Sensou Tenshi Usagi (War Angel Usagi) ~ IX
Midnight of Shadows
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sorry that this is so late! I've been neglecting my fanfiction world, but I realize it's not right to leave things unfinished, so I'm going to try and finish this, but no promises. I've been sitting on this for a month. Sorry it's short. (Ne, I sound like Shinji -_-;)
Thank you so much for all of your wonderful reviews. When I read them they motivated me to get writing, literally. I went through all of the chapters and did a little editing. I officially made everyone 16 years old (G-boys, Relena, and Usagi). I also changed the form of my disclaimers.
Iron Duke: Thanks for the info. I wasn't sure if Doktor S was a typo or the actual spelling so I just went for the typo. I'll be sure to correct that though. So there are no birthdays huh? hmmm.....that means I can play around with them all I want....hehehe. :)
To everyone else: Your reviews keep me going. I appreciate every single one I get and cherish the praise and criticism I receive. Please feel free to let me know when I make an error.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Disclaimer: Pan and Rei, fellow mental patients at the Anime Nuthouse, are sitting at a table with Shorty playing spades. The three of them are wearing maroon sweaters with the letters ANH stitched in BIG neon green type on the front, white shorts, and yellow flip flops. All of a sudden, Rei gets a craving....
Rei: I want jello.
Pan: I want jello.
Rei: Noooo, I want Jello.
Pan: No, I want Jello!
Rei: I wanted Jello first!
Pan: I wanted Jello FIRST!
Rei: I WANTED JELLO FIRST!
Pan: SHUT UP! I WANTED JELLO FIRST!
Rei: SHUT UP! I WANTED JELLO FIRST YOU LIAR!
Pan: LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE! I WANTED JELLO FIRST!
Shorty: I WANT PURPLE OATMEAL!
Rei: O_o
Pan: o_O
Shorty: What?
Rei mumbling: and they say I'm crazy
Pan: So midget...
Shorty: It's Shorty
Pan: Ya, whatever..... whatcha in for?
Shorty: I......*blink*.....I have no idea. One minute I'm in jail for not posting a disclaimer and the next thing I know, I'm shooting pictures with a shotgun.
Pan: You're weird. No wonder you're in here *snicker*
Shorty: Look who's talking! You're in here too! Whatcha do.....run over green sheep or sumthin?!
Pan: *gasp* How'd you know!? *glares at Rei* I TOLD YOU NOT TO TELL ANYONE!!
Rei: O_O I didn't say a thing!
Pan: LIAR!! :o
Pan jumps on Rei and they begin to fight. Shorty sweatdrops. Just then a nurse walks in.
Hotaru: Shorty, time for your meeting with Setsuna.
Shorty: *glomps Hotaru* Get me out of here NOW! I swear I'll never forget to say I don't own SM or GW or DBZ ever again!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sensou Tenshi Usagi (War Angel Usagi) ~ IX
Midnight of Shadows
"Usagi, would you pass me that wrench?" Duo asked from beneath a circuit board inside his gundam. Usagi, who was currently sitting in the chair flipping through a manga absentmindedly, jumped at the sound of Duo's voice and placed a hand over her rapidly beating heart.
"Nani?" she asked, "I didn't catch that."
Duo sighed heavily before coming from beneath the board and retrieving the wrench himself. He bent down to go back under the board, but stopped midway and looked at Usagi in confusion.
"What's wrong? I've never seen you so... cheerless," His observation caught Usagi off guard. Her brows rose at the inquiry, as she looked him in the eye. A second later, their gazes broke as a small, sad, smile made it's way across her lips.
"Gomen Duo, I'm just upset that's all. Heero shouldn't have had to suffer because of me and I just can't help thinking about it."
"Usagi, it's not your fault. It would have happened to Heero any way. He disobeyed the Doctor when he kept you along from a mission, and it was only a matter of time before he became tired of being the Dr's robot." Usagi's expression remained doubtful as she looked at Duo. Duo ran a hand through his bangs and sighed.
"Look, he's probably alright by now. Would it make you feel any better if you went to see him?" Her eyes lit up for a second before doubt flitted across them.
"You think he wants to see me? I mean, I did get him in trouble and-"
"I'm absolutely positive that he wants you to see him. The baka's probably miserable without you!" With those final reassuring words, the doubt seemed to fly out of Usagi's eyes as her old cheerfulness returned. She grinned widely and threw herself at Duo in a crushing hug.
"Arigatou Duo! Ja matta ne!" And with that, she was out the open hatchway and already riding down the lift. Duo watched her descend to the ground with a smirk on his face.
'If those two aren't crazy for each other, than I'm not Shinigami,' he thought ruefully. He shook his head in amusement as the lift hit the ground and Usagi raced across the hanger to Wing Zero. With a final glance to the happy girl, he turned and headed back into his gundam to finish repairs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heero wasn't expecting anybody to visit or assist him so it was quite a surprise, although he didn't show it, to hear his lift activating. He stopped what he was doing to exit the hatch of the gundam and proceeded to the lift entrance on the catwalk. With a cursory glance over the side, Heero immediately knew who it was. He couldn't stop the grimace from appearing on his face as the lift came nearer and Usagi's expectant face greeted him with an all-star smile. As the lift stopped in front of him, he crossed his arms and gave, what he hoped was, one of his most venomous glares.
Usagi visibly gulped as she faced Heero. Did he have to glare so openly? She shook it off a moment later and pouted; her innocent eyes the quintessence of purity. Heero's glare never faltered.
"Heero," she said quietly, her head lowered after failing to make him lose the glare, "Are you angry with me?" Her eyes peered from beneath long smoky lashes as her pink lips pouted even further, the look of guilt and sadness perfected from years of practice.
Heero glared at her even more.
"Ne Heero? Aren't you even going to answer me?" Usagi had dropped her act a while ago and true sincerity shone in her eyes. After a moment of silence and still no answer Usagi felt tears beginning to form in her eyes.
"That bad? I guess you're not forgiving me then. Gomen nasai for getting you in trouble," she whispered sadly as two tears slipped from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Heero's expression softened as he watched the tears cascading down her face. She turned to go, but he grabbed her wrist and stopped her.
Usagi didn't turn around. She absolutely could not. What would he say to her after his terse actions only moments before? She closed her eyes as tears of heartache slid down her cheeks. She wished he would just let her go already. There was no use in prolonging her grief.
"Stay," was all he said, all he needed to say to be truthful. Usagi slowly turned to face him once again, her eyes widened in surprise. Her mouth quivered before she uttered a whispered, "Nani?"
Heero stared at her, his face relaxed and his glare no longer there. The endless blue of his eyes were momentarily unveiled to reveal the mix of emotions swirling in confusion. And Usagi saw them, the things that were prominent from the rest: Forgiveness and Acceptance. He didn't hate her. It was if he had come to terms with an inner battle within himself and had finally let the antagonizer win.
"Stay," he said simply, his hand still held tightly to her wrist. Without letting go, he began entering the hatch of his gundam, more or less pulling the girl with him. Usagi was still in shock and didn't immediately respond, but once the shock wore off, a grin of pure joy lit up her visage and she suddenly raced ahead, this time pulling Heero in with her. Heero gave a grunt, his stolid facade returning and let himself be guided. Once inside, Usagi let go of him and jumped into the only chair in the gundam. Heero shook his head in amusement as he watched her. Usagi was simply fascinated with Wing Zero.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Lt. Tetsu, I trust that all evidence has been gathered from this place?" The man addressed suddenly jumped up from his kneeled position by the door and saluted as Juniper approached.
His eyes darted from the woman to the area behind her as he answered, "Yes Ma'am, the squad has gathered any suspicious items and interviewed all employees of this opera house as you've requested. We await further orders."
Juniper nodded and saluted in return, "At ease," she replied off handedly as she proceeded past him into the bar. With long sure steps, Juniper continued to give orders.
"I want all crew to report to the shuttle immediately. We leave as soon as all crew is accounted for and head for the Omega base. This investigation is done."
The lieutenant stumbled as he gaped at her, "Demo Colonel Juniper, what about General Krushrenada's orders to search all of Earth for the sensou tenshi. Wha-" He stopped cold as Juniper's ruby gaze suddenly turned on him, her brows drawn down in anger.
"I am the superior officer on this excursion. Do not surmise to question my orders, just do it!" And with that she was off, a dumb-founded officer left in her wake. The lieutenant gulped once and ran off to assemble the crew. It was not good to keep Juniper waiting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Galaxia was amazed at the pace at which the crew assembled and set off for space. In less than three hours, all two hundred soldiers and scientists assigned to her had regrouped, started the shuttle and shot into deep space.
She turned her gaze to the window to watch planet Earth grow smaller and smaller and sighed as she leaned back in her chair. She couldn't keep up this facade very long. Already members under her command where questioning her orders. How long would it be before they caught onto her game and turned her into Treize? She didn't want to think about it. Just the thought sent shivers down her spine.
At least she had thrown the crew off of Usagi's trail. They were getting too close too quickly. The extent of Oz's contacts was astounding. If she wasn't careful, Treize would have Tenshi and nothing she did could stop him without giving up her identity.
A knock on her door brought Galaxia out of her thoughts.
"Come in," she called as she rose from her chair. The door opened and MSG Nishikawa stepped in and saluted. Galaxia saluted back.
"Report," she ordered.
"Ma'am, a personal space craft has intercepted ours and been granted permission to dock. A woman claiming to work for Oz has asked permission to see you."
"Where is she," Galaxia asked, her interest piqued.
"Outside the door, waiting for permission to enter Ma'am."
"Very well then, show her in Master Sergeant. Make sure we are not disturbed."
MSG Nishikawa saluted and about faced. Galaxia could hear faintly as he conversed with someone outside the door and moments later, a young woman in a lab coat entered and shut the door behind her. Galaxia's eyes flashed in recognition as her gaze met the cornflower stare of the other woman.
"Galaxia," the woman acknowledged, her long hair swaying as she nodded. Her hair was the oddest color, the exact same hue as her eyes. The light blue mixture gave the woman an icy and yet fragile appearance. The smile that graced her lips illuminated her features to display her full beauty.
"Aya," she replied. The woman now known as Aya stepped away from Galaxia and traveled around the room to seat herself in the chair Galaxia had dwelled in only moments before. Her white lab coat was left unbuttoned to display the oz uniform underneath. She pushed her glasses up on her nose even as she leaned back into the chair and casually placed her feet upon the desk.
"Nice room," she mused aloud as her gaze traveled over the office. Galaxia wrinkled her nose in mock annoyance as she crossed the room and plopped in the chair directly in front of the desk.
"Yes it is, but you're not here to discuss the decor so cut the bull." Aya smirked at Galaxia's direct approach.
"Tch tch, a little touchy this morning aren't we?" The glare that ensued was not one of amusement. Aya coughed in embarrassment and tried to keep the blush on her cheeks from inflaming.
"Gomen, I was just trying to make small talk. You're always in a rush these days. You'll catch a heart attack that way."
Galaxia huffed and got up from the chair, choosing to pace instead, "Well it's necessary for me to be in a rush Aya. Things are happening too soon for my comfort. Karasuma sent me a message the other day. Apparently the Peacecraft child has done what I asked and updated Tenshi's stats. The girl's visions are coming more frequently and it won't be too long before she completely recalls all of her memories...and you know what'll happen then."
"Hai, I do, but that doesn't explain your reasons for wanting to leave Oz sooner than planned. Nani? Why do you look so surprised? Why else would you send for me to come to the ship with a fully powered personal shuttle?"
Galaxia sighed and resumed her pacing, which she had stopped at Aya's statement.
"Ok, so maybe I should give you more credit. I forget how much smarter you are without evil influence. I have to leave Oz. Ever since Treize mysteriously reappeared after the battle with pilot 05, my influence over him has decreased drastically. I thought, that once I rid Oz of C, that everything would be better, but things did not improve in the least. Treize trusts me less and less these days, and I feel that if I return to Omega base today, I'll be executed for sure."
"You do realize with your leaving the rest of us will have to cut our connections from Oz also?"
Galaxia paused in her pacing to contemplate the woman's question. After a while, she turned her head to look directly into Aya's eyes, her own a swirl of indecision and determination.
"I understand that, but it's a gamble I'm willing to take. I've been with Oz for fourteen years; it's time I moved on. Oz no longer serves any purpose to our mission."
"That's not true! What about the ability to access their servers without suspicion, or the use of their equipment to serve our endeavors? What about our work in the science department? Do you know how long I've been working on th-"
"Aya! I know all this. I know and trust me; I've taken everything into consideration. Why do you think I entrusted Tenshi into the pilots' supervision? It was far from a coincidence."
Aya's eyes studied Galaxia as the woman continued pacing. Aya's cheeks were flushed in restrained anger from being cut off and her eyes narrowed as she continued her entourage of questions, "Why then, Galaxia, did you entrust the Gundam pilots?"
"Because," Galaxia paused in her pacing, "They have the facilities, the knowledge, and the skills that we need and more. They have the wisdom of the creators of the Gundams to guide them and who wouldn't jump at the chance to utilize this knowledge for their own benefit. I certainly would and did as far as I'm concerned."
Galaxia stopped then to let her words sink in. Aya lowered her head in silent contemplation. The pros outweighed the cons by a little, but she still felt that Galaxia was making an unwise decision. The woman was not thinking of the consequences for her sudden action.
Aya brought her hands to her bowed head and interlaced her fingers, the thumbs pinching the bridge of her nose. With a huff she snapped her head up to address the other woman, "I see your point Galaxia, but I am against your decision. I hope your actions do not interfere with the future."
Galaxia smiled, "I have faith that they are for the best. Now that we are agreed upon, we must go. We have already wasted enough time here." Aya nodded in agreement and rose from the chair.
"I think that's the wisest thing you've said since I've been here," she added with a chuckle as Galaxia gathered things into a travel bag: disks, folders, her laptop, and her personal accessories. Galaxia glared at Aya as she pulled on her coat.
Without a word the two women exited the office and proceeded down the corridor to the hanger. They passed various officers of rank and other scientist along the way but Galaxia offered them no more than a nod or salute. A few scientists even greeted Aya, but the woman ushered them on claiming she was in a rush to attend to some business.
Eight minutes later they arrived at the personal shutter hanger. Galaxia entered her security clearance code and the doors slid open with a hiss. The room was oddly dark and devoid of any light. Galaxia pondered at this for a moment but shrugged it off as a power saving technique. They had taken no more than twenty steps into the room when the sound of rifles being cocked greeted them. Galaxia and Aya immediately assumed fighters stances as the lights flicked on and they noticed their surroundings. Every soldier on the ship stood lined up in front of them, rifles aimed and fingers ready to pull the trigger at the first command. Galaxia suddenly straightened and glared at the soldiers.
"What is the meaning of this?! Stand down at once!" The soldiers didn't even flinch or acknowledged that they'd even heard her command.
"Gomen, Colonel Juniper, but such steps are necessary to detain your departure. The General would not be too pleased if you were allowed to waltz right off the ship."
Galaxia whirled around to face Lt. Tetsu whom stood by the door and pushed the button to close and lock it. Galaxia's ruby gaze burned holes into the lieutenant's blue one and the man stepped back in uncertainty.
"Who gave you these orders Lt. Tetsu?" she growled. Tetsu swallowed once before seeming to regain his composure and standing up straighter.
"These are direct orders of the General himself. You think you've been the one in charge of this excursion the whole time? Sadly, you've only been the play Commander. Treize-sama knew he couldn't trust you anymore, not since Tenshi escaped, and he put me in charge of watching you and any suspicious activity was to be reported to home base. I think this counts as suspicious activity, don't you?"
Galaxia made a move towards the lieutenant and he held up his hand, stopping her.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you Juniper. I have permission to detain you by any means necessary, ANY. One more step and they'll fire." He waved his hands towards the troops behind her, but Galaxia paid him no mind. Instead, she merely took two steps back and nodded her compliance.
"Very well lieutenant, have it your way," she all but whispered, as her eyes narrowed dangerously, "Aya, I think it's time we left, don't you?"
Aya smirked and took her place next to Galaxia, "I certainly agree."
Before any of the soldiers could make a move, Galaxia and Aya disappeared in a ball of swirling gold and ice blue light. Many of the troops dropped their guns in fear and some even went so far as to turn tale and run towards the closed door. Heedless to the reactions of the soldiers, the ball continued to glow brighter and fiercer until it finally exploded in a blinding flash of unleashed power. In place of Juniper and the scientist Aya stood two formidable looking warriors. One, obviously Galaxia, was dressed in gold armor, from her chandelier like helmet to her knee-high boots. Every plate of gold armor seemed strong enough to resist any attack. The other, Aya, was dressed in a very-revealing outfit of pale blue, two thin ribbons crisscrossing her face with a star above her nose. Two large winged shaped earrings covered her ears and a white sea shell was positioned in front of her throat. Thin leggings of the same pale blue color traveled the length of her legs to end at two garters that clasped them to the outfit at the thighs.
Lt. Tetsu cried out in shock and threw his hands up in front of his face. "What manner of sorcery is this!" he exclaimed in horror.
Galaxia smirked in confidence, "Not sorcery Tetsu, magic. If you think this is spectacular, wait until the Messiah reawakens. The world shall know a power like no other and nothing you mortals can do will stop it!"
"Fire! Fire dammit all of you! FIRE!" Tetsu screamed even as he began punching the command to open the door into the keypad.
Galaxia's eyes suddenly turned a dark omniscient purple as a scythe appeared in her hands.
"Silence wall," she whispered and a dark dome materialized around the two women in time to deflect the bullets coming their way. "Now!" she yelled to Aya.
"Galactica Tsunami!" Aya's hands glowed an icy blue before releasing a tidal wave of water. The troops cried out in fear as they were swept away by the wave of water to be washed out the now open door.
"Sparkling Wide Pressure!" Galaxia shouted with a green glint in her eye and watched in satisfaction as the electric ball hit the water and electrocuted all within it. She turned to Aya then, "Come on, the ship won't last much longer."
Aya nodded in agreement and led Galaxia to a small spacecraft in the furthest section of the docking bay. Within seconds they were inside and powered down. Aya immediately moved to the front and booted up the ships system. Galaxia joined her moments later and plopped into the passenger seat.
"Buckle up!" Warned Aya as the shuttle lurched forward and raced around the other shuttles in the docking bay on it's way to the exit.
*BOOOOOOMMM!!!*
Galaxia glanced out the window in trepidation as she saw the surging explosion racing towards the ship from behind.
"Hurry! The ship is exploding!"
"I'm going as fast as I can!" Aya suddenly launched three rockets toward the shut door of the docking bay and had the satisfaction of seeing it explode. The sudden exposure to space caused the little shuttle to be sucked forward ahead of the explosion behind. Aya gave a scream of alarm as they barely avoided a falling piece of metal. Seconds later they were propelled forward by the last explosion as the ship finally blew to bits.
After a few terse moments of silence, Galaxia ventured to speak, "That was fun huh?"
This time it was Aya's turn to glare at the older woman.
"If this is what you call fun, I never want to go know what you consider exhilarating."
Galaxia giggled and settled back further into her seat.
"So, captain, where to now?" Aya turned the ship slowly and punched in new coordinates into the navigational system.
"L3, we're to meet the others and discuss our next move. By the way, we found Nezu. We have her under sedation until you're able to awaken her."
Galaxia's eyes flashed briefly in pain before she closed them, "You know I hate doing it. I hate taking people out of their normal lives just to fulfill a purpose."
"I know," Aya answered softly, "But we come to accept it eventually. Just remember what we're fighting for Gala-chan. Never lose the light of hope."
A wistful smile made it's way onto Galaxia's face as she sighed, "Arigatou Aya," her brow then raised in amusement, "Gala-chan? That's cute," then she yawned and snuggled into the chair, "Wake me up when we get there. I need some shut-eye."
Aya laughed merrily, "Sure thing boss." Her reply was a snore.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
YAY! Another chapter done! I hope you all liked it. By the way, Aya is an actual character from Sailor Moon. So are Karasuma and Nezu. If you can guess who they are kudos to you. I do think I'm the first to use these characters in a crossover fic. ^_~
Till next time!
Shorty :}
I added my background info chapter to the end of this chapter. Don't read if you don't want to.
Minna, I realized something when I was writing this that I didn't notice earlier. I never really specified when this story takes place in the Gundam Universe. In order for me to continue I need to fix a few things.
I found it hard to classify this story since several elements in it suggested that it takes place in Gundam Wing - the series, somewhere in the middle.
· One, all the boys are 16.
· Two, Treize is alive and still the head of Oz.
· Three, Noin is heading Earth's forces as mentioned by Relena in chapter 7.
· Four, the boys are staying at Quatre's mansion.
· Five, the gundams are fighting Mobile Dolls and not suits. Mobile dolls were not introduced until Romefeller came along.
· Six, Heero is operating Wing Zero and not Gundam Wing. Wing Zero is the rebuilt version of Wing. It has the zero system in it.
· Seven, Dr. J and all the Doctors are still alive.
· Eight, the story is just inconsistent.
So, after much deliberation, I've decided to place the story after the initial Gundam Wing verse. It takes place a few weeks after the end of Gundam Wing.
As to how Sensou Tenshi Usagi occurs after Gundam Wing, will be explained in the course of the story.
I finally figured out where I wanted to go with this fic after doing a bit of research of my own. Now I think I am ready to finally finish it, but not for a few chapters yet. So all I ask is stay tuned.
Shorty's on a mission!
