDOW 

He slung his legs over the sill and sat there for a bit, one hand on the bottom of the open window pane,
do you mean the window sash or something because you don't want to be gripping the literal window pane that's GLASS 

the other next to him on the sill.
What if I just leapt from this window and fell to my death? Heero thought. Dekim has others doing the same mission I am. What does he need me for?
He sucked in a breath.
Would it even kill me? He was built to be the perfect weapon after all, able to withstand things that would kill any human. He sighed before finding a foothold and slowly made his way down the side of the building, jumping the last thirty feet. He brushed himself off before leaving the school grounds.
He had some things to take care of.

*

It was raining again. Well, maybe raining wasn’t the right word. Duo adjusted his cap so the water stayed out of his eyes as he took shelter under a store front awning. The store was closed now, and one of the customers had called him a dirty heathen for “imitating a man of the Lord”.
lol it's the future no one really cares about religion 

It wasn’t his fault she’d mistaken him for a priest. He sighed. Only a couple more hours to go and his “prize” would break the ocean surface and come in with the tide.
Hopefully all this rain’ll be done by then. He held his hand out from under the awning and felt the cold rain drops hit the palm of his hand.
‘s rainin’ harder now… He’d been in worse weather. Rain was better than extreme cold. Or snow when you barely had shoes on your feet. He scuffed his boot on the pavement before tucking his braid inside his jacket and zipping it up so it wouldn’t get wet. He hunched up his shoulders and shoved his hands in his pockets before leaving the shelter of the awning to go somewhere else. Somewhere with people, maybe. He saw someone wearing what looked like a school uniform up ahead of him, his shoulders so tense looking, jaw set. Someone always on alert. Duo frowned a little.
People are on high alert even in a peaceful town like this. He walked a little faster, picking up the pace to catch up with this tense looking stranger. As he got closer, he realised they were about the same height and of similar builds.
“You from around here?”
The boy pointedly ignored him. Duo’s eyes narrowed a little.
“Gonna assume yer not. Y’don’t look like the people ‘round these parts. Too uptight. Too stiff. Y’need to relax more—”
what fucking accent is this even supposed to be, a twang? A drawl?

“Is there a point to you talking to me?”
Duo’s frown deepened. “You looked like you needed someone.” He shrugged. “Thought you were lonely.”
He held up his hands in surrender. “Sorry, man.” He parted ways at a fork in the road and headed for the military base near the port. His plan was to salvage the suit for spare parts and then get rid of the Alliance military base before getting picked up at the beach.
He couldn’t take his mind off that boy though… There was something about him. He couldn’t place a finger on it. Just something…different, yet similar. He shook his head. What did it matter anyway? He’d never see him again. Like the stranger you bump into at the coffee shop and find yourself unable to keep your eyes off of them, or think anything else, only to let them get away.
Ah, well, you win some, you lose some. He shrugged, the rain letting up some, but not stopping completely. If we’re destined to meet again, we will.

*

Heero punched in his authorisation code to gain access to the base. He was in proper uniform in case he was seen in the area, people wouldn’t get suspicious. After leaving the warehouse, Heero changed into a loose tank top and form fitting shorts. The less chances of getting caught up on something, the better, especially with explosives. He had them set up on a crane system and coords set for immediate launch as soon as the button was pressed. He could easily modify it if necessary.
He heard footsteps approach, and Heero’s hand went straight for his gun. Relena came into view, panting hard as she nearly skidded to a stop in her white high heels. She doubled over, supporting herself on her knees, palms slipping on silky looking fabric. She looked dressed for a party.
I still can't believe Relena fucking interrupted her own birthday party to deal with this freak
 
What the hell is she doing here? She should be at her party, not here. Not where he had a Cancer suit ready to go so he could retrieve his Gundam. She couldn’t know…
“Heero… That is your name, right?”
Is that a trick question? He didn’t answer.
“What are you planning, Heero?” She was standing up straight now, and moving closer. He could wipe her out with a single torpedo, splattering her remains all over the port.
That is a bit extreme considering you have a fucking pistol shoved down your shorts to shoot people with tho in canon you don't have it loaded. 

But that would be extreme overkill if she only knew things she wasn’t supposed to, but wasn’t otherwise a threat. Killing her with a single shot to the head would—
How do you know she knows anything? What reason is there for you to kill her? He gripped the handle of his gun tightly before pulling it out without even a second thought.
Anyone in the way of me completing my mission is my enemy. The words weren’t his, but the voice was his, even though it sounded so foreign.
“Go home,” he said, voice firm. “You don’t belong here.”
“Neither do you,” Relena answered. “Someone your age shouldn’t be hanging around military bases unless—”
speak for yourself Relena you are also here at a military base for some fucking boy

“Unless that’s where they should be,” he interrupted.
Relena came closer. “Who are you, Heero?”
“Nothing,” he said. “Nothing you need to get involved with.” He left the command console and jumped down to the walkway below close to where Relena was.
“How did you know I was here?”
Relena shook her head. “That doesn’t matter.
lmao she's not going to give away her stalking secrets 

Look. I don’t know who you are or what you’re involved with, but—”
“You’re right. You don’t.” He narrowed his eyes. “That’s why you need to leave.”
“No.”
He raised the gun. “You seeing me here is enough reason for me to kill you.” He cocked the hammer of his gun back.
is it really tho like

I just feel like this whole thing esp with this Heero is fucking overkill. You and Relena basically just met. The first time she met you was in the classroom. She knew fuck all about you. She still knows fuck all about you, but here you are with torpedoes pointing a gun at her, obviously it's perfectly feasible for her to be like...threatened??
“Heero—”
“There was a gunshot and Relena ducked as Heero’s gun fell from his hand, automatic reflex kicking in as he felt a twinge of pain in his upper arm.
that's not how that scene happens like if you're gonna go with canon fucking go with canon, Heero gets shot in the arm and then his leg gets grazed because Duo is trying to get the gun out of Heero's reach 

He looked at the wound, blood trickling out. He looked ahead and saw the boy who had been pestering him earlier. Relena crawled over to Heero.
“Why are you shooting at him?”
The boy scratched his head. “Uh…he had a gun pointed at you. What did you expect me to do, shoot you?”
“He wasn’t going to shoot me.”
Heero scoffed. “I was, but I have a different target that’s an even bigger threat.”
The boy’s gun had lowered, but when Heero reached for his gun, it ended up pointing at him.
“Don’t do something stupid. You’re injured, ‘member?”
Heero glared. I’ve had much worse than bullet wounds. Besides, it’s too far away to just reach out and grab.
well with that attitude it sure fucking is too far away

He looked at the boy, sized him up. He was similar in build, but Heero had more muscle and would have momentum to help out. He could knock the guy over, take his gun, shoot him, take out the girl, and retrieve Wing.
I'm not even sure Heero knows his Gundam has a name, he never calls it by name and he never even calls it a Gundam, he just refers to it as "my mobile suit". He does call Wing Zero "Zero" but that's more referring to the ZERO System than the actual Gundam... 

The kid probably wouldn’t be able to react fast enough to shoot. It was worth a try. He got to his feet with the girl’s help, still clutching his arm to minimise his blood getting anywhere.
“Now then.” The boy came closer and unzipped his jacket, revealing an all black shirt over a white turtleneck to match the black pants. “Mind telling me what’s goin’ on?”
Heero waited until the gun was lowered before breaking into a run. The boy raised his gun and fired off a shot. Heero hissed and staggered before his leg gave out and he fell to his knees, Relena close behind as the boy took a step back.
“All I wanna do is talk, okay?”
then stop fucking shooting???

Relena glared. Heero didn’t think it suited her much.
“Doesn’t look like talking to me.” She ripped off the hem of her dress and used it to bandage his wounds. The boy looked confused and scratched his head with the grip of his gun.
“...how did I end up being the bad guy?” He sighed before he heard something break through the ocean surface. The boy looked at his watch.
“Shit. Tide’s too soon.” He scoffed. “Never was good at that shit.”
Heero tried to see what was in the water, but the boy flashed a light in their eyes.
“Nothin’ to see over there.”
Heero pushed Relena’s hands away.
“You’re bleeding,” she said, trying to tie two ends of torn blue fabric together.
“I can take care of it later. Go home.”
She blinked. “You’re letting me live?”
Heero got to his feet and gazed at the edge of the light, revealing what appeared to be two mobile suits, both similar in design. Heero looked to the boy.
“Who are you?”
The boy smirked, lowering the light. “No one you need to know. You won’t be around long enough.”
Heero cocked an eyebrow as he held a device in his hand. “Is that a threat?” He tilted his head to the side.
“Maybe.” The boy came closer. “Those who gaze upon a Gundam pilot aren’t supposed to live.”
no it's "those who lay eyes on a Gundam will die."

Heero held the device up in front of him. “Ah. I know.” He pressed it. Relena sat there on her knees, a look of apprehension and expectation on her face. The boy rubbed his cheeks.
“...’s that supposed to do somethin’?”
Heero threw the device at the boy and ran over to the torpedoes.
ngl that is something Heero would do idk if AU Heero would do it but Canon Heero def would

“Hey!” the boy screamed. “What are you doing?!”
The objects in the water were clearer from this vantage point. He straddled the crane holding the torpedoes and hit the emergency release button.
“Don’t touch my mobile suit!”
1.) he's already touched it
2.) that's not what Heero says so if you're going to just rehash canon with some very minor edits you can at least get the dialogue right?

Props for remembering Heero doesn't call it a Gundam ever

The torpedoes launched, sending Heero flying into the ocean below.
is that better or worse than flying in the sky 

The water was cold, he’d gasped just before the plunge, decreasing the amount of time he had left to hold his breath. He reached for the surface, but it seemed so far—too far away to ever reach.
how fucking far down did he end up

Heero is literally at the fucking surface of the water

how did this happen 

He watched the air bubbles escape from his mouth and float to the surface, and Heero let his body go limp.
It can be over with just one big breath…
He closed his eyes and let water fill his mouth and lungs.
THE END

*
No we couldn't be that lucky.

The mobile suits were okay—gundanium’s tolerance to explosives ensured there wasn’t even a scratch. He ran to the dock, where there was no sign of the other boy–Heero? Was that his name?—anywhere.
this is not where Duo learns Heero's name that comes later after Heero fucks up and kills Noventa

“I’m calling for help,” the girl said, before pulling out her cellphone and dialing the local emergency number.
lmao

I know it's the future. I know. I know they would theoretically have this technology. But I mentioned floppy diskettes not that long ago so like.

Yeah they had cell phones in 1995 but they were the size of a brick you could murder someone with and you had to dial an access code before you could even use the stupid thing and make sure you pull up the antenna otherwise it's gonna sound shittier than it already does

Like I'm imagining Relena using this bad boy:
 
Yeaaaaaah.

Duo had to think fast. Risk his life to save him or wait (and possibly lose the boy) for help to arrive and handle it.
This guy’s the pilot of that Gundam, he thought. Which means I’m not alone.
He threw off his cap and dove into the water just as Relena got off the phone.
I want to know more about you, Duo thought, and he kicked his legs as hard as he could.
He had to save someone just once in his life instead of letting them slip through his fingers.

Will this fic ever get better? Probably not. God.

The good news: we have two more chapters of this!
The bad news: we still have the "soft reset" to do.
The worst news: I have to fucking type all seven of those chapters up and I am not looking forward to it.