Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor moon or Gundam Wing. And I tire of telling you over and over again... Leave me alone! :( *pouts*

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Fuseiseki : Failure

Chapter Fourteen : Aces in The Hole

...

Quatre pulled his key from beneath his shirt, and let it hang freely over it. It didn't take long for each pilot to do the same. "So we do all have one."

Wufei was leaning against the table in regular fashion, preferring it to sitting. "So what do these Onna's want from us then?"

"To be what they can't any longer." Trowa said. "Sailors."

Wufei huffed. "There is no way I'm going to wear anything like that indecent outfit those Onna's showed up in! Injustice." Duo laughed.

"Saturn said we were supposed to be Usagi's knights, not Sailors." He said. "But Wufei, I think you'd look great in a fuku." He winked, and Wufei growled at him, but Quatre put up a hand for silence.

"The question is, how do we use them?"

Duo looked thoughtful, and then said. "When the Senshi transformed in their time, they always said something aloud. That might be the key." He laughed at his own joke. "Get it, the key?"

"Quiet Duo no baka." Hiiro said.

"He may be right." Trowa added, with an eyebrow raised.

"But if he is.." Wufei said. "What is it we're supposed to say?"

"We were all visited by different people." Quatre said. "It must have something to do with each one individually. Michiru said I would know how to use it when the time came."

"Hn." Hiiro grunted. "Until we are sure what these are for, I would suggest keeping them a secret." The group nodded. "Even from Usagi."

"Saturn said they came to us instead of Usagi because her fear of accepting their deaths keeps them from her. I agree with Hiiro. She's already got a lot on her plate right now."

Quatre nodded again. He had the secret task of finding Usagi's soul to worry about on top of this. It still baffled him. The Scouts that had bestowed them their power only had enough will to do just that. While she, with a missing piece, was not only sustained, but fighting and healing. "Then we wait." He said. "And keep this to ourselves. The focus will remain on the reconditioning of the Gundams, and the building of the army."

"I suggest a reconnaissance mission." Trowa said. He and Quatre had spoken of it at length, so he was not surprised. Duo was immediately receptive.

"Finally some action. I'm in."

"Have you picked a place?" Wufei asked. Trowa nodded.

"There is a place near England on earth where it is reported the troops of Tenshu are gathering. I suggest we go there and find out what we can. If possible, destroy it."

"Mission accepted." Hiiro said. "Prepare soon. We leave in two days."

They all stood slowly, and he waved Trowa away, wishing to be on his own for a moment. His head was clearer now that Usagi had woken up. He had a feeling she was blocking what pain she had left from him. He would scold her for it later. Such niceties were a waste of her energy. Right now, he had to think. There was a mission ahead, and his own task to complete.

"If I was a piece of Usagi's soul, where would I be?" He sighed. A tough question if there ever was one.

...

Hiiro had been waiting for her in her room when Hilde had offered to escort her up. She smiled at him on the bed, and waved a quick goodbye to Hilde, who excused herself with a smile and the closing of Usagi's door. Next to him sat a cart of medical instruments, bandage, salve, and the like. Rashid had removed the ducts to her catheters after lunch. The bruising they had caused was almost healed now.

She was walking with little pain. Being in the sun had renewed her, and although she had to lean on Hilde a bit to get up the stairs, she was feeling stronger. She stepped to him carefully, and sat down next to him, putting her head on his shoulder. "The people that surround you are wonderful." She said.

"Take off your shirt." She smiled at him.

"Hiiro I didn't know you were so forward." She laughed at his smirk.

"Me, forward?" He answered, pulling her in for a kiss. "Never." He helped her with the tank top and she couldn't help the blush that stained her cheeks when she was left in just bandages.

"Did you?" He seemed to know what she was thinking.

"Asiya changed your bandages. Up until now." He reached to unwrap them, gently, carefully. She couldn't look at him when they were finally off, feeling very exposed. He lifted her chin with a calloused finger, and looked into her eyes.

"Hiiro." She whispered, and he kissed her. His lips were soft, inviting, and she opened her own to him, reveling at the taste of him, her shyness fading like smoke on the wind.

"You are beautiful." He said. She looked down at the wound between her bare breasts. It was an angry red, but was sealed. She watched him unwind the bandages on her arm. The cuts there were nothing now, but pale pink scars. She sighed into him as he picked up a medicine soaked rag, kissing her as he gently washed every wound. When he was done she realized she was on her back, and he was above her.

"Hiiro..."

"Shh." He whispered, and kissed her neck. He did not move any further however, though he leaned back and lazily took her in with blazing eyes. When he was done, he kissed her again, setting her on fire, before speaking.

"We are leaving in two days to attack a base in England." It was so sudden, that at first she didn't know what to say. She was slightly put-off by his actions, feeling for a moment like he had used her feelings for him to soften the blow. She pushed this thought away quickly. Hiiro barely knew how to handle his emotions in the first place. The thought had probably not even occurred to him. She wanted to tell him not to go, but knew it was unfair to even ask, after the battle she'd put herself in.

"I'll miss you." she said, because he hadn't asked her if he could go. He'd told her he was going. He was a soldier. This was a war.

"I'll be back soon. Three days at the most." He ran a hand down her back, and she shivered when his fingers trailed over the scars her wings had left there. "I'll only wrap your chest." he said, and she nodded.

His fingers were soft and gentle as he wrapped the bandages taut around her wound. She had sat up to give him better access, her arms in the air. When he was done she settled them around his neck, and pressed her forehead to his. "I could hear you in the dark." She said. "Your stories kept me anchored, though they hurt my heart."

"I wasn't sure if you could hear me." He whispered. "One day Usagi, I will tell you all about my past." She smiled, and kissed him softly.

"It doesn't matter." she said. "Right now matters. Right here matters. The past is something you have to let go of."

"You should take your own advice." He said with a smirk, and she batted at his arm playfully.

"Stay with me tonight Hiiro?" She asked, and he nodded, moving to lay down in her bed as she did, obliging when she laid her head upon his chest. She feared him leaving. Feared he wouldn't return. But this is what came with war. She knew it, but didn't have to like it. In the fading light she breathed him in, content in the moment. This too came from war. The knowledge that each moment that passed could be their last together. The want to enjoy every second, without pause.

She fell asleep with his arms wrapped around her, and dreamt of her Senshi, of Mamoru, and Chibi. They sat in a field of flowers laughing, talking, enjoying life. Before long, a storm came, and she remembered the feel of the rain, dancing in it with all of them. It was a fond memory. But just before she woke to morning light, something happened that she did not remember. Mamoru turned to her, in the pouring rain, his hair slick to his face, his eyes smiling, and said, "Let it go Usagi. We already have." And when she turned to look after the friends she missed so, dancing in the field, they were all stopped, staring at her with smiles that spoke of everlasting love.

She woke with tears in her eyes, and a smile.

...

She was trying to forgive herself. Trying to let go. She sat on the Veranda of Sanq Kingdom, which had quickly become her favorite place to be, so focused that she didn't hear Quatre make his approach. She was startled when he spoke, but smiled.

"Usagi." He said. "You seem well." She nodded, brushing at her shirt. She wore a red halter top, and black shorts. The scars on her shoulder were new to her, and her hands were drawn to them frequently. She resisted the urge to run her fingers over them again.

"The sunlight helps. I love the warmth." He sat next to her on one of the wooden deck chairs, and looked off into the distance. "The quiet is so deceiving, don't you think?"

"The calm before the storm. It never fails." He said. "I've grown used to it."

"As have I." She laughed a bit, amused at her own thoughts. "So beautiful in it's horridness." Quatre nodded. Smiling too. You found the beauty in all things, if you saw enough. Sometimes it took lifetimes...sometimes just one. She leaned her elbow on the table, resting her chin on her folded hand, thinking. "Quatre?" It was was soft, the beginning of a question that had just formed in her mind.

"Yes Usagi?" He sounded genuinely interested.

"I hope I'm not out of line... but how did you do it?" She looked at him, pure silver on light ocean blue.

"Do what?" She closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them again, tore down the wall that kept her from her deepest feelings. There was a wave, invisible to him maybe, but soft silver in hue to her, that rushed toward him, and when it reached him, she watched sadly as he reeled in pain.

She drew it back into herself with a deep breath, and rebuilt the wall with haste, wishing not to cause him more pain. He breathed with her, in rhythm, and stared at her with tears in his eyes.

"Oh Quatre." She instantly felt sorry, and her hand reached out to him. He raised his own for her to stop. Her heart hurt to know what she had shown him, let him feel, had affected him so badly. "Gomen Nasai. I forget how sensitive you are."

"Usagi." His voice was soft, and he blinked the tears away. "What was that?"

She brought her hand back to her chest. She wished the locket were there. She had decided to leave it in the room. It distracted her. Or rather the thought of the man who made it play distracted her. She shook her head, and looked into the gardens.

"A manifestation that was the result of simultaneously losing everything I loved." She sighed. "You know Quatre? Sometimes I can almost hear them. Cheering me on. Telling me not to give up. But it hurts so much to remember them. To remember what I did to them." Her eyes were teary now. "I don't know how to accept them not being here with me."

"Usagi." His voice was laced with sadness this time, for her. She resented it.

"I don't want you to feel sorry for me." She whispered.

"And I don't." He said. "I just understand your pain. Do you think that I don't understand? That Hiiro, or Wufei, or Trowa, or Duo, or any of us, that have seen war, don't feel the same? I know you lost alot more than most have, but I've got to say Usagi, I don't understand how you can even be composed holding that amount of pain inside of you." He reached for her now, and took her hand. A warm flow of energy touched her, and beneath it, no, a part of it, there was freezing cold.

She stared at him, and he stared back. "The point isn't to hide from the pain. The point is to embrace it. They knew what they were doing when they laid their lives on the line for you. They would have rather died than hurt you. Didn't they die with smiles on their faces?"

She blinked. "We can, and we will." She whispered. She saw the understanding in his eyes. Felt it on his fingertips. "They were smiling."

"So was Iria." Quatre said. His influence had faded, but he still held her hand. "And it took awhile. For a moment, I was clinically insane, but I came back knowing she gave her life because she loved mine. And mourning her was destroying it."

She squeezed his hand, somber. "When they put me in my cell, I was sure I'd never see the sun again. My body was broken, my heart was broken. I had no will to live without them. I really wished my life had been ended too." She looked down, and then towards the garden. "I don't know what kept me alive."

"You do." Quatre said. "It was their image in your head. Their last words. Those last smiles. Usagi I haven't lost everything yet. But the memory of what I've lost during my weaknesses, that's what keeps me going. It doesn't make you weak to give into the pain. It makes you strong."

There was an awareness building as he spoke, colors at the edge of her mind. And then, a feeling. Some she hadn't felt in a long time. She reached forward and reached down his shirt without thinking, pulling up a silver key. It pulsed in her hand, flashed blue and turquoise. She stared at it in wonder.

"I was wondering when you would notice." Quatre said softly. She gripped the key in her hand, and closed her eyes, spreading her awareness out like a net. They snapped open again, and she whispered.

"All of you?" Quatre nodded.

"When they couldn't reach you, they came to us." Her heart hurt. In more ways than one. It was a dull ache. An ache for the friends she had lost, that she was finally letting seep into her consciousness, and an ache for the friends she had made. She should have known. especially after Wufei coming to her the other day, speaking of Rei and Makoto in his dreams.

She dropped the key, and it fell with a soft thump to Quatre's chest. Her power flared instantly, her eyes flashing as she called them to her. "Come to me now." She whispered it, knowing they would hear. Quatre looked surprised. She knew he could feel the pull towards her. Knew they all could. His key was glowing without her touch now.

"Usagi?" She smiled at him, softly.

"It's okay Quatre." She said. But she wondered, if it really would be.

...

Duo and Trowa had been sitting in the lounge together, watching the current news, when her voice echoed through the room. "Come to me now." He reached for the key that had been bestowed upon him as it suddenly burst to life, glowing deep purple and bright orange. Trowa's was glowing too. Dark green and Yellow. He looked at his comrade, and they stood together. There was a force that pulled them to the front of the house, a force they had no choice but to follow, so commanding was it.

...

Hiiro and Wufei had been training together in the woods. Wufei had stopped the fall of his fist in a millisecond, and stood paused, inches away from Hiiro's face. Hiiro stood with one foot in the air, in the middle of a roundhouse kick.

"Onna." Wufei grumbled, and looked down at the key he'd acquired from his dreams. It was glowing deep red and light green. Hiiro's followed a split second after, glowing a muddy forest green and...pink? He raised an eyebrow under Hiiro's glare, but followed him when he said, "Let's go."

...

Duo and Trowa appeared from the Bay doors, and Wufei and Hiiro from far off in the gardens, almost at the same time. The light that shone beneath their shirts was evident, and as she raised one hand, their keys pulled themselves from their shirts, thumping on their chests where she could see them.

"Do you understand the weight of what you have accepted?" She asked, and her voice was hard. Duo was the first to speak.

"I told you that you held my loyalty as you held theirs Usa."

"Hai Onna." Wufei said. "Don't get so bent out of shape." Her eyes blazed, but he did not back down. With a sigh, she stood, facing all of them.

"You don't understand." She shifted her gaze to each of them.

"No." Hiiro said, and her eyes softened on his. "We do." he stepped forward, and the lights from his key blazed from being so close to her. "You said once that you needed us to be your 'ace in the hole'. We are now."

She reached out as he reached for her, and buried herself in his chest in one swift movement. "He can find you now." She whispered, her voice broken. "He can see you now. Better than he could before." She looked up into Hiiro's eyes. "These keys are a beacon on your chests that say come for me. I can't lose all of you too!"

"You won't Usagi." Wufei said. "Not ever. You never lost your friends from before. Doesn't this prove it?" He clasped the key around his neck, stifling it's glow with his hand. "Before this, you were asking us to fight an enemy we couldn't hope to match. The power was given to us, to rise to his level, and you're acting like it's the worst thing that could have happened. Stop being scared and believe in us like we believe in you. Your friends did."

She closed her eyes, ashamed. Wufei was right. They were all right. They wanted to fight with her, and her court had entrusted them with great power to do so. And here she was lecturing them on the dangers. She had forgotten for a moment who they were, in the fear that had clouded her heart and mind. They were warriors too. "Gomen Nasai Minna." She said, and stepped back from Hiiro's embrace. He let go of her reluctantly, his eyes cool and calm. She took a deep breath, and smiled as best she could. "I suppose then, we should start your training."

There was a collective nod. Goddess how they amazed her.

...

They sat under the cool shade of the cherry blossom trees in the garden. It was August 1st now, and they were heavy with fragrance. It occurred to her that her birthday had passed, sometime while she had been held in Tenshu's cell. She shivered at the memory, turned her mind to other things. Like the task at hand.

"So how exactly are we supposed to do this?" Duo asked. He was laying in the grass on his back. The light that filtered in through the trees dappled his body.

"To be truthful I've never had any scouts with combination powers." She said. She twirled a leaf she had picked up from the ground in between two fingers lazily. "This is a new to me as it is to you."

Wufei snorted. "Well that helps." She stuck her tongue out at him and blew a raspberry.

"There are never instructions that come with these powers. In the past, I had my Guardian Luna to guide me." Her heart skipped a beat. She never found out what had happened to her most trusted advisor and friend. She, Artemis and Diana had not traveled with them to their fight on the moon. Another time. She chided herself. Not right now. It was getting harder to organize her thoughts. "But even she could not tell me how to use my power. It was something innate. That came with the desire to get stronger. Comsos is my ultimate transformation. But there were four others in between." She sighed. "My best guess would to be call out the planets you've been attached to."

Quatre was fingering the key around his neck thoughtfully. She watched him with curious eyes. "Mercury and Neptune." He whispered, almost to himself. A light came to his eyes then, and she watched in wonder as the words spilled from his mouth like old friends.

"Mercury, Neptune, unlock!" All eyes turned to him as water droplets formed from nothing, and swirled about him like a small tornado, freezing for a moment before bursting into a billion tiny particles and falling away. He was still seated, looking just as surprised as everyone else was.

He wore now, something akin to a mens Kimono, though it was cut short on one side and long on the other, with loose gi type pants. It was dark blue in color, with turquoise trim. On the right side of the breast, was a silver crescent moon. His feet were clad in dark blue tabi's, and a sword hung at his side, sheathed in a blue that matched his outfit. The pommel was turquoise. On his forehead, shone the symbols of Mercury and Neptune, intertwined.

"Thank the Gods." Wufei said. And everyone turned to him. "If he had ended up in a skirt, I would have thrown this thing away." Usagi couldn't help it, she laughed hysterically. When she could breathe again, she turned to Quatre.

"How did it come to you?" She asked.

He was looking at his hands, which she now noticed were clad in fish net to the knuckles. It seemed to travel under his robes everywhere. It peeked from beneath his kimono shirt as well. "I just figured a key, should unlock." He said, still mildly dazed.

Hiiro was the next to try. He didn't speak as loudly as Quatre. It was more of a whisper. "Moon, Earth, unlock." A flurry of cherry blossoms not from the trees rose into the air, mixed with dark green leaves and fine dust. When they settled he was in a black Kimono and Gi pants that matched Quatre's in style. The trimmings were dark green, and the tabi's were black. The gloves that covered his hands were pure black and covered only his palms. He wore a sword as well. The pommel decorated with a light pink gem. He glared at it as if he could make it change color. On his forehead, shone a silver crescent moon, and the symbol for Earth.

Not be outdone, Duo tried next. "Venus, Saturn, Unlock!" He was still lying down, and the flurry of dark purple waves and bright orange flower petals lifted him from the ground for a moment, blowing back her hair. He was dropped unceremoniously with an 'oof'. She laughed despite herself. "Whoa." He whispered, and pushed himself up, looking himself over. His kimono was a deep purple, trimmed with gold, with matching gi pants. He too had the crescent moon on his breast, and the symbols of Venus and Saturn upon his brow. His tabi's matched the purple of his robes. Instead of gloves, his hands and legs and chest were wrapped in black bandage. He held no sword. Smiling he stood, and she watched in wonder as he raised his hand, and there in it appeared a glaive that was taller than he was. The staff was black, the blade a shimmering silver.

"It's innate." She said. "Your weapon is fashioned like Saturn's." He smiled wide.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." He looked at Wufei and Trowa.

They both stood together, and called out simultaneously.

"Mars, Jupiter, Unlock!"

"Pluto, Uranus, Unlock."

Wufei was covered in flame for a moment, which was extinguished by a bright flash of light that made her shield her eyes. Dark green leaves drifted down afterwards, burnt and mixed with ash. Trowa had been encased in dark green energy and circles of deep yellow bound together. When she could see past the dots in her vision, she beheld them.

Trowa wore a dark green Kimono trimmed in yellow and gi pants that matched. His forehead shone with the symbols of Pluto and Uranus. His tabi's matched his kimono, and underneath, he seemed to be wrapped in a thin golden chain mail. A sword with a large yellow pommel hung at his side. He carried the crescent as well, as did Wufei. The Chinese man was clad in deep red trimmed with black. Beneath his kimono was a dark green fishnet. His tabi's were black, and his blade held a pommel of dark green.

"Unreal." Usagi said. The power that flowed from them made her dizzy with new promise and old memories. Wufei had drawn his sword. It was shaped like his trusty katana, though the hilt was more ornate. He looked proud of it.

She realized they were all looking at her. She smiled, and took a deep breath, letting the changes that came with being Cosmos come over her. She did not fully transform. Just enough to do what she needed. She'd been holding a thin barrier over their exercise, and it flared dark purple as her power came to her fingertips. She raised her hands, and above them, materialized six earpieces. They were all silver.

"Here." One dropped in her hand, and the others drifted to each man, dropping in their outstretched palms. They were sitting in a circle now. "These are communication devices. Just thinking about it will open a direct link to me, or one another. Separately or at the same time."

"Sweet." Duo said. There were shorts flashes of light as each knight touched his key, and they de-transformed. She let her own features return with theirs.

"Transforming takes energy." She said. "Be careful of how you use it. At this time I can't begin to guess the extent of your power. But it will come if you call. You must take care not to exhaust yourselves."

"You worry too much Usagi." Trowa said with a soft smirk.

"If I could help it I would stop." She said. "You leave tomorrow." She grew somber. Duo reached out and put a hand on her leg. When she looked at him he was smiling.

"Usa..." he said. "We know what we're doing." She opened her mouth and to her surprise Quatre shushed her.

"You're not healed enough yet to come with us and you know it. Believe in Us Usagi."

"I do." She said, and meant it whole heartedly. It did not staunch the worry in her heart, but it was true. "I believe in all of you."

...

So it starts. The G-boys have revealed the powers given to them, and are ready to fight Chaos will. But how in all hell do they use these powers? With little time to learn and so many lives resting on their success, will they break? Even I don't know. Find out next time.