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Italics=thought
Chapter 18
Shinn landed the Impulse amongst the rubble caused from the battle with the Destroy. He found Stellar lying near the destroyed machine. He slowly walked up to her as tears started to form in his eyes.
"Oh Stellar," he said as he knelt down beside her and took her in his arms.
"Shinn," she said weakly as she opened her eyes and looked into the face of the raven haired pilot.
"Oh Stellar I'm so sorry," he said as he took her hand in his.
"You said you would protect me, Shinn," she said while Shinn couldn't help from letting the tears flow more freely.
"Shinn, I love you," she managed to get out before the life left her eyes and her body went limp in Shinn's arms.
"STELLAR!" he cried out as the girl he felt protective of left him forever.
The Minerva had flown in and Gladys was shocked when she saw Shinn's face as he carried Stellar's body in his arms towards the Impulse. Once there, he powered up the mobile suit and flew away from Berlin. He made his way up into the mountains and landed near a small lake. He opened up the cockpit and with tears on his face he picked up Stellar's dead body and carried her onto the Impulses arm.
"I'm so sorry Stellar," wept Shinn as he held her close. "I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you."
He gently laid her body into the water and watched as it slowly floated beneath the surface.
"But you're safe now, in peace away from war where nothing can hurt you. Rest in peace Stellar. I'm so sorry."
As her body disappeared into the dark depths, Shinn broke down as he let the tears flow freely down his face. Rain began to fall as he continued to weep and say that he was sorry. Once all the tears had left his eyes, he raised his head in anger as he started to feel his body become fueled with the rage he felt towards Heero and the pilot of the Freedom. He no longer felt empathy towards Heero, now he only wanted revenge.
It was a sombre feeling for Heero as he landed Wing Zero in the Archangel's hanger, he knew that the person he wanted most wouldn't be there and he would have to face the consequences of destroying the Orb fleet. On top of that he had just caused Shinn to experience the same thing he had and knew he would be coming for revenge. But Heero didn't care if he won that battle, not anymore.
He wasn't even paying attention as he lowered himself to the ground. He expected that a crowd would have gathered to greet him but he wasn't prepared for what happened next. As soon as his feet touched the hanger floor he was knocked backwards onto his ass. He heard sobbing as he felt someone beat their fists against his chest.
"You bastard, you bastard," came the voice.
Heero recovered from the shock as he recognized the voice. He thought his mind was playing tricks on him but when he noticed the familiar black jacket shrouded in golden hair he knew it wasn't an illusion.
"Relena?" he said softly.
Relena lifted her head from Heero's chest and looked at his face. Heero could see her tear filled ocean blue orbs and felt his heart lift and break at the same time. He felt a tear come to his eye as he reached up a hand to cup her face.
"I thought you were dead."
Relena shook her head. "No, I wasn't going to die. Not without seeing you again," she replied with a small smile.
Heero smiled back and wrapped his arms around Relena and pulled her into him as tight as he could, burying his head in her shoulder. "I'm so sorry, forgive me."
"There's nothing to forgive, you're here now. Back with me, where you belong."
"I'm never leaving you again."
"Promise?"
Heero pulled back so he could look Relena in the eyes so she could tell he was being honest. "Wherever I go, you go."
Relena smiled as she leant forward and pressed her lips against Heero's. He kissed back. It wasn't a passionate kiss of lust and desire but one of love and affection. After a while they broke apart, smiling with tear filled eyes. Heero then noticed the crowd watching them and realized he was still on the ground with Relena cuddled into him. He stood up, pulling Relena with him without much effort. He looked at Cagalli, Kira and the Orb pilots before speaking.
"I need to apologize for my actions from the previous battle. I killed your countrymen without mercy. And I broke my promise to you," he said as he looked at Relena. "I will accept any punishment you see fit."
Cagalli looked to her brother then to the pilot leader before speaking. "It's okay Heero. These things happen in war and you thought you saw the one you love die. All of us would do the same."
"But I'm not meant to lose control like that. I'm meant to be perfect in battle."
"We all make mistakes, Heero," said Kira in that soft, reassuring voice. "And there's still plenty of time to make things right."
Heero nodded. He knew they were right and he should move on, just like the time he killed Noventa and the other pacifists. He felt Relena tighten her hold on him and looked down to see her offer a small smile. Seeing that lifted his spirits immediately. He was still in shock that he was holding her.
"So what's our next move?" asked Murrue.
"We head for Orb. Once Durandal deals with Djibril, he'll head there as it's the only nation that will take a stand against his next move. But first we'll have to deal with the Minerva. They'll be coming after us to stop anymore interference. And Shinn will want revenge," finished Heero as he looked at Kira.
"I understand," replied Kira.
"Why would he want revenge?" asked Relena, confused.
"He knew the pilot of that mobile suit, she was someone precious to him and we took her from him," answered Heero looking at the woman in his arms. "I know exactly how he feels."
"By the way, Erica Simmons dropped something off for you a few days ago," said Kira as he indicated a fighter plane and a giant storage container.
Heero looked and couldn"t help but smile. "She completed them then, good. We'll need them soon. And where are Lacus and Waltfeld?"
"They went back to space to see what they could find out in the Plants," answered Kira sadly.
"Interesting," stated Heero.
"What is?" asked Cagalli.
"It's not official but ZAFT had two of its four state of the art nuclear engines stolen recently. I can only guess at who was responsible for that," answered Heero with a smirk that Kira couldn't help but return.
"And what is Durandal's next move?" asked Murrue wanting to know what Heero had meant by his earlier statement.
"I have a feeling we'll find out shortly. But for now I suggested we rest while we make our way to Orb. Best course of action would be to head north towards Scandinavia and use the ice and snow to hide our signal, then stay in the artic and skirt around North America and then head for Orb. It may take longer but it will keep us out of ZAFT territory for now. It would be too risky trying to cross Europe or Africa."
"Good plan," said Murrue in agreement. "I'm sure you would like to rest after that battle, Relena can show you to your room," added Murrue with a knowing smirk that caused Relena to blush and the others to hide their laughter.
The group was about to leave when Murdoch got Heero's attention.
"Hey kid,"
"Yes?" answered Kira and Heero together. The combined response caused expressions of amusement from those present.
"Not you, Kira, the new kid," replied Murdoch. "Aren't you going to power down your machine? And what maintenance do I need to do?"
"It is powered down; it's made from Gundanium which is an alloy made using Lunar Titanium and GND ores in zero gravity. What you're looking at is its paint job. As for maintenance and repairs, I didn't take much damage this battle so it should be fine but replace any armour that is damaged. And for now, stay out of the cockpit, it will self-destruct if anyone but me goes in there."
Everyone nearby flinched at Heero's threat while Relena sighed.
"Seriously Heero, you're going to pull that stunt here, with these people?"
"Sorry I can't help myself. I love seeing everyone's reaction when I say that," replied Heero with a chuckle.
Everyone was somewhat confused by the conversation between the two. Relena decided to ease their anxiety.
"He's joking about the self-destruct but still don't go in the cockpit."
Murdoch and his crew let out a sigh of relief along with the others. Heero couldn't keep the grin from his face as he wrapped his arm around Relena's waist as they followed the others from the hanger.
Back on the Minerva, Shinn was sitting in his room, typing away furiously on his computer. Rey walked in and noticed the concentration on his face.
"What are you doing?" asked Rey as he walked over to the desk and looked at the screen.
"I'm trying to beat the Freedom but it won't work," replied Shinn in frustration as he lost another simulation.
Rey looked at the footage that Shinn was using and was impressed by Kira's skill at piloting it.
"The Freedom is a powerful machine but the pilot uses it like an extension of the body, impressive use of the thrusters," he said.
"I just can't beat it," said Shinn as he hit the desk.
Outside the room, Athrun had arrived and entered.
"What are you doing?" he asked as he looked at Rey and Shinn at the desk.
"I'm running a battle simulation with the Freedom," replied Shinn without taking his eyes off of the screen.
"Why?"
"Because it's powerful and I want to beat it."
"Shinn!" said Athrun in anger as he made for the red eyed pilot.
Rey managed to get between them.
"Athrun, what Shinn says is not unthinkable. The Freedom and Archangel have not declared their intentions so it may be possible for us to have to fight them in the future, as well as Wing Zero now that Heero has deserted. And considering your history with them any information you have would be helpful," said Rey as he turned back to the screen.
Athrun didn't know what to say as he looked at Shinn, Rey and the screen and decided to leave. He was walking towards the rec room when he bumped into Luna. He noticed that she was looking upset and decided to ask what was wrong.
"It's nothing," she replied when Athrun asked what was up.
"You sure? I've never seen you look this miserable before."
"It's just that, why did he have to leave. I thought he liked it here," said Luna in an outburst.
Athrun knew who Luna was talking about and knew why Heero left but he was sworn to secrecy though he wanted to tell her.
"I"m sure that Heero had his reasons. After all he wasn't a soldier of ZAFT and he could leave whenever he wanted though I'm not sure the Chairman would see it that way."
"But I thought that he'd…" started Luna though she didn't really know what to say.
"You had feelings for him, didn't you?"
"Yes. I know that he has just lost Relena but after he grieved I thought that he might…"
"Fall for you?"
Luna nodded.
Their conversation was interrupted by an announcement.
"People of the Earth and Plants. I come before you today to talk about the cause for this war," came Durandal's voice.
"It's the Chairman," said Athrun as he and Luna entered the rec room to see Durandal's giant face on the screen.
All over the Minerva, the Earth and the Plants, people had stopped their activities to listen to the announcement.
"As you know it was started thanks to a group of Coordinators that dropped Junius Seven towards Earth. I took full responsibility for that and made every effort to provide disaster relief. But throughout this war it has been the Earth Alliance that has been the aggressor, including this latest incident in Berlin."
The screen then showed the battles that the Minerva and other ZAFT forces had fought in and stopped with the Destroy in Berlin.
"The Freedom and Wing Zero are gone," stated Athrun as he noticed only the Impulse flying around the giant mobile suit.
"But it is not the Earth Alliance's fault entirely. It is the fault of those who control them. We all know of Blue Cosmos but it is the ones that created Blue Cosmos that are to blame."
"SHUT IT DOWN!" screamed Djibril as he knew where Durandal was going.
"They have been with us since antiquity. They are known as the Military Industrial Complex or simply as Logos. I move to eradicate Logos and bring an end to this war and any future wars."
All over the screen were pictures of the members of Logos. Many people knew or recognized some of those people.
"Chairman," said Gladys.
"He actually did it," said Shinn with a big grin.
All over the world, people were either in support of or against Durandal while some couldn't decide.
Aboard the Archangel the crew were stunned at this revelation, except for Heero. Everyone had gathered on the bridge when the announcement started.
"So this was the announcement you were talking about?" asked Kira.
"Yes. It is time we left; ZAFT will be after us very soon. Durandal doesn't want us interfering in this operation," replied Heero.
On board the Minerva, Gladys was sitting in her office with Arthur when she received a message.
"It's from headquarters. It says that we are to make our way to Gibraltar for the fight against Logos but first we are to assist with "Operation Angel Down"."
"Operation Angel Down?" asked Arthur.
"It says that since the Archangel and Freedom have continued to interfere with the war effort they are a risk and must be destroyed. It also says that Heero Yuy has been declared a deserter and must also be removed from play."
"I see," said Arthur.
"Prepare the ship we're heading out," ordered Gladys.
The Archangel was approaching Scandinavia; Murrue was sitting by the unconscious body of Neo Roenoke. She couldn't help but stare at his sleeping form.
"Has the patient woken up?" asked Kira as he, Mir, Heero, Relena and Cagalli entered the med bay.
"No but his DNA continues to give one hundred per cent match to Mu La Flaga. So it is his body lying there. I hope his memories are too," she replied with a tear.
"So this is the Commander?" asked Kira.
"I'm a Captain," said Neo as he had woken up and heard everything. "Just cause I'm your prisoner doesn't mean you can demote me."
Neo looked around the room at the stunned faces, except for Heero, and stopped on Murrue's upset one.
"What's the matter beautiful, falling for me?"
Murrue couldn't take anymore as she left the room in tears with Mir following.
"Hey Mu!" yelled Kira as he rounded on Neo.
"I don't know who this Mu is but I'm Captain Neo Roenoke, Captain," said Neo emphasizing the last words.
Kira took one last look at Neo before leaving with Heero, Relena and Cagalli following.
"He'll eventually remember," said Heero as he walked past Murrue.
Suddenly the alarm went off and a voice spoke over the intercom.
"ZAFT vessels approaching from behind."
Everyone then gathered on the bridge.
"It's only a ZAFT land carrier. The Minerva must be waiting up ahead somewhere. I'll take the land carrier. You take the Minerva, Kira," said Heero as he ran off to the hanger with Kira in tow while Murrue, Mir and Cagalli took their positions on the bridge.
Heero was just about to leave the change rooms when he was floored again.
"Relena? What are you doing? A battle is about to start."
"You left without saying goodbye," replied Relena, concern evident.
"I'm sorry, but I'm coming back."
"I know, but now that we're together you need to learn to say goodbye before you fly off to battle," scolded Relena.
Their moment was interrupted by a chuckle. They looked up to see Kira with a grin on his face.
"She has a point Heero, Lacus is the same. I'll give you two a moment," he said as he headed to the hanger.
Relena couldn't help but giggle as she and Heero stood up.
"So how am I supposed to do this?"
"Kiss me and tell me not to worry and that you're coming back."
Heero nodded and leaned in to press his lips to Relena's. She kissed back and after a time they broke apart. "Don't worry about me, I'll be coming right back."
Relena smiled. "That's better."
Heero smiled back before quickly kissing her again. "I'll be back soon," he said as he headed for the hanger while Relena headed for the bridge.
Once Heero activated Wing Zero, Zero placed another vision in his head.
"I know," he said as he opened up a link to the bridge. "Captain Ramius, once you make it to the ocean, I need you to wait underwater and meet me at these coordinates."
"Ah…," said Murrue sounding a little confused.
"Don't worry Ms Murrue, you can trust Heero," said Relena. "He's most likely had a vision from Zero."
"Understood," answered Murrue finally.
"I'm heading out now to stop the ZAFT forces at the rear. Kira, you stay here and protect the Archangel until the Minerva appears," said Heero as he walked Wing Zero to the catapult.
"Right," replied Kira as he walked the Freedom to the other one.
"Be safe you two," said Relena in concern.
"Roger that," said Heero as he launched into the air and immediately headed towards the approaching ZAFT vessel. The radar went off as Wing Zero appeared and the commander launched all of the DINNs and Bacues.
"This shouldn't take long Zero," said Heero as he fired the buster rifle and took out three of the Bacues while slicing down a DINN.
A small battle ensued between Wing Zero and the ZAFT forces as Heero stopped all of the attempts made to get passed him and get to the Archangel. The Commander of the vessel was impressed by Wing Zero's power but his admiration was soon gone when he received a message from Gladys.
"The Minerva is finally here. It's about to intercept the Archangel," said the Commander to his crew.
As the Archangel rounded a bend, the Minerva came into sudden view.
"Avoid it," ordered Murrue as the canyon was too thin for two ships their size.
Newman flipped the Archangel onto its side and flew past the Minerva who turned around as quickly as it could to follow.
"Launch Shinn in the Impulse," ordered Gladys.
Shinn was waiting in the briefing room, going over the plan that he and Rey had come up with. He heard the announcement for him to launch and was just at the elevator when Athrun appeared. The two glared at each other as they really had nothing to say.
Outside, Kira in the Freedom was trying to make some distance between the Minerva and Archangel, but was knocked out of the way by the Impulse.
"You have to deal with me first," said Shinn as he blocked Kira's attempts to get back to the Archangel.
On the Minerva's bridge, Gladys was contemplating whether or not she should try and get the Archangel to surrender. She made her decision as she picked up the phone.
"Archangel, this is Captain Talia Gladys of the Minerva. Because of your continuous interference and attacks on our ship, you have been classified an enemy of ZAFT. Our orders are to destroy you but if you surrender now I'll do everything I can to ensure your safety. Gladys out."
"What is she doing?" asked the ZAFT land carrier commander as Wing Zero had already cut his forces in half.
"It seems that the Captain doesn't want to fight either but…" said Murrue as she picked up the phone. "This is Murrue Ramius of the Archangel."
"It's her," gasped Arthur.
"I thought so," thought Gladys as she remembered meeting her in Orb.
"We appreciate your offer but we still have work to do. We will not surrender but we hope that you will let us take our leave from this battle. Ramius out."
"Captain?" asked Arthur.
"Open fire on the enemy ship," ordered Gladys.
"Yes Mam," replied Arthur as he activated the Minerva's weapons systems and started firing on the Archangel.
"We have no way to return fire," said Murrue as she realised that they were in no position to fight. "Try to avoid fire until we reach the ocean."
Newman started moving the ship in evasive manoeuvres to try and avoid the Minerva's attacks. He was having minimal success in doing so.
"I'm heading out," said Cagalli as she got up from her seat.
"Sit back down, now," barked Murrue.
Cagalli was taken aback by Murrue's sudden abruptness and did as she was told.
Outside, Kira was having little luck of his own, getting passed Shinn. It was like he was able to predict all of his attacks. Shinn was enjoying the fact that he was beating Kira.
"Rey was right," he thought as he avoided another shot to Kira's frustration.
Flashback:
"It is a powerful machine but look at how it attacks," said Rey. "It only aims for the main camera or the weapons. That is how you will beat it."
End Flashback:
It was at this point that Shinn decided to put the plan into action. He purposely attacked high so that Kira would fly backwards and try to attack low. Shinn predicted this and detached the legs which took Kira by surprise. He then turned around and fired at the Freedom's wings. Kira turned around only to see a shield coming at him. Shinn used the shield to bounce a shot and hit the Freedom in the shoulder armour. Kira countered by doing a spinning maneuver and sliced off the head of the Impulse. Shinn detached the chest portion of his mobile suite and launched the Force Silhouette and detached the Core Splendor to fire at it. The explosion knocked the Freedom backwards and gave Shinn his chance.
"Send out the Force and Sword Silhouettes," he ordered.
The Minerva sent out what Shinn requested. He connected with the Force Silhouette and picked up one of the swords and the beam boomerang. He threw the beam boomerang and hit the Freedom. Next he charged full speed at the Freedom with the Sword raised.
Down on the ground the Archangel had made it to the water but Gladys wasn't going to let that happen.
"Fire the Tannhauser," ordered Gladys.
The Minerva fired the positron cannon and managed to hit one of the Archangel's engines as it disappeared beneath the surface. Up above Kira had seen what happened to the ship and was trying to get back but was stopped by Shinn.
"No you don't," cried Shinn as he neared the Freedom.
"No," cried Kira as he tried to get his shield up to stop the attack.
But the Sword was too strong and it went straight through the shield and pierced the Freedom which fell into the water followed by a large explosion.
"I did it," wept Shinn as the Impulse lost power. "Stellar I did it."
On board the Minerva, Athrun had broken down in tears at the sight of his best friend's death.
"Kira!" he cried out.
On the bridge, Gladys was about to start a search for the Archangel when a message was received from the ZAFT land carrier.
"Help us Gladys, Wing Zero has…" as the line went static.
"Get Shinn back here, Wing Zero is approaching," ordered Gladys as she knew that Heero had wiped out the ZAFT forces.
"Do you think that Shinn can handle him?" asked Arthur in concern.
"Only if we attack him as well," replied Gladys as she watched Wing Zero approach from the rear camera.
The Archangel and Freedom appeared to have been destroyed and Heero was the only one left to defeat so that Durandal would feel safe with his plan to eliminate Logos.
"Let's hope Shinn is up to this challenge," said Gladys as Shinn was re-equipping the Impulse.
Heero pulled Wing Zero up just out of range of the Minerva's cannons and surveyed the battle field.
"Heero," said Luna as she, Rey and a distraught Athrun looked at Wing Zero on the screen.
Rey was hopping along with Gladys that Shinn was up to the challenge.
"Looks like Kira and the others have gotten away," said Heero to himself.
He looked to see Shinn flying toward him in full attack mode.
"You killed Stellar," yelled Shinn as he swung at Wing Zero with his sword.
Heero dodged and pulled out his beam sabre to parry the next attack.
"It had to be done, she wasn't in control of her own actions," replied Heero as he fired the machined cannons to push Shinn back. "I gave you a chance Shinn and it didn't work. I'm sorry."
"You're sorry? You don't know what sorry is," yelled Shinn as he activated his SEED factor and charged at Heero.
The Minerva meanwhile had spun around so it was able to fire at Wing Zero. It opened up with the Tristans, which Heero avoided easily.
"This is going to be harder than I thought, Zero," said Heero to his machine. "We can't destroy Shinn or the Minerva but we can't die either."
Zero flashed as he told Heero the plan.
"Roger that Zero," said Heero as he fired the Buster rifle at the Tristans, causing them to explode.
"You bastard," yelled Shinn as he attacked Heero from behind.
This caught Heero off guard and Shinn managed to sever the right arm of Wing Zero.
"Damn it," said Heero as the right arm exploded.
Shinn was delighted with his attack and went at Wing Zero full force. Heero managed to take most of the blows on the shield while dodging the Minerva's attacks and using the machine cannons to keep Shinn off him when possible. Shinn was forcing Heero closer to the Minerva and soon had him close enough.
"Fire the Tannhauser," ordered Gladys.
At the range they were at, Heero had no way of escaping the blast, so he faced the Minerva and returned fire with the Buster rifle. The two shots hit with incredible force and sent Wing Zero backwards into the mountain. The left arm was now gone too and Wing Zero was starting to implode from the amount of damage.
"Looks like this is it, Zero," said Heero as he looked over the damage report.
Zero flashed his eyes in response.
"I know," replied Heero.
There was a cloud of smoke over the battlefield and the Minerva and Shinn had lost sight of Wing Zero.
"Where is he?" asked Shinn.
"He's near the mountain beside us," replied Meyrin.
The smoke cleared and there was Wing Zero, arm less, with bits of it exploding and catching fire.
"He's finished," said Shinn as he charged at Wing Zero to finish him off.
The machine cannons opened fire on the Impulse until the rest of the ammo had run out. The Gundam then started to glow red as Shinn was closing in.
"Get Shinn and the Minerva out of here," ordered Gladys as she knew what was happening. "It's self-destructing."
The Minerva and Impulse had just reached a safety zone when Wing Zero exploded, causing an avalanche to fall over the remains, burying it beneath tonnes of snow. Once the snow dust cleared, Shinn and the Minerva's crew looked to see no more Wing Zero.
"Is it over?" asked Shinn.
"Wing Zero has disappeared from radar," said Meyrin.
"We did it," shouted Arthur in joy. "We beat Wing Zero."
In the briefing room, Rey, Athrun and Luna could only stare at the screen in shock.
"They got Heero too," said Athrun.
"He got what he deserved for deserting," said Rey.
Luna then looked at Rey in anger before leaving the room in tears. Gladys ordered Shinn back to the Minerva and headed towards Gibraltar. A search team was on route to search for any sign of the Archangel, Freedom or Wing Zero.
To be continued…