To Really See.................................

by Goddess

Bigger, Longer and uncut. Relena leaves to create a life of her own and trouble soon follows. What will happen? Many Surprises ensueRead, and Reveiw!

To Really See...................................

By Goddess

Note: I don't own Gundam wing or any of the characters- so please don't sue. You will get nothing if you do except a piece of Cr*p car and a rickety old computer. Thanks and happy reading.

Chapter 1

Relena sat on a bench in her garden- staring at the moonlight that illuminate her prized roses. She looked around the high walls of shrubs and ivy she had planted to allow her some privacy, but privacy was something she never had the luxury of. Relena began to slowly walk in the maze of beautiful, colorful flowers and bushes that seemed to glow in the midnight moonlight. Looking the other way -she bumped into something, or someone and ended butt first on the ground. Not looking up, she grabbed her Pistol from her hidden Belt holster and pointed at the thing that knocked her down, then she looked up an saw it was only Heero. His stoic face seemed to have a little bit of surprised expressed, but quickly changed back to hide his emotion. Relena sighed a breath of relief and put her piece back in the holster. "Now who's trying to kill Who?" Heero said in his monotone voice as Relena got up and dusted herself off. She smiled at the sight of him in the moonlight-She shook her head with a little laugh, "Never too paranoid when you have people attempting to kidnap you 3 times in six months." He smirked, "And I thought you were a pacifist," They walked in the garden slowly, then coming to a bench and sitting down. Relena snapped off a white rose that was on the bush next to her, the thorn piercing her skin. "Peace was always my fathers wish- I had to take on his ideals, I did not have time to form my own." She told Heero, Looking down at the drop of blood forming from the wound. Heero stared at Relena, She could feel his eyes and she yearned to look up at him- but somehow she could not look him in the eyes. He looked at the red glistening blood on her hand and shuddered- seeing to much of it in his short lifetime. " I never wanted any of this- I never wanted to be ruler of the Cinq Kingdom, or the "Queen of the World" as Duo puts it. I just wanted a normal life- and at times I wish you would have killed me, because at one time I was happy. I was Ignorant to all I know now- all I was the foreign ministers daughter then- and not the kings.

I was normal- I went to school, I could got anywhere without a entourage of body guards, and I was actually happy. Ignorance was bliss, I guess." She said with melancholy in her voice. Heero just looked at her, "Well, you are a good ruler and who else did they have to turn to?" he tried to comfort her- his voice never changing. Relena Looked up into his eyes," But I have no experience- I am only 17, what do I know of foreign policies and military procedures? I never wanted this. I would give all this up for just once more to live a normal life. And I almost hate myself- for my actions, I hate what I have to pretend to be. Does a pacifist carry a gun? No. I believe that we have to react when attacked- that does not call for pacifism. I am a talking doll- spoon feeding my people the things I read in my fathers journals- his ideas, his dreams for the future, not mine. I am a simple puppet." A tear glistened on her face in the moonlight. Heero did not know what to say, so he just reached over and strangely squeeze her hand. Relena was shocked- this was a lot of emotion for Heero, but she smiled. She looked into his blue eyes, "why did you not kill me when you had the chance?" She asked him. He looked back in to her eyes, "Because I love you Relena, and you have always known it." Relena smiled and stood up, " You do not know what you speak of Heero, if you love me at all- you love the illusion of whom I seem to be, no the real person that lurks behind this simple mask. One day, Maybe you will get the chance to see the real person behind all this chaos. Maybe Milliardo is better for this position than I, he has no fear in holding power." Heero just stared at her, admiring her for her openness. She gave Heero a warm look and handed him the rose that she held. "Goodnight Heero," Relena spoke calmly and turned way-walking out of the moonlight and into the darkness.

The Next morning , the Peacecraft Manor was a buzz with chaos, Heero awoke to find the confusion was all over the Manor. He went downstairs to have a bowl of cereal- and found the other pilots sitting at the kitchen table with a serious conversation going on and strained expressions on their faces. Heero sat down next to Duo, and felt a bad vibe from his friend. "What is wrong with everyone?" He asked in his sleepy monotone voice. Duo just looked at him and handed him a letter written on elegant blue paper.

To the people of the Cinq Kingdom,

I ,Relena Peacecraft, regretfully resign from my position as ruler. I hereby leave my brother, Milliardo Peacecraft, as your new leader. I am sure he will be the best leader for the job and that I am unfit to rule. Please understand and good luck to you all,

Relena.

Heero just walked away from the table, back into his bedroom. 'Why Relena?' He thought, trying to formulate a plan to find her.

Chapter 2

3 months had passed since Relena decided it was best for her to resign from her duties as active leader of the Cinq Kingdom, and she now had to started a new life elsewhere in the world.

Relena sat at her desk , typing away at her PC. "Well' Here goes," She said softly to herself as she started the webcam to recording. She smoothed her clothes and clicked the "RECORD" button. She smiled at the camera, " Hello Brother, I hope this message finds you. I just wanted to send you word that I am in fact alive and well. I have done much in the small amount of time- I have found a nice home and a job I enjoy. I am sorry for leaving all my duties to you and hope in time you will forgive me for my actions, Milliardo, I am sorry. Don't try to find me- I have also had to change my name too. Dearest Milliardo, I love you and I apologize for all the pain I put you and the others through, but I felt I had to find my own place in this world- not my father's. Goodbye, Milliardo." Relena sighed as she saved the recording on a disk. 'I have to let him know I am well," She thought as she put the disk in a envelope and gave it to the courier.

Meanwhile in the Cinq Kingdom, Milliardo Peacecraft was in a meeting with a foreign minister from colony L1. " We must find her, I fear the colonists believe that she has been killed." The foreign minister complained to Milliardo. Zechs was also concerned about Relena, but kept a straight face in order to hide his own fears. "Minister, I believe that Relena is well and at will some point come back. She had to take the responsablity of ruling at too young of age to understand why things were the way they were. But when I and if I hear word of her- I will pass on the information." Zechs promised calmly, trying to convince both the minister and himself that Relena would indeed fine. "Thank you, Mr. Peacecraft." The minister said and exited the room hastily. Zechs leaned back in his desk chair, suddenly noticing a plain white envelope lying on his desk, in which a neon green disk peered out. Curious, he picked up the disk and noticed the lable read "Milliardo", written in his sisters handwriting. He put the disk in his PC and watched Relena's message with a joyful heart. Zechs was relieved. He called Noin in to the room and played the message to her. Her eyes welled up with tears, happy to see her friend still alive. "Thank you" Noin mouthed silently.

Heero was returning to his apartment from a long walk- He looked up and noticed the stars, He closed his eyes and remembered a night in the garden at the Peacecraft Manor with Relena. She had once said "Too Many Stars and not enough sky," his Prussian blue eyes were on the verge of tears thinking of the nights He and Relena took moonlight walks in her garden. He often chided himself for becoming soft because he had started out trying to kill Relena when he at first met her, but in his growing in to a man, he learned this wasn't quite his goal. Over the past three years, Relena went from his greatest annoyance to his greatest relief. She had been there to listen to him and comfort him even after the worst battles, no matter how aloof he had been to her. He too now understood why she ran away- She needed time to find her place, her own exsistance- not one made for her. But no matter, he was worried about her safety and wished that she would somehow let him know she was well. He was now at his apartment, he walked in to find Duo,Trowa and Quatre watching kung-fu movies on the couch and Wufei was in his room praying. The pilots had been sharing the small apartment since right after Relena had disappeared. Zechs welcomed them to stay, as Relena had, But the place was not the same without her. So they had all agreed to move in to this apartment. He did not disturb the other guys and went directly to his computer to check for messages from Dr.J.. The email box held two messages- one from Dr.J. and the other from a person called "R.Darilan", 'I can't be her," Heero thought. He opened the message,

"Heero,

It has been a while, ne? I keep telling myself to burn bridges and to move on- but I simply cannot forget you. I started over and I have what I always wanted a "normal" life, but something is missing- you. I almost believed you when you told me you loved me- I have never been so touched, but I also felt that I needed to fin d out what a normal life was like. I am sorry for the pain and frustration I have put you through- I do also love you, Heero yuy. Good bye, My Heero.

Relena.

Heero Looked down to fight the tears of relief, 'at least I know she is alive.'He thought. Then quicky switched over to Dr.J.'s next message on their next mission. A city in America is about to be attacked by a few remaining members of WhiteFang that seek retribution.....................

A few days later, Relena was walking in the park at sundown- noticing the roses and how much she longed for the gardens of her home. The thought of the garden brought a smile to her face, she thought back to the many evening she spent with Heero in the gardens. She wondered if he ever missed her and shook her head the herself, 'Relena, you have to put Heero behind you. You have anew life here and he would never accept the real you.' Deciding that she had enough of the sad thoughts of Heero, she walked back to her house. She went in and sat at the kitchen table, thumbed through the mail- then stared around the kitchen. The room was a Hunter green and had the whitest accents- the dishes, the curtains- everything a glaring white. The contrast often mystified Relena to why she liked it so much. She heard the faint sounds of a Tori Amos CD playing in the background, and a girl walked in to the kitchen from another room. The girl sat in the chair next to Relena, "Relena, I didn't hear you come in. How was your evening?". Relena smiled, Riley her roommate was always a comforting soul to her- in the past 3 months she had grown almost in to the sister she never had. Riley was a girl that was a contradiction in herself- her feminine looks often fooled people to her true nature- her adventurous side was one that always surprised them the most. She stood about 5'7, with a slim, curvy body, but her most amazing features were her waist length black hair and her forest green eyes. Relena looked over at Riley, " I am fine- I just thought I'd get a little air- so I took a long walk in the park." Riley stood up and began making two cups of Ginseng tea, "Really? Relena your eyes tell me you were thinking of him again." Relena sighed as she took her glass of tea, and looked at Riley, "I can't fool you huh?" Riley laughed a little and shook her head, "No, I think not. If you are that upset about him- what is the harm in calling him? The least he can do is hang up on you- or come find you, either way- you find out the way he really feels." Relena stared at her cup of tea, "Anyway Ry, How was the new suit? I am excited to hear of your tests today." So the girls sat at the table speaking about their days- how work went and so on and so forth. Relena thought that she was lucky to meet Riley when she did- Riley has saved her butt a lot these past few months, she taught Relena how to manage on her own. Relena smiled to herself and told herself aloud " I am going to be ok."

The next day- Relena and Riley were getting ready for work, suddenly the earth began to shake. Relena was the first to his the ground when she heard the sounds of explosions, she crawled under the table and then pulled a dazed Riley under the table with her. Relena closed her eyes tightly as she heard the sounds of mobile suits spraying machine gun fire over the neighborhood. "Oh God, not again. This can't be happening." She silently cried to herself- then opening her eyes she realized Riley was gone. "Ry! Ry! Where are you?" Relena cried though the loud blasts -across the house. Riley crawled back over the floor, and under the table to Relena with four boxes of ammo and four machine guns. She handed Relena two of the guns and two boxes of ammo , "All I had," Riley smiled. Relena looked at her- knowing what they must do. They stood up and quickly ran out of their house and started running to the other houses on the street- getting the residents out and escorting them to the neighborhood underground bomb shelter. With the mobile suits in clear sight, Relena felt the fear run through her veins- but the adrenaline also pumping to speed her work. Remaining calm- Relena had gotten her last resident to the shelter, or so she thought. Riley stood at the entrance of the shelter - trying to motion the residents to sit down and remain calm, and then yelled, "Relena, Come ON!!" Relena ran toward the shelter till she saw a little boy near the street- too scared to move-he just stood dead in his tracks. "I have to save him," Relena mouthed to Riley in the distance. Relena Held her guns up shooting at the mobile suit that was aiming for the boy, she fired until she got into a arms lenght of the boy and the something horrible happened. She ran out bullets. The man in the suit just smiled evilly as he was pressing the button to shoot them. Relena closed her eyes 'I am coming Father' she thought, preparing herself for her death.

Chapter 3

Relena had closed her eyes and expected to die after she had thrown the little boy a safe distance away- so he would survive, Riley had already grabbed the little boy and put him with the others when Relena heard the mobile suit blow up. She opened her eyes, surprised that she was indeed still alive. She looked up and saw that Riley had taken the mobile suit out, Relena ran for the shelter. She looked out at the war zone that had once been a peaceful neighborhood earlier this morning. She sighed and started to close the bomb shelter's doors when she saw Wing Zero arrive and begin fighting the mobile suits, She looked up "Heero." Riley just looked at her and shook her head while she closed the doors. Relena let her tear drops fall as she sat in the shelter listening to the battle overhead, "goodluck Heero" she whispered to herself.

Heero was walking the streets after the battle, he and the other pilots measuring the destruction when a loud noise was heard coming from a side street. Fearing the worst, He reached for his gun. Duo was the first to be heard, running from the direction that the disturbance was heard "Hey, guys, look at this!". The pilots noticed a large amount of people coming from a underground shelter- the street quickly filled with frightened people who were also checking the damage to their homes. The guys spread out and started asking residents questions about what started the battle here. When Heero noticed that the last of the people to come out of the shelter was two women. One with honey-blonde hair and was holding a dark haired little boy, the other a girl with long black-whom held a few guns. Heero could hear Quatre ask a elderly lady who had brought them to this place. "Two young women brought us here. They saved out lives and also saved my grandson Sammy from that horrible suit! They saved us all." The old lady told Quatre. Heero's gaze went back to the two girls and the little boy.. The blond one turned around, 'It can't be,' Heero thought 'Relena?'

Relena stood there holding the scared little boy, who introduced himself as Sammy. Relena smiled at him and put him back on the ground, "Why don't you find your Grandmother? I bet she is worried about you." Sammy smiled and nodded- then ran over to a elderly lady whom was speaking to a blond haired boy. 'It almost looks like Quatre,' Relena thought to herself and then she looked harder 'Oh God, it is Quatre.' Realizing wherever Quatre was the other pilots would be too- including Heero. Looking for a quick way to escape- Relena's eyes searched for a easy escape route. Finding one- and walking quickly not to be conspicuous as to running, she made her way through the crowd. But not fast enough, She heard a voice behind her "Relena. Stop." She recognized the monotone voice behind her- Heero. She stopped and turned around to face him. Her eyes fell on his face and she noticed a flicker of pain in his eyes- then it quickly passed, now a unknown emotion could be read in his blue eyes. He walked over to her, noticing her guns. "You were behind saving these people?" He asked . Breathlessly she nodded, "Riley and I did it." He looked at her strangely- she had changed since he saw her last. Her mannerisms, her clothing, even her expressions- Heero was taken back. He had never seen her in a pair of jeans and a tank top before, her long hair braided. "Relena, your hurt." He pointed out a large scratch on her upper arm which was bleeding profusely. She looked down. "Oh, I never noticed it." She said- dabbing at the blood with a KLEENEX that she had in her pocket. Heero slowly moved closer to her, and put his arms around her in a tight hug. She could not believe this. "I have missed you, Relena. We all have been worried." Heero whispered in her ear- she leaned into him and held on tight. "Oh Heero, Please forgive me. I don't realize the harm I have caused." She replied. Her voice reflecting that she was on the verge of tears. They noticed foot steps behind them and heard voices, "Ah, so they found each other."Relena heard Riley giggle , then she heard Duo laugh and Quatre's Quiet "Indeed so." Riley walked a little closer to Relena, "Girl, you bleeding like all. We better get you back and take care of that." Relena broke her hug with Heero and looked down at her arm that was gushing blood, "Right, um... Well nice seeing you Heero. Maybe we will meet again." Relena told him- her eyes on the verge of tears. Riley sighed hearing this, "Ah, no. Relena, dearest, where are those well-bred manners of yours?" Riley turned to Heero "would you guys be interested in staying with us while you are visiting here? If our house is still standing-that is." The guys looked at Riley then around each other, and Quatre was the first to say "I think it is a good idea. We have some business to attend to, but we will be there soon.". Relena's eyes shined as she smiled at her roommate, the Relena gave them directions to the house. The guys disappeared and the girls started to walk toward their home. "Relena?" Riley questioned to her friend. Relena looked up- "Yes?" Riley looked over at her, chuckling, "You are happy to see him? I can see the excitement in your eyes." Relena blushed fiercely, "Ry, nothing could actually come of this- Heero loves to fight and doesn't have time in his life for me. That is part of the reason I moved on- it is just nice to see him, that's all." Riley laughed out loud, "Right! God girl, just admit that you love him. He is not a waste of time- you have to give fate a hand, she is busy ya know. I can see he loves you- just they way you guys stood there for um..... ten minutes just looking at each other. But you know he has some cute friends." By this time they had reached their house- which appeared to be in the same shape they had left it in - there was no damage to anything. "Thank you," Riley breathed in as they walked in the house.

Relena looked over at her friend, "well, I am going to bathe- but I'll be out in a few for you to bandage me up, K?" Riley simply nodded as she replace the guns to their places. Relena went into her bathroom and washed up- and thought about how to explain to Heero about everything. Tears fell from her eyes as she thought about how it felt to hold him today.... but she feared she may never get the chance again.

The Gundam pilots walked down the sidewalk and found the address that Relena had given them. To their amazement, they stood infront of a large 2 stories house with a wrap around porch. A lonely swing swung on the porch in the wind, a small garden peered around from the back yard. Quatre checked the address again, it was correct. "Relena must be doing well" Trowa Commented. They all walked onto the porch , as a slim girl with long black hair in a braid answered the door. "Relena, is she here?" Duo asked from behind Wufei. The girl smiled," Not at the moment, she said something about needing something from the store up the street. Do come in , unless you want to stand on the porch all day." She smiled, letting them in. Heero looked at the girl infront of him nervously- " you are Riley?" he asked. Riley smiled and gave a bow, "The one and only Riley Sans. You didn't recognized me from earlier? I guess dirt and blood on you does make you look a bit different." Riley looked down and studied her appearance for a moment- she had bathed and braided her hair, then threw on a pair of black adidias shorts and a body hugging tank top. 'Well, I thought I looked normal.' Riley thought to herself. "Well, make yourselves at home. There is plenty of food in the kitchen, there are bathrooms upstairs and downstairs- if you want to wash up there are towels in all of them. If you need me I will be in the basement practice room". Duo and Trowa headed to the kitchen when she said food, Heero sat down on the couch and Wufei just leaned against the living room wall. Quatre still stood with Riley, He smiled at her and she blushed. 'My stars- he is adorable.' Riley thought to herself admiring Quatre. "This is a very nice home Riley. What do you do?" Quatre asked to make conversation. Riley plopped down on the love seat across from Quatre and Heero. Riley sighed, "Thank you, I love this house. My father left this house to me. I am a test pilot" This sparked Heero's and Wufei's attention, Wufei left his place on the wall to sit next to Quatre. Heero looked at Riley Surprised, "How did you get that job?" Riley looked at the three of them, this was always hard to explain for her , "My father was a pilot and his name was also Riley.He was killed in battle when I was ten. I learned to fly planes when I was five- since then I have flew anything I could get into.I became a pilot to honor his memory. Later on I learned to Repair all types of mobile suits,planes, and I have also repaired a few Gundams when all the other techs were busy. In fact- I met Relena at work the first day she was here." Riley continued," She was applying for a programmers position. I was talking to her before her interview with my boss and she mentioned that she had no place to stay- so I invited her here.So she has been here ever since. WE work at the same place- she is the best programmer I have ever seen." Riley looked at the other pilots faces. They were quiet. 'Wow.. Uncomfy silence.' Riley thought, squirming her seat. Heero broke the silence, "Has Relena spoke much of her past?" Riley looked at the floor. "She claims to have told me everything- about leaving her position to her brother, leaving the love of her life- giving it up to find out what a normal life is like. She has tried to move on but she thinks of you and it reminds her of what she left behind. I often hear her come in from the garden late at night crying. She is a strange girl, but who isn't?" Heero looked at the floor now. "Well, you guys must be tired. I need to get some practice sparring for my Kung-Fu tournament- so I will be down stairs practicing if you need me. Relena should be back anytime now." Riley got up and walked toward the basement door, looking back in to Heero's eyes "You have found her, I don't think she will run again." Wufei stood up and looked at Riley "would you enjoy a sparring partner?" She smiled "Of course, but your probably much better than I - so don't kill me." Quatre stood up, sensing that Wufei could easily hurt her "I'll think I'll just watch." Leaving Heero alone to his thoughts. He sat on the couch thinking of the way Relena had looked at him this afternoon- was it fear? No, it wasn't fear- he knew that much.

Relena walked in the front door quietly, trying not to be noticed. She noticed Heero was asleep on the couch, downstairs she heard war-like cries and a small battle in progress. Relena smiled as she took the bag of groceries in her arms into the kitchen. She smiled at the two guys sitting at the kitchen table with cups of tea. "Hi" She greeted Duo and Trowa. Duo gave her one of those wide smiles and said, "You must have known we were coming." eyeing the grocery bag. 'Same old Duo' Relena thought to herself," Not really, this is for Riley. Today was her birthday." Relena replied. "Bummer- almost killed on your birthday." Duo frowned. Relena chuckled, "Oh, don't fret. That is nothing for her- she is a test pilot, she loves danger. So, how is everything?" Trowa looked up, "Your people are worried about you." Relena sat down at the table, "Yeah. I don't know if I can go back though." she replied quietly. "Why not?" Duo asked. " I have no right to lead if I have no opinions. I just used my father's ideal of pacifism." She explained as the sounds of footsteps came up from the basement. Wufei, Quatre and Riley appeared in the kitchen- both Wufei and Riley were limping and had a few bleeding scratches Riley had a smile on her face, "a worthy opponent" is all Wufei said. Relena looked up at Riley and laughed out loud. " I am glad to see you back, your boy will be glad to see you." Riley looked at Relena. "Oh. Thank you." Relena nodded as the phone rang. Riley answered it. "Yes Sir," She said as her face fell with a unreadable expression, her shining green eyes went black and lost their sparkle. " I see, thank you Sir." She said after a minute. Heero heard the commotion in the kitchen and joined the group. He looked over at Relena inquisitively to see why everyone was so silent. Riley hung up the phone. "The remnants of WhiteFang has attacked the Eastern potion of the state. We have been called to battle, Relena." Riley's face was deathly pale, "We are to report at 6:30 tomorrow morning." Relena went pale and nodded. Riley walked out of the room-Quatre with her. Relena sighed and stood up, looking at Heero softly "Would you care to join me for a walk?" She asked him. He nodded and followed her outside. He noticed the beauty of her small garden- the white roses glowed in the moonlight, she sat down on the swing in the garden. Heero sat next to her, Relena looked in his eyes- her own on the verge of tears. "Relena, why do you have to fight?" Heero asked in his monotone voice, but his emotions threatening to come through. Relena looked down at her hands, " It was in the contract for my job, the company has created a mobile suit that can fight itself but it needs a human pilot to guide it in the correct directions. Riley had spoken out against these suits because they have many problems still and they are a unfair fighting weapon, but the company sells many of them so her claims are ignored. They are very unstable weapons- they have programs with set glitches." Heero looked at her, "They are unsafe suits, is that what you are trying to tell me?" Relena nodded again, "exactly. There is a good chance that either the enemy or the suit will kill us. But we can not sit here and do nothing- The enemy must be stopped." A tear rolled down her cheek and glimmered in the dim moonlight. "Relena, why did you leave like you did? Your brother and your people are still worried for you." Heero wiped her tears from her face gently. She looked into his blue eyes, losing herself in them. "I had to find out what else there was in the universe other than being a "Princess", I wanted to experience what a normal life was like. I was afraid when you told me you loved me that you wouldn't love me for the real person I am, instead of the face I had to hide in because of my position. I hated myself for years for chasing you so shamelessly- but you just had this way of making me feel safe. I guess when you were around-I felt as if a piece I was missing had been replaced and I was whole again. But I had convinced myself that I would go elsewhere and start again, because it was best for the both of us. No matter what I did I could not put you behind me, you were always in my mind. Riley was the culprit behind the email- she said you had the right to know I was taken care of" her voice was just a whisper now. Heero reached for her hand and looking in to her eyes, " Relena, when I told you I loved you- I meant it. I can see through your mask and can see you were confused as to what your ideals were. It has always been my mission to protect you. When you left, I was upset but I knew you did not wish to be found- so to respect your wishes I did not search for you."Heero crept a little closer to her. She smiled and looked at the series of black stitches that held the wound on her arm closed, Heero trace the wound and shivered. "Heero, I love you. If I do not survive the battle- give My brother my love and always remember that I am waiting for you." Relena looked into his eyes again-seeing a moment of pain flicker in his cold blue eyes. "Relena, I will not let you die." He replied in his monotone voice. Relena stood up and walked around the garden, admiring the flowers. Heero was behind her, wrapping his muscular arms around her slim waist tightly. Relena relaxed in his embrace-she held on to his hands 'This is the strangest thing he has ever done,' Relena thought to herself still in his embrace- staring out into the night. 'But it feels strangely right.. Time changes all I suppose. He is so much different from the fifteen year old I met four years ago. But I guess I have changed too.' She thought to herself, wrapping her fingers around his. She broke away from him and turned around, "Heero, it is late. Goodnight." with that she gave him a soft kiss on the cheek and walked away. Leaving Heero in the garden alone. She walked into her room not knowing what to make of the days events- but whatever today held- it will be no match for what tomorrow promises.

Riley sat on the window seat, looking out across the backyard from the second story alcove. Quatre sat with her, searching her face for some form of expression. "Riley, What are you feeling?" Quatre asked her, gazing at her form in the moonlight. " I am thinking of my father. And how I will suffer his death." Riley replied -her eyes filling up with tears. Quatre reached for her hand, "Why do you think that?" Riley looked in Quatre's big blue eyes. "My mother died when I was born and my father could no longer live here for her memories. So we went to live on colony L1. We lived there until I was ten, and he was defending the colony-flying a mobile suit. He died on my birthday- nine years ago today. Before he left he promised we would move back to earth and he would teach me to fly regular planes when he got back from that battle- he never made it home." Tears spilled from her forest green eyes and made large wet tracks on her fair skin. Quatre reached across and wiped the tears from her face. "There are problems with the mobile suits they are going to make us use- they have serious programming glitches. The company created these suits that will fight a battle themselves except they need a human pilot to guide them toward their targets. The company fails to acknowledge that the suits have problems with their computer systems and their ammo systems. Three other test pilots have already been killed due to these problems. Now they are going to make us use them to fight. My life isn't that important- but Relena's is. She has a home to go back to and that boy thinks the world of her- you can tell by the way he looks at her. She has a kingdom to lead, I have none of that - my life is expendable." Quatre looked at her disbelieving what he was hearing, he caressed her hand to try to soothe her nerves, "I will protect you, Riley. Your life is not expendable- at least to me it is not. You are so unselfish if you are willing to give your life up for Relena, but I can assure you that Heero will protect her. I am sorry about your father- my father was also killed recently due to this war. I know how you feel." Quatre spoke to her softly. Riley moved closer to Quatre and laid her head on his shoulder. "Shh.. Don't worry- I am not leaving you." Quatre stroked her hair softly as she cried. She laid there until she had cried herself to sleep. Smiling down at her softly, he picked her up and carried her to a bedroom, and laid her on the bed. Then he covered her up with a warm blanket, kissed her forehead- he turned and walked to the door. Turning around to look at her once more, he noticed how peaceful she looked. He smiles to himself 'I must take care of her-no matter the cost.' he told himself.

Chapter 4

Riley tossed and turned in her sleep, No doubt disturbing dreams. In her dreams.....

She stood on colony L1 again. Aimlessly looking about, then noticing a man walking toward her. She recognized his face "Father?" she whisper breathlessly. The man smiled at her and looked her over proudly. "My little Princess, you have grown so fast! So much like your mother!" Riley felt the tears spring to her eyes. "Father, I might be joining you soon. I have a very high chance of meeting my end tomorrow." He father looked at her warmly and wiped the tears from her cheek, "Princess, your not thinking. You have ability to change this fact. Don't work harder, work smarter. It is not your time- you have so much life yet to live." He gave her a warm look and tipped her chin up to look at him, "You are intelligent, Riley. You know how to fix the problem. You have so much to do before you leave this world, make me proud Princess." Riley's eyes over flowed with tears as her fathers figure was disappearing... "Father! Don't leave me here alone again!' She called after him. She heard his voice fading,"You are never alone- I am always with you. You are my Little Princess" She ran after his fading figure and fell on the floor "FATHER!!!!!!!!!!!"

She felt someone shaking her softly to wake her up, "Ry, wake up. What's wrong?" It was Relena who heard her screams from the next room. Riley sat up abruptly and was hyperventilating. "Shh.. Calm down. What happened?" Relena sat next to her- speaking to her softly. Riley's heart rate slowed a bit. " I saw him..father. He told me I wasn't thinking. What did he mean?" Riley repeated to herself as she rocked in place a bit. Suddenly an idea hit Riley . She looked up at Relena, "We can reprogram the suits before the battle. We are not sacrificing our lives because a factory defect. It is the only way." Relena's blue eyes shined at the idea," But Ry, How? We only have three hours till the battle and the security at the hanger has to be about impossible to get into at this time." Relena looked down sadly. Riley shook her head, " We have to Lena, it's the only way to save us and the other employees too. The company doesn't care- they plan to put all their employees in the suits. There are some people who have never seen a mobile suit- not to mention pilot it! This will be a huge massacre, untrained pilots and the defective mobile suits will achieve nothing but murdering a lot of employees. We have to save the others- do you really want Bob in accounting to die? You have that back up program you have been working on- I've seen it- it's great. And I can disconnect the faulty auto pilot function. We have to - it is the only way to survive." Relena realized was right. Relena stood up, and walked to the door "meet you downstairs in ten minutes. We have to save Bob." she said, her voice dead pan. Ten minutes later, Relena and Riley met by the stairs. Relena was dressed in her Black flight suit, accentuated by a silver stripe that went across the chest, and the symbol of the Cinq Kingdom on the left shoulder . She carried her laptop, tazer , handgun and ammo in a black bag that was slung over her shoulder carelessly. Riley came down stairs dressed in a midnight blue suit that she had found in her father's closet downstairs. She carried a bag that had her gun, ammo and tools in it. Relena grabbed her Car keys and laid a note on the table for Heero and the others as they ran out the door. 'There is such little time' Riley thought to herself as she and Relena got into Relena's black camaro. They Rode in silence to the hanger, carefully plotting out what they must do in their minds. Relena parked her car two blocks away from the hanger, in the woods so that it wouldn't be seen. The two took out their weapons and began their entrance to the runway, by climbing over the fence. Nearing the enormous hanger where the mobile suits were kept- the girls crouched in hiding positions in the shrubs. Seeing one of the guards come by- Relena shot a tranquilizer dart at him. The guard fell over, immediately asleep. Riley looked at Relena shocked "Lena!" She whispered sharply. Relena Shrugged "He will never even remember it" replied. Relena ran over to him, pulled his large body in to the shrubs, "You'll thank me for this later." She said to him, grabbing his security card from his neck and his set of keys from his belt. Riley shook her head and grabbed the security card that Relena held out for her. "I'll get in to the hanger and disable the 'Suicide Devices' While you get in to the building and reprogram the Mobile suits from the mainframe. I know for sure all the suits are receiving programs from the mainframe as of now and there is not one that is off network." Riley laid out the plans, Relena nodded. "Go with God, My sister." Relena whispered to Riley as she made a run for the hanger- Riley turned around for a moment, smiling when she heard Relena say that. She ran for the hanger. Relena sat there in the darkness for a moment "Good Luck Riley" she whispered in to the darkness.

Three Minutes later, Relena had made it into the mainframe of the computer system. She had made it to the main computer room very easily-which surprised her, because she had feared a lot of security. She had only had to tranquilize three guards to get into the room. ' This is almost too easy' She thought to herself as she connected the laptop to the mainframe. She typed furiously and finally clicked the mouse a few times. 'There this will take five minutes max' Relena thought to herself, glad that she learned to hack when she did. She watched the screen as her mind blanked while the numbers flew by on the screen. She thought of Heero and how angry he will be that they had tried this without his help, 'You have to do this on your own. He has done so much for you already.' She thought to herself. She heard the computer beep and the dialogue box read "Program Complete". Relena quickly disconnected the laptop, sliding it back into her bag, and grabbed her tranquilizer gun. 'Now for the next part of our mission,' She told herself as she slipped from the mainframe room unnoticed and made her way to the hanger to check on Riley.

Riley had only three more suits to go, '93 down, 3 to go' she thought- looking at her watch. 6:20 am - only 10 minutes to go, she sighed and hurried a bit. She saw Relena seek into the hanger, Relena looking at the five guards she tranquilized. Relena cocked a eye brow up at her. Riley smiled back at her sheepishly. "Would you like a hand with the last one?" Relena asked her sensing her hurry. Riley nodded, Relena jumped into the last suit- pulling out the "Suicide Box" as Riley called it. Finally they were all done, the girls grabbed their stuff and headed for the locker room to act as if they had just gotten there. In the locker room, Relena gave Riley a small hug and said "It's up to everyone else now. Just don't get yourself killed." Riley smiled "Ditto".

Meanwhile at Relena's house,

Trowa was the first up, He walked into the kitchen -fully dressed and expecting to see the other guys sitting around the table. But he did not find anyone- only a note on the kitchen table.

We have went ahead the base to try to find a solution to our mobile suit problems. Will see you all in the battle.

Relena & Riley

Trowa just stared down at the note, as Wufei walked into the room. Wufei saw the note and read it, "Foolish Women" He quoted simply. Pretty soon- the other guys were up and ready to go. Heero had regard the note with a simple glace. But there was another envelope on the table with his name one it. He picked it up and opened it, inside there was a small device with a LED screen showing a red dot moving around on it. The note with it said

Heero,

I can see you really love my friend. I will not be able to protect her in this battle- so a secretly stuck a tracer on her suit last night. The LED tracking device will let you know where she is at all times. Please don't tell her I did this, I just want her to be safe. She is important to her kingdom and her life is important. Take Care of her and yourself,

Riley

Heero took the device and crushed the note. 'That girl is ready to die for Relena.' Heero thought to himself. There was no time to waste, the battle was about to begin. The sounds of mobile suits flying were the only sounds that could be heard as the boys made the way to their Gundams.

Riley sat in her mobile suit, prepping herself for the battle that lie ahead. "Father, please give me strength." She said aloud, closing her eyes. Relena came in on her vid link, "Riley, are you alright?" her friends image asked her, concern in her voice. Riley smiled, but only for Relena's benefit. "Relena, I am a trained pilot- I should be fine. But you watch your back and if you get into any trouble- call immediately. Ok?" Riley appeared calm. "Ok" was the answer and Relena switched off her communication with Riley. Relena breathed in deeply, a strange sense of numbness coming over her as she heard the beginning of the battle. She Took off in her suit and began her long duty of fighting. The Gundams had arrived, she knew that Heero was close by. She took on two WhiteFang Mobile suits courageously- cutting both of them in two, 'Ha, this is easier than I originally thought' She chuckled to herself as she destroyed more of the WhiteFang.

A couple of hours later things weren't going as well on Riley's side of the battle.

Riley's suit has been hit a few times and she was losing gas and oxygen fast. She had been hit on the inside too- Riley was bleeding from a wound to her stomach. Knowing she would not be able to keep the suit up much longer, she communicated with Relena on the Vid link. "Relena, I am losing air and gas. I have been hit and can't make it much longer. Good bye, my friend." The Gundams had pretty much destroyed the other white Fang suits as she went down. As the suit fell to the earth below, she thought 'I am coming father.' Then the lights went out.

"Riley!!!!!!" Relena Screamed at the Vid Link that just went black. Relena opened up a link with Heero. "Riley's down. I am going after her" she told him, "be careful," his monotone voice came back. She closed her eyes, suppressing her tears. "Come on, Riley. Don't give up on me now." She spoke aloud. She flew low over the ground, finding Riley's crashed suit on the ground. She landed her suit and ran out to the crashed suit. Relena opened the cockpit manually after realizing that the suit was about to blow and the auto open was broken. She found her friend passed out over the seat, bloody and barely breathing. The Gundams had finished the battle, landing near by - she could tell. She just had enough time to pull Riley's body of the mobile suit and had gotten a safe distance away when the mobile suit burst into flames. Relena laid Riley softly on the ground while a bystander used his cell phone to dial a ambulance for her. Relena looked at Riley , and shook her, "Ry, don't you die on me. Stay with me now." she repeated over and over as the tears fell down her face. Riley fluttered her eyes a bit and smiled, "I am going home." Riley's voice was barely a whisper. Heero and Quatre had arrived and was right next to her, Relena looked up at Heero. Quatre held Riley's hand, "Shh. You'll be fine. Just stay awake." Quatre spoke to Riley- shaking her to keep her awake. Just then the ambulance arrived and Riley fell asleep when the paramedic gave her some desperately needed oxygen. 'Good bye Cruel World." Riley thought as she fell asleep.

************************ Epilogue**********************************

Today was the day Relena always dreamed about, the day she was to marry Heero. Though she was extremely happy, she remembered someone whom helped her just six short months ago- Riley. It was rumored that Riley had survived her injuries, but she had not gotten a chance to stay to see her best friend survived. When Zechs had found out his little sister had been fighting, he had her brought home quicker than she could take a breath. All though she was happy to be home, she still missed Riley. She smoothed out her Long white dress and looked into the mirror sadly, she heard a voice behind her, "You look stunning, Heero will not know what to think." Noin, Milliardo's bride of three months stood behind her. Relena smiled, "Thank you. I guess I am just nervous" she made a excuse for herself. Noin stood next to her, and put her hand on Relena's shoulder, "We all were at one point. You will be just fine." Noin stood next to her sister in law, " It's almost time. Shall we?" Noin asked and put her arm out for Relena to take. Relena smiled at her friend, and took her arm.

Relena felt close to tears as Milliardo walked her down the aisle, she was so excited at this moment. Her heart almost stopped when she saw him, Heero. He was in a tuxedo and he looked more handsome than when she saw him the last. Milliardo smiled as he handed his little sisters hand to Heero, He knew Heero would take care of her. He stepped back to stand with his lovely wife, Noin, whom gave his hand a light squeeze.

Heero had to stop and take a breath when he saw Relena. She was absolutely amazing. Her beautiful wedding gown flowed behind her, as she stared down at the rose petals in front of her. He sunlight illuminated her blonde hair. 'This is right' Heero told himself, looking at his bride with love. So the wedding went on with out a hitch, the ceremony was beautiful. During the reception, Relena was walking about greeting the guests occasionally looking around to stare at her new husband. He just kept looking back at her and smiling adorably, that was something Heero used to never do. Times have changed, Relena thought to herself. "So my sister, you did indeed get your man." Relena stopped dead in her tracks, hearing the familiar female voice behind her. Relena spun around quickly with joy to confirm her suspicions were true. The stood Riley, she looked better than ever before. She wore a short white dress with her long black hair in a braid that trailed down to her waist. Her green eyes sparkled, with delight. Relena jumped over and embraced Riley. Breaking the Embrace she looked Riley over, "You survived and look better than ever" Relena spoke to her over joyed. Soon Heero was by Relena's side. Riley smiled and blushed, "Well, Quatre stayed with me the whole time I was in the hospital. After I was released from the hospital, He convinced me that I needed a vacation since the company had found out of our deed and I was probably fired anyway. And he said he was the one to show me the world. Who could refuse?" Riley looked over at Quatre whom came over and she held her hand out to him. Quatre wrapped his arms around Riley's waist protectively, " So around Greece, We decided we should be forever and I married her right there." Quatre finished, staring at his wife lovingly. By this time the other pilots and their significant others were also listening in on this conversation. Relena let out tears of joy for both her friends and herself. "And now all the world is right, Princess" Riley heard her fathers faint words in her ears as she kissed her husband.

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Finis!

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