Gundam Wing Ep. 12: Bewildered Warriors

Heero wakes up in the circus and hears a news report about OZ’s battles across the world against the Alliance. In a haze, he sees Catherine and momentarily mistakes her for Relena. Heero tries to move, and Catherine goes off to make him some soup. Heero asks Trowa why he saved him because he was supposed to die, and Trowa tells Heero that’s been dead for a while. He explains that a month has passed, and during that time OZ hasn’t touched the colonies because it’s been busy attacking nations on Earth. Heero is surprised that a month has passed, and Trowa tells Heero he doesn’t have to be restrained by the colonies anymore. Trowa hasn’t gotten any missions since then and wonders what he would do if OZ used the colonies as a shield again. Heero asks Trowa to help him catch up on what’s happened around the world during the last month. In Central Asia, Wufei sits near a waterfall and watches a bird fly by. At night, Sally and her rebels conduct a raid on a former Alliance base in China and use explosives to cover their escape. Colonel Bundt is informed of the attack and orders his men to crush the guerillas. In one of China’s mountainous areas, a political leader who promoted peace was assassinated during a coup led by Bundt. Sally’s forces successfully escape from Bundt’s men and return to their base, but immediately come under fire from Leos. The rebels fire mortars at the Leos, but they have no effect. One the Leos targets Sally, but its main camera gets shot by the Shenlong Gundam. The Leos open fire, but Wufei says he has no intention to fight and tells them to retreat. He then destroys two of the Leos when they keep attacking, forcing the last one to retreat. He exits the cockpit and asks Sally why weaklings like them are fighting an enemy they can’t beat. He asks if they were ordered, but when Sally says they’re fighting on their own, he responds that he doesn’t understand. Bundt is informed by his men that a Gundam is in the area. The next morning Wufei heads into town with Sally to help her with the groceries. As they load groceries into the truck, they watch several Alliance soldiers vandalize a restaurant. Sally confronts them and asks them what they’re trying to protect. The men attack them, and while she’s able to take out some of them, another hits her over the head with a barstool. Wufei then attacks them and grabs a gun from one of the assailants. Angry residents gather around with farm tools as weapons, forcing the Alliance soldiers to retreat. Wufei tells Sally that she’s weak and calls himself a coward. She doesn’t understand, and he explains that he lost to someone stronger than him, so he can only fight people weaker than him. Sally asks him if he’s giving up, and he answers that he has no right to pilot Nataku. He then leaves on a canoe.

Bundt’s men analyze the combat data and are able to locate the guerilla base. Major Nanaki mentions that the Gundams are powerful in battle, so Bundt suggests conducting a joint attack with OZ. His men object on the grounds that it would give OZ and excuse to move in to their territory. Bundt responds that he doesn’t want to lose any of Nanaki’s elite forces, but the men press their argument, forcing Bundt to concede. Sally returns to the guerilla base without Wufei. One of the men comments that it’d be great if Wufei joined them, but Sally says no one should be trying to force Wufei to fight. She says that Wufei is very confused because he couldn’t meet the expectations on him, so he thinks he’s a loser. Alliance attack helicopters open fire on the base, and the rebels respond by rolling out missile launchers. A Leo squad then opens fire on the base from nearby and begins to move in. Two helicopter pilots spot the Shenlong Gundam and report back to Nanaki, who relates the info to Bundt. Aboard a helicopter, Bundt tells an OZ representative that the battle will go well for all of them. Nanaki orders his men to open fire on the Shenlong Gundam, but they start to come under fire from OZ Aries suits. Nanaki tells Bundt that they’re being attacked by OZ, but Bundt responds that OZ is part of their forces. He says that OZ is protecting the country and claims that disgruntled soldiers are siding with the rebels. He says that peace will be restored once OZ takes over, and Nanaki answers that the citizens don’t want that. Bundt thanks Nanaki for his help, and Nanaki is killed by an Aries. Wufei runs over to help one of the dying rebels, who ask him to destroy OZ. Sally asks Wufei to run off, and another rebel demands to know why Wufei won’t help them. He then knocks Wufei over to protect him from an Aries attack and dies. Sally faces one of the Aries and tells Wufei that he has everything he needs to save the weak. She walks towards the gun fire and says that healing Wufei’s heart is more important than her life. He then destroys the Aries with a rocket launcher and tells Sally to escape. Wufei boards the Shenlong Gundam and starts attacking the Aries squad. Bundt orders the Aries to cover his escape, but Wufei destroys the Aries and Bundt’s helicopter. After the battle Sally tells Wufei that OZ will probably come back again. Wufei asks her if she’s going to keep fighting, and she tells him that everyone has their own sense of justice. Wufei thinks weak people shouldn’t use Nataku’s power, but Sally answers that he had the strength of his heart. Elsewhere, the circus ringmaster announces that they’ve gotten a request to play at an OZ base. He wants to do something special, so Trowa volunteers to put on a show. After speaking briefly to Heero, Trowa pulls up with his Gundam trailer and promises the ringmaster something he’s never seen.