Gundam Moonshine
Chapter 3
AN: You're in for a long one! Curl up in a blanket with a nice warm cup of hot chocolate and enjoy!
Summary of last chapter in a nutshell: Serena saw a new gundam, Gundam Moonshine, and remembered her past on the moon!
Summary of this chapter in a nutshell: Serena meets the other scouts.(the outers will be added later I think, but not sure.) Other stuff happens but I don't want to give it away.
Disclaimers: I don't own SM nor GW, nor do I own any of it's characters. This story is mine! No copying! Please. Oh! And it's rated PG because there are GUNS in this story! I just thought you may want to know. (do you think that's too low a rating?) :P
* * =Thought
--- =A short about of time elapsed
-------- = More time passed (usually goes the full page)
( ) = Authors notes
:: :: = some sort of action
~~ ~~ = dream
-----------------------------------------------------
After Serena ran out of the hanger with the new gundam (: ). The scientists informed her that Lady Une wished to speak to her again. Of course Serena's stomach went topsy-turvy as if pleading with her not to go back to that woman because of what happened the last time. Following their directions she made it to Lady Une's office. As soon as she entered she noticed instantly that something was wrong with the picture. Une had her hair down and was no longer wearing her glasses. What more, the evil smirk, she usually had was replaced with a welcome smile for Serena!
"Welcome Serena! I'm glad we have finally had a chance to meet," Une said acting all sweet, and innocent. "I hear you had some trouble getting here, I hope everything has turned out alright."
This reception was really starting to freak Serena out. "Ah, yeah...I mean everything's great."
"So everyone has been treating you ok?"
*Besides you...* "Yes, everyone has been wonderful," Serena said sweat dropping.
"That's wonderful. I hope you've learned a lot since you've been with the scientists all day."
"Oh yes I really have," Serena said outloud while she thought. *I've learned more than I ever thought possible. More than I've ever wanted to know. And, now I'm afraid there's no way to stop what's happening.*
"Since you're going to be here awhile I've arranged for you to sleep in the barracks along with the other female soldiers on this base. That way you can have a chance to see what life in the service of OZ is really about!"
Serena's stomach was starting to feel better and she smiled a genuine smile to the lady that had beaten her to a bloody pulp.
::Knock! knock!::
"Ah! That must be the girls I've asked to show you around! I'm sure you'll get along fine with them, they're all close to your own age."
::KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!::
Une opened the door in time to see a blond haired blue eyed girl preparing to knock, or shall we say ram, the door again. Three other girls were standing at attention with mondo sweat drops on the corner of their faces. The blond quickly snapped to attention and mirrored the other girls visage.
"As you were ladies," Lady Une said laughing lightly. The girls relaxed slightly but not by much, they seemed to be used to the old Une like Serena. "This is the girl I told you about, I expect you to make her welcome and show her around." As she finished her sentence the video phone in her office started to ring. "I have to go now, that must be Mr. Treize, I've been expecting his call. If you'll excuse me ladies." With that Lady Une quickly closed the girls out of her office and hurried to answer the phone. (This is where Treize tells her he isn't coming to rule space himself and that he doesn't like the way she's turned out and that he may leave Oz.)
The four girls relaxed at once, letting out sighs of relief. Serena finally got a chance to examine them more closely. The blond that had been knocking on the door was wearing the gray soldier suit that was customary. She had long blond hair that made it to her waist. All Serena could really say was that she looked beautiful in that happy sort of way.
Close behind the blond was a girl with raven black hair that went down to her waist, and violet eyes. She was also very beautiful and Serena could sense something mystical from her.
After the black haired girl was a rather studious looking girl with short blue hair and blue eyes. The difference of her uniform from the other girls was the engineer patch on her shoulder.
The last girl was the tallest of all. She had redish-brown hair, and kind green eyes. She looked rather strong.
"Well, Serena, what would you like to do first?"
---
The girls ended up in the base's mess hall. They had been talking and telling stories for what seemed like hours. Serena had told them how she was raised in an orphanage since she was eight. The girls listened with vivid interest when she told them how she had ended up at the lunar base (excluding seeing the gundams of course). They asked a lot of questions about the gundam pilot himself. The blue haired girl, Ami, said how she was in school to be a doctor when the alliance attacked her colony L6. She joined Oz as a pilot and soon learned to be an engineer as well. Raye, the black haired girl, had been a temple priestess on colony L7 and joined much the same was as Ami. Lita, the girl with the green eyes was going to be a master cook but became a pilot for Oz instead, she was from L9. Mina, blond, joined Oz to protect her family and meet all the army men. She came from L10.
"So why did you decide to be pilot Serena? We all told you why we did," Mina said perkily.
Serena pondered the question for a minute. "I've wanted to ever since I can remember. I've always wanted to fight for justice and love, just to save innocent people from bad guys who only want power...it sounds kind of funny I guess." Serena thought about the few things that had been revieled in the past twenty-four hours about herself, the memories she didn't want to believe that had flooded into her head when she saw Moonshine. "I was born to fight for the innocent," she concluded finally.
"I can totally sense that in you too Serena! As soon as I saw you I knew you were a great person, I predict that you will succeed in all the things that you try," Raye said, causing Serena to blush.
"Don't pay any attention to Raye, she always has these predictions that never come true," Lita whispered to Serena. But Raye heard.
"That's so untrue! My predictions always come true! Well...normally. But that was only once and I was blinded by love!" Raye fumed.
Everyone else at the table started laughing at the way Raye had stood up and beaten her fists on the table with fire in her eyes. Everybody in the mess hall was staring at her. Raye noticed the looks and slowly slid back down into her seat with an innocent smile. This only made the girls laugh even louder, eventually Raye joined in on the laughing.
The laughing fit ended when suddenly Ami's walky-talky started beeping. The girls all went quiet and listened to what it said.
"Yes sir?" Ami inquired into the little black box.
"You are needed immediately at shipping dock 12. This is an emergency, repeat, this is an emergency!"
Ami got up at once and started in the direction of shipping dock 12. Serena was just going to stay sitting there but Mina grabbed her arm and pulled her, along with the other girls. "We have to show Serena the entire ship and she hasn't seen this place yet!"
---
When the five girls had arrived at shipping dock 12, Serena was shocked to see the Mercurious and Vayeate being loaded into a carrier. Ami was told to go and double check that the carrier was in good condition to fly, the rest of the girls were ignored. That was when Serena spotted her all too favorite team of scientists, excluding Setsuna, standing in the corner looking very unhappy. Serena excused herself from the girls, which they weren't very pleased about, and went over to the scientists.
"Well Serena, how was the dreaded meeting with Lady Une?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Serena replied to the one with the hair stand straight on ends. "What's going on here, why are they taking the Mercurious and Vayeate?"
They scowled at her question. "A gundam pilot is doing something he never should be doing. He's destroying colonies, they are sending the two suits after him to try and stop him."
"I didn't know gundams could destroy entire colonies! And I thought you said the gundams were still on the side of the colonies!" Serena said a little too loudly.
"Try not to be so loud!" he said in a hushed tone, "We believe he is using a gundam that was never suppose to be built. In that case the beam cannon on that gundam would have the power to wipe out a colony, and the pilot must not be in his right mind, otherwise he would never hurt so many innocent people."
Serena's heart melted at the thought of so many innocent people dying. *If only there was something I could do...*
Serena's thoughts were interrupted when Trowa and Heero entered the room, Heero with handcuffs on. "What are they doing here?"
"They're the pilots."
"But isn't it dangerous?" the scientists looked at Serena with surprise.
"That's what they're trained to do."
Serena looked at them with disgust and she ran over to the two pilots ignoring the calls from the scientists. When she reached them she said breathlessly, "You guys can't go! It's a suicide mission! Those mobile suits aren't even fully tested yet!"
The pilots just stared at her with calm expressions on their faces. "Would you rather go?" Heero asked her unemotionally.
Serena was shocked which didn't escape the notice of the pilots. "That's what I thought," Heero said as he kept on walking.
Trowa nodded to Serena. "You don't need to worry Serena."
*I wish I could be the one...* She watched them go into the carrier and disappear. She didn't feel good about this, she knew that this wasn't going to go as smoothly as they acted. *Just be careful, both of you.*
---
From his seat in the carrier Heero looked out the window to the base that was slowly getting smaller and farther away. *Why did I come down so hard on her?* He was inwardly kicking himself for the way he made her feel. He hadn't expected her eyes to become so sad, and to stare at him swallowing him up in his own guilt.
"You didn't have to be so mean Heero, she was just worrying about you," Trowa said quietly when the base had disappeared from their sight.
Heero glared at his friend and Trowa looked away getting the picture. *Why does she care what happens to me?* he said bewildered by what his friend had just revealed. *She barely even knows me.* His thoughts went back to the day before, it seemed so long ago to him. *What was it that I felt when I cared for her wounds? She isn't normal. It was almost the feeling of a kindred spirit...STOP! You have to think of the battle ahead!* "So, why do you think Quatre is doing this?"
"I don't know, but I think the scientists had some clue but they didn't have a chance to tell me, we were never alone."
"Let's just hope we can get him and his new gundam to help us out."
"Yeah."
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"In you go you old crazy men. You've out lived your usefulness." Tuberoff said (I remember his name! ). "Now that the Mercurious and Vayeate work just fine we can take it from here." He led them into a small cell near that of Duo and Wufei's. Setsuna was no where to be seen. He locked them in and went away whistling merrily.
"Lets hope this doesn't ruin our plan."
"Yes, but remember Setsuna is still out there."
"OZ never knew that she was part of this as well. She should be able to carry out the rest of the plan alone."
"I agree."
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After the four girls had dragged the depressed Serena away from the window of the Lunar Base(she was watching the carrier leave), they brought her the barracks to try to get some rest. Serena laid in bed for awhile but she couldn't stop thinking about one thing. "Do you guys think that the gundams are bad?"
The girls had been waiting for her to say something regarding the scene they had seen a few hours ago.
"I couldn't sense anything evil from the one we saw tonight," Raye said, "I always thought the gundams were on our side but then OZ came and said they weren't. I never really thought that they weren't though."
"The one we saw tonight was just a kid. He is not much older than we are. I just cannot imagine him risking his young life for something if he really believed in it," Ami said. "Someone like that can not be all bad."
"Yeah, he looks like my old boyfriend, I don't think he's bad, " Lita said.
"He didn't look too happy, he sure was cute though. But, I've never thought they were bad. I was always told by my mother before we went to war that they were trying to save us from the tyranny of Earth. I don't think they're bad at all," Mina said.
"You seemed to know him really well. I thought you only met him once for a little while," Lita said.
"It's kind of hard to explain, I guess I really can't," Serena said with some trouble.
"And the other guy, Trowa," Mina continued, "He's so quiet, and serious. I don't get him. He's so cute and such a good pilot. I think he has some sort of secret."
The girls were quiet after that. Serena was still pondering the problem she had. She was born to be like them, but they were murderers. She just couldn't think clearly. Finally she went to sleep, still confused.
~~ "So Serena, you understand why you can't play with that little boy any more right?" Dr. P asked her with a tired expression on his face.
Serena nodded even though she really didn't understand. Earlier that day she had snuck out to the park and met a little boy there. He was around her age. He had asked her if she wanted to play and Serena agreed to even though she didn't know exactly what he'd meant by 'playing'.
He'd taught her a game called hide and seek which she'd imagined seemed like a training course. Every time he hid Serena was able to find him really easily. She would just listen for his breathing or follow his foot prints in the grass, and even sometimes he had a foot sticking out from behind a tree. Serena thought she was passing this test rather well but the boy seemed to be angry with her for finding him so easily.
Eventually he told her to hide and he would try and find her. She'd climbed up into a tree, just like monkey, and he'd looked for her for a long time. He finally gave up looking for her and went home.
Little Serena had felt as if she'd failed somehow. When she got back to the lab she asked Setsuna what she'd done wrong. Serena noticed the flash of angriness and sadness on Setsuna's face.
Setsuna was angry because she thought the lack of emotions Serena had was unhealthy. Often time Setsuna would try to show love and affection to the little girl but Serena would show no response. She'd told Serena that Dr. P taught her to be different from other kids her age so that she could save them later.
In her angry state Setsuna also told Serena that she didn't think Serena would be able to save innocent people if she couldn't feel like they could and understand them. Serena didn't understand.
After Setsuna left Serena she went directly to Dr. P and started yelling at him. She'd said it was horrible that Serena had to suffer in such a way. That she couldn't enjoy normal human emotions. Dr. P just shrugged it off saying Serena would be no help to mankind if she was like them and had feelings like them, "feelings were a sign of weakness," he'd said.
Setsuna had stormed away and told him he had to explain that to Serena. ~~
---
Serena woke up feeling sick. *So these dreams I've been having are real.*
She heard Raye moving on the bed next to her. Suddenly, Raye sat up in bed wide awake. She was breathing heavily.
"Raye, are you ok? What's wrong?" Serena whispered trying not to awaken the other girls.
"Something horrible has happened to Trowa. I just had a vision."
Serena swallowed the lump in her throat. "Is...is he alive?"
"Yes, but he's in pain."
Serena didn't even want to think of the possibilities. "And Heero?"
"He's ok...He's back here actually...But Serena! The other pilots!"
Serena felt it too, they were in pain. She got out of bed and started getting dressed. "Raye, don't worry about me, there's something I have to do."
Raye nodded in the darkness. "Be careful Serena."
---
Serena ran as fast as she could to the cell where the gundam pilots were. *Please, don't let me be too late.*
When she got there she put her ear against the door to listen...nothing but silence. *Oh no! I'm too late!* "Duo! Wufei!"
---
Inside the cell Wufei was in a trance and Duo was looking at the slides of his gundam. "What a crummy way to die," he repeated with his breathing labored. "Well Deathsythe Hell, it was a nice thought huh? We would have been unstoppable. I am the Great Destroyer!" Duo stopped to cough, he figuring he'd better not waste any more air. *How can he just lay there like that?* he wondered looking at Wufei. Duo closed his eyes still thinking of the suckiness of this situation.
"Duo! Wufei!" a girls voice said from outside the cell. Duo's eyes popped open. Did he really just here that? "Serena?"
"Duo! Your still alive!" the voice said happily, "Hang on! I'm going to get help!"
---
Serena ran through the ship to the one person she knew could help her. The problem was would she help? As she was running she collided point blank into another figure.
"Uh, Lady Une! I was looking for you!"
Lady Une had her hair up in her braid-bun again and was wearing her glasses. She looked at Serena with a not too happy expression. "What is it then?"
Serena gulped. Maybe she hadn't been correct in presuming Lady Une would help her. "Lady Une, the oxygen to the gundam pilot's cell had been turned off! They're dying!"
Une narrowed her eyes at Serena. "How do you know this? Never mind, come on." Une started running in the direction of the control room. *I must do this for Treize, I know he would want me to help them.*
Serena ran after Une, but when they made it to the control room she told Serena to stay outside the door.
Une searched for the switch to turn the oxygen back on to the cells. She pulled the lever and then another one that opened the cells.
"What do you think you're doing Lady Une?" Serena was surprised to see Tuberoff come in trough the other door and point a gun at Lady Une. Serena was about to intervene when she received a look of warning from Une.
"I think I should be the one to ask you that question," Une said.
Tuberoff laughed at her. "I no longer need to listen to you. I was told by Romefeller to get rid of Trieze's trash. I believe the scientists, gundam pilots, as well as you fall into that category."
"Go ahead and shoot me then," Une replied.
The remark made Serena gasp. Serena jumped when she heard the gun fire and heard Tuberoff start laughing. Serena stared at the lifeless form of Lady Une on the ground. "No...NO!" Serena screamed starting to cry.
"Who's there?" Tuberoff exclaimed. Serena gasped as he ran to look through the doorway. He smiled and leveled his gun at Serena.
She closed her eyes and waited for the shot but it never came. Instead there was a loud explosion coming from somewhere in the base. The floor under them started shaking and the gun went off sending the bullet into the wall. "S@#%!" Tuberoff screamed as he fell to the floor. He got up, took one last hateful glance to Serena and then ran off towards the docking bay.
Serena stood shocked for a minute. *Wake up Serena! You've got to do something!*
---
Serena arrived out of breath to the hanger that formally contained the Vayeate and Mercurious. She noticed the trap door was open and she jumped down into it avoiding the ladder. She looked to where the two gundams should have been but they weren't there. She noticed the door to the hanger containing Moonshine was open. Without thinking she ran through the door only to be faced with Setsuna and the other Scientists.
"Hurry up Serena! They're fighting a lot of mobile dolls and need your help!" Setsuna said handing her a white space suit.
"What?" Serena looked to the other scientists for help. They only stared at her offering no explanation or help.
"Setsuna! I'm not like I use to be! Just like Dr. P said I can't save other people when I have so many feelings for them! I can't kill anyone!"
"Serena, I think your losing you memory was the best thing that could have happened to you. It allowed you to learn what love is! You now understand the value of human life and I think that will be more valuable to you as a gundam pilot than being a perfect solider. Just believe in yourself!"
Serena looked at the other scientists again. "Tell her she's crazy! Tell her I can't do it, talk some since into her! Please!"
They just stared at her displaying not one look of consolation or help.
"Serena, Duo and Wufei can't do this without you. And, Heero and Quatre won't be able to make it to Earth without your help! Serena, you have to understand how much the universe needs you!" Setsuna pleaded with her.
Serena's eyes went wider. *They need me...* Her thoughts went to Darien waiting for her at the colony. *He was the one that taught me how to love, and taught me emotions. Would he want me to do this? He'd do it if he were in my situation, he always wanted to help people..." With that thought Serena's fears fell away. She put on a mask of determination.
Without thinking about it anymore she put on the spacesuit over her clothes and floated up to Moonshine's cockpit. The scientists retreated to a glass room in the corner of the room. When Serena had closed the door of her gundam they opened the hanger door, opening to outer space. Serena looked through window and was awestruck with the beauty and peacefulness there. She sat down in the pilots seat without hesitation.
"Ok, here it goes Moonshine."
With that the cockpit turned red and Serena was focused on flying alone. No longer was she scared. Her thoughts were no longer hazy with doubt, but full of the upcoming battle.
The scientists watched Moonshine bolt out of the hanger towards the battle. "Do you really think she has what it takes to master the zero system?" One of them asked Setsuna.
"I have no doubt at all, it was modified for her."
All the scientists, save Setsuna, walked out of the glass room after the hanger door had been closed.
"Good luck Princess..."
---
"There's so many of them!" Duo yelled over the radio to Wufei.
Wufei hated to admit it but even with his new and improved gundam, Tuberoff just kept on sending the dolls by the hundreds and they were almost overwhelming.
"Luckily they don't do too much damage to the gundams," Wufei returned.
"Yeah." Duo was enjoying flying again and being with his gundam, even if they were outnumbered. *At least I'm not going to die by running out of oxygen in some cell.* His gundam rumbled as he was hit from behind. "Sure, hit a guy in the back!" he growled spinning his gundam around. He raised his weapon to attack but flew backwards as the doll exploded in his face. *Who helped me?* "Hey Wu-man thanks for the help!" Duo shook it off and went on fighting the never ending force of mobile dolls.
"What are you talking about you idiot? I didn't help you. I'm busy trying to get rid of the ones on my own tail!" Wufei was about to shoot down a doll with one of his dragon heads when in a flash it exploded. "Did you do that?" he asked Duo.
"I think there's someone else out here..." Duo said in a ghostly voice.
"Don't be a fool, they're just... defective..." Wufei said, not to sure of himself.
Duo decided to agree with Wufei and kept on fighting. That was when something caught his attention. In the corner of his screen he saw it. It was a white gundam with blue and red in certain spots. Duo stared in wonder as the gundam seemed to disappear and then reappear in front of another doll. The gundam raised what looked like a long scepter with a glowing tip. On contact the scepter cut through the doll and the doll exploded, only for the gundam to disappear and reappear in front of another doll to do the same thing. "It's so fast...!"
"What are you mumbling about idiot?" Wufei asked.
"Wu-man...look, 4o'clock... no 6o'clock..."
"Stop calling me-" he stopped talking when he saw what his friend was talking about. He blinked as it seemed to disappear then reappear. "What kind of gundam is that?!"
The gundam suddenly stopped moving and faced the other two. The corner of their video screens flashed on and a female's figure flooded in red light was staring back at them. "If you guys aren't going to fight then when I say so fly upwards." A firm female voice on the other end said.
The two gundam pilots were shocked. "Se...Serena?!?" Duo's voice came over the line.
"What?!? That's impossible!" Wufei said.
The unknown gundam, containing the innocent girl they'd seen beaten and bruised a few days ago, raised both it's arms into the air holding the scepter up. It started spinning at an incredibly fast rate, "Now! Moon Scepter Beam Attack!"
The gundam pointed the scepter out at the dolls, and while still spinning a blinding bright beam emitted from it. The beam cut through and destroyed all the dolls in it's path. Duo and Wufei quickly recovered from their shock and flew up out of the way with barely any space between them and being cut in two.
"Awesome!" Duo yelled.
"But...but...!" Wufei sputtered as he watched the new gundam slowly stop spinning.
With more than half of the mobile dolls exterminated the three gundams had no problem wiping out the rest of them.
---
Moonshine and Serena separated from the others before they had a chance to question her.
"Serena?" A familiar voice said over her radio.
Serena shook off the trance the red glow had placed her in and responded to the voice. "Ami is that you?"
"Oh Serena! We were so worried about you!" Lita's voice squealed.
"How dare you make us worry so much you little ingrate!" Raye screamed.
"Guys, guys, She's been through a lot alright, try not to bother her!" Serena heard Ami scold them.
"Serena, come on and dock on the carrier we stole," Mina said laughing.
"Oh Mina! Don't call it that, we didn't steal it..." Ami said sounding really guilty.
Serena saw the carrier on her infrared screen and headed for it. *Why did they come? They didn't have to...*
"Come on in Serena!" Mina said again.
Serena docked on the small carrier and as she was getting out of her gundam, she collapsed to the floor.
The girls all huddled around her worried over their friend's welfare. "It's ok guys, she's just exhausted." Ami informed. "She deserves the rest. Raye, Lita, let's get her to the cot in the sick-room."
"I'll set a course for Earth," Mina said disappearing into the cockpit.
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That's it for this chapter! wow that was really long! Next time, Serena and her friends go to the Sanic Kingdome!
I tell you I've read a lot of fanfiction but I never guessed it was so hard to do! Even if it is incredibly fun. Cheers for all the other authors out there!
Now it's your turn to tell me what you think! What do you want to see? What do you hate that I'm doing? Tell me! I don't bite! I know, I'm rambling. That's just the way I get when it's late at night and I've been staring at the computer screen all day.
A huge thanks to Sailor Silver Moon! You guys have no idea what I put her through! Poor girl. It's a wonder she even put up with me! (I'm not just talking about my poor writing skill...) :,(
You can expect the next chapter pretty soon! I predict there will be some intimate moments...that's all I'll say.
See ya next time!
Shi
Chapter 3
AN: You're in for a long one! Curl up in a blanket with a nice warm cup of hot chocolate and enjoy!
Summary of last chapter in a nutshell: Serena saw a new gundam, Gundam Moonshine, and remembered her past on the moon!
Summary of this chapter in a nutshell: Serena meets the other scouts.(the outers will be added later I think, but not sure.) Other stuff happens but I don't want to give it away.
Disclaimers: I don't own SM nor GW, nor do I own any of it's characters. This story is mine! No copying! Please. Oh! And it's rated PG because there are GUNS in this story! I just thought you may want to know. (do you think that's too low a rating?) :P
* * =Thought
--- =A short about of time elapsed
-------- = More time passed (usually goes the full page)
( ) = Authors notes
:: :: = some sort of action
~~ ~~ = dream
-----------------------------------------------------
After Serena ran out of the hanger with the new gundam (: ). The scientists informed her that Lady Une wished to speak to her again. Of course Serena's stomach went topsy-turvy as if pleading with her not to go back to that woman because of what happened the last time. Following their directions she made it to Lady Une's office. As soon as she entered she noticed instantly that something was wrong with the picture. Une had her hair down and was no longer wearing her glasses. What more, the evil smirk, she usually had was replaced with a welcome smile for Serena!
"Welcome Serena! I'm glad we have finally had a chance to meet," Une said acting all sweet, and innocent. "I hear you had some trouble getting here, I hope everything has turned out alright."
This reception was really starting to freak Serena out. "Ah, yeah...I mean everything's great."
"So everyone has been treating you ok?"
*Besides you...* "Yes, everyone has been wonderful," Serena said sweat dropping.
"That's wonderful. I hope you've learned a lot since you've been with the scientists all day."
"Oh yes I really have," Serena said outloud while she thought. *I've learned more than I ever thought possible. More than I've ever wanted to know. And, now I'm afraid there's no way to stop what's happening.*
"Since you're going to be here awhile I've arranged for you to sleep in the barracks along with the other female soldiers on this base. That way you can have a chance to see what life in the service of OZ is really about!"
Serena's stomach was starting to feel better and she smiled a genuine smile to the lady that had beaten her to a bloody pulp.
::Knock! knock!::
"Ah! That must be the girls I've asked to show you around! I'm sure you'll get along fine with them, they're all close to your own age."
::KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!::
Une opened the door in time to see a blond haired blue eyed girl preparing to knock, or shall we say ram, the door again. Three other girls were standing at attention with mondo sweat drops on the corner of their faces. The blond quickly snapped to attention and mirrored the other girls visage.
"As you were ladies," Lady Une said laughing lightly. The girls relaxed slightly but not by much, they seemed to be used to the old Une like Serena. "This is the girl I told you about, I expect you to make her welcome and show her around." As she finished her sentence the video phone in her office started to ring. "I have to go now, that must be Mr. Treize, I've been expecting his call. If you'll excuse me ladies." With that Lady Une quickly closed the girls out of her office and hurried to answer the phone. (This is where Treize tells her he isn't coming to rule space himself and that he doesn't like the way she's turned out and that he may leave Oz.)
The four girls relaxed at once, letting out sighs of relief. Serena finally got a chance to examine them more closely. The blond that had been knocking on the door was wearing the gray soldier suit that was customary. She had long blond hair that made it to her waist. All Serena could really say was that she looked beautiful in that happy sort of way.
Close behind the blond was a girl with raven black hair that went down to her waist, and violet eyes. She was also very beautiful and Serena could sense something mystical from her.
After the black haired girl was a rather studious looking girl with short blue hair and blue eyes. The difference of her uniform from the other girls was the engineer patch on her shoulder.
The last girl was the tallest of all. She had redish-brown hair, and kind green eyes. She looked rather strong.
"Well, Serena, what would you like to do first?"
---
The girls ended up in the base's mess hall. They had been talking and telling stories for what seemed like hours. Serena had told them how she was raised in an orphanage since she was eight. The girls listened with vivid interest when she told them how she had ended up at the lunar base (excluding seeing the gundams of course). They asked a lot of questions about the gundam pilot himself. The blue haired girl, Ami, said how she was in school to be a doctor when the alliance attacked her colony L6. She joined Oz as a pilot and soon learned to be an engineer as well. Raye, the black haired girl, had been a temple priestess on colony L7 and joined much the same was as Ami. Lita, the girl with the green eyes was going to be a master cook but became a pilot for Oz instead, she was from L9. Mina, blond, joined Oz to protect her family and meet all the army men. She came from L10.
"So why did you decide to be pilot Serena? We all told you why we did," Mina said perkily.
Serena pondered the question for a minute. "I've wanted to ever since I can remember. I've always wanted to fight for justice and love, just to save innocent people from bad guys who only want power...it sounds kind of funny I guess." Serena thought about the few things that had been revieled in the past twenty-four hours about herself, the memories she didn't want to believe that had flooded into her head when she saw Moonshine. "I was born to fight for the innocent," she concluded finally.
"I can totally sense that in you too Serena! As soon as I saw you I knew you were a great person, I predict that you will succeed in all the things that you try," Raye said, causing Serena to blush.
"Don't pay any attention to Raye, she always has these predictions that never come true," Lita whispered to Serena. But Raye heard.
"That's so untrue! My predictions always come true! Well...normally. But that was only once and I was blinded by love!" Raye fumed.
Everyone else at the table started laughing at the way Raye had stood up and beaten her fists on the table with fire in her eyes. Everybody in the mess hall was staring at her. Raye noticed the looks and slowly slid back down into her seat with an innocent smile. This only made the girls laugh even louder, eventually Raye joined in on the laughing.
The laughing fit ended when suddenly Ami's walky-talky started beeping. The girls all went quiet and listened to what it said.
"Yes sir?" Ami inquired into the little black box.
"You are needed immediately at shipping dock 12. This is an emergency, repeat, this is an emergency!"
Ami got up at once and started in the direction of shipping dock 12. Serena was just going to stay sitting there but Mina grabbed her arm and pulled her, along with the other girls. "We have to show Serena the entire ship and she hasn't seen this place yet!"
---
When the five girls had arrived at shipping dock 12, Serena was shocked to see the Mercurious and Vayeate being loaded into a carrier. Ami was told to go and double check that the carrier was in good condition to fly, the rest of the girls were ignored. That was when Serena spotted her all too favorite team of scientists, excluding Setsuna, standing in the corner looking very unhappy. Serena excused herself from the girls, which they weren't very pleased about, and went over to the scientists.
"Well Serena, how was the dreaded meeting with Lady Une?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Serena replied to the one with the hair stand straight on ends. "What's going on here, why are they taking the Mercurious and Vayeate?"
They scowled at her question. "A gundam pilot is doing something he never should be doing. He's destroying colonies, they are sending the two suits after him to try and stop him."
"I didn't know gundams could destroy entire colonies! And I thought you said the gundams were still on the side of the colonies!" Serena said a little too loudly.
"Try not to be so loud!" he said in a hushed tone, "We believe he is using a gundam that was never suppose to be built. In that case the beam cannon on that gundam would have the power to wipe out a colony, and the pilot must not be in his right mind, otherwise he would never hurt so many innocent people."
Serena's heart melted at the thought of so many innocent people dying. *If only there was something I could do...*
Serena's thoughts were interrupted when Trowa and Heero entered the room, Heero with handcuffs on. "What are they doing here?"
"They're the pilots."
"But isn't it dangerous?" the scientists looked at Serena with surprise.
"That's what they're trained to do."
Serena looked at them with disgust and she ran over to the two pilots ignoring the calls from the scientists. When she reached them she said breathlessly, "You guys can't go! It's a suicide mission! Those mobile suits aren't even fully tested yet!"
The pilots just stared at her with calm expressions on their faces. "Would you rather go?" Heero asked her unemotionally.
Serena was shocked which didn't escape the notice of the pilots. "That's what I thought," Heero said as he kept on walking.
Trowa nodded to Serena. "You don't need to worry Serena."
*I wish I could be the one...* She watched them go into the carrier and disappear. She didn't feel good about this, she knew that this wasn't going to go as smoothly as they acted. *Just be careful, both of you.*
---
From his seat in the carrier Heero looked out the window to the base that was slowly getting smaller and farther away. *Why did I come down so hard on her?* He was inwardly kicking himself for the way he made her feel. He hadn't expected her eyes to become so sad, and to stare at him swallowing him up in his own guilt.
"You didn't have to be so mean Heero, she was just worrying about you," Trowa said quietly when the base had disappeared from their sight.
Heero glared at his friend and Trowa looked away getting the picture. *Why does she care what happens to me?* he said bewildered by what his friend had just revealed. *She barely even knows me.* His thoughts went back to the day before, it seemed so long ago to him. *What was it that I felt when I cared for her wounds? She isn't normal. It was almost the feeling of a kindred spirit...STOP! You have to think of the battle ahead!* "So, why do you think Quatre is doing this?"
"I don't know, but I think the scientists had some clue but they didn't have a chance to tell me, we were never alone."
"Let's just hope we can get him and his new gundam to help us out."
"Yeah."
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"In you go you old crazy men. You've out lived your usefulness." Tuberoff said (I remember his name! ). "Now that the Mercurious and Vayeate work just fine we can take it from here." He led them into a small cell near that of Duo and Wufei's. Setsuna was no where to be seen. He locked them in and went away whistling merrily.
"Lets hope this doesn't ruin our plan."
"Yes, but remember Setsuna is still out there."
"OZ never knew that she was part of this as well. She should be able to carry out the rest of the plan alone."
"I agree."
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After the four girls had dragged the depressed Serena away from the window of the Lunar Base(she was watching the carrier leave), they brought her the barracks to try to get some rest. Serena laid in bed for awhile but she couldn't stop thinking about one thing. "Do you guys think that the gundams are bad?"
The girls had been waiting for her to say something regarding the scene they had seen a few hours ago.
"I couldn't sense anything evil from the one we saw tonight," Raye said, "I always thought the gundams were on our side but then OZ came and said they weren't. I never really thought that they weren't though."
"The one we saw tonight was just a kid. He is not much older than we are. I just cannot imagine him risking his young life for something if he really believed in it," Ami said. "Someone like that can not be all bad."
"Yeah, he looks like my old boyfriend, I don't think he's bad, " Lita said.
"He didn't look too happy, he sure was cute though. But, I've never thought they were bad. I was always told by my mother before we went to war that they were trying to save us from the tyranny of Earth. I don't think they're bad at all," Mina said.
"You seemed to know him really well. I thought you only met him once for a little while," Lita said.
"It's kind of hard to explain, I guess I really can't," Serena said with some trouble.
"And the other guy, Trowa," Mina continued, "He's so quiet, and serious. I don't get him. He's so cute and such a good pilot. I think he has some sort of secret."
The girls were quiet after that. Serena was still pondering the problem she had. She was born to be like them, but they were murderers. She just couldn't think clearly. Finally she went to sleep, still confused.
~~ "So Serena, you understand why you can't play with that little boy any more right?" Dr. P asked her with a tired expression on his face.
Serena nodded even though she really didn't understand. Earlier that day she had snuck out to the park and met a little boy there. He was around her age. He had asked her if she wanted to play and Serena agreed to even though she didn't know exactly what he'd meant by 'playing'.
He'd taught her a game called hide and seek which she'd imagined seemed like a training course. Every time he hid Serena was able to find him really easily. She would just listen for his breathing or follow his foot prints in the grass, and even sometimes he had a foot sticking out from behind a tree. Serena thought she was passing this test rather well but the boy seemed to be angry with her for finding him so easily.
Eventually he told her to hide and he would try and find her. She'd climbed up into a tree, just like monkey, and he'd looked for her for a long time. He finally gave up looking for her and went home.
Little Serena had felt as if she'd failed somehow. When she got back to the lab she asked Setsuna what she'd done wrong. Serena noticed the flash of angriness and sadness on Setsuna's face.
Setsuna was angry because she thought the lack of emotions Serena had was unhealthy. Often time Setsuna would try to show love and affection to the little girl but Serena would show no response. She'd told Serena that Dr. P taught her to be different from other kids her age so that she could save them later.
In her angry state Setsuna also told Serena that she didn't think Serena would be able to save innocent people if she couldn't feel like they could and understand them. Serena didn't understand.
After Setsuna left Serena she went directly to Dr. P and started yelling at him. She'd said it was horrible that Serena had to suffer in such a way. That she couldn't enjoy normal human emotions. Dr. P just shrugged it off saying Serena would be no help to mankind if she was like them and had feelings like them, "feelings were a sign of weakness," he'd said.
Setsuna had stormed away and told him he had to explain that to Serena. ~~
---
Serena woke up feeling sick. *So these dreams I've been having are real.*
She heard Raye moving on the bed next to her. Suddenly, Raye sat up in bed wide awake. She was breathing heavily.
"Raye, are you ok? What's wrong?" Serena whispered trying not to awaken the other girls.
"Something horrible has happened to Trowa. I just had a vision."
Serena swallowed the lump in her throat. "Is...is he alive?"
"Yes, but he's in pain."
Serena didn't even want to think of the possibilities. "And Heero?"
"He's ok...He's back here actually...But Serena! The other pilots!"
Serena felt it too, they were in pain. She got out of bed and started getting dressed. "Raye, don't worry about me, there's something I have to do."
Raye nodded in the darkness. "Be careful Serena."
---
Serena ran as fast as she could to the cell where the gundam pilots were. *Please, don't let me be too late.*
When she got there she put her ear against the door to listen...nothing but silence. *Oh no! I'm too late!* "Duo! Wufei!"
---
Inside the cell Wufei was in a trance and Duo was looking at the slides of his gundam. "What a crummy way to die," he repeated with his breathing labored. "Well Deathsythe Hell, it was a nice thought huh? We would have been unstoppable. I am the Great Destroyer!" Duo stopped to cough, he figuring he'd better not waste any more air. *How can he just lay there like that?* he wondered looking at Wufei. Duo closed his eyes still thinking of the suckiness of this situation.
"Duo! Wufei!" a girls voice said from outside the cell. Duo's eyes popped open. Did he really just here that? "Serena?"
"Duo! Your still alive!" the voice said happily, "Hang on! I'm going to get help!"
---
Serena ran through the ship to the one person she knew could help her. The problem was would she help? As she was running she collided point blank into another figure.
"Uh, Lady Une! I was looking for you!"
Lady Une had her hair up in her braid-bun again and was wearing her glasses. She looked at Serena with a not too happy expression. "What is it then?"
Serena gulped. Maybe she hadn't been correct in presuming Lady Une would help her. "Lady Une, the oxygen to the gundam pilot's cell had been turned off! They're dying!"
Une narrowed her eyes at Serena. "How do you know this? Never mind, come on." Une started running in the direction of the control room. *I must do this for Treize, I know he would want me to help them.*
Serena ran after Une, but when they made it to the control room she told Serena to stay outside the door.
Une searched for the switch to turn the oxygen back on to the cells. She pulled the lever and then another one that opened the cells.
"What do you think you're doing Lady Une?" Serena was surprised to see Tuberoff come in trough the other door and point a gun at Lady Une. Serena was about to intervene when she received a look of warning from Une.
"I think I should be the one to ask you that question," Une said.
Tuberoff laughed at her. "I no longer need to listen to you. I was told by Romefeller to get rid of Trieze's trash. I believe the scientists, gundam pilots, as well as you fall into that category."
"Go ahead and shoot me then," Une replied.
The remark made Serena gasp. Serena jumped when she heard the gun fire and heard Tuberoff start laughing. Serena stared at the lifeless form of Lady Une on the ground. "No...NO!" Serena screamed starting to cry.
"Who's there?" Tuberoff exclaimed. Serena gasped as he ran to look through the doorway. He smiled and leveled his gun at Serena.
She closed her eyes and waited for the shot but it never came. Instead there was a loud explosion coming from somewhere in the base. The floor under them started shaking and the gun went off sending the bullet into the wall. "S@#%!" Tuberoff screamed as he fell to the floor. He got up, took one last hateful glance to Serena and then ran off towards the docking bay.
Serena stood shocked for a minute. *Wake up Serena! You've got to do something!*
---
Serena arrived out of breath to the hanger that formally contained the Vayeate and Mercurious. She noticed the trap door was open and she jumped down into it avoiding the ladder. She looked to where the two gundams should have been but they weren't there. She noticed the door to the hanger containing Moonshine was open. Without thinking she ran through the door only to be faced with Setsuna and the other Scientists.
"Hurry up Serena! They're fighting a lot of mobile dolls and need your help!" Setsuna said handing her a white space suit.
"What?" Serena looked to the other scientists for help. They only stared at her offering no explanation or help.
"Setsuna! I'm not like I use to be! Just like Dr. P said I can't save other people when I have so many feelings for them! I can't kill anyone!"
"Serena, I think your losing you memory was the best thing that could have happened to you. It allowed you to learn what love is! You now understand the value of human life and I think that will be more valuable to you as a gundam pilot than being a perfect solider. Just believe in yourself!"
Serena looked at the other scientists again. "Tell her she's crazy! Tell her I can't do it, talk some since into her! Please!"
They just stared at her displaying not one look of consolation or help.
"Serena, Duo and Wufei can't do this without you. And, Heero and Quatre won't be able to make it to Earth without your help! Serena, you have to understand how much the universe needs you!" Setsuna pleaded with her.
Serena's eyes went wider. *They need me...* Her thoughts went to Darien waiting for her at the colony. *He was the one that taught me how to love, and taught me emotions. Would he want me to do this? He'd do it if he were in my situation, he always wanted to help people..." With that thought Serena's fears fell away. She put on a mask of determination.
Without thinking about it anymore she put on the spacesuit over her clothes and floated up to Moonshine's cockpit. The scientists retreated to a glass room in the corner of the room. When Serena had closed the door of her gundam they opened the hanger door, opening to outer space. Serena looked through window and was awestruck with the beauty and peacefulness there. She sat down in the pilots seat without hesitation.
"Ok, here it goes Moonshine."
With that the cockpit turned red and Serena was focused on flying alone. No longer was she scared. Her thoughts were no longer hazy with doubt, but full of the upcoming battle.
The scientists watched Moonshine bolt out of the hanger towards the battle. "Do you really think she has what it takes to master the zero system?" One of them asked Setsuna.
"I have no doubt at all, it was modified for her."
All the scientists, save Setsuna, walked out of the glass room after the hanger door had been closed.
"Good luck Princess..."
---
"There's so many of them!" Duo yelled over the radio to Wufei.
Wufei hated to admit it but even with his new and improved gundam, Tuberoff just kept on sending the dolls by the hundreds and they were almost overwhelming.
"Luckily they don't do too much damage to the gundams," Wufei returned.
"Yeah." Duo was enjoying flying again and being with his gundam, even if they were outnumbered. *At least I'm not going to die by running out of oxygen in some cell.* His gundam rumbled as he was hit from behind. "Sure, hit a guy in the back!" he growled spinning his gundam around. He raised his weapon to attack but flew backwards as the doll exploded in his face. *Who helped me?* "Hey Wu-man thanks for the help!" Duo shook it off and went on fighting the never ending force of mobile dolls.
"What are you talking about you idiot? I didn't help you. I'm busy trying to get rid of the ones on my own tail!" Wufei was about to shoot down a doll with one of his dragon heads when in a flash it exploded. "Did you do that?" he asked Duo.
"I think there's someone else out here..." Duo said in a ghostly voice.
"Don't be a fool, they're just... defective..." Wufei said, not to sure of himself.
Duo decided to agree with Wufei and kept on fighting. That was when something caught his attention. In the corner of his screen he saw it. It was a white gundam with blue and red in certain spots. Duo stared in wonder as the gundam seemed to disappear and then reappear in front of another doll. The gundam raised what looked like a long scepter with a glowing tip. On contact the scepter cut through the doll and the doll exploded, only for the gundam to disappear and reappear in front of another doll to do the same thing. "It's so fast...!"
"What are you mumbling about idiot?" Wufei asked.
"Wu-man...look, 4o'clock... no 6o'clock..."
"Stop calling me-" he stopped talking when he saw what his friend was talking about. He blinked as it seemed to disappear then reappear. "What kind of gundam is that?!"
The gundam suddenly stopped moving and faced the other two. The corner of their video screens flashed on and a female's figure flooded in red light was staring back at them. "If you guys aren't going to fight then when I say so fly upwards." A firm female voice on the other end said.
The two gundam pilots were shocked. "Se...Serena?!?" Duo's voice came over the line.
"What?!? That's impossible!" Wufei said.
The unknown gundam, containing the innocent girl they'd seen beaten and bruised a few days ago, raised both it's arms into the air holding the scepter up. It started spinning at an incredibly fast rate, "Now! Moon Scepter Beam Attack!"
The gundam pointed the scepter out at the dolls, and while still spinning a blinding bright beam emitted from it. The beam cut through and destroyed all the dolls in it's path. Duo and Wufei quickly recovered from their shock and flew up out of the way with barely any space between them and being cut in two.
"Awesome!" Duo yelled.
"But...but...!" Wufei sputtered as he watched the new gundam slowly stop spinning.
With more than half of the mobile dolls exterminated the three gundams had no problem wiping out the rest of them.
---
Moonshine and Serena separated from the others before they had a chance to question her.
"Serena?" A familiar voice said over her radio.
Serena shook off the trance the red glow had placed her in and responded to the voice. "Ami is that you?"
"Oh Serena! We were so worried about you!" Lita's voice squealed.
"How dare you make us worry so much you little ingrate!" Raye screamed.
"Guys, guys, She's been through a lot alright, try not to bother her!" Serena heard Ami scold them.
"Serena, come on and dock on the carrier we stole," Mina said laughing.
"Oh Mina! Don't call it that, we didn't steal it..." Ami said sounding really guilty.
Serena saw the carrier on her infrared screen and headed for it. *Why did they come? They didn't have to...*
"Come on in Serena!" Mina said again.
Serena docked on the small carrier and as she was getting out of her gundam, she collapsed to the floor.
The girls all huddled around her worried over their friend's welfare. "It's ok guys, she's just exhausted." Ami informed. "She deserves the rest. Raye, Lita, let's get her to the cot in the sick-room."
"I'll set a course for Earth," Mina said disappearing into the cockpit.
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That's it for this chapter! wow that was really long! Next time, Serena and her friends go to the Sanic Kingdome!
I tell you I've read a lot of fanfiction but I never guessed it was so hard to do! Even if it is incredibly fun. Cheers for all the other authors out there!
Now it's your turn to tell me what you think! What do you want to see? What do you hate that I'm doing? Tell me! I don't bite! I know, I'm rambling. That's just the way I get when it's late at night and I've been staring at the computer screen all day.
A huge thanks to Sailor Silver Moon! You guys have no idea what I put her through! Poor girl. It's a wonder she even put up with me! (I'm not just talking about my poor writing skill...) :,(
You can expect the next chapter pretty soon! I predict there will be some intimate moments...that's all I'll say.
See ya next time!
Shi