Silence is Golden ★ Gilded Surfaces ★ Silver and Gold
Silver Leaf ★ Gold Leaf ★ Fool's Gold

Gundam W Endless Waltz Book One Chapter 18

This is an excerpt I translated from New Mobile Suit Report Gundam W Endless Waltz (Magazine Novels Special) by Katsuyuki Sumizawa. It was released in the form of two books. The first book was released on April 9, 1997. Please keep in mind that I am not an expert in translating, therefore some areas may be lacking.

18

Inside the X18999 Colony, Heero and Duo, who had already stolen Leos, were rampaging around. The interception-type Leos at the front lines were destroyed almost without resistance. The exquisite combination of the two was displayed here as well.
Duo's Leo first attacked with machine guns while maintaining distance, and in the brief moment the enemy faltered, Heero's Leo swiftly cuts deep into the inside, slicing the enemy in half with his beam saber. At the same time, Duo also attacks to support Heero. Furthermore, they exchanged their roles to prevent equipment wear. Using such tactics, they quickly broke through the front lines in the colony.
"I can't believe they left so many Mobile Suits behind..."

212


Looking at the enemy units that kept appearing one after another, Duo sighed. There were certainly many of them. Heero shared the same sentiment.
On the frontlines alone, there were probably over thirty Leos. If this unit were a Gundam, there would be no fear, but facing ten enemies in Leos with equal strength was nearly impossible.
"As expected, this prolonged battle is getting tough to endure any longer." Duo said as he called Heero on the monitor.
They're ammunition had already run out and they could only fight in close combat. Heero responded calmly,
"Just defeat them and escape... act on your own judgment from there."
"Understood..."
Heero and Duo split into two teams. Just after that, Duo's Leo encountered a Leo in front of a large section's door. With a desperate effort, he defeated it and snatched the machine gun in its hands.
"Hehehe... if I keep getting weapons from the enemy like this, I can keep going forever," he said, not forgetting his exhaustion.

213


Since he was already exhausted, he just wanted to encourage himself. When Duo saw the super-sized elevator next to him was rising, he casually said, "Oh, a new target has arrived... Something like a bazooka would be nice this time."
This X18999 Colony was originally developed as a military base, so the walls and elevators were made of sturdy materials. The elevator doors opened. Standing there was the silver-colored machine, the 《Serpent》. Duo braced himself.
"A new type of Mobile Suit..."
The machine gun in Serpent's hand was also a new model, resembling the twin-barrel heavy machine guns that Gundam Heavy Arms carried. (That option, was it compatible with this Leo...)
Still, he was thinking too simply. The Serpent slowly raised its twin-barrel heavy machine gun and fired at Duo's Leo. Duo fought back with his machine gun, dodging left and right in a hovering maneuver. The Serpent's aim was terrifyingly accurate.

214


Moreover, it seems to be predicting his movements. It's not a Mobile Doll. In that case, it must be a highly skilled pilot.
"This guy is pretty good..."
The Serpent fires away. It continued to shoot with incredible force. That is, it was a shooting style unconcerned about running out of bullets.
"This!"
He desperately tried to move forward, but a rain of bullets falls upon him. The hovering was destroyed. It's already difficult to dodge. In a panic, he took cover behind a bulkhead.
(This fighting style... I've seen it somewhere...)
He had a memory of a battle. Suddenly, a blue machine and a red machine appeared in his mind. It was the 《Mercurius》 and the 《Vayeate》.
"This guy's fighting style..."
In the cockpit of the Serpent, a Special Officer named Ralph was piloting.

215


His cold, emotionless face showed no signs of wavering. The Serpent fires its machine guns fiercely. Duo shouted as he watched the bulkheads being gouged deeper.
"No doubt about it, you're Trowa, aren't you?"
He charged out in anger.
"Damn it!"
Until now, Duo had never fought Trowa. However, he had battled a Mobile Doll that incorporated Trowa's data in the form of Vayeate. The fighting style was exactly the same. There wasn't a doubt.
Ralph, or rather Trowa, maintained his cold expression as he aimed at Duo's Leo.
"..."
Trowa said nothing. He had discarded the clown mask and wore the mask of a warrior loyal to his mission. Duo, with a heavy heart, charged toward Trowa's Serpent while firing the last of his machine guns.

At the same time, Heero's Leo was advancing even deeper inside.

216


One after another, the Leos were sliced and defeated, he continued his invincible march. However, at that moment, a familiar figure appeared on the monitor in front of him. The black shadow visible beyond the explosion's smoke had the long head of a dragon.
"..."
A moment of hesitation flashed across Heero's face.
(No way...)
The Mobile Suit with the dragon's head didn't let this go unnoticed.
"Dyaaaa...!"
It swung its uniquely long beam sword, the 《Twin Beam Trident》, and charged through the smoke. Somehow, Heero's Leo managed to block it with his beam saber. However, his enemy had overwhelming power. Model number, XXXG-01S2. 《Altron Gundam》.
That was his enemy.
The arm holding the beam saber reached its limit. At this rate, the Leo's arm would break.

217


Making that judgment, Heero fired the machine gun on his other arm. Firing at close range against Gundanium alloy is dangerous. The bullets can ricochet and damage his own machine. However, the flash caused by the explosion would blind the enemy pilot.
Heero's Leo managed to escape from the beam sword in that brief moment of distraction. He fired wildly with the machine gun and stepped back to maintain distance.
(That went well.)
Heero did not believe this. Rather, he believed the opposite.
(He had plenty of leeway...)
(He let me escape on purpose...)
The enemy pilot does not want to win due to the difference in machine performance. He would undoubtedly attack without pausing a few seconds.
It was necessary to prepare the system arrangements by then. Heero quickly assessed the condition of his machine. There were few areas displaying the "normal" blue light.
(Oh no...)

218


Heero thought.
(This is completely my mistake...)
He had overridden the machine. If he were the Heero he'd been originally, even with the remaining ample power of the Leo, he would have abandoned the Mobile Suit immediately after repelling more than ten enemy units.
Heero considers Mobile Suits to be consumables, equivalent to ammunition and such. This belief did not change even for the Gundam he called his beloved machine. Even if he were to be defeated by Altron Gundam, it would not be due to the difference in machine performance.
Ordinary soldiers would immediately attribute the difference in machine performance as the primary cause of their defeat. But Heero, a professional warrior, is different. He felt ashamed of his negligence for not switching to a new machine.
"If one cannot respond immediately under any situation, then one is not a first-class soldier."
Odin Lowe taught him that mindset. If one cannot respond immediately, one cannot live "according to one's emotions." The arrogance of his invincible march until now may have created a small opening in Heero's heart that made him think "surely not."
Just as Heero had predicted, after a few seconds of interval, the Altron began to move.

219


The dragon's fang - Dragon Hang was approaching.
He tried to jump back, but his left foot displayed "malfunction."
"Tch..."
The Dragon Hang bit into the shoulder of the Leo. Heero was just managing to maintain his balance. And, again, Altron attacked with its beam sword. It was a clean attack.
Heero's Leo was unable to move from its spot anymore. Once again, he had no choice but to deflect it with the beam saber. Altron's beam sword was swung down. He managed to accept it. However, the situation was the same as before.
Heero felt a impatient. They were at a standstill. The saber and sword of both sides collided, sparking as they remained locked in place. In the cockpit of the Leo, indicators of system failures lit up one after another. The power output was overwhelmingly in Altron's favor.

220


Even so, the standstill could only be seen as the enemy's leniency, considering the difference in the machines' performance. In just a few minutes, the Leo won't even be able to stand. This clashing of blades won't last much longer.
At that moment, the pilot of Altron appeared on the monitor and said, with serious eyes,
"I've wanted to fight you."
Indeed, Heero had never fought against that man in the Mariemaia military uniform. There had been no necessity to fight. They were once individuals who descended to Earth with the same goal of "defeating OZ."
Heero asked the pilot of Altron, "What are you trying to do, Wufei...?"
Yes. That man was undoubtedly Chang Wufei.
He coldly said, "Are you guys correct?"
"What..."
Altron deflected Leo's beam saber. Heero's Leo was left completely defenseless.

221


Altron came at him again.
Wufei shouted, "I'm asking if you are correct."
Swinging his sword high, he charged at Heero's Leo. In that instant, the Leo collided with Altron. And, as Altron lost balance, Heero couldn't help but yell.
"Wufei, press the self-detonation switch!"
Altron regained its stance, immediately launching an attack. He no longer held back his speed.
"Dya----tsu!"
He swung down the sword. The Leo's left arm was severed. Following that, Altron swung the sword diagonally. Any normal pilot would not have been able to dodge these consecutive attacks. However, Heero saw through the attack and narrowly pulled the Leo back.
Silence returned. There were deep gashes crossing the Leo's body.

222


IMAGE

223


They were the damage marks inflicted by the final blow. Even Wufei thought the match was over with that decisive strike, but Heero had piloting skills that surpassed it. In response to that agile maneuvering, Wufei let out a sound of admiration,
"Hou..."
He, at that moment, felt a sense of satisfaction from being able to fight Heero, along with a lingering regret of what it would have been like to battle another Gundam. He was a warrior to the core. And Wufei softly muttered to himself, "That is why you are the only man I acknowledge..."
Heero possessed talent and skills that more than compensated for the difference in machine performance. However, Heero was now unable to do anything.
The movements of the Leo had completely stopped. From the cockpit display, red lights for "abnormal" were flashing for most functions. No matter how excellent a pilot, this was the limit in the face of an obvious performance gap.
Heero pulled the emergency escape lever. The cockpit's front armor exploded.

224


However, the cockpit that was originally supposed to be expelled was wasn't moving at all. Even the escape function suffered from abnormalities. Heero kicked the cockpit door away with all his strength. In front of him, the Altron Gundam stood proudly.
"..."
Heero, without saying a word, exited the cockpit and confronted Altron. He had a courage that could be deemed extraordinary.
"Wufei---"
He looked up at the massive figure that was several times larger than his own and said, "---I'll say it again. Push the self-destruction switch."
Every Gundam model is equipped with a self-destruction device. This device carried various meanings, but in this case, the idea that if a Gundam pilot loses control of power and loses sight of themselves, activating the device is applicable. Heero determined that Wufei had gone out of control.
However, Wufei merely snorted "Hmph..." in reponse to those words and sneered dismissively.

225


Duo's Leo was being turned into Swiss cheese without any means to defend itself. The Serpent was showing off the power of its heavy artillery more than enough. With the explosion of the impact, Duo's Leo fell backward.
In that swaying cockpit, Duo shouted,
"Trowa, why did you betray us..."
The Serpent slowly lowered the double-mounted heavy machine gun.
The man piloting it declared coldly,
"You have the wrong person... I'm not Trowa..."
As soon as he finished saying that, the left and right shoulders of the Serpent opened.
From there, medium-sized missile launchers appeared.
Duo lay on his back in shock.
"Wait, seriously..."
If you were to take something like that, it wouldn't be just the Leo, but even the surrounding bulkheads that would be blown away. A pilot thinking sensibly would not use it in such a narrow colony corridor. However, Trowa-no, the pilot doesn't go by that name now, had a face that suggested he'd long since abandoned all rational thoughts, was taking aim.

226


In those cold eyes, the target was locked. He pressed the launch switch without hesitation. Several missiles were launched from the Serpent.
As expected, Duo had resigned himself to them. Looking at the incoming group of missiles, he thought,
(Heh, this is the end of everything...)
And, the only thing he could do now was to wear a fearless smile.
However, the missiles, drawing into an arch just before reaching the Leo, charged towards the surrounding walls. An explosion occurred with a flash.

The explosion, it reached the location where Altron was. Wufei was startled and looked around.
(What is this explosion...)
However, he remained calm. He couldn't believe there was an ambush.
(An idiot used the Serpent's missiles...)
(Hmph, probably a coward scared by the wind...)

227


(Are there cowards among Mariemaia's soldiers...?)
Wufei never would have dreamed that it was Trowa who launched the missiles.
And then, he waited for the rising smoke from the explosions to clear. It was only for a few seconds. However, in those few seconds, Heero, who should have been right in front of him, had disappeared. The half-destroyed Leo stood there as it was, but the cockpit was empty.
Wufei thought that there was no other way. He had no intention of blaming him for escaping. Rather, he thought the action was only natural in such a situation. And, once again, the thought of being able to fight Heero calmed Wufei's heart.
"Alright... I'll be waiting."
Altron deactivated the beam sword and stored it in the holder on his back.

Duo still couldn't believe the current scene before him. The Serpent that Trowa had piloted had was already gone, and the surrounding walls were full of holes caused by the missiles. And then, there was Duo's Leo, completely unscathed at the scene. Even though it was unscathed, this machine had already surpassed its limits.

228


Duo decided to abandon the Leo and went outside the cockpit. He looked at his surroundings, and indeed, it was confirmed that there was no sign of the Serpent anywhere.
"Trowa..."
(He didn't betray us, did he...)
That much he was certain of.
Looking beyond the hole in the bulkhead, he could slightly make sense of Trowa's intentions. There was a path leading to the residential area.
(If I go through here, it means the infiltration was successful...)
(So you were guiding me... though you were a little rough.)
As Duo made his way to the hole, "You're not being honest... as always." he gave his impressions towards Trowa.
Inside the corridor, it seemed like a tremendous blast of wind had blown through. And, the remaining forces of the Marimaia Army that were deployed there-the Leo units of the second defense line, due to the blast, was rendered completely incapable of combat. Duo gazes at such a scene, "Really, you're not being honest..."

229


He repeated many times. It was such a brilliant tactic. The missile fired by Trowa at that moment must have been timed perfectly. If the deployment of the Leo unit had been too early or too late, such an effect wouldn't have been possible. And thanks to the remaining forces being wiped out, Duo was able to easily enter the city of the X18999 Colony. It was possible, Heero must have headed towards the city due to that trigger as well. For the two of them, he lightened the burden of combat.
Also, even if Trowa had infiltrated the enemy's ranks, that sort of action wouldn't have caused suspicion. He could keep his identity just as it was forever. Furthermore, in Duo's case, he was able to learn about the performance of the new Mobile Suit. Duo will, when the time comes for him to fight that Serpent once again, have a quite an advantage at maneuvering. When Duo realized how precise Trowa's thoughtfulness was, he felt it was foolish to even express thanks.
(As always, he's like that...)
(Moving everything according to his calculations...)
(Without the slightest mistake, too...)

230


Duo doesn't have that kind of talent. Heero was the same. The man called Trowa, it can be said he was "tactical genius" who creates these secondary and tertiary effects. He was completely different type of person from Duo and Heero.
(Therefore, I can't bring myself to like that guy...)
Thinking such things, he hid himself in a ruined building in a corner of the city. Duo look at the clock. In Colony Standard Time, it was after half past one.
(I couldn't make the scheduled contact with Quatre...)
He was nearly an hour late for the time they promised. However, if it's Quatre, he thought he would sense the emergency situation. "It's as you said... after all, the Gundams are necessary," Duo murmured, imagining the sun Quatre was heading towards in his mind----.

231



★ Main Page
★ Gold Leaf
★ Translated Excerpts