Chapter 7
By: Kohan
"As it was so good of Ami to state, I am not
a cat from the future, past or present." Keika said.
"No shit!" Duo yelled. "So what the hell are
you?"
"No need to use fowl language, Mr. Maxwell. I'm just a girl
with power who wants more. Your Hotaru-chan's going to help me
get it. I have been using her power supply ever since I got
here...hasn't she looked ill to you?"
"You can never tell with Hotaru, she's always so
pale..." Ami said,
"No, Ami...she's right, Hotaru has been looking pale lately,
remember? She hasn't been pale since back when fought
Galaxia..." Rei said.
"Well, I have been, weather she has been showing it or not,
and, the vision I showed Hotaru and Usagi was completely a
set-up. However, Duo...I must give you credit, you are rather
sneaky." Keika said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"I was planning on keeping my plan for the Galaxy a secret,
but you had to find my little model, didn't you? Yes, I am very
good at making perfect models of whatever I wish."
"What do you want with Usagi?" Rei asked,
"Every princess, be they mortal or immortal, has a special
gem inside their heart. My race call them the 'Heart Hammers',
and they are very powerful...your friend Usagi has the most
powerful one in the Universe."
"I don't understand, it doesn't make any sense..." Ami
said, her head had started to droop, evidently Keika's ball of
magic to energy from it's captives.
"Well, let me make it simpler for you then! Maybe I should
use a living example, and I have the perfect little
rat-eavesdropper." Keika said, and the door suddenly flung
open by Keika's power to reveal Relena who had been standing
outside it listening to Keika's words. "Little Relena from
the Sanq Kingdom..." Keika said grabbing her by the hair.
"Why don't you give me your heart...?" Another string
of her power snaked towards Relena and turned into a hand and
wrapped itself around Relena's neck and went into her chest.
Relena's eyes went wide and suddenly blank as they closed and her
body went limp. Out came the hand holding a faintly shining rod
that was capped on each end with silver. "I knew she would
be useful for something one day." she said, Ami gasped,
"What did you do to her? Will she be all right?"
"No, she is dead. This is her Heart Hammer, it is useless
but for a demonstration...it will disappear in a few
moments."
"You killed her!" Rei yelled, "And your going to
kill us and Usagi!"
"Oh, your smart." Keika said, suddenly a shot rang out.
Keika turned around to face the direction where it had come from,
there was a bullet hole in the wall right next to her head.
"Let them go," Perfect monotone replied to her swift
movement. A quiver of fear came over Keika, Rei wondered if she
could be killed by bullets.
"Are you going to shoot me, Heero Yuy?" Keika asked,
Heero and Hotaru stepped farther into the room.
"If you don't let them go."
"Should I fear your bullets?"
"If you don't fear his bullets, then fear our power,"
Sailorneptune said, she and Sailoruranus appeared behind Hotaru
and Heero. Keika called back her power source and the three who
had been captured by it fell to the ground.
"It doesn't matter, the process has already begun." She
smiled. Heero raised his arm to fire again, but Hotaru put her
hand on his own.
"Don't...there may not be a way to save Usagi without
her."
"You've just been touched by an Angel, Demon. I could have
killed you." Heero said to Keika, and lowered his gun.
"How lucky am I? There is nothing you can do for Usagi now,
even with my help."
"What have you done to her?"
"As I said, the process has started, and will finish...then
my people will become victorious, even if you kill me."
"Save Usagi!" Hotaru yelled.
"NO! My people will finally have all the power they deserve!
And you that have ruled so long will perish!" Keika laughed
madly, but it was cut off by a loud gunshot which was fired from
Heero's gun...by Hotaru.
"You shot her, Hotaru." Duo gasped in somewhat
mock surprise.
"She can't save Usagi..." Hotaru said, and dropped the
gun, falling to her knees, "How can we...?"
***
"Usagi, Usagi...are you all right? Can you
get up?!"
"My head is spinning," Usagi gasped, she was on her
knees holding her head.
"It's kitty's fault!" Makoto sobbed, sitting down next
to her, holding a teddy bear. "Kitty did this," Makoto
put her thumb in her mouth, and Minako scooted her a little bit
away so she could kneel next to Usagi with a wet cloth.
"Take deep breaths, Usagi-chan,"
"Stand up," Wufei said, his eyes not looking at Usagi,
his head was turned towards the door.
"Wufei, she can't, she'll fall..." Minako said, not
noticing what he was looking at, but Usagi grabbed Wufei's
offered hand and stood to look at the door too.
If it had to be described by someone who had
never seen such a being, it would be described as a bright light,
radiating from one source.
"What is it, Wu-chan...it's so beautiful,"
"My name is Queen Edane, and I am here to save you."
"Save me from what?"
"From the evil that will take from you. Over the past few
months you have been accompanied by one of my people, Keika. She,
unfortunately, wasn't here to help you, and now, she is dead.
Before she died, she started a process that will rip you apart
and go to the heart of your soul, and steal a precious gem from
you. I'm here to stop that process. I am Queen of the Hyoushou
people, and a small group has formed of us that seeks too much
power that we do not need. I am pained to see that it was my own
daughter that came for such a pure soul as yourself."
"Uh..."
"This won't hurt you, Princess." Queen Edane said, and
a thread of white power found it's way into Usagi, and soon she
was able to stand straight without Wufei's support, however, he
still kept his arm around her. "You are safe now, farewell,
Angel." The Queen disappeared.
"That was really strange." Minako said, still standing.
Makoto had wrapped her hands around Minako's legs and was still
sucking her thumb.
"This was all Keika?" Usagi asked sitting down.
Outside, it had begun to cloud up, and Usagi could hear the
raindrops pouring on the roof. She smiled a little bit, perhaps
this was their last battle.
***
"Who are you?"
"I am Queen Edane, I have just saved your friend and
Princess, Usagi."
"Are you an Angel?" Duo asked the white shining light.
"No, I'm not, little soldier."
"Keika...Rei, Ami and Duo...they knew, and we knew too,
after Duo ran out, Relena...she followed, and Heero and I
followed a few minutes later." Hotaru said,
"Yes, Keika wanted too much power...it may seem that you
destroyed her, but she destroyed herself, really." The light
went over to Keika and Relena's fallen bodies, and they
disappeared when it touched them. "I must go now, there are
many things to sort out at home, if you have more questions, you
can find the answers inside yourselves." The light
disappeared.
"So, we were living with a nutcase this whole time?"
Sailoruranus asked, lightening the mood. Heero let a sigh escape
him, and he picked up his gun and put the safety back on.
"I need a nap," Duo said, and laid his head on Rei's
shoulder who sighed and crossed her arms.
"Ami, get Usagi on the communicator, tell her that she can
come back now...of course, if she wants to spend more time with
Wufei we will understand..." Rei said. Ami nodded, and
pulled out her communicator.
***
After talking to Ami for a few minutes, Usagi had decided to stay in China for a few more days, however Minako and Makoto would be leaving that next day. Usagi got up from the chair she had been sitting at and opened the front door to the outside where it was still raining.
She looked up in the sky, and let the raindrops
fall on her face, smiling. She twirled around, and danced in the
rain, letting each drop that hit her sink in.
"What are you doing, Onna?" Wufei said, he had been
watching from the doorway.
"Tasting the raindrops, and dancing in them...celebrating
life. Come on, Wu-chan...join me." Wufei shook his head a
little, but walked out to Usagi and put his arms around her.
"Aren't you happy, Wufei? That this is over... that we're
safe?"
"Yes." They stood in silence for a few moments,
"Usagi..."
"Huh?"
"Would you ever think of a long-term relationship with
anyone...with me?"
"Like marriage?"
"Well, yeah."
"With you, Wu-chan, yes."
***
AN: Okay, there ya go, I know it's kinda short, and that's the last full chapter, I do still have an epilogue left, and that will be it. This fic has been coming out slowly because I've been so busy, school is a drag, as is math homework, so bear with me. I'm still working on another TEW chapter, the second one =), and I don't expect that story to be very long, maybe only 5 or 6 chapters, like this one. Anyway, this story will end the whole Heero/Hotaru, Wufei/Usagi, Duo/Rei series, though I do plan to do an outline of another story that *may* involve some of the same couples in this one, but it won't be related at all. Enough chatter, I'm sure you don't really like listening to me at all, anyway.
-Kohan