Angel in Disguise by Comet~Princess
Disclaimer: You know, I´m tired of trying to think of witty comments for this. If you´ve made it this far and you still don´t know that I don´t own Sailormoon or Gundam Wing, I really don´t know how to help you.
AN: Various scenes in this chapter are a facsimile to ones in Endless Waltz. If you´ve seen the movie, you´ll recognize the scenes and the stuff I added, took out, or changed to fit this story. If you haven´t, then it doesn´t matter, right? I also really liked this chapter, so I hope you enjoy it. ^_^
Warnings: Again, Heero is OOC, some swearing, I made Relena look stupid, and there´s quite a bit of sap.
themoonmaiden: Gomen nasai! Gomen nasai! I didn´t mean to sound bitter, angry, and bite your head off. It´s just that Relena ticks me off. . . to put it nicely. ^_^
Galexz: Brussels is a real place? Gee, I KNEW it sounded familiar! It´s in Belgium, right? Actually, in Endless Waltz, that´s the real name of the place Relena was being kept by Mariemeia. That´s why I used it. . .and I must have sounded really stupid with that first line.
Uranus2000: In the original tv series, at the end of episode 49, Zechs self-destructed in the Libra and was presumed dead. In EW, it turned out he was still alive. I was merely saying that he´s not in this story. As for the life force, just to make my life easier ^_~, let´s say they´re all the same for one specie.
Koneko-chan: Hey! That´s not fair! *pouts* I haven´t left you guys hanging for more than a week. That´s got to count for SOMETHING, right?
Timeframe: Don´t make me repeat myself, onegai.
So how many people actually read through all that? Probably not that many. Here we go. . .
*********************************************************************
Chapter 10 - Final Curtain
*********************************************************************
Duo got off the floor of the prison and pulled the lock-pick he always kept on him out of his hair. "Heero couldn´t have done this another way. Of course not," he grumbled to himself as he rubbed the place where his comrade had hit him. He sighed out loud. The carrier should be coming, and he was supposed to meet Trowa in one of the shuttles. He somehow managed to get the handcuffs off and worked on the door. The guards outside heard him and moved in front of it, which was a bad move, since Duo kicked down the door in the next second and made a mad rush for the hangar where the shuttles were kept.
He found Trowa waiting for him in the only shuttle on the runway. "Hey Tro-man!" he greeted. "You know, you could have come to offer me help."
Trowa didn´t even bother to turn around to look at Duo. "I wasn´t waiting for you," he replied.
Duo blinked. He was about to ask who Trowa was waiting for when he heard Sally Po´s voice call out, "We can leave! The hostages have all been released."
"Good," Trowa said. "Let´s go."
"Hostages?" Duo blurted out.
Sally walked to the two boys. "Hello there, Duo," she addressed.
"What hostages?" Duo asked the older woman.
Sally smiled at the braided boy. "Mariemeia took the people of this colony hostage in order to take it over. I believe it also serves as a back-up plan in case Operation Meteor didn´t work," she informed.
Duo nodded as Trowa started the engine and directed the shuttle to the area where they were supposed to meet Quatre´s carrier. "So all that´s left is to save Relena," he mumbled to himself.
"Yes, and to stop the army of Serpents," Sally replied.
"No problem!" Duo exclaimed.
"I never got a chance to thank you guys for stopping Operation Meteor," Sally said.
Trowa shrugged. "We live on Earth too," he pointed out. "By the way, Duo, how did you and Heero survive that last trap Mariemeia set up?"
Sally looked at Duo expectantly for an explanation as well. Duo sighed and began to tell them what had happened, or what he believed had happened.
~*~*~*~*~
"Heero! Wait!" Usagi yelled out just as the slamming of the door echoed through the room. She ran to the door and yanked it open, to find Heero walking away and out of the hangar in the direction of the dorms. She was about to run after him when she felt Quatre´s hand on her shoulder.
"I´m really sorry, Usagi," he apologized.
Usagi shook her head as she looked at him. "It wasn´t your fault. I hugged you first," she replied. "Don´t worry about it. I´ll explain it to him."
Quatre sighed. "Usagi, I have to leave for Brussels to save Miss Relena, so I can´t help you," he said.
"I told you not to worry about it," Usagi reprimanded. "Now, go!"
Quatre smiled. "Alright. Thanks for all your help," he stated. "Good luck with Heero."
Usagi nodded. "You´re welcome. Good luck rescuing Miss Relena," she answered.
Quatre gave her a small wave and ran to the completed Sandrock Custom. Usagi watched him for another couple of seconds before taking off in the direction Heero had gone. She figured he was probably in their dorm. Using her key, she went into the room, shutting the door behind her without a sound. Quietly, she walked through the den and sure enough, he was standing on the balcony, his arms folded and resting on the railing, the wind blowing softly through his hair. Usagi´s heart skipped a beat. He looked really cute like that.
Gingerly, she stepped onto the balcony. "Heero," she called softly.
The Perfect Soldier whirled around at the sound of her voice. He had been so deep in thought that he hadn´t even felt her presence. His eyes immediately turned cold. Without even responding, he turned around to look into the horizon again. Usagi slowly walked behind him and slipped her arms around his waist, hugging him close to her.
There was a minute of silence before Heero spoke up. "What do you want?" he asked in a clipped voice.
"Please listen to me, Heero," Usagi pleaded.
Heero turned around and unwrapped Usagi´s arms from around his waist. "What is there to listen to?" he bit out harshly. "You told me you can´t care for me, but you´d care for Quatre."
"That´s not-" Usagi started.
"You don´t have to lie to me, Usagi," Heero interrupted.
"I do care for you!" Usagi argued.
"But not in the same way," Heero stated.
"Of course not! Heero, I lo-" Usagi tried again.
But Heero silenced her by putting his hand over her mouth. "I don´t want to hear it out loud," he replied. Letting go of her, he walked into the dorm.
Immediately, Usagi knew what he had thought she would say. "No, Heero!" she cried out. "You misunderstood!"
"I don´t think so," Heero replied as he opened the door to leave the room.
"Wait!" Usagi shouted desperately, hurriedly running after him.
But Heero walked briskly, and Usagi, being shorter than him, practically had to run to keep up. "Won´t you please just listen to me?" she asked again.
By now, they had reached the hangar. Wing Zero was still under construction. Heero didn´t say a word as he climbed up to the catwalk, Usagi trailing behind him. They were greeted by Sally and the Maganacs.
"Hello Heero," Sally said. "I really didn´t expect to find you still here. The others have already gotten their Gundams and are headed for Brussels. I came to see if you were still around after Duo told me where you went."
"When did you get here?" Heero asked in monotone. It was a little rude, but Sally didn´t seem to mind.
"Just a while ago. I´ve received news from Noin that Relena is being kept in an underground bunker. There is a shield around it. They are also greatly outnumbered." Sally informed. She turned to look curiously at Usagi, but didn´t say anything.
Heero nodded. "Rashid," he called, "how long until Wing Zero is ready to go?"
"Well," Rashid began, "the structures of those wings were more complicated than we thought. We haven´t completely finished filling the energy level and putting on the gundamium armor."
"So, how long is it going to take?" Heero repeated impatiently.
"It´s only about fifty percent done. We need another couple of hours for full completion," Rashid replied.
Heero swore aloud. "I don´t have a couple of hours," he mumbled. "I´ll just take it as it is now."
Rashid started to protest, but Heero had already started to walk to his Gundam. Usagi ran after him. "No! Heero, you have to let me explain first," she cried out.
Heero whipped around and grabbed Usagi around the shoulders, making her wince at the sudden pain. His heart ached at the thought that he had hurt her, despite what he had seen. Slowly, he loosened his grip. "I´m sorry Usagi," he started, "but I don´t have time. The others need me there."
"But that Gundam´s only half done!" Usagi reasoned. "You´ll die out there!"
"Life is cheap, Usagi, especially mine," Heero replied. (AN: You know where this line is from if you´ve seen the tv series.)
The silver haired girl´s eyes filled with tears. Seeing this, Heero´s own eyes softened a little. "Listen to me," he whispered as he cupped her face with his hands. "I promised I´d protect you. And I´m going to keep that promise. I´ll protect you and this world."
Usagi opened her mouth to tell him that he didn´t need to do by himself, but he silenced her with a kiss, pressing his lips gently but firmly against hers. She responded, but he pulled away. "I love you," he declared softly, "even if you don´t feel the same way."
Before she can even get a word in, he had released her and made it to the cockpit of Wing Zero Custom. "Wait Heero!" she shouted desperately.
"Don´t follow me, Usagi," Heero warned, remembering the time she had shown up at the rebel base. He wanted her to be safe, not in the middle of some battlefield. The door to the cockpit shut and the eyes of the Gundam glowed. The machine came to life. The catwalk was being moved away from Wing Zero Custom, allowing it some extra space to take off. Usagi ran desperately towards the Gundam. "No!" she yelled. "Heero!"
She reached out across the railing but Rashid held her back. "That´s very foolish," he reprimanded. "That Gundam´s power can kill you."
As he said this, the rockets on Wing Zero Custom flared to life. In another second, the Gundam took off, half finished, heading for Brussels.
Usagi whirled around to face the older man. "So?" she snapped. "The guy I love is about to go into a losing battle thinking I´m in love with someone else!" She struggled against the stronger man´s power.
"Think logically," Rashid said, "how can you possibly follow him?"
Usagi seized her resistance. It was true. She can no longer go after him. Sensing her realization, Rashid let go of the young girl, who sank to her knees onto the floor and started to cry. The Maganacs all looked at each other, not knowing what to do about the heartbroken girl. It was Sally who approached her.
"Usagi?" she said.
The girl stopped sobbing. "What?" she asked dully.
"Duo told me what happened at the rebel base," Sally replied softly, causing Usagi to look up sharply at the kind-faced woman. "Why don´t you go after him?"
Usagi´s shoulders slumped. "I can´t," she whispered. "I don´t have those powers anymore. I gave them up when I became human."
All the Maganacs either looked extremely confused or unbelieving. Did they just hear her correctly?
Sally looked at the girl with a little bit of surprise before sympathy started showing in her eyes. "You really love him, don´t you?" she asked softly.
Usagi nodded, and as she did, she spotted the carrier that Sally had arrived in. In a moment of desperation, she made a mad rush for it. She could use the carrier to go to Heero. Unfortunately, Sally and Rashid had caught her looking at it, and had figured out what she wanted to do. They each grabbed one of her arms, holding her back.
"You can´t use that!" Rashid exclaimed. "It doesn´t have enough fuel to make the entire trip!"
"Damn it!" Usagi swore. "If you´ll let Heero go in a half completed Gundam, why won´t you let me go in a carrier?!"
She struggled against Sally and Rashid, and even though she was physically weaker, she still put up a fight. "Let me go!" Usagi yelled, her heartbroken voice echoing through the otherwise silent hangar.
Suddenly, a bright light flashed from Usagi´s forehead, and a very distinguishable eight pointed star appeared. Sally and Rashid immediately let go of her, taken aback by the unexpected burst of power. Usagi´s clothes faded away, replaced by the white dress with silver embroidery. Angel wings with pure white feathers sprung from her back. "What?" the girl muttered as she looked down at herself. "I thought I wasn´t an angel anymore."
A musical voice filled the hangar. "You´re not, Seraphina," it answered. "This is the last time you will ever be able to access this power. Consider it a final gift from me, for being my friend."
Usagi´s eyes filled with tears of happiness. "Thank you, Jupiter, for everything," she replied.
"Now, go after the one you love," Jupiter finished as the bright light completely subsided.
Usagi, now in angel form, spread her wings and took off from the catwalk, racing after Wing Zero Custom as Sally and the Maganacs stared after her in awe.
~*~*~*~*~
In the cockpit of Wing Zero Custom, Heero checked all the equipment on his Gundam. The structure of his Gundam was complete. The twin buster rifle was fully completed as well, but true to Rashid´s word, the gundanium armor was only half done and the energy level was only about fifty percent.
"They really meant fifty percent when they said it," he mumbled to himself.
All of a sudden, he felt a strange tingling run through his body. It wasn´t the same as the one he usually got when Usagi used magic, but her presence lingered in it all the same. His eyes narrowed.
"Damn it, Usagi," he cursed. "What part of 'don´t follow me´ do you not understand?"
As quickly as his fingers would allow it, he accessed the extra rockets on the Gundam. It was a strain on the energy he´d have when he got to Brussels, but he wanted to keep Usagi out of the fight as much as possible.
~*~*~*~*~
Noin was in a White Taurus, holding off a few of the Serpents. Her suit was not a very strong one, but she was trying her best. She continued to disable the enemy suits, unwilling to kill the soldiers who were being used like puppets by Dekim. They were fighting for Treize, but he was dead, and somehow, Dekim had convinced them that putting his daughter, Mariemeia, in the throne of the world, was what he wanted.
Noin continued to shoot the feet of the suits, but her mobile suit was taking damage. She just hoped someone, mainly the Gundam pilots, would be able to stop them, because she knew her power wasn´t enough. Just as one of the Serpents was about to fire its missiles at the White Taurus, its arms got chopped off and the suit fell to the ground in a heap.
"How are you doing, Miss Noin?" Quatre asked through the vid-com.
Noin smiled. "Much better now that I have your help," she replied gratefully.
"It´s a good idea you have there, not killing the soldiers," Quatre commented as he disabled another two Serpents.
"They are only being manipulated," Noin stated.
Quatre nodded. "I know what you mean. Let me join you in your efforts. The others will show up soon," he informed.
Noin nodded in silent understanding as she moved to aim at the foot of another enemy suit. Quatre stayed by her, knowing that her White Taurus had already taken a lot of damage. He swung his heat shotels around, effectively cutting off the arms on a few Serpents. However, they were still outnumbered almost a hundred to one, and Sandrock Custom had already blocked quite a few shots for Noin. She was about to tell the young Gundam pilot to leave when new voices were heard.
Three Serpents had their arms chopped off before the form of Deathscythe Hell Custom appeared. "Hey Q-man! I just LOVE this cloak!" Duo yelled through the vid-com.
Heavyarms Custom jumped over an onslaught of missiles before opening fire on a group of ten Serpents with its four gatling guns. "Good idea, Quatre, these soldiers are only being used. They don´t deserve to die," Trowa said.
Nataku snapped the head off one Serpent with its dragon fang and broke the leg of another with its fist. "Weak soldiers! You should know this is absolute injustice!" Wufei shouted.
Quatre grinned. "Let´s make sure only these weapons are destroyed," he chimed in.
Sandrock Custom continued to help Noin as the other three Gundams dashed around the battle ground, disabling what mobile suits they could. The numbers don´t appear to lower though. In fact, they were increasing as more soldiers got into mobile suits.
"Damn!" Duo swore. "Don´t these people know when to give up?!"
"Someone needs to go rescue Miss Relena," Quatre reminded them.
"Yea, but how the hell are we supposed to get through that shield and underground?" Duo replied.
"We can´t," Trowa answered bluntly, "at least, not now. We are outnumbered as it is."
"This is almost ten times the amount at that last rebel base," Wufei noted.
"That´s because that was a distraction and a bait. This is the real force," Quatre analyzed.
A weaponless Serpent rammed into Deathscythe Hell Custom, jolting Duo forward in his seat. Nataku´s dragon fang rendered it useless. "Thanks, Wu-man!" Duo said.
"Damn it, Maxwell!" Wufei shouted as he continued to snap the arms off the enemies. "I swear if you still have a head after this fight, I´ll make sure it comes off!!"
The Gundams continued to fight until Deathscythe´s beam scythe stopped glowing, Heavyarms was out of ammunition, one of Sandrock´s heat shotels was broken, and Nataku´s dragon fangs were both snapped off.
"You guys hurry and get out of here!" Noin commanded.
"What?!" Duo exclaimed. "No way!"
"For once, I agree with Maxwell," Wufei commented.
"That´s right, Miss Noin," Quatre said. "This is our Earth too. Let us protect it with you."
"But you´ll die if you stay here!" Noin insisted.
Quatre smiled as he fended off another Serpent. "If we had fought to kill, this battle would been over a long time ago," he commented.
"Yea!" Duo agreed. "Besides, we´re used to having our asses kicked!"
"The only thing we have is the self-destruct system," Trowa stated, "but that should be used to take our lives, not the soldiers´."
"Well, there´s more than one way to fight!" Duo shouted as he accessed the boosters on his Gundam and rammed into a Serpent.
"We still have to get past the shield, but our energy is so low," Quatre reported grimly. A sudden movement in the sky caught his eye. "Look! Up there!" he cried out.
In the sky was another Gundam. It was white, blue, and red, with large angel-like wings. "Wing Zero," Wufei mumbled to himself.
~*~*~*~*~
Heero looked at the energy level on his Gundam. The rockets had used a large amount of it. He was in no condition to fight, but judging from the situation below him, it looked like his comrades needed someone to go get Relena out of the bunker more than someone to help them. He brought out the buster rifle and took aim. "Target locked," he muttered to himself. Then, he reached over and opened a link between his Gundam and the underground base.
A picture came up. Heero could make out Dekim, Mariemeia, Relena, and a whole bunch of soldiers.
"Heero! You came to save me!" Relena´s voice cried out in joy.
Heero resisted the sudden urge to roll his eyes and instead, focused on Dekim and Mariemeia. "I want to confirm. Is your shield activated?" he asked in monotone.
"What are you talking about?" Dekim shouted at him.
Heero groaned mentally. He really hated repeating himself. "Is your shield activated?" he asked again.
This time, it was Mariemeia who answered him. "Of course it is! You can see just how powerless you are!" she yelled.
Heero nodded. "Roger," he replied.
Without a second thought, he fired a shot from the buster rifle at the shield. Not down yet. He fired again. This time, the gundanium started to peel off due to the lack of power. He received a message from Dekim on his vid-com. "Stop shooting!" the old man commanded. "Relena Peacecraft is in here too!"
If Dekim was saying that, that means the shield was almost down. Heero got ready to shoot again. He knew the Gundam would probably blow up from the overuse of power, but heck, he really didn´t have anything to live for. All of a sudden, he spotted a figure with white wings flying towards him. Damn. She´s fast, he thought.
Usagi finally reached the hovering Wing Zero Custom. She banged frantically where the cockpit door was supposed to be. "Heero! Let me in!" she cried.
The cockpit door opened to reveal Heero strapped in the pilot seat. He looked at her form, his eyes widening slightly. When he´d heard her desperate plea, his conscience had reached over and opened the cockpit door. He´d known she was in angel form, but up close, she looked more incredible than he had thought possible. She stood in the doorway. "You have to get out," she told him.
(AN: I have no idea if you can open the cockpit door in midair, but right now, you can. =P)
"No," Heero replied. "I´m going to finish this. I told you not to follow me."
"Don´t you understand Heero?" Usagi begged with tears flowing freely down her face. "I can´t sit around while you´re fighting somewhere else! I can help you, and I want to help you."
"Why? You´re an innocent," Heero said. "You really shouldn´t be involved in this."
"Because I can´t watch you die! I can´t!" Usagi insisted. "If you die, I. . .I´d die too."
"You´re already dead," Heero answered.
"No, I-" Usagi started.
"Are you in or out?" Heero interrupted.
"What?" Usagi asked, confused.
"I´m closing the door," Heero explained. "Are you in the Gundam or out of it?"
Usagi flew into the tiny cockpit and Heero shut the door. She suddenly realized just how little space there was. Looking around, she noted that Heero was waiting for her. She was blocking the controls. Hesitantly, she lowered herself onto his lap and folded in her wings. The computer was short-circuiting, so Usagi wrapped her arms around Heero and called up the magic shield.
Heero stared at the angel in his lap as a silver glow started to envelop him and her. He realized that it was the same shield she´d used to save him and Duo at the third rebel base. She may be an innocent, but she was willing to fight, for him. Heero turned his attention back to the control board, and making sure that the target was still locked on, he fired the third shot, breaking through the shield around the bunker and blowing up his Gundam due to overuse of energy in the process.
~*~*~*~*~
On the ground, Wufei shouted, "You better live, Yuy! You´re stronger than this!"
"Heero!" Duo and Quatre both called out.
"Look!" Noin shouted, pointing to a mob of people arriving in trucks off to one side of the battlefield. They were shouting things like "we´ll protect our own peace" as they protested against the soldiers in the Serpents.
Trowa nodded. "Peace should be fought for by them. Otherwise, we could never have real peace," he commented.
~*~*~*~*~
Heero opened the cockpit door of the now battered Wing Zero Custom and got out with Usagi in his arms. The girl, sensing that they were now safely on the ground, allowed the silver glow to subside. Her transformation faded away, and she was Usagi again. Heero wrapped one arm around her waist, using his body to support her weight. She looked exhausted.
"I´ll have Duo take you to a hospital," Heero told her.
"No," Usagi protested, leaning weakly against him. "I want to stay with you."
Heero looked at her for a moment, gave a brief nod, and walked into the bunker with her in one arm and a gun in the other. They made their way through the ruined halls to the control room. Inside, they found Lady Une supporting a badly injured Mariemeia with her knees on the floor. Relena was beside them. Dekim looked dead on the other side of the room, and the soldiers around appeared to be bewildered with the situation.
"I made a mistake," Mariemeia choked out weakly. "I´m so sorry."
Heero raised his gun and pointed it at her. "I´ll make you rest in peace," he stated.
The three females on the floor looked up at him. "Heero!" Relena cried joyfully. Then, she frowned when she caught sight of the girl he was holding in his arm.
"Thank you," Mariemeia whispered before she passed out.
Heero reached to pull the trigger, but Usagi put her hand over his and stopped him. He looked at her questioningly. "Please don´t," Usagi said softly. She looked sympathetically at Mariemeia. "She was used by her grandfather. She´s an innocent, Heero. Please spare her life."
Heero looked down at his angel, and he suddenly had a flashback of the little girl and the dog that he had accidentally killed. One for one, he thought. He put away the gun and nodded to Usagi.
Realizing that Heero would not kill Treize´s daughter, Lady Une took control of the situation, ordering the surrounding soldiers to go get medical attention. Relena stood up to greet Heero, but Usagi´s energy was draining away, having put up the shield and walked to the control room. Her legs slowly gave away, and Heero immediately wrapped both arms around her.
"You´re exhausted," he commented. "Why´d you come after me?"
"Because I promised to be there for you," Usagi answered weakly with a smile. "I can´t watch you die."
Heero stared at her, silent for a second. He took a deep breath and asked, "What about Quatre?"
"He´s like my brother," Usagi replied. "I was only hugging him because he told me you´d be arriving."
"Then you. . ." Heero´s voice trailed off.
"You never listen to me, do you?" Usagi teased. Then, she turned serious. "I came after you for a second reason. You didn't give me a chance to tell you."
"What?" Heero whispered.
Usagi smiled weakly as her eyelids drooped. "I love you, Heero Yuy," she proclaimed just before she fainted into his arms.
***********************************************************************
End of Chapter 10.
AN: *sniffle* Is that enough sap? Finally, took them long enough to tell each other. Or it took me long enough to make them tell each other. LOL! *sigh* There´s only an epilogue left to write. I´m going to miss this story and reading your reviews. Speaking of reviews, please take a few seconds to write one for this chapter. It is greatly appreciated!