Chapter 26: The start of the Black Moon war
Hey! Here is the next chapter I promised! You can probably tell what happens from the title. And like I said this one will have action in it, and not just romantic action. Anyway, here it is!
Jupiter P.O.V.
The Scouts all knew where the gate crystal was, so getting up to the West Tower was a quick thing. (Once we activate the crystal, those Black Moon guys are toast.) She smirked to herself. She took her position at the side of the large spike crystal thrust through the floor of the tower. Standing with her back to it, she took Mercury's hand on one side and Mars's on the other. Jupiter closed her eyes and concentrated her power on the crystal. She felt the energy around her and felt a slight draft as her clothes transformed into her Scout uniform. Jupiter smiled. (They're toast.) The crystal seemed to hum behind her and the raw energy shot up around her. Through her eyelids, Jupiter could almost see the four Inner colors fly up around the palace. She could almost see the dark crystal ships stop dead at the wall.
Suddenly, the wall seemed to lock and the energy around them stabilized. Jupiter opened her eyes and dropped Mercury's and Mars's hands. Venus laughed from the other side. "Let's go blast some crystals!"
The Scouts quickly made their way downstairs to the others waiting excitedly in the hall. The boys and Zechs were looking through one of the windows at the wall of green outside.
"Why is it green?" Duo asked curiously.
"Because Jupiter's power is guarding this side of the palace." Mercury said, looking out the window herself.
"We going to go today or what?" Saturn asked jokingly.
There was an awkward silence in the hall, before the Scouts burst out laughing. Venus wiped her eyes. "I guess it takes a war to bring out the jokes in the Goddess of Death..."
The boys looked at them as though they were crazy. Heero looked at Jupiter seriously. "How can you laugh when you are being attacked like this?"
Laytha put her hands on her hips and looked at Heero. "Because they're dust! Why else would they wait until most of us were out of the dimension, before attacking?"
"Because they know we'll beat them." Uranus finished. "If we could go today..."
Serenity stepped forward. "She's right; we have not lost a battle yet. We may have list our lives a few times...but never a battle. And she's right about going. You should get going."
Jupiter nodded and turned to the guys. "Just hang out here, until we get back."
Zechs frowned. "Won't you need-"
"Help?" Venus laughed. "We told you. With the number of ships I saw out there, this will be over before the day is." She laughed and started down the hall.
Jupiter winked at Heero. "She's right. Don't worry." She ran after Venus with the others on her heels.
Five minutes later, the Scouts were outside looking up at the black crystal ships hovering outside the wall. There were youmas roaming on the ground as well.
"Let's do this." Uranus hissed.
Saturn's P.O.V.
The Scouts walked up to the wall and stepped through. A split second later, the group had spit up, leaping onto different buildings and firing blasts to the ships above while shooting away at the youmas climbing up to attack them.
Saturn pulled her glaive out of subspace and sliced it easily through and approaching youma. "Silence Glaive Surprise!" She yelled and watched several others drop to the ground before the purple slice cutting through the air. She leapt to another rooftop, gasping as a black cannon attack blasted a dark void into the building she had just leapt from. Saturn thrust her staff upwards and caught a youma in the throat. (Not that many attacking me. I should give them a reason to attack me.) Casting her gaze to the darkened sky, she picked out a particular clump of crystal ships. She punched a small energy ball through a small string of youmas and concentrated on the ships. She pushed off a bit of the energy towards some more youmas and looked down. She was glowing, if softly.
(Almost ready.) Another energy ball cut down a few more attackers and she concentrated harder. (There.) She looked up and saw through the purple mist, the ships, still foolishly clumped together. Saturn lifted her staff and pulled it over her head. The energy increased with the action and seemed overpowering as she swung it around her head and brought it swiftly down in a slash across the ships in her line of vision.
A shard of her purple energy flashed into existence and sliced through a line of youmas and continued unsteadily towards the ships. Saturn smiled as they disappeared in a flash and fire.
Venus P.O.V.
Venus knew since she was an Inner, she would be attacked first and hardest. Youmas swarmed towards her, but were almost entirely wiped out but a swift swing of energy. But they were replaced almost immediately by more. Venus took the split second to get up to a rooftop. Out of the corner of her eye she saw another roof bust apart. Taking another swing of energy, her thoughts suddenly went to Duo. (I wonder if Gundam battles are like this?) She almost laughed at the thought of a swarm of youmas attacking Duo and his Gundam. She really did laugh at the thought of how he would crush them like bugs. (Actually, a Gundam or two would be good at wiping out these pests.) She looked up then, and saw a group of ships, or rather pieces of them fall out of the sky.
(Why did they bother to attack us?) Venus thought as another wave of youmas collapsed into dust. (Geez, this is way too easy, it's like cleaning house...only more fun.) She smiled and aimed a crescent attack up towards a group of ships. Venus thrust a small light spear through a line of youmas and watched the ships try to escape her attack by spreading out. The beam shattered a split second before it hit the middle ship and all of them were taken down in the one blow. (Much more fun.) She laughed as she saw another whole wave dusted by an earthquake pulled by Uranus.
Venus paused for a moment as she thought she saw someone leap from one of the ships. A pause too long and a deep, painful slash appeared across Venus's arm. She growled and pulled energy and thrust it at the nearest youma. A bit too much energy and it wiped out the whole left side of youmas and blew the next rooftop apart. She heard Neptune yell something at her, as she leapt away from the blast.
Jupiter's P.O.V.
Jupiter leapt up to a rooftop and blasted all the youmas she saw on the street below. A few thrust and thunder claps took care of the one on the roof with her. (It's been way too long since we had a battle.) She thought as she saw Venus swarmed yet again. (She needs to control her attacks more. Wait a sec.) Jupiter looked around. Her roof was suddenly clear of youmas. (Why am I not being attacked?) Her question was answered when a girl, maybe her age, dropped down in front of her from one of the ships. Jupiter nonchalantly tossed up a thunder bolt and the ship blew apart.
The girl in front of Jupiter looked vaguely familiar, and smiled as Jupiter looked her over, as if she wanted her to figure out who she was. She had dark blond hair with two braids tied in the back. Her blue eyes seemed to laugh and her smile did as well. She wore a scant, skin-tight black leather jacket was cut even higher than Jupiter's uniform, and sleeve- less, but was a turtle-neck and buttoned down the side. Her very generous figure swayed as she moved towards Jupiter. "What's the matter? Don't remember me?" Her voice played above the battle noise.
The voice snapped Jupiter's memory. "You're that girl! That girl who was talking to Heero that night of the festival!"
Relena laughed. "Ha ha! So you do remember me... You Scouts aren't as stupid as they say..."
Jupiter frowned and started to circle Relena as Relena drew closer. "What did you do? You were fine at the festival, but now you just reek of darkness." Jupiter frowned again.
Relena stopped and threw up her hands. "Hello? As if it wasn't obvious? I get a beautiful body, powers I would have never had, and another chance at Heero, in exchange for helping to kill you and your friends." She sneered. "Especially you."
Jupiter straightened. "Heero will never want you for this."
"He will! I know it!" Relena shrieked and leapt forward. Black energy balls appeared in her hands and Jupiter just barely dodged one and the other hurtled by her head a second later. Relena stopped and pulled power again. "You don't know anything. Once I destroy you, Heero will see me, without you standing in the way. He'll see me and love me like he did before you came along and stole his heart!" Relena shouted and ran at Jupiter.
This time, Jupiter was ready. She pulled thunder to herself and thrust it at Relena, just as she was about to put one of the energy ball through her. Relena smiled and dodged the attack quickly. She nimbly flipped over three thunder claps Jupiter pitched at her, and laughed as Jupiter pulled a fourth.
"I don't have time to play dodge ball with you! See you later, bitch!" Relena cackled with glee and leapt over the side of the building. Jupiter ran to the side, but she was gone.
She looked around and gasped at what she saw. (They're retreating...) It was true. The youmas were leaping into the ships and the ships themselves disappeared into in-between. "Don't like this..." Jupiter whispered to herself.
Back at the palace, the Scouts assessed their few wounds and told Serenity and the boys of all that had happened.
"There were youmas just everywhere!"
"Which was totally not a problem, by the way..."
"The ships were exactly like in my dream..."
"Yeah, only they were getting blown apart."
Serenity laughed and held up her hands. "Al right, I get it. Lots of exploding youmas and crystal ships. Anything else?"
"They have a new general." Jupiter said, looking down at the bandage on her arm, covering a burn she had not known was there.
"Where? I didn't see her." Mercury leaned forward, curious.
"You're not going to like it." Jupiter glanced at Heero. He stiffened. Jupiter continued. "Do you remember that girl we saw at the festival? That Relena girl?" She got puzzled looks from some of the Scouts and slight jaw drops from the guys, as the realized what she was implying. She turned to the Scouts who had not seen her, or did not come to the past. "We met this girl at a festival we went to in the past. I was in the bathroom, and when I came out, she was talking to Heero. I went over and said hi, but she goes off and starts freaking out, saying that he should come back and protect her, and what was he doing with me, you know, jealous rants."
Heero cut it. "I was pretty much her bodyguard for about a year and a half. During that time, I avoided most contact with her, but Relena thinks there was something between us. I explained that there wasn't but she continued to get upset and Jupiter and I left." He looked away, as if that were the end of it.
"Well, it seems this Relena made some deal with the Black Moon." Jupiter frowned. "When we saw her, she was rather, well..."
"Fat." Venus bluntly finished.
"Well, yes. Anyway, I was fighting and she told me she got a brand new body and new powers, to kill us with and take Heero." Jupiter looked at him. He looked back at her and the hall was silent for a minute.
Venus hopped down off her stool next to Duo and crossed her arms. "Are you telling me she got powers from them?! And what kind of body? Must have been pretty fast if even you didn't destroy her..."
Jupiter smiled softly. "I guess she was a bit fast for me. Well, her body seems to be mostly her own, only...altered."
Pluto frowned. "How so?"
Rini giggled. "Does she have fangs?"
"How was she altered, Jupiter?" Mercury pressed.
"Well," Jupiter shifter on her stool. "She was definitely faster, and she, um, is thinner, a lot thinner, and her, you know..." She waved her arm in the general area of her chest. "She's kind of got more of a figure..." She frowned. "A lot more of a figure."
Duo snorted with laughter. "Relena? With a figure?! No way! These Black moon people must be pretty good!"
Even Zechs coughed into his hand to hide a smile. Pluto glared at him. "It doesn't matter. They have a new general, one who's very fast with power. She isn't the only problem we have." The hall silenced again. "I went out a bit further into their force than you all. I was hoping to see if they had a base. They do. It is a crystal palace, like our own, but it's black. Like their ships."
"Great..." Laytha muttered.
"I'm not done." Pluto continued soberly. "They are using mobile suits." That got every head in the hall focused on her. "Improved mobile suits. Our power doesn't work on them. They've somehow managed to copy our shield power idea, and put it to use on them."
Mercury stood up. "But a shield like that can only be used on a large scale. They would have to be..." She trailed off, thinking. She closed her eyes. "The mobile suits humans used to use would be just big enough."
"Yes, but one thing I did find out." Pluto crossed her arms. "I was firing blasts at them and missed once. It hit a building next to one and the building fell over on it. The building pinned it."
"What does it mean?" Neptune looked at Mercury.
Mercury touched her glasses in thought. "Maybe... Yes that's probably it. I think these new mobile suits are immune to our power, but are still affected by physical attacks. Like the building falling."
Venus threw up her arms. "So what are we going to do? Collapse half the city just to pin down these things before they get close enough to us to crush us?"
"I have an idea." Wufei spoke up for the first time in the conversation. "And I think at least one of us is not going to like it." Heero looked up. Wufei looked at Pluto, and asked, "Did you once say that moving inanimate objects between dimensions was easy, it was simply the living beings that required energy?" Pluto nodded. "This may be something of a bad idea, but what if you were to bring our Gundams here?"
Heero stood up. He opened his mouth, then closed it and looked away.
Quatre sighed heavily. "More fighting..."
"Again..." Zechs agreed softly.
Duo smiled softly and looked at Heero. "Man, it's the only plan we have. We can't let them lose their city because we refused to help..."
Mercury shifted. "If it is a problem for any of you, we could probably find a different way to break the shields, or get around them."
Trowa looked around Heero's shoulder to his face. "Heero, this would be our last mission. They need our help."
Heero turned around and looked at the faces around him. His eyes once again went to the darkness outside. "Mission...accepted."
Serenity nodded her head at him. "Thank you. All of you. Pluto..."
"I will be back shortly." Pluto nodded to them, smiled, and left down the hall.
Serenity looked at the others. "Now I suggest you all get some rest. We will have a big day tomorrow."
Venus smiled slyly at Duo and sidled up next to him. "My place or yours?" He joked and they went up the stairs.
Jupiter took Heero's hand. He started out of his thoughts and almost pulled away. He looked at Jupiter and smiled his very faint smile. She led him slowly up the stairs.
Quatre and Mercury smiled at each other and followed. Neptune, Uranus and Rini left for their own rooms. Saturn stepped up to Zechs and took his hand in her own small one. "She'll be back soon. Don't worry." Zechs smiled down on her. She led him to the stairs. "You should get some rest too. Pluto would be mad if you didn't."
Laytha looked after them and smiled. She took Trowa's arm wordlessly, and he took her up the stairs as well.
The hall seemed suddenly very empty to Mars and Wufei. Mars went over and stood next to him. "Thank you..." She said quietly.
"We were thinking it. I had to say something. It's not right that we could help you, but didn't say anything because we were too weak to face it again." Wufei looked out the window to the abandoned city.
"Face what?" Mars asked gently, slipping her arm around his waist.
Wufei hesitated and put his hand over hers. "In Heero's Gundam, there is a system. We call it the Zero System. At one time or another, each of us has had to face that damn thing." He spat the words, as though they had a bitter taste. "It confuses the mind and alters your thoughts. You would sacrifice your life, if the machine thought it necessary." Wufei smiled faintly. "Sacrifice is Heero's nature as it is. But he and Quatre were the only ones of us to even remotely master the System." Wufei closed his eyes. "They were the only ones strong enough."
Mars put her hand under his chin and turned his face towards her. "Wufei, you are the strongest person I know, and do not tell me you cannot master that mindless machine. You can." She smiled. "But you do not have to."
Wufei snorted weakly. "What does an onna know of such things..."
Mars eyes shimmered with fire. "I know plenty..."
Hey! What do you think? I know the action scenes were a tad weak, and it anyone has a few thoughts on how I could improve them, please e-mail me or just write in your review. Even if you don't have any ideas, review me anyway! I love to hear what you all think!
mmj15@aol.com
Hey! Here is the next chapter I promised! You can probably tell what happens from the title. And like I said this one will have action in it, and not just romantic action. Anyway, here it is!
Jupiter P.O.V.
The Scouts all knew where the gate crystal was, so getting up to the West Tower was a quick thing. (Once we activate the crystal, those Black Moon guys are toast.) She smirked to herself. She took her position at the side of the large spike crystal thrust through the floor of the tower. Standing with her back to it, she took Mercury's hand on one side and Mars's on the other. Jupiter closed her eyes and concentrated her power on the crystal. She felt the energy around her and felt a slight draft as her clothes transformed into her Scout uniform. Jupiter smiled. (They're toast.) The crystal seemed to hum behind her and the raw energy shot up around her. Through her eyelids, Jupiter could almost see the four Inner colors fly up around the palace. She could almost see the dark crystal ships stop dead at the wall.
Suddenly, the wall seemed to lock and the energy around them stabilized. Jupiter opened her eyes and dropped Mercury's and Mars's hands. Venus laughed from the other side. "Let's go blast some crystals!"
The Scouts quickly made their way downstairs to the others waiting excitedly in the hall. The boys and Zechs were looking through one of the windows at the wall of green outside.
"Why is it green?" Duo asked curiously.
"Because Jupiter's power is guarding this side of the palace." Mercury said, looking out the window herself.
"We going to go today or what?" Saturn asked jokingly.
There was an awkward silence in the hall, before the Scouts burst out laughing. Venus wiped her eyes. "I guess it takes a war to bring out the jokes in the Goddess of Death..."
The boys looked at them as though they were crazy. Heero looked at Jupiter seriously. "How can you laugh when you are being attacked like this?"
Laytha put her hands on her hips and looked at Heero. "Because they're dust! Why else would they wait until most of us were out of the dimension, before attacking?"
"Because they know we'll beat them." Uranus finished. "If we could go today..."
Serenity stepped forward. "She's right; we have not lost a battle yet. We may have list our lives a few times...but never a battle. And she's right about going. You should get going."
Jupiter nodded and turned to the guys. "Just hang out here, until we get back."
Zechs frowned. "Won't you need-"
"Help?" Venus laughed. "We told you. With the number of ships I saw out there, this will be over before the day is." She laughed and started down the hall.
Jupiter winked at Heero. "She's right. Don't worry." She ran after Venus with the others on her heels.
Five minutes later, the Scouts were outside looking up at the black crystal ships hovering outside the wall. There were youmas roaming on the ground as well.
"Let's do this." Uranus hissed.
Saturn's P.O.V.
The Scouts walked up to the wall and stepped through. A split second later, the group had spit up, leaping onto different buildings and firing blasts to the ships above while shooting away at the youmas climbing up to attack them.
Saturn pulled her glaive out of subspace and sliced it easily through and approaching youma. "Silence Glaive Surprise!" She yelled and watched several others drop to the ground before the purple slice cutting through the air. She leapt to another rooftop, gasping as a black cannon attack blasted a dark void into the building she had just leapt from. Saturn thrust her staff upwards and caught a youma in the throat. (Not that many attacking me. I should give them a reason to attack me.) Casting her gaze to the darkened sky, she picked out a particular clump of crystal ships. She punched a small energy ball through a small string of youmas and concentrated on the ships. She pushed off a bit of the energy towards some more youmas and looked down. She was glowing, if softly.
(Almost ready.) Another energy ball cut down a few more attackers and she concentrated harder. (There.) She looked up and saw through the purple mist, the ships, still foolishly clumped together. Saturn lifted her staff and pulled it over her head. The energy increased with the action and seemed overpowering as she swung it around her head and brought it swiftly down in a slash across the ships in her line of vision.
A shard of her purple energy flashed into existence and sliced through a line of youmas and continued unsteadily towards the ships. Saturn smiled as they disappeared in a flash and fire.
Venus P.O.V.
Venus knew since she was an Inner, she would be attacked first and hardest. Youmas swarmed towards her, but were almost entirely wiped out but a swift swing of energy. But they were replaced almost immediately by more. Venus took the split second to get up to a rooftop. Out of the corner of her eye she saw another roof bust apart. Taking another swing of energy, her thoughts suddenly went to Duo. (I wonder if Gundam battles are like this?) She almost laughed at the thought of a swarm of youmas attacking Duo and his Gundam. She really did laugh at the thought of how he would crush them like bugs. (Actually, a Gundam or two would be good at wiping out these pests.) She looked up then, and saw a group of ships, or rather pieces of them fall out of the sky.
(Why did they bother to attack us?) Venus thought as another wave of youmas collapsed into dust. (Geez, this is way too easy, it's like cleaning house...only more fun.) She smiled and aimed a crescent attack up towards a group of ships. Venus thrust a small light spear through a line of youmas and watched the ships try to escape her attack by spreading out. The beam shattered a split second before it hit the middle ship and all of them were taken down in the one blow. (Much more fun.) She laughed as she saw another whole wave dusted by an earthquake pulled by Uranus.
Venus paused for a moment as she thought she saw someone leap from one of the ships. A pause too long and a deep, painful slash appeared across Venus's arm. She growled and pulled energy and thrust it at the nearest youma. A bit too much energy and it wiped out the whole left side of youmas and blew the next rooftop apart. She heard Neptune yell something at her, as she leapt away from the blast.
Jupiter's P.O.V.
Jupiter leapt up to a rooftop and blasted all the youmas she saw on the street below. A few thrust and thunder claps took care of the one on the roof with her. (It's been way too long since we had a battle.) She thought as she saw Venus swarmed yet again. (She needs to control her attacks more. Wait a sec.) Jupiter looked around. Her roof was suddenly clear of youmas. (Why am I not being attacked?) Her question was answered when a girl, maybe her age, dropped down in front of her from one of the ships. Jupiter nonchalantly tossed up a thunder bolt and the ship blew apart.
The girl in front of Jupiter looked vaguely familiar, and smiled as Jupiter looked her over, as if she wanted her to figure out who she was. She had dark blond hair with two braids tied in the back. Her blue eyes seemed to laugh and her smile did as well. She wore a scant, skin-tight black leather jacket was cut even higher than Jupiter's uniform, and sleeve- less, but was a turtle-neck and buttoned down the side. Her very generous figure swayed as she moved towards Jupiter. "What's the matter? Don't remember me?" Her voice played above the battle noise.
The voice snapped Jupiter's memory. "You're that girl! That girl who was talking to Heero that night of the festival!"
Relena laughed. "Ha ha! So you do remember me... You Scouts aren't as stupid as they say..."
Jupiter frowned and started to circle Relena as Relena drew closer. "What did you do? You were fine at the festival, but now you just reek of darkness." Jupiter frowned again.
Relena stopped and threw up her hands. "Hello? As if it wasn't obvious? I get a beautiful body, powers I would have never had, and another chance at Heero, in exchange for helping to kill you and your friends." She sneered. "Especially you."
Jupiter straightened. "Heero will never want you for this."
"He will! I know it!" Relena shrieked and leapt forward. Black energy balls appeared in her hands and Jupiter just barely dodged one and the other hurtled by her head a second later. Relena stopped and pulled power again. "You don't know anything. Once I destroy you, Heero will see me, without you standing in the way. He'll see me and love me like he did before you came along and stole his heart!" Relena shouted and ran at Jupiter.
This time, Jupiter was ready. She pulled thunder to herself and thrust it at Relena, just as she was about to put one of the energy ball through her. Relena smiled and dodged the attack quickly. She nimbly flipped over three thunder claps Jupiter pitched at her, and laughed as Jupiter pulled a fourth.
"I don't have time to play dodge ball with you! See you later, bitch!" Relena cackled with glee and leapt over the side of the building. Jupiter ran to the side, but she was gone.
She looked around and gasped at what she saw. (They're retreating...) It was true. The youmas were leaping into the ships and the ships themselves disappeared into in-between. "Don't like this..." Jupiter whispered to herself.
Back at the palace, the Scouts assessed their few wounds and told Serenity and the boys of all that had happened.
"There were youmas just everywhere!"
"Which was totally not a problem, by the way..."
"The ships were exactly like in my dream..."
"Yeah, only they were getting blown apart."
Serenity laughed and held up her hands. "Al right, I get it. Lots of exploding youmas and crystal ships. Anything else?"
"They have a new general." Jupiter said, looking down at the bandage on her arm, covering a burn she had not known was there.
"Where? I didn't see her." Mercury leaned forward, curious.
"You're not going to like it." Jupiter glanced at Heero. He stiffened. Jupiter continued. "Do you remember that girl we saw at the festival? That Relena girl?" She got puzzled looks from some of the Scouts and slight jaw drops from the guys, as the realized what she was implying. She turned to the Scouts who had not seen her, or did not come to the past. "We met this girl at a festival we went to in the past. I was in the bathroom, and when I came out, she was talking to Heero. I went over and said hi, but she goes off and starts freaking out, saying that he should come back and protect her, and what was he doing with me, you know, jealous rants."
Heero cut it. "I was pretty much her bodyguard for about a year and a half. During that time, I avoided most contact with her, but Relena thinks there was something between us. I explained that there wasn't but she continued to get upset and Jupiter and I left." He looked away, as if that were the end of it.
"Well, it seems this Relena made some deal with the Black Moon." Jupiter frowned. "When we saw her, she was rather, well..."
"Fat." Venus bluntly finished.
"Well, yes. Anyway, I was fighting and she told me she got a brand new body and new powers, to kill us with and take Heero." Jupiter looked at him. He looked back at her and the hall was silent for a minute.
Venus hopped down off her stool next to Duo and crossed her arms. "Are you telling me she got powers from them?! And what kind of body? Must have been pretty fast if even you didn't destroy her..."
Jupiter smiled softly. "I guess she was a bit fast for me. Well, her body seems to be mostly her own, only...altered."
Pluto frowned. "How so?"
Rini giggled. "Does she have fangs?"
"How was she altered, Jupiter?" Mercury pressed.
"Well," Jupiter shifter on her stool. "She was definitely faster, and she, um, is thinner, a lot thinner, and her, you know..." She waved her arm in the general area of her chest. "She's kind of got more of a figure..." She frowned. "A lot more of a figure."
Duo snorted with laughter. "Relena? With a figure?! No way! These Black moon people must be pretty good!"
Even Zechs coughed into his hand to hide a smile. Pluto glared at him. "It doesn't matter. They have a new general, one who's very fast with power. She isn't the only problem we have." The hall silenced again. "I went out a bit further into their force than you all. I was hoping to see if they had a base. They do. It is a crystal palace, like our own, but it's black. Like their ships."
"Great..." Laytha muttered.
"I'm not done." Pluto continued soberly. "They are using mobile suits." That got every head in the hall focused on her. "Improved mobile suits. Our power doesn't work on them. They've somehow managed to copy our shield power idea, and put it to use on them."
Mercury stood up. "But a shield like that can only be used on a large scale. They would have to be..." She trailed off, thinking. She closed her eyes. "The mobile suits humans used to use would be just big enough."
"Yes, but one thing I did find out." Pluto crossed her arms. "I was firing blasts at them and missed once. It hit a building next to one and the building fell over on it. The building pinned it."
"What does it mean?" Neptune looked at Mercury.
Mercury touched her glasses in thought. "Maybe... Yes that's probably it. I think these new mobile suits are immune to our power, but are still affected by physical attacks. Like the building falling."
Venus threw up her arms. "So what are we going to do? Collapse half the city just to pin down these things before they get close enough to us to crush us?"
"I have an idea." Wufei spoke up for the first time in the conversation. "And I think at least one of us is not going to like it." Heero looked up. Wufei looked at Pluto, and asked, "Did you once say that moving inanimate objects between dimensions was easy, it was simply the living beings that required energy?" Pluto nodded. "This may be something of a bad idea, but what if you were to bring our Gundams here?"
Heero stood up. He opened his mouth, then closed it and looked away.
Quatre sighed heavily. "More fighting..."
"Again..." Zechs agreed softly.
Duo smiled softly and looked at Heero. "Man, it's the only plan we have. We can't let them lose their city because we refused to help..."
Mercury shifted. "If it is a problem for any of you, we could probably find a different way to break the shields, or get around them."
Trowa looked around Heero's shoulder to his face. "Heero, this would be our last mission. They need our help."
Heero turned around and looked at the faces around him. His eyes once again went to the darkness outside. "Mission...accepted."
Serenity nodded her head at him. "Thank you. All of you. Pluto..."
"I will be back shortly." Pluto nodded to them, smiled, and left down the hall.
Serenity looked at the others. "Now I suggest you all get some rest. We will have a big day tomorrow."
Venus smiled slyly at Duo and sidled up next to him. "My place or yours?" He joked and they went up the stairs.
Jupiter took Heero's hand. He started out of his thoughts and almost pulled away. He looked at Jupiter and smiled his very faint smile. She led him slowly up the stairs.
Quatre and Mercury smiled at each other and followed. Neptune, Uranus and Rini left for their own rooms. Saturn stepped up to Zechs and took his hand in her own small one. "She'll be back soon. Don't worry." Zechs smiled down on her. She led him to the stairs. "You should get some rest too. Pluto would be mad if you didn't."
Laytha looked after them and smiled. She took Trowa's arm wordlessly, and he took her up the stairs as well.
The hall seemed suddenly very empty to Mars and Wufei. Mars went over and stood next to him. "Thank you..." She said quietly.
"We were thinking it. I had to say something. It's not right that we could help you, but didn't say anything because we were too weak to face it again." Wufei looked out the window to the abandoned city.
"Face what?" Mars asked gently, slipping her arm around his waist.
Wufei hesitated and put his hand over hers. "In Heero's Gundam, there is a system. We call it the Zero System. At one time or another, each of us has had to face that damn thing." He spat the words, as though they had a bitter taste. "It confuses the mind and alters your thoughts. You would sacrifice your life, if the machine thought it necessary." Wufei smiled faintly. "Sacrifice is Heero's nature as it is. But he and Quatre were the only ones of us to even remotely master the System." Wufei closed his eyes. "They were the only ones strong enough."
Mars put her hand under his chin and turned his face towards her. "Wufei, you are the strongest person I know, and do not tell me you cannot master that mindless machine. You can." She smiled. "But you do not have to."
Wufei snorted weakly. "What does an onna know of such things..."
Mars eyes shimmered with fire. "I know plenty..."
Hey! What do you think? I know the action scenes were a tad weak, and it anyone has a few thoughts on how I could improve them, please e-mail me or just write in your review. Even if you don't have any ideas, review me anyway! I love to hear what you all think!
mmj15@aol.com