Chapter 14: Beginning of the End

Despite standing on only one leg, using its thrusters to maintain its balance, the Sandrock had the Heavyarms in a stalemate. The Sandrock would have had the advantage, since both suits were forced into close-ranged combat, if it wasn't for its missing leg. One of the Heat Shotels was embedded into the shoulder joint of the Heavyarms' arm, and the Sandrock's other arm was trying to break the army knife embedded in its own elbow joint while trying to get its Heat Shotel close enough to decapitate the Heavyarms.

After a few moments, a shriek of metal on metal was heard as both suits succeeded in what they had intended on doing. The Heavyarms collapsed to the ground as the Sandrock used its remaining arm to knock it over and slash its knee joints to render it immobile.

Yamato fled just as he was instructed, and the Sandrock made no attempt to follow him because its own damage hindered any chance of pursuit. Soon afterwards, the others began to retreat.

"Should we follow them?" Quatre asked as the Sandrock was supported by the Tallgeese III to stop it from falling over.

"We're in no shape to chase them. The Wing Zero and Tallgeese III got off lucky, but the others need to be taken back to the Sanc Kingdom and repaired as soon as possible." Heero said calmly. Quatre nodded in understanding.

"It looks like they got what they wanted: only two suits are fit enough to fight if they were to attack us again soon." Milliardo growled as they looked at the abandoned suits.

The Sandrock knelt, using its arm to keep its balance once it deactivated and Quatre jumped out, looking at the damage with a wince.

Heero and Milliardo joined him, shaking their heads. "Should we contact them to bring mobile suit transports and anti-fire planes?" Quatre asked as they watched the inferno burn out of control.

"I've already tried to contact them. I don't know where they are." Milliardo said as he frowned at the fire.

Heero's eyes narrowed as he looked up at the sky. "It looks as though we don't need to contact them."

As the other two looked, a procession of planes became visible in the sky.

A small group of planes broke off and began dumping water on the fires as the other seven planes circled around the clearing before landing close to the Gundams.

"Are you ready to be shot down?" Quatre asked both men, knowing Heero and Milliardo would get most of Relena's fury.

"Are you?" Heero replied as the lead plane's door opened to allow Relena, the rest of the Defence Council, and the other three Gundam pilots off.

They could hear Duo's annoyed yells as he saw the condition of his suit, and Wufei was just as loud but angrier as he looked over his Gundam.

Trowa merely shook his head as he examined the Heavyarms.

"They're going to kill us." Heero commented casually as the others continued towards them. The other two could only nod in agreement as they took note of the group's expressions.

"Did you three really have to do that much damage to them? We don't have any mass produced suits to use as a backup." Noin said with a frown.

"We wouldn't have had to take such drastic measures if it weren't for those Luxembourg fools." Milliardo growled.

"We were forced to disable them to prevent the pilots from doing any more damage." Heero said coolly.

Noin rolled her eyes as though she knew that was what they would say.

Une sighed as the other pilots joined them. "The only one we can get up and running in a reasonable time is the Deathscythe Hell, because we were worried about the shaft exploding."

"So the backup parts came in?" Milliardo asked in surprise.

Une nodded. "About an hour ago."

"So what are the rest of us supposed to do?" Wufei snapped as he glared at the disabled Altron.

"First, we'll deal with repairing the three suits that can be repaired quickly. I have a feeling that spare parts have already been ordered for the rest." Milliardo said coolly as he glanced at Noin, who nodded.

"We had a feeling it wasn't going to be easy for you, so we had them ordered before we left."

"We learned some things that Yaturi probably wanted kept secret, though." Quatre said grimly.

"What's that?" Trowa asked worriedly.

"They used our suits to their advantage. It wasn't three on two for long. There were three other suits in the warehouse. If Heero hadn't shown up when he did…" Quatre shook his head.

"Only three?" Sally asked with a concerned frown.

"It wouldn't surprise me if he had two warehouses. Yaturi's not exactly the type to slip up easily. This one must have been a trap in order to leave the ESUN defenceless." Heero explained coolly.

Quatre nodded in reluctant agreement. "He's right. We walked right into a trap. Although, I don't think any of them expected Heero to show up."

"I know we didn't." Milliardo said as he shot a guarded look at Heero, who ignored it.

"When we take them back to the hangar, we'll have to work quickly in order to get at least these three up and running again before Heiran has a chance to recover." Trowa said as he kept his expression neutral, even though his voice was strained from the effort of keeping his annoyance in check.

"At least his pilots left with some wounds of their own to deal with. That should give us a bit of time to deal with our own suits." Quatre admitted as he looked at the Sandrock with a wince.

The others nodded in reluctant agreement before Milliardo ordered them to help with the loading of their Gundams.

Just as the others separated and headed for their machines, a slap could barely be heard over the roar of the planes' engines.

Everyone turned to see Relena glaring angrily up at Heero, who stared down at her in surprise as he took a hand away from his face.

"That's for going against my orders to stay at headquarters!" She yelled at him.

Heero remained silent as the others quickly decided to return to what they had been planning to do.

Relena took a deep breath to try and calm herself before going on. "I'm grateful you did, it was obvious they couldn't handle the situation on their own… but you still went against my orders. What would have happened if you had reopened your wound? We need you alive, and healthy. Every time you keep going your own way, you run the risk of extending your recovery time." She said with a tremble of suppressed anger and frustration in her voice.

"I know." He said as he closed his eyes and looked away.

"Then why do you keep doing it? The others are just as capable as you are. One of the others could have piloted the Wing Zero to help them. You didn't have to go yourself."

Heero shrugged but remained silent.

Relena shook her head in frustration. "Go help load up the Gundams. I'll figure out what to do about your disobedience later." She said with an exasperated tone and a dismissive wave of her hand.

Heero nodded before walking towards the Wing Zero.

Sally walked up with a concerned frown. "Is everything okay?"

Relena shook her head. "I think I've been giving them too free of a rein since they returned. I always let them do their own thing, and I think Heero's actions finally pushed that leniency over the edge."

Sally shook her head. "It's not that. He was just doing what he felt was right. He didn't want to sit on the sidelines and watch as the safety of the ESUN and, more importantly, you are put at risk."

Relena sighed. "I know… I just wish he'd think about his own safety sometimes." She frowned as Sally laughed.

"I'm sorry, but he'll always put your life before his. You know that."

Relena rolled her eyes. "Anyways, why are you here?"

"Oh yes, the fires are mostly out now and the fire planes are returning to the Sanc Kingdom. Luxembourg's fire crews are on their way to deal with the remnants."

"That's good."

Sally nodded. "Come on, let's go. We'll have to work hard in order to get some semblance of a defence up, just in case Heiran decides to strike."

Relena sighed and nodded as she allowed Sally to steer her back towards the personnel plane.

As soon as the Gundams were returned to the hangar in Relena's mansion, everyone began to work on repairing the Deathscythe Hell, Wing Zero and Tallgeese III; even Relena tried to help as much as she could.

Finally, after a week of non-stop work, the three suits were fully repaired.

Relena sighed in exhaustion as she stood outside the hangar, stretching and watching the sun rise as the others began shifting their attentions to the more seriously damaged Gundams.

Noin hid a yawn behind her hand as she stood beside Relena, giving her a rag to clear away the stains on her face. "Mariemaia says everything's going well at the ESUN."

Relena nodded. "I feel bad about letting her do all the work."

Noin smiled slightly. "Don't worry. She's enjoying herself. She also told me to tell you that you should rest. In fact, she was tempted to make it an order just to see if you would obey it."

Relena rolled her eyes. "I think the girl is getting a little too power hungry."

Noin chuckled in amusement. "She does have a good point though. You need to rest."

Relena frowned at her. "I won't rest unless the others do."

"Then shall I make it an order that everyone's to take today off?" Noin asked as she glanced knowingly at Relena.

Relena sighed in defeat, knowing Noin would pressure her into agreeing. She nodded reluctantly. "By my orders, today is to be a rest day. The others aren't going to be happy about it, but…"

Noin didn't wait for her to say any more as she quickly turned and walked back into the hangar to tell the others about Relena's decision.

Relena was surprised when she didn't hear any arguments from any of the severely damaged Gundam's pilots.

They simply nodded as they listened to Noin, and then left the hangar after clearing everything away.

Relena sighed in relief before Hilde came and put a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, you're exhausted." She said as she steered Relena easily towards the mansion's walkway. "I'm surprised you were able to help. I didn't think you knew anything about mobile suit mechanics."

Relena blushed in embarrassment. "I secretly studied while the Gundams were being rebuilt. It wasn't much, but it was enough to make me useful."

Hilde smirked in amusement. "That's great. I think you surprised the hell out of the guys though."

Relena laughed. "I think so too…" She frowned in thought. "What about those preparations?"

"Done… in fact, we can do it today."

Relena nodded. "Do it, but don't let anyone know. You're in charge since you aren't among those who were repairing the Gundams."

Hilde nodded in understanding. "Don't worry. Leave everything to me."

Relena smiled. "Thank you Hilde. I'm glad you decided to come keep a close eye on Duo."

Hilde threw her head back and laughed.

After a few moments, Relena joined her in laughter for a few moments before sighing as they reached her room.

"Be careful, Hilde, don't get caught."

Hilde rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about me. I learned from the best."

Relena nodded in understanding as they parted ways, but she watched as Hilde turned a nearby corner with a worried frown. "I know… but still…" She said quietly as she opened the door to her room

Before she could enter her room, she saw Milliardo running towards her. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"We have trouble." He growled angrily as he stopped beside her.

Relena frowned. "What?"

He looked around carefully before answering. "Luxembourg wants Heero Yuy and the Wing Zero turned over to their custody immediately."

Relena cursed angrily under her breath, generating a look of surprise from Milliardo.

She blushed in embarrassment. "I've been hanging around Duo too long." She admitted before she regained her composure.

"Let me guess: because of his actions when we were retrieving our other Gundams?"

Milliardo nodded. "We were only given permission for the Tallgeese III and the Sandrock to enter and fight in their territory…"

"…So Heero's presence was considered a hostile act against the independent nation of Luxembourg?" Relena asked with a slight bit of a growl in her tone. She took a deep breath to try and calm herself down: a week with little rest and all of the stress that was piling up on her would kill her if she didn't try to control it now.

Milliardo nodded again. "I wanted to let you know before it became public knowledge. So what are we going to do?"

Relena sighed in defeat, completely unsure of what to do. "Honestly, Milliardo… I don't know."

"I'll go quietly." Relena and Milliardo both jumped as Heero walked around the corner.

"So you were listening?" Milliardo asked as he removed his hand from his gun, which he had instinctively gone for.

Heero nodded as he stood before them and folded his arms across his chest. "Yaturi must have had a hard time convincing the Luxembourg officials to take this step, but it definitely has his hand in it. I'll go quietly with the Wing Zero, that way he can't cause you any more official trouble."

"This is part of Yaturi's plan, then? He must be ready to launch an attack if they're asking for the Wing Zero." Milliardo growled in anger.

Heero nodded grimly as he looked at the older pilot. "As soon as I catch wind of his strike, I'll be on my way as fast as the Wing Zero can fly… even if I have to kill all of my guards to do it."

Relena shivered at his icy tone, but Milliardo nodded in acceptance.

"I must admit, I'm glad we're the ones who are allowed to hold your leash…" Heero smirked coldly and received an equally cold smile in return from Milliardo.

"Please be careful, Heero. I really wish there was some way to avoid this, but since there doesn't seem to be any…" Relena said softly.

Heero's expression softened a bit as he looked down at her. "Don't worry, I'll be fine… you're the one who should be careful. I have a feeling he'll have all of his suits ready for combat, and two Gundams won't be enough to protect the headquarters."

Relena nodded gratefully at his surprisingly gentle tone.

"Go now before Luxembourg thinks we're going to refuse. We don't want to see what will happen if they assume that." Milliardo ordered.

Heero inclined his head slightly before walking away quickly.

"Did he just bow?" Milliardo asked incredulously after a few moments of surprised silence.

"That makes me worried… what is he going to do?" Relena asked in concern.

Milliardo shook his head. "All I know is that I should probably be feeling sorry for the Luxembourg goons who will be responsible for his imprisonment… but for some reason I just can't bring myself to." He said wryly, causing Relena to look up at him in confusion. "He has that wild look in his eye… you remember… the one he had back during the Eve Wars."

Relena paled in fear as she turned to go after Heero.

Milliardo grabbed her arm with an iron grip to stop her. "Don't. It's too late. Besides, we need that ferocity to stand a chance against Yaturi and those former rookies. I just hope the others find it again before it's too late for the ESUN…"

Relena stared up at him for a few moments before nodding in reluctant agreement.

"Go to bed. You should be just as exhausted as the rest of us."

"Only as long as the rest of you are…"

Milliardo nodded. "I was going to before that announcement came in. I'll be going now."

Relena nodded as he released her arm, patting her comfortingly on the shoulder before walking away.

Relena sighed and entered her room. She collapsed onto her bed without even bothering to get changed. "Heero… don't do anything stupid…" She muttered into her pillows before closing her eyes. As a measure of her exhaustion, she fell asleep almost immediately.

Author's Note: Another chapter done! Whoo! Looks like things are beginning to look bad for the heroes, eh? What will happen? I'm not telling. =P Enjoy anyways!