Angel in Disguise by Comet~Princess
Disclaimer: Look, this is titled a disclaimer. If I actually owed Sailormoon or Gundam Wing, you wouldn´t even see that word on this page, since I´d definitely want to be given credit for it! Don´t sue! I´m broke. =P
AN: Uranus2000 brought it to my attention that not everyone has seen Endless Waltz. So, I´ve provided a link here that you can access. This page has information and a picture of Dekim and Mariemeia as well as information and a picture of the EW forms of the Gundams. (That´s Wing Zero Custom, Deathscythe Hell Custom, Heavyarms Custom, Sandrock Custom, and Nataku.) Just scroll down and click on the right name. Or better yet, you can go here and download the episodes of EW in real player format. They´re English subtitled. Wow! That´s really long! And someone should pay me for advertising, geez!
Warnings: Heero is OOC and this felt like a soap opera, even though I´ve never seen one in my life.
themoonmaiden, Eternal Blue: NO!! I HATE RELENA!!! Don´t read the following if you haven´t seen EW! Okay, first of all, I disagree that Heero and Relena were "lovey-dovey" at the end of EW. I´d be lying if I said Heero disliked Relena, but I don´t think Heero is in love with her. In my opinion, part of the reason he went to save her is because she is the symbol of peace on Earth, and her death would result in more bloodshed, something none of the G-pilots want. Also, if you´ve looked at the synopsis of EW, it says Heero went to save his FRIEND, and that´s what I believe they are. (E-mail me if you want to know why I think so.) Now, notice that even though Heero hesitated to shoot when Dekim told him Relena was inside the building, he shot anyway. That means that Relena is not of THAT great importance to him, if he´d risk her life. I mean, Usagi would not have done that if it was Mamoru inside the building, and vice versa. Second, the part with Heero lying in Relena´s lap, recall that HE FAINTED!! He had no idea he was in Relena´s lap. Which brings me to something I don´t understand. Think logically Relena-baka, Heero runs around with broken bones, jumps from fifty story buildings and lives, self-destructs his own Gundam and lives, and he fainted. DON´T YOU THINK HE NEEDS SOME MEDICAL ATTENTION?!?!?! But noooo, the baka just sits there with Heero in her lap. Real smart. *this is sarcasm, if you didn´t notice* At the very end, he leaves once he realized that Relena was safe. If they were really "in love" per say, why would he leave her? Therefore, Heero is not in love with Relena. I´ll definitely say friends, or even good friends, but that´s it. Hmm. . . I think I went overboard trying to answer your question, ne? ^_^
Timeframe: When I said EW, I meant the basic idea, not the storyline. I´m changing the storyline and I personally like my version better. At least Wufei isn´t a bastard here.
Alright, I´m done. You can stop mumbling death threats now.
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Chapter 9 - Reunion
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For what seemed like hours, the two just stood there, staring at each other. Finally, Usagi spoke, "Heero." It came out as a whisper, but Heero heard her anyway. "What are you doing here?" she blurted out.
Heero looked at her, and let a small smirk cross his face. "I felt you, so I came to see you," he replied softly. After a moment of hesitation, he added, "You are really here, right?"
Usagi smiled. "If you´re asking me whether or not you´re hallucinating, then no, you´re not. Unless I am," she said, her voice equally soft.
"Usagi," Heero started, "I. . .I´m sorry, for the other day."
Usagi cocked her head to one side and smiled, making Heero want to run across the catwalk and kiss her right then and there. "Is the Perfect Soldier actually apologizing to me?" she teased. Heero was about to say something when Usagi held up her hand. "Don´t be sorry. I wasn´t honest with you. You had every right to be angry with me," she finished, looking at the ground.
Heero shook his head. "No, I don´t," he replied. "I never asked you anything, so it wasn´t as though you lied to me. Besides I wasn´t angry with you. I was mad at myself, but I took it out on you."
"Are you still mad?" Usagi asked.
"No," Heero answered. "Can you forgive me?" It was the first time he had ever asked for forgiveness. It felt weird, but he needed to do it. He needed Usagi to forgive him, and to know she forgave him.
Usagi shook her head, and for a second, Heero felt like his heart would shatter. "You never had to apologize in the first place," she stated. Heero´s look of confusion and bewilderment was enough to tell her that he didn´t understand what she meant. "I forgave you the moment I stepped through the kitchen door that day," she explained.
"Why?" Heero asked. "I was completely wrong in accusing you."
Usagi smiled again. "Haven´t you ever heard of the phrase, love is never having to say you´re sorry?" she questioned.
Silence ensued for another couple of minutes before Heero tentatively took a step forward. Usagi didn´t move. Another few steps, and they stood only inches apart.
"Love is never having to say you´re sorry," Heero murmured softly, making Usagi shiver slightly. "Does that mean you-?" He left the question unfinished, but Usagi knew what he meant. She blushed, realizing that she had let him know more than she had meant to.
Shakily, she asked, "What makes you think that?"
Heero tipped her chin up so that she was looking into his eyes. "I don´t know," he whispered. "Maybe it´s because I want you to."
"W-Why would you want me to?" Usagi asked in the same hushed tone.
Heero smiled and leaned in closed to her until their faces until they were only millimeters apart. "Because I think I love you," he answered just before completely closing the gap in between their lips.
As soon as they kissed, it was like a fire had erupted. Usagi automatically wound her arms around Heero´s neck, and he pulled her closer to him, wanting to memorize the way she made him feel, the warmth and the completeness of his soul. He deepened the kiss, and she wanted to melt into his embrace. An alarm rang off in Usagi´s head and she abruptly broke the passionate kiss. She didn´t say anything, but Heero caressed her cheek and asked softly, "What´s wrong, angel?"
Usagi blinked. "What did you call me?" she questioned.
"Angel," Heero replied. "You don´t like it?"
Usagi took a couple of steps back. "H-Heero, how much do you know about me?" she asked.
Heero frowned slightly. "You mean the fact that you´re not human? Or at least it doesn´t appear that you´re human, according to what´s on record," he said.
Usagi nodded. "So, you do know," she replied.
"Is that supposed to matter?" Heero asked.
"We´re not supposed to be together. We can´t be, do you understand?" Usagi whispered.
"No, I don´t," Heero stated bluntly. "Why not?"
"I´m immortal. I don´t age. I can´t stay with you. It won´t be fair," Usagi explained desperately.
"I don´t care," Heero said.
"You will," Usagi insisted. "You will when you´re sixty and I still look like I do now. You´d blame yourself for wasting your youth with me, and I can´t let you do that. I want you to be happy."
"The only times I´ve ever been happy were the times I spent with you," Heero argued. "I love you."
"Don´t say that, anything but that," Usagi begged, covering her ears with her hands. "I don´t care for you, and you don´t care about me." She was saying it more to herself than to Heero, trying desperately to convince herself that she didn´t want to run back into his arms, be selfish, and stay there forever. Looking up into his eyes, she saw flickers of pain in them, and unable to keep her composure any longer, let out a heartbroken sob and ran away down the catwalk, disappearing the same way she had come into the hangar.
Heero watched her go. He didn´t know what to do. He knew, in his heart, that she cared for him. He didn´t know why she ran away, or why he didn´t go after her. He just felt. . .empty, like a shell, only doing whatever he was told. The only time he´s ever felt like a real person was when she was around. Now that she was gone for the second time in his life, and this time, voluntarily left his life, he felt that a shell was all he´d ever be.
~*~*~*~*~
Quatre´s eyes widened as he examined the plans for the new Gundams that Heero had just given him. "These are amazing! How did you come up with these?" he asked.
"I didn´t," he replied in monotone. "They were on the table over there."
"Really?" Quatre was astonished. Who would do something like this? He turned to Heero. "You know who left them for us." It was more of a statement than a question.
"No, I don´t," Heero denied. He knew why he wouldn´t tell Quatre. Telling his comrade would be like confirming that last night actually happened, and he didn´t want to believe that Usagi had told him that they couldn´t be together. "I´m leaving for X-18999," he said before turning to walk out of the hangar.
Quatre looked after him. He knew something happened to Heero last night, but he didn´t know what. He sighed. He didn´t need Heero to tell him who left the plans there. She was the only person who could have done it. "Thank you, Usagi," he whispered.
"Winner," a voice called out.
Quatre turned around. "Wufei! I didn´t know you were back. What did Lady Une say?" he asked.
Wufei scowled. "You watched the news? Some brat calling herself Mariemeia Kushrenada just declared war on Earth," he informed the blond.
Quatre sighed. "This is not good," he muttered.
Wufei rolled his eyes. "No kidding, Winner. Oh yea, what´s with Yuy and Maxwell? I thought they died," he said.
Quatre smiled. "Well, they´re still alive, as you can see. I haven´t gotten around to asking Duo how they lived. Anyways, they´re on their way to save Miss Relena," he answered.
"Weak onna," Wufei mumbled.
Quatre eyed Wufei before shrugging and changing the subject. "What are you going to do now?" he asked.
"I´m supposed to be on lookout in this one area that Noin and Sally don´t cover," Wufei replied. "But I´m going to need Nataku."
"Right," Quatre agreed. "I´ve got some new plans. I´ll have the Maganacs work on yours first since you need it."
Wufei nodded and left to get some rest. Quatre gave the plans to Nataku to Rashid and they got started on modifying it. The young Arabian looked over the plans for the other four Gundams and noted the new wings on Wing Zero Custom. Angel wings, he thought to himself.
~*~*~*~*~
Venus gave a gentle knock on the doors to a large temple before walking in. "Mars?" she called out, "Are you here?"
A young woman with waist-length raven-coloured hair and deep violet eyes stepped out from behind one of the doors. "I´m trying to meditate, Venus," she said, annoyance obvious in her voice, "but seeing that it´s you, I won´t get to unless you get what you want."
Venus pouted. "That is so not a nice thing to say," she replied.
Mars sighed. "I´m sorry. I´m just irritated. What is it that you need?" she asked.
"I just need to ask you a few things since you´re connected to the spirits or whatnot," Venus said, shrugging her shoulders.
Mars nodded. "Here, come sit down, and ask away," she stated.
Venus made herself comfortable before bluntly stating what she had come for. "Is it possible for us to be something else?"
"Could you be any less specific? I don´t think that was vague enough," Mars answered sarcastically. (AN: Forgot where I got this line from. I didn´t come up with it though.)
"Oops," Venus said sheepishly. "Well, I´m wondering if we can be mortal."
"You?" Mars asked.
"Uh. . .yea. Is it possible for me to become mortal?" Venus asked.
Mars frowned. "A goddess becoming mortal, I´m not sure," she replied.
"Alright, then how about an angel becoming mortal?" Venus inquired.
"Well, technically, I think it is possible," Mars answered.
"How?" Venus asked eagerly.
"Well, spiritually speaking, the reason mortals age while we don´t is because they have a life force. That force measures how long you´ve lived and leaves when you become a certain age. Of course, it could also be taken away abruptly by early death," Mars informed.
"Um. . .so, if an angel has a life force, they´ll be mortal?" Venus said, trying to understand what the Goddess of War had just told her.
Mars shrugged. "Simply put, yes. Becoming an angel is a gift, allowing a mortal to keep living without a life force, or something like it. You should ask Mercury if you want to get really specific," she replied.
Venus sweatdropped. "No thanks. I can´t understand what she says half the time," she muttered.
Mars smiled. "Now, I´ve got a question," she started. "What brought this on?"
The Goddess of Love grinned. "Well, you´ve seen how Sere´s been really sad lately, right?" she asked.
Mars nodded. "Especially this morning. I saw her and she was positively depressed. I´m worried about her. Do you know what´s wrong?" she inquired.
"Yep," Venus said triumphantly, "and if what you just said is true, then she´ll be happy really soon!"
Mars gave Venus a blank stare. "Care to explain?" she questioned.
Quickly, the blonde goddess gave her companion a summary of what had happened, starting with their angel friend´s so-called mission, to her falling in love with her charge, to how heartbroken they both were. Mars nodded after the entire story. "So if she´s mortal, then she can be with him," she finished for her friend.
"Exactly!" Venus exclaimed. "Now, where do you find life forces?"
Mars rolled her eyes. "Life forces aren´t something that grows on trees," she said, a little exasperated. "It´s like a part of the parents´ soul that they pass down to their child. You can´t just find one somewhere!"
"Then, how do we get one for Sere?" Venus asked.
"I don´t know," Mars answered. "You can take one from a living human, but that would obviously cause that person to die. In addition, you need a lot of power and control to transfer a life force. I can´t do it by myself!"
Venus was suddenly deep in thought. There just has to be a way! Nothing´s impossible if you eliminate the impossibilities, right? (AN: The actual saying is 'nothing´s impossible if you eliminate the improbable.´) A knock on the door interrupted their conversation.
"Come in," Mars called out.
Mercury stepped through the door and bowed to the two goddesses. "I´m sorry for interrupting," she began, "but her Majesty and Pluto would like a word with the three of us."
The two stood up and followed Mercury to the time gate, where Pluto was obviously angry at something that was happening on Earth. As the three got closer, they could hear her say, "That´s not supposed to happen!"
"What´s wrong, Pluto?" Venus asked.
Jupiter and Pluto turned around. Pluto sighed before she explained how Seraphina had been changing the timeline. "The purpose of this meeting is to find a way to stop her. The timeline cannot work out this way. The future is not supposed to be like this," she finished.
"Excuse me for saying so, Pluto," Mercury spoke up. All eyes turned to her. She rarely said anything at all. "I think you´re wrong. The timeline is only a basis for what happens according to the current situation. Any single decision any being makes can change the future. The future is unpredictable, and perhaps it is time we do things according to what we think is right instead of what is supposed to be right," she said.
A full minute of silence ensued as all those present thought about what Mercury had just said. Finally, Venus broke it. "Sere´s in love with that guy. She´ll do anything to help him and there´s nothing you can do to stop her," she said firmly.
Before Pluto can reply, Mars spoke up. "I have a proposal to make. It´ll stop Sere from interfering and it´ll allow her to be with the Chosen Warrior."
Jupiter nodded. "Let´s hear it. She´s my friend. I´d like her to be happy," she said.
"If we take a life force from one of the soldier who´s about to die in the war, we can give that life force to Sere and she´ll be mortal. That way, she won´t have any more special powers so she can´t interfere. At the same time, she can be with the guy she loves. However, I´m going to need all of your help and powers to complete the process," Mars suggested.
Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter agreed right away, and after a moment, Pluto nodded as well. "Someone go get her then," she said softly.
~*~*~*~*~
"I cannot believe they tried to put the original Operation Meteor into action!" Duo exclaimed as he clicked furiously on the keyboard in the control room of colony X-18999 along with Heero and Trowa.
Heero and Duo had hijacked a small spaceship and flown into the colony, aided by Sally and Noin of the Preventers, only to discover that Mariemeia had taken Relena down to a place called Brussels on Earth. However, they found out that Dekim was planning to drop the colony onto their home planet, then take it over with the Serpents they had fought the other day. This had caused a quick change of plans as the two found their way into the base and control room to re-stabilize the colony. Trowa´s undercover identity had helped him sneak into the room, but not much earlier than the other two. In addition, they had found the system to be quite complicated, and had decided to work together to get the job done faster. Serpents were already being sent to Earth, and even though Wufei was in the area of MO-III with Nataku, he couldn´t do anything to risk the drop of the colony.
(AN: For those who haven´t seen EW, MO-III was the name of the satellite that carried the Serpents, like the mothership. The original Operation Meteor was to drop a colony onto the Earth and have the Gundams take over. However, the scientists and the pilots disagreed, so they didn´t follow it. For those who have seen EW, Zechs is dead and Wufei took over, okay? ^_^)
"Believe it," Trowa replied. "I found out that Dekim was the one who came up with the original Operation Meteor."
"That bastard," Duo muttered.
"Done," Heero announced, his voice devoid of any emotion.
Duo turned to his comrade. "You sure nothing´s wrong?" he asked. Heero had been colder than usual on their trip, and as much as Duo would like to deny it, he was worried about his friend.
Trowa glanced at Heero, but decided not to probe his fellow pilot. Instead, he looked over at Duo, and noticed the screen behind him blinking. "Someone´s trying to contact us, Duo," he said.
The braided boy turned away from Heero and accessed the message. There were two. The first was from Sally and Noin, wanting to confirm whether or not they had really stopped Operation Meteor. An affirmative answer was sent and Wufei immediately blew up MO-III with his dragon fangs and beam trident. The second message was from Quatre. Modifications on Heavyarms Custom and Sandrock Custon were done. Deathscythe Hell Custom was about half done and Wing Zero Custom, about ten percent. He would like to know what they wanted him to do now.
"Why don´t we just all go back to Earth?" Duo suggested.
"No," Heero replied. "We´re taking an extra trip around half the Earth if we do that."
"So, what do we do?" Duo asked.
"Send a carrier with Heavyarms and Deathscythe into space so you guys can pick it up and head directly to Brussels. Have some Maganacs onboard to finish Duo´s Gundam," Heero commanded. "Tell Wufei to meet up with you. I´ll go down to Earth."
"Roger!" Duo said and quickly sent Heero´s orders to Quatre.
"There´s a shuttle in hangar number four that you can use," Trowa informed.
Heero nodded. A banging on the door of the control room caused all three pilots to look up. "Oh great," Duo mumbled. "Now what?"
Trowa and Heero looked at each other before Heero said, "Duo, hit me."
"Wha?" Duo asked.
"Hit me," Heero repeated.
Duo shrugged and punched Heero in the face. The Perfect Soldier barely flinched before sending his fist into Duo´s stomach, effectively knocking him out cold. "One for one," he said to Duo before before handing the braided boy to Trowa and laid down on the floor just as soldiers came barging in.
"I´ve taken care of them," Trowa said, giving the unconscious Duo to one of the soldiers. This distracted the soldiers momentarily, allowing Heero enough time to run out of the control room towards the hangar.
(AN: That last part with Heero asking Duo to punch him was part of the actual EW. The dialogue isn´t exact, but the idea isn´t mine. If you didn´t get it, Trowa´s undercover, pretending to be one of Mariemeia´s soldiers. That´s why he wasn´t captured.)
~*~*~*~*~
Usagi walked into the familiar hangar under Peacecraft Academy. It felt funny not to have anymore magic. After Venus had told her of the news, Usagi had actually been doubtful about whether or not to accept the offer. If she became human, she would no longer have any special powers. Thus, she would no longer be able to protect and help Heero the way she had been doing for the last few days. Her heart, however, had recalled the times they spent together and the unusual sorrow she´d seen in his eyes when she´d left him. Venus had further convinced her by reminding her that even Heero himself said that he was only happy when he was with her. She´d vowed before to make sure he was happy, and if the process makes her happy as well, that´s just icing on the cake.
She looked up at the catwalk to see Quatre and a large group of older looking men working on Duo´s Gundam. She made her way up and called out Quatre´s name. The blond boy turned around and his jaw dropped.
"U-Usagi?" he asked uncertainly.
Usagi gave him a smile. "Hi," she greeted. The Maganacs had stopped working to look at what their master was staring at. Rashid raised an eyebrow and approached the young girl. "Can I help you with anything?" he asked politely.
"Uh, can I talk to Quatre?" she asked timidly, feeling very small compared to the large man in front of her.
Rashid glanced at Quatre, who seemed to have recovered from his earlier shock. He had never thought that he would be visited by the supernatural. "I´ll be back, Rashid," he said. "You guys keep working."
Rashid nodded and watched as the boy he treated like a son walked towards the silver haired girl. "You think there´s something going on between them?" Abdul asked.
Rashid scowled. "Don´t be nosy. Just load those two Gundams into the carrier," he ordered.
Meanwhile, Quatre had reached Usagi. He opened his mouth to ask what she was doing there, but Usagi cut him off. "I suppose you´d like an explanation," she stated quietly.
Quatre nodded. "It´d be nice, but you don´t have to," he said gently. She remained silent until they were sitting in a small room off to one side of the hangar. There were a couple of armchairs and a small table. As soon as they sat down, Usagi blurted out the entire story, starting from her birth, to her adoption and change of name, to her death, to becoming an angel, and so forth. Quatre sat still and listened the entire time, completely fascinated. "So now, I´m human. I wanted to see Heero and tell him everything, so I came here," she finished.
~*~*~*~*~
Rashid looked up from the repairs he was doing to see the pilot of Wing Zero walking towards him. "Good day, Heero," he greeted. "Back so soon from the colony?"
Heero nodded. "Used up all the rockets on the shuttle. Has Quatre left for Brussels yet?" he asked in monotone.
"Actually, he´s in there," Rashid said, pointing to the room Quatre had led Usagi to.
Heero frowned slightly. "He should already have left," he replied, more to himself than to Rashid. He walked towards the room. Rashid shrugged before going back to work.
~*~*~*~*~
Quatre blinked. "If I didn´t see the record of your death and wonder how Heero and Duo survived two Gundam self-detonation and a self-destruction of the base, I don´t know whether I would believe you," he replied, shaking his head.
"But you do believe me?" Usagi asked.
"Yes, because Heero deserves to have someone who loves him and your explanation actually makes sense, believe it or not," Quatre answered with a smile. "Are you using the name Usagi?"
The silver haired girl nodded. "Yes," she said.
"Well," Quatre started, "at least we won´t have to remember another name."
Usagi cracked a smile. "Thank you, Quatre," she said.
"No, thank YOU," Quatre replied. "The plans for the Gundams are amazing. And just so you know, Heero is coming back here."
Usagi´s face lit up and she ran across the room, hugging Quatre with all her might. The Arabian turned a bright red before hugging the small girl back.
(AN: I´m debating whether or not to give you a cliffhanger. *shrug* Sure, why not? I wouldn´t want to break my trend. ^_^)
There was a soft knock on the door before Heero opened it. Quatre immediately pulled away from Usagi, but not before Heero had seen the scene. His eyes hardened as he looked at them. Before Usagi could get a word out, Heero turned and left the room, slamming the door shut behind him.
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End of Chapter 9.
AN: Don´t flame me! Onegai! They´ll make up, I promise! It´s just that there´s too many fics out there where Usagi becomes mortal and everything´s fine. I wanted to try something different. *sigh* This story´s almost over! I can´t believe it. There´s only maybe two chapters left. Well, take a couple of minutes to make this poor author happy. Please review!