Angel in Disguise by Comet~Princess
Disclaimer: Sailormoon and Gundam Wing belong to people who can actually draw, and considering the best of my artistic abilities are stick figures, you can probably guess that the owner is not me. =P
AN: Hey! Be proud of me! Early chapter again! Honestly, how many of you thought he was dead? I´m curious now after I read the reviews. *readers chucking fruits* Hey! I´m just wondering, okay? Geez!
Warnings: Heero is OOC. Some may argue that Duo is OOC at one point in this chapter, but I disagree. Duo-kun can be serious when he wants to be. In addition, Heero IS his best friend. Another thing is for the really sensitive Relena fans. Duo makes two comments that you might find offensive, but I don´t even consider them bashing. I just think it´s funny.
Aidenn Legacy, Cheska: You´ll find out what he means in this chapter. I explain it a little more clearly.
Sky, Koneko-chan, siren: I hate cliffhangers too, except when I´m writing them. *grins maniacally*
Luna the Lune: Arigato for your kind compliment. I´m actually planning on finishing this fic before the summer is over, so you can rest assured that you won´t be hanging for too long.
Uranus2000: Well, don´t worry, the enemy is revealed in the first ten lines of this chapter, but if you´ve seen Endless Waltz, you should already know who the enemy is. ^_~ And the reason why I don´t have them all lovey-dovey all the time is because I´m trying to make it believable. ´How would the characters act if this really happened´ kind of thing. Hope that helped a little.
Timeframe: It´s getting old typing this, but whatever. Starts October A.C. 196, moving into Endless Waltz.
Yea, yea, I probably gave away what happened to Heero and Duo (Hey! You people forgot about him!) with the AN, but I´m still going to have to write it.
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Chapter 8 - Supernatural Interference
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"Two Gundam pilots and two Gundams are down," a soldier reported to a tall man with a beard.
"Good," the man replied. "I was hoping to take down more, but this will have to do. There is no better opportunity than now to put the plan into action."
A girlish giggle filled the air. "Yes, Dekim," the young girl replied. "After all, today is the last day Miss Relena will be on this colony."
The man named Dekim nodded in agreement and turned to the soldier. "On Miss Mariemeia´s command, have Vice-Foreign Minister Relena Dorlian kidnapped from the peace negotiation today," he ordered.
"Yes, sir!" came a chorus of replies from the soldiers around the room.
(AN: Who did you expect? It´s Endless Waltz, after all. ^_^)
~*~*~*~*~
Duo slowly opened his eyes to when he felt someone shaking his shoulder. He was met by his comrade´s Prussian blue ones. Immediately, Duo gave his friend a bear hug.
"I thought they separated people when they died or something, Heero! I´m so glad I´m going to have a friend even in the afterlife!" he babbled.
Heero pried Duo´s hands off him and pushed him away. "Braided baka, we´re not dead," he informed the other boy.
"We´re not?" Duo asked, looking around him. He could see the fading away of a silver coloured dome around himself and Heero. He also noticed the dust around him, the smell of burnt metal within a fifty meter radius of them, the destroyed forms of Wing Zero and Deathscythe, and the fire around the trees off to one side. "Well, I suppose the heavens are better looking than this, so we´re probably not dead," he muttered.
Heero stood up and scanned the area around them. Where was she? He knew she was there. He saw her hiding among the trees before he went into the base. That train of thoughts made him pause. Wait a second, didn´t that mean she knew they were Gundam pilots? "Supernatural indeed," he mumbled.
"Hey Heero!" Duo´s voice brought him back to reality. "How did we survive?"
Heero shot Duo a look. "Usagi," he answered in monotone.
Duo rolled his eyes. "Okay, buddy, the question was how did we survive, not who you´re currently thinking about," he said.
Heero glared at his braided friend. "I heard you the first time. And the answer is Usagi helped us," he clarified.
Duo blinked. "Earth to Heero. She´s not even here!" he replied.
"She was, before we went into the base," Heero retorted.
"Alright, then how exactly did she know we were in trouble and how did she help us?" Duo challenged.
"I don´t know how she knew, but the silver dome around us blocked off the explosion," Heero answered.
"Oh yea, that thing!" Duo exclaimed. "How did that thing show up anyway?"
"Magic," Heero muttered.
Duo´s eyes widened. "Heero, you´re supposed to be the most realistic out of us. Don´t tell me now that you´ve gone insane and started believing all that crap about supernatural powers and-" he paused, noticing Heero´s death glare and gun that was now pointed in his direction. Duo gulped. "Soooo," he said carefully, "what are we going to do now?"
"Back to the base," Heero replied. "We´ll pretend to be dead. That way, we´ll be at an advantage since the enemy thinks we´re down two pilots."
Duo nodded. "Good plan, but can we call Quatre to pick us up? I don´t want to walk!" he whined.
"Fine," Heero said before opening a line to Quatre through the communicator. "Quatre, come in, it´s Heero."
"H-Heero?!" Quatre´s voice couldn´t have been more surprised if he tried.
"We´re not dead," Heero answered before his comrade could ask. "Duo and I will wait for you to pick us up. We´re in the area of the base."
"How?" Quatre asked. Two Gundam self-detonations and one self-destruct system on the base and they still lived?
"Long story," Heero replied. "Don´t let too many people know we´re alive."
"Right," Quatre said, picking up on Heero´s plan, "I´ll send a carrier right away," he added before cutting the line off.
~*~*~*~*~
Seraphina climbed into her bed, exhausted from the use of energy. So, Heero and his friends were the famous Gundam pilots that she heard about when she was on Earth. It made a lot of sense now, why the guys always seem to be hiding something from her. Not that she was angry, she hid something from them as well.
Mercury´s computer had been super useful in informing her of Heero´s background as well as his location. She had arrived in time to help him and Duo, and she was very grateful for that. She wondered if he saw her. His Gundam seemed to have looked in her direction, but she couldn´t tell whether or not he knew she was there. It had taken a considerable amount of energy to put up that shield around the two pilots and herself, and now, she was totally drained.
A soft knock on her door made her sit up groggily. "It´s unlocked," she said.
Pluto appeared in her room with a very stern look on her face. "Seraphina," she started, "you mustn´t do things that you are not supposed to. It will change the course of the timeline."
Seraphina laid back down. "So?" she asked.
Pluto walked over to the bed and glared down at the young angel. "The future will become unstable if you change things," she informed.
Seraphina rolled her eyes. "Well, my mental state is unstable now because of you trying to follow that stupid timeline, and I look normal in your eyes, so the future being unstable shouldn´t be too bad," she replied sarcastically.
Pluto stared at the usually sweet girl. "The timeline-" she started.
"Good God, Pluto!" Seraphina interrupted angrily, sitting up straight, her fatigue forgotten. "I don´t care about the timeline! I only want to make sure Heero is safe. I´ll do everything I can to help him, regardless of the consequences," she finished.
Pluto frowned. The timeline didn´t say anything about those pilots getting into the base, but now that Seraphina was interfering with it, the future had changed as well. "Why must you change the flow of time?" she asked.
Seraphina sighed. "I´m not trying to change it specifically, Pluto. All I´m doing is helping Heero, and if that changes the timeline, I´m sorry, but I won´t stop just because you asked," she replied calmly.
Pluto gave the angel a nod and left the room. She had to keep Seraphina from messing with the timeline anymore than she already has, but how?
~*~*~*~*~
Duo sat inside the cockpit of the carrier Quatre had sent. Heero sat beside him, staring off into nothingness. Rashid and a few of the Maguanacs were helping to load what was left of Wing Zero and Deathscythe Hell into the back.
"Hey Heero," Duo started, a sudden question forming in his mind, "how exactly do you feel about Usagi anyway?"
Heero snapped back into reality and turned to Duo. "I don´t know what you´re talking about," he replied.
Duo sighed. "It´s not that hard a question, buddy. All I´m asking is, what do you think of her?" he asked.
Heero became silent for a minute. "She´s different," he finally said.
Duo groaned. "No! That´s not what I´m asking you!" he said. "I already knew she was different, considering she´s been dead for about a year, she can use magic, and she´s either a ghost or a goddess!"
"Then what are you trying to say?" Heero asked in monotone.
Duo racked his brain. "Okay, I´ve tried to say this discreetly and it didn´t work, so I´ll put it bluntly," he muttered. "Are you in love with Usagi?"
Heero blinked. He knew he cared for her, but he never thought about loving her. What was love anyway? He knew what it was, theoretically, but he didn´t know what it felt like. "I don´t know what love is supposed to feel like," he repeated out loud for Duo.
The braided one cracked a smile. "Go figure. You´re the Perfect Soldier, after all," he replied. At Heero´s glare, he added, "Well, it´s a feeling that makes you all warm inside. You feel cared for, protected, happy, nice, among other things."
Heero frowned slightly. He could definitely check off everything on the list Duo had just given him. "Then, how do you know if you´re in love or not?" he asked.
Duo suddenly looked thoughtful. "Well, I can´t answer that. You just know, and it´s different for each person. I loved Sister Helen back at the Maxwell Church, but that was family love."
"What brought this on anyway?" Heero asked. It felt kind of weird, having a serious conversation with Duo of all people.
Duo shrugged. "Quatre mentioned that he felt the pain in your heart, so I was curious," he answered. After another minute, he added, "Back to question one, how do you feel around Usagi? Maybe if you told me, I´d be able to tell you whether or not I think you´re in love with her."
Heero shot Duo a look. Whatever, if Duo told other people, he could just deny everything. Or he could choose option two, put a bullet hole in the braided baka´s head. Yep, that sounds good too. He didn´t have anything to lose. "Everything you´ve just said and more," he started. "When she´s happy, I´m happy. When she´s sad, I´m sad. And now that she´s gone, I feel empty, like I´m missing a piece of myself." Heero stopped, suddenly feeling really strange, expressing the emotions that even he himself didn´t understand.
Duo whistled. "You are so gone over her!" he concluded.
Heero glared. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he said.
"It means I think you are in love with her to the point where your life matters less to you than her happiness," Duo explained, grinning at his best friend.
Heero became silent. Duo was just using a comparison, but he didn´t know how right he was. "Duo," he started, "if anyone else hears of this-"
"Yea, yea," Duo interrupted, "I´ll be dead. Don´t worry, I don´t plan to die at your gunpoint."
Just then, Rashid came into the cockpit. "It´s all done. Now, let´s go. Master Quatre is rather anxious to see you," he said with a smile.
"Great! Then, let´s get a move-on!" Duo exclaimed.
It took about half an hour for the carrier to reach the hangar at Peacecraft Academy. Heero and Duo were greeted by Quatre when they emerged from the carrier.
"However it is that you guys survived, I´m glad that you did," he said sincerely.
"Me too!" Duo chirped. "I´ll tell you what happened sometime, considering you probably won´t get anything out of him." He jabbed a finger in Heero´s direction.
Quatre nodded. "Let´s go inside. There´s few things we need to discuss," he informed.
As the guys walked along the catwalk that brought them level with the Gundams´ cockpits, Heero and Duo noticed that Heavyarms, Sandrock, and Altron had suffered a considerable amount of damage as well. A group of Maguanacs were around a table and a computer.
"We want to make some changes and modifications to the Gundams," Quatre began, "but there´s a few problems that we need to solve first."
"Explain," Heero commanded.
"First, there´s been a report that Miss Relena has been kidnapped from the peace negotiation she was attending on colony X-18999. It´s in the colony cluster L3, which is led by the Barton Foundation," Quatre explained.
"So, our hunch was right," Duo said.
"We don´t know yet," Quatre said, "but Trowa has gone there to investigate. He´s most likely undercover, considering Trowa. In addition, Sally Po from the Preventers has reported seeing Neo-Titanium in that area." Before Duo could interrupt again, Quatre continued, "Trowa will confirm anything we need for us. Currently, our job is to rescue Miss Relena."
Duo rolled his eyes. "Only Relena can get kidnapped at a PEACE negotiation," he muttered.
Heero nodded. "Mission accepted," he said. "Duo, we´re leaving tomorrow morning."
Duo made a face. "Can´t Quatre go? You know how I feel about her Highness," he said sarcastically.
Quatre shot Duo a look and added, "I have to supervise the repairs on our Gundams. As you can see, they´re all in rather horrible conditions and, according to the battle data I´ve gathered, our Gundams need to be faster, more accurate, and more powerful to have a real advantage over those new type of mobile suits. The problem is, we can´t quite figure out how to make these modifications."
Duo gave Quatre a pat on the back. "Don´t worry about it. I´m sure you´ll come up with something," he said. "But we need some way to get up to space."
Quatre was about to offer a carrier when Heero cut him off. "We´ll hijack something. It´ll be less identifiable," he suggested.
"And it´s probably his specialty too," Duo muttered. At Heero´s glare, he quickly changed the subject. "So, where´s Wu-man?"
"Wu-man, I mean Wufei, has gone to the Preventers´ Headquarters to sort out a few things about our recent missions," Quatre supplied.
"We need an excuse to give to the school too," Heero added.
Quatre smiled. "You forgot, Heero. Christmas vacation started a couple of days ago," he reminded the two boys.
Duo groaned. "Great. It´s Christmas, everyone´s out having fun, and I´m about to leave to rescue the Pacifist Princess," he mumbled.
A figure in the shadows stifled a giggle before turning to fly away, having thought of someone who can help her friends.
Heero´s head shot up to look at where the figure was standing a second ago. He could have sworn he felt her familiar presence.
"Heero? Are you okay?" Quatre asked gently, a worried look on his face.
Heero looked at his blond comrade and shook his head. "It´s nothing," he replied. Usagi, why won´t you come out? I miss you.
~*~*~*~*~
Seraphina ran through the twisting halls to her genius friend´s room She gave a quick knock before running in. "Mercury?" she called out.
A girl with blue hair and eyes looked up from a large book she was reading. She removed her glasses and smiled at her first friend. "Hello Sere," she said, using the nickname the angel´s close friends called her. "How are you? I haven´t seen you lately."
Seraphina sighed. "My life has been the biggest mess you can think of," she summarized.
Mercury smiled. "You know I´ll always be here when you need me. It´s the least I can do after everything you´ve done for me," she replied.
"If you put it that way. . ." Seraphina started.
Mercury´s smile turned into a worried frown. "Is something the matter?" she asked.
"Well, I need some help, please?" Seraphina pleaded.
Mercury nodded. "Why don´t you tell me? And I´ll see if I can help," she answered.
Seraphina grinned at her friend and gave a quick summary of her current situation, detailing what she needed Mercury´s help with.
"So, you want me to come up with modifications to the Gundams and draw out the new plans?" Mercury questioned.
"Do you think you can?" Seraphina said.
Mercury nodded. "There should be enough information in my books and computers to finish the plans by tonight," she supplied. "But aren´t we not supposed to interfere with mortal affairs in case we change the timeline?"
Seraphina frowned. "Yea, but I don´t care," she answered softly. "Are you going to refuse to help me now?"
Mercury studied her usually bubbly friend. Seraphina had always done things for the good of everyone around her. And Mercury had a feeling there was more to her relationship with those boys she was trying to help than she was letting on. Besides, the young angel had always helped her out, whether it was being a friend, aiding her in an experiment, or spending time with the usually lonely Messenger of Gods. "If you feel it´s the right thing to do, I´ll help you," Mercury replied firmly. "I trust you."
Seraphina´s eyes lid up before she stood up and crushed the blue haired genius in a hug. "Thank you so much! I owe you big time!" she exclaimed.
"You´re welcome, Sere," Mercury said as she hugged back. "I´ll call you when I´m done with them, okay?"
Seraphina nodded and left Mercury alone. She sighed. She hoped Pluto doesn´t find out. She´d hate to get her friend in trouble with the time guardian.
Just hold on, Heero, Duo, Trowa, Quatre, Wufei, she thought with renewed determination. If it costs me everything, I´ll make sure you guys win. The young angel walked to her room, deep in thought. She wondered how much Heero and the rest of the guys really knew about her. She wouldn´t be surprised if they knew her past, considering Heero had overheard her angel name, and most of her background information was under that name. What´ll my friends here say if I asked them to call me Usagi instead? she thought with a little amusement. She really liked the name Usagi better, or did she? Maybe it was only because that was the name that had a connection to her beloved Heero, and that made her feel warmer somehow. She picked up the giant stuffed rabbit off her bed and gave it a hug. She wanted to see him again, not the way she´s been seeing him until now, but face to face. She missed looking into his eyes and feeling like she was drowning. She missed the security she felt when he simply held her, and the warm mushy feeling in her heart when they kissed. But she can´t do that. He was angry with her, and it wouldn´t be fair to keep him to herself anyway. As much as she hated it when Pluto was right, it would never work out. Even if he loved her now, he would eventually want someone who looked his age. She´ll have to set him, and his heart, free.
A soft knock on her door broke her train of thoughts. Seraphina quickly wiped away any trace of her tears and opened the door to be greeted by Mercury. She let her friend in and sat down next to her at the desk.
"Well," Mercury began. "Here are the changes." She unrolled the first piece of paper and started to explain. "This is a modified version of Wing Zero. I called it the Wing Zero Custom when I was titling it. Anyway, by changing the original wings to something like yours, it should make it more agile in battle. The structure of the twin buster rifle is modified to reduce charge time, and-"
"Sorry Mercury," Seraphina interrupted apologetically. "I´m kind of mechanically challenged."
Mercury giggled. "Sorry, Sere," she replied. "I get carried away sometimes." She unrolled the remaining four pieces of paper and quickly pointed out a few simple changes. "I´ve researched the pilots´ combat style and adjusted their Gundams to fit the pilot, which is why I added ´Custom´ on the end," she explained briefly.
(AN: Hasn´t anyone else ever wondered where the Custom forms of the Gundams came from? Well, here´s my explanation! ^_^)
Seraphina nodded and gave her friend a quick hug. "Thanks so much, Mercury!" she said. She checked the clock for the time on Earth. It was just past midnight. "I have to take these down to Quatre now," she told Mercury, "but if you ever need anything, just ask."
Mercury smiled at the angel who was about to walk through the door, five rolled up pieces of paper under her arm. "Just be happy, Sere," she said softly.
Seraphina looked at the genius, surprised at the request. She smiled back. "I´ll try, Mercury," she replied.
Quickly, she left, going to Earth and heading for the hangar at the Academy. She looked around. Where can she leave these plans so the guys will definitely find them? She spotted the catwalk and flew up there. Then, she mentally slapped herself. Baka! If anyone was working late and caught you, you´d have a lot of explaining to do! She used a quick magic spell to make her wings and the star on her forehead disappear. Her white dress changed to a pair of white jeans and a white sweater. Much better! Usagi thought with a smile. She started walking up and down the catwalk to find a place to leave the plans to the new Gundams.
~*~*~*~*~
Heero tossed and turned in his bed. He couldn´t fall asleep. Why did she show up to help him and Duo? And what was she doing earlier in the hangar? She still cares for me, he thought, a spark of hope lighting up in his usually emotionless heart. But then, why wouldn´t she come out and let him see her? Probably because she still thought he was mad at her. He sighed. He wanted to see her so badly, to stare into her eyes, to feel her comforting presence. He needed to have her with him. Why? Heero had no clue. He had never needed something so badly in his life. Being with her made the pain go away. He felt complete with her by his side. Can Duo be right? Am I in love with her? It only took him a second to come up with the answer. Yes, he was in love with Usagi, because like Duo said, he´d die content if Usagi was happy. But wasn´t this a weakness? That was the way he was taught. Yea, but I was also taught to work alone, and look where I am now.
Suddenly, he felt a well-known tingling, the one he felt in the presence of magic. Heero bolted upright in bed and was out of his pyjamas and into his tank top and jeans in a matter of seconds. He walked around the halls, trying to feel for her presence. "The hangar," he muttered to himself. Duh! That´s where she was earlier and it wasn´t like she could go anywhere other than their dorm, the lobby, and the hangar. Silently, he walked into the hangar, and like a sixth sense, he immediately spotted her. She was walking around on the catwalk, holding some rolled up pieces of paper in her hands. Afraid that he might scare her away, he crept up the catwalk without a sound.
By the time he got there, she was putting what she was carrying onto a table near the main computer and muttering something that sounded like "I hope they´ll find them here."
Unable to keep silent any longer, Heero called out, "Usagi."
The silver haired girl whirled around at the sound of the heartbreakingly familiar voice that called her name. Her sky blue eyes widened when they met his Prussian blue ones.
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End of Chapter 8.
AN: There! They didn´t die, okay? Where would Endless Waltz be if Heero and Duo were dead? Here´s the question of the day! Is this ending better or worse than the last one? *various objects fly through the air* Ouch! Well, just REVIEW. It´s the reason why there´s been three chapters out in the past week and a half. So, if you want more, you know what to do. ^_^