Overkill

Written by Arti Cuno

Part Twelve

After walking for over half an hour, Heero, Trowa, and Quatre were now just outside the base Heero had found earlier. They assumed it was the place where Septaru and Kouou were now but they didn't know for sure. Heero was in the lead, he'd gotten right up the the building before so he knew his way past the security now. As the passed a barbed wire fence, Quatre's shirt sleeve fetched up in it and ripped, leaving behind a piece of cloth. He thought nothing of it and continued along behind Trowa.

Once to the building's side, Heero was on edge, all his sense were alert now, and he was ready for nearly anything. And as expected, anything happened. A guard spotted him from a nearby tower and yelled out to everyone else, at the same time setting off a siren.

"Damn." Heero cursed. "We should break up, we'll be harder to find that way." Heero looked at Quatre. "Maybe you should stay with Trowa, it'll be easier to meet up that way later."

Quatre nodded as he and Trowa ran off one way while Heero went the other, both "groups" were dodging bullets at the time, and they were like sitting ducks. They didn't know their way about the place so they were at a loss.

Finally Heero got a break. someone was just leaving the inside and the door was still opened, giving him a chance to get in. The made a mad dash for the door and slid underneath it feet first with the door closing on some of his hair. Smart one, idiot. The voices in his head told him. Are you TRYING to kill us all? You're supposed to slid in head first incase you don't make it.

Heero decided to ignore the voice and ripped his hair from under the door, leaving behind a rather large amount. He continued his search, running along the corridors, heading for the middle of the structure. He knew most secret things that were meant to be well hidden and well guarded were always in the middle of the structure housing them. And the equipment being used to change people into the psychic army OZ wanted would probably be the same way.

As he rounded a corner he was met with another volley of bullets, one taking him in the arm. He shrugged it off and kept going though, he wasn't planning on stopping until he was done with what was set out before him. Stopping OZs plans. It was kouou's request for them to help, and it was part of their duty as gundam pilots to stop OZ to begin with. This army in the works needed to be put to an end before it got out of hand.

Heero was taking the most obvious path to the middle, a straight line, it was also the quickest. He was hoping that it would be expected he'd try to hide his trail, and that they wouldn't have time to fully secure all the entries before he go to his destination. As he approached a large, sealed off, area. He realized it was where Kouou was probably being held. He ran to the keypad on the side of a door and realized it called for a card to be swiped then a code accessed. Heero had no time to jump a guard, grab the card and hack the code. He ripped it off the wall and began playing with the wires inside. Suddenly the thing sparked and the door opened. Inside Trowa and Quatre were already cornered. But how Did they get in so fast? Heero looked straight across the room to see the door on the opposite side was already blown open. So much for being there faster then anyone else.

The guards surrounding Trowa and Quatre's attention shifted to Heero, giving Trowa enough time to react and take a few of them down. Quatre finished off the last two Trowa missed and uttered his typical "I'm sorry." as they were knocked unconscious.

"Seems I should have stayed with you guys." Heero admitted, looking about the room. It was filled with things that could easily be used to make a psychic army, but Heero didn't have a clue what you needed to make one really.

Trowa immediately went to one of the work stations and began tapping away on the keyboard. He wanted to know where Kouou was being held it seemed more then destroying the place. After finding the location he seemed to be doing something else. Heero looked over his shoulder and realized Trowa was programming the computers to self distruct the base in five minutes.

"This should give us enough time, she's not too far from here." Trowa explained, entering an encryption code so that it couldn't be stopped. The three pilots each grabbed a weapon from the unconscious men on the ground and began to search for Kouou again. This time following Trowa's lead.

Kouou growled, trying to break the restraints holding her down. She was strapped down with steel cuffs that were built onto the flat piece of metal she was laying on. She'd only regained consciousness a few minutes ago and was already trying to break free.

"You'll only waste your energy." Septaru pointed out, trying to touch the back of his head where he had a rather large lump. "Not a good idea if you plan on living for long. I tire of things so easily."

Kouou lifted her head and glared at the navy haired man. "Baka... You don't dare fight me!" she hissed.

Septaru walked up to her side and grinned down at her. "I don't need to fight you." He leaned over and kissed her, only to enrage her more. She knew that was the reason behind it too. "I never intended on fighting you either. You've more experience then I with these powers, however. None the less I bested you in brains. As to this psychic army in the works it was a major flop. Everything fell apart. The procedure only managed to kill most people or horribly mutate their appearance leaving them to be killed before anyone found out about what happened."

Kouou stared him in the eyes, growling. "You MONSTER!" she screamed. Suddenly the glass beakers behind Septaru spontaneously broke and glass flew all over the room. "You killed innocent people just for you stupid global and spatial domination wars?"

"Basically." he smirked, trying still to make her madder.

Suddenly an alarm began to sound and a mechanical voice stated. "T minus five minutes to self destruction."

Septaru went to the nearest work station to confirm someone had set off the self destruct. He attempted to disengage it but failed. "It seems someone's broken in, probably trying to find you." his snapped. Septaru punched the computer screen in a rage and stormed back to where Kouou was. "You're coming with me." he grumbled, unlocking Kouou's restraints and grabbing her by an arm. He twisted her arm behind her so that it would hurt her to try and break free and forced her to the exit.

Pushing her though the door way, he looked both way down the halls. Unfortunately his timing was bad. The three Gundam Pilots that were in the building caught sight of him with Kouou.

"Stop where you are or I'll shoot her." Septaru warned, pointing a gun he'd pulled from his pocket to Kouou's head. "I'm not joking either. And without her powers or precious Stellah she won't survive this."

"What do you mean without her powers?" Trowa asked, stopping dead on the spot, holding his arms up to stop Heero and Quatre from going any further.

"I've implanted something under her skin on her neck." He point the gun to the back of her head at the base of her skull. "It's blocking her abilities to use any psychic powers."

Kouou threw her head back knocking the gun in his hand and in the process making it go off. The bullet amazingly missed her, only really hitting her hair. However, it hit Septaru in the shoulder. He dropped the gun, releasing Kouou as he grabbed his wound.

Trowa took advantage of the time and ran up to Kouou, practically lifting her off the ground as he hugged her. Kouou clung to him happily, but didn't seem to have much energy, Trowa expected it was from the lack of her powers. Even her hair seemed duller as if reverting back to normal.

From the ground, there was a scuffling sound. Trowa and Kouou both looked just as Septaru had gotten his hands on his gun again, Heero had noticed and tried to shoot it away or Septaru's hand, but neither worked and Trowa and Kouou were now Septaru's target.

Kouou instinctively tried to use her psychic powers to create a shield but failed and dropped down to her knees in pain. The thing under her skin sent a shock though her body, causing her to be unable to move. But she seemed to be still trying to create a shield.

"T Minus one minute." the computer voice that had announce the original detonation time updated the time remaining.

"I'm not going alone..." Septaru insisted, pulling the trigger.

Unexpectedly, Quatre fired a shot off, taking Septaru in the head, but amazingly not killing him. He fired a shot at Trowa, aiming for the pilot's chest.

As it was about to strike its target, Kouou screamed and whatever was stopping her powers shorted out. The bullet amazingly reflected and struck a wall somewhere. She whimpered, holding the back of her neck where there chip was and cried out in pain.

Trowa quickly grabbed Kouou off the ground and looked back at his fellow pilots. "We've gotta get out of here now, we haven't got a lot of time, I think I know a shorter way out though." Trowa instructed, beginning to lead them off.

"Wait..." Kouou said, barely conscious. "We can't just leave him here... Someone take Septaru too..."

Septaru at the time was unconscious from blood loss but was breathing. Heero reluctantly did as Kouou asked and the group began to run for the exit.

"T Minus 30 seconds."

They finally arrived at the place Trowa mentioned but it was another card and coded door. Heero did as he had before and ripped it off and crossed a few wires.

The door slid partly open, but only enough to grab a hold of it and forced it open. Heero dropped Septaru onto the ground and grabbed the door pulling it up with all his strength.

"T minus 15 seconds."

Quatre was the first to squeeze though the open at the bottom, then Kouou who Trowa handed out to Quatre. Septaru was next followed by Heero then Trowa.

"T minus 10... 9..."

the count down was in the last run now. Everyone scrambled to get as far away as the could, hearing the count down in the background.

"8..."

"7..."

"6..."

They managed to make it half way across the base in those few seconds but it didn't look like they'd totally clear the area in time.

"5..."

"4..."

"3..."

Realizing there was no time left to go any further and having only reached the outside of the wire fence, they all took cover and hit the ground waiting for the explosion.

"2..."

"1..."

"0..."

One by one areas of the base began detonating, the middle going up in the biggest ball of fire. Debris fell all around everyone, one chunk only missing them due to Kouou redirecting it to the side.

As things began to settle Heero stood up and dusted the dirt off himself, Quatre following his lead. Kouou was to Septaru's side and checked his pulse to see if he was still alive. Somehow, he still was. She used her powers on him like the Stellah had on her when she had been shot. The wounds on his shoulder and head healed in seconds, but it looked like Kouou was still doing something.

Suddenly the young, tall, man changed. he became an old short, oriental man with black hair tired back in a bun.

"This is his true form..." Kouou explained. "I've stripped him of his powers, someone with an evil heart like his has no right to have the powers of a Stellah. He's proven power is corruption for most humans. I would have became the same if I'd been allowed back with humans when I was first given my powers. I know now that why I wasn't allowed to return to you, Trowa-kun." Kouou turned to him and cuddled against him. "It's finally over now though..."

From nowhere the three Stellah appeared, gathered around the group. "Ah! Finally!" Luntuia spoke though his thoughts. "We tried to find you but we couldn't get past the barrier that was surrounding this place! I'm glad to see you're alright. And apparently have learned what it means to be a Stellah."

Kouou nodded as she stood. "We should leave though, there's nothing left here, Septaru isn't a threat, the Stellah DNA was useless in making anyone else turn out like myself or Septaru, he admitted that much. It was only causing mutations and deaths, the DNA just isn't compatible with a human unless they want it to be."

Heero and Quatre started the long walk back to the gundams leaving Trowa, Kouou and the Stellah behind. "Trowa-kun... You know I won't be allowed to stay here now that my mission is done..." she confessed, as they too started back to the gundams.

Trowa nodded. "I was aware of that as soon a you explained your mission to me. It's just as I expected it would be."

A silence began, between then, strangely Vugi broke it. "Cheer up!" the puppy "said". "You'll be able to see each other again! Kouou, just ask if you can stay and help with the other pilots on their mission! It can't hurt!"

Kouou smiled. "It's not that easy, Vugs, If only it was. I could have stayed for a while if Overkill had been destroyed totally, but it wasn't. If anything it's better now then ever."

"Then self destruct it." Trowa suggested. Kouou blinked in shock. "If you want to stay you could always destroy Overkill, they'd that time to build a replacement, Giving you time here you know."

Kouou seemed to think about that for a while then grinned. "True, y'know... True..."

"Ohayo!" Kouou called out, all to chipper for her good. She was talking with the scientists from the L3 colony that helped create her gundam. "Seems we've got some problems down here!" she lied.

She was in the Heavyarms at the time, borrowing it long enough to tell them Overkill was gone.

"What is it now?" the person on the other end asked, annoyed.

"Well, y'see, I broke Overkill and now you have to make me a new Gundam!"

"WHAT?"

Even the pilots outside the open cockpit could hear the exclamation of shock and couldn't help but laugh or at least smile.

"Kouou Iteru! This is the SECOND one you're destroyed. You're simply stay down there until we decided whether you're fit or not to have another!" the person paused. "Is that the Heavyarms? We're you instructed NOT to meet the other pilots?"

Kouou grinned. "Yeah, yeah, but everything's fine. Mission Accomplished, yada yada. Just checking in and whatnot. I'll be fine down here until you're done with making me a replacement, have fun! Name this one StellarRouse for me! Bye-bye!"

She waves as she closed the connection between them, then hopped out of the cockpit. As she joined the other pilots and animals they each could have sworn they heard someone screaming her name in rage from somewhere.