A Childhood Promise
Chapter 13

 One is so easy to overpower. When one succeeds, it is only because they have so many behind them; they were never alone…

  "Heero!" Duo ran up the steps towards the young man he knew, standing alone and watching nothing. Before all else, Duo knew he just lost something… "What are you doing?"

 Heero frowned at him and pushed him away, moving towards a car that looked ready to fall apart. He got it and it was going in moments. Hot-wiring, he should've known. "Relena's going to get herself killed, I have to get Wing."

 Duo smiled inwardly at his old friend. He probably didn't know why he wanted to save the Mistress of Earth, the dumb ass. He'd have to go with the guy too… it was lucky he had stolen Death Scythe back earlier.

 The braided teenager walked off in the opposite direction Heero had gone, towards his Gundam. He climbed into Death Scythe and closed the hatch. Screens showed the world outside, and he manipulated them to show him the sky and the fiery explosions it held.

 "Well buddy…" Duo patted the control panel lovingly as he spoke to his Gundam. "Looks like this is going to be our last battle together. You've been a great suit." As odd as it may have been, they were words that needed to be said, he thought. A small speck rose from the ground far away, and Duo had to enlarge it to see it was Heero's suit.

 "Time to fly," Death Scythe whirred to life as he played with the controls and blasted into the air. The sun shined on its black armour and for a while, Death Scythe resembled a star rising from the ground.

 Far away, a young girl stepped out of her house and looked up at the shining object. Short red hair whipped around her head as her eyes filled with tears of joy. Could it actually be? Were the stories of the phoenix true? If it was, that must've been the golden bird, rising from the ashes to help her world.

 "Momma! Momma look! The phoenix! The legends are true!" she ran in and into her mother's arms. "The war's going to be over!"

 Leia looked up at the sky and watched the twinkle in the sky move up towards the battle in space. Another came and they both started to fly up together. She knew it wasn't the phoenix, as her daughter had said, but it might as well be, because in her heart, she knew they were hope to this world.

  Trieze felt Une squeeze his hand as they parted, readying for the battle. They both headed to their mobile suits and fired up the engines. This battle was a fight to the finish, at all costs. The hangar was quiet and depressing as thousands of soldiers climbed into their mobile suits and started them with a quiet whirring sound.

 The disappearance of Mistress Peacecraft had affected them all. They would end this war quickly, win or lose, so they could find the missing mistress.

 "Are we ready?" Une's voice crackled through the intercom system. Trieze looked around and saw approximately three thousand soldiers, forming a metallic sea, all ready to go.

 "Yes. Let's finish this, once and for all." The first line proceeded, then the second, then third, and so on. The mobile suits flew into the air, shadowing the lands below from the sun. This was a quick process, taking only about one and a half hours.

 They rode into space, to get ready for their attack. The floating debris was perfect for camouflage, as it was made from mobile suits themselves. Trieze fingered the controls in his suit, and sighed as his eyes drifted. During the weeks Relena had been gone, Trieze had been trying with every last moment to spare to find the woman that Une and he saw as a sister.

 The debris was so thick, the first blast could not be seen until it took someone out from the force. The explosion signaled the beginning of the battle, and debris and mobile suits alike were shot into fine powder. Energy blasts shot from every which direction.

 Trieze raised on mobile arm to swipe away some debris. As it moves, he was suddenly face to face with an old friend and enemy.

 "Trieze." Zechs greeted. "Where is Relena?" No answer. Of course this man knew of the mistress's family. Besides, their similar piercing blue eyes were hard to ignore. "Is she…?"

 "We don't know. If you must kill me, do it now so we can continue on with our search!" Silence. For an unbearable moment, the two of them were frozen in space, staring at each other in bewilderment.

 "Fine." A clawed arm reached upward, tantalizingly slowly. "Just give her back to me…"

 Une shot and shot again, exploding suits, not caring which side she fought. The war had made her old and dreary beyond her years, and she felt ready for it to end, and she could be free to live with Trieze.

 A shot fizzled by her head, and Une turned to see Noin standing there, with her blaster aimed and smoking. She was sweating, as was Une, and their nerves were about to get the better of them.

 The shot came again, this time Une dodged it. Her eyes watched Noin's hands as they trembled holding the blaster. It might've been machine, but it Noin could not hold the arm stable, then something was becoming much more than a nuisance to her.

 "Anne! Fight me! Next time I won't miss, I promise you!" Noin's voice was laced by sobs as tears ran down her cheeks. Weeks ago, she had lost her beloved cousin, and today, she was pitted against a young woman she once went to school with.

 Lady Une was paralyzed. Not even Trieze knew of the name Anne, given to her by her mother so long ago. Heck, she had nearly forgotten. And it was Noin who had reminded her.

 She had never forgot.

 "Shoot me." Une turned towards Noin and spread out her arms and legs. "I don't deserve to live."

 She said it with such determination, Noin almost felt compelled to do as she was told. But her emotions stopped her, and Noin felt sweat matting the back of her neck. She couldn't do this…

 "Alright, Anne. But this is the last favor you'll ever get from me again."

 "Fine by me." The blaster was recharged and steady as Noin pointed it at the woman standing bravely in front of her. In her head, Noin began to count down.        

 10…

 Relena saw two mobile suits follow the army, and she turned to see Heero in one of them. What was he doing here?

 9…

 Hilde flew towards the battle, and watched in horror as the battle continued. In the middle of it all was her cousin, Noin, and her husband, hundreds of miles away.

 8…

 Duo looked between Relena and the familiar mobile suit that belonged to his ex-captain. Her eyes were watching Heero, and he seemed to remember something from long ago.

 7…

 "Get up there Heero! Wait until I give the signal and destroy everything in the center!

 6…

 Duo hit Trieze's suit enough to knock him out of the way, then kicked Zechs' to clear him. With minimal gravity, they flew far.

 5…

 He flew out of the way and gave the signal. Heero aimed his blaster and set it as high as possible. This was it…

 4…

 Hilde flew down and hit Lady Une out of the way, and mimicked Duo's moves on the other side. Noin and Une were both knocked miles away, a safe distance. Her instincts telling her something was wrong, she used a piece of debris to propel herself away.

 SHHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIICKKKKK

The giant energy blast acted like a giant blade and slid through hundreds of suits and destroyed them all. Heero watched in amazement as the blast ran into an asteroid in the end and dissipated along with the giant rock. A deathly silence filled the air.

 Relena saw this as a moment to fly into the middle and hope that they would stop. She positioned herself in the middle, spread the suit's arms and legs, as if it were asking to be shot.

 Hilde watched as three suits entered the middle, lining up and mimicking the others. She didn't understand what they were doing, until the hatch of one opened and a young woman stepped out.

 "Relena…" her thoughts jumbled together and Hilde suddenly found herself flying towards the suits, she stopped and lined up hers so that it's back was facing the other girl's suit back. She then opened her hatched and climbed out so that the entire battlefield could see her.

 "Hilde… what are you doing?" Relena asked, bewildered at her childhood friend. She climbed to the top of the suit, where the two heads were closest. Hilde mimicked her and climbed with a smile Relena could barely remember.

 "We're in this together." She said with a wink and turned back to the crowd.

 "Relena!" Zechs, Trieze and Une called out.

 "Hilde!" Noin leaned forward in relief, clutching the shoulder that had been injured when Hilde had pushed her. The other three nursed similar wounds, but were all glad to see their loved ones safe.

 Mobile suits whose pilots began to gather their bearings didn't get far because the four topmost officials of each planet issued commands to stay. All eyes were on Relena, Hilde, Heero and Duo.

 As Hilde and Relena stood with their backs to each other, halting the war, they felt warmth fill their body as the sun shone on them brighter than before. For a few moments, they were in a blissful ignorance. This must've been what happens when you please a childhood promise.

 One week later…

 "I suppose this is goodbye." Relena bowed to Hilde, and she bowed back. They were both holding back tears, but were happy with how things turned out. Elder officials had taken over after the war, and things were nearly back to order.

 "I suppose so." They were standing by the shore, and a seagull flocked over them. The sunset was bright orange, and made them silhouettes to the men waiting for them.

 "Will we need to make a pact this time?" Relena asked with amusement in her eyes. Hilde laughed and  hugged her friend, the first time in ten years.

 "No, I trust you completely."

 They then went their separate ways. Hilde got into the old buggy with Duo and Relena onto a motorcycle with Heero. Relena was completely content as she rested her head on Heero's back.

 "I trust you too."

 Hilde and Relena did meet twice afterwards; brief exchanges of looks at their weddings. They might've been best friends back then, but things had changed. There wasn't any chance to meet afterwards anyways. Duo had gotten sick from his travels in space, and died at age 35. Hilde soon followed him from lack of nourishment. Relena got Leukemia and died at age 32, while Heero wasn't heard from again after her.

A bittersweet end

 It's DONE! Ahh, don't kill me!! I'm so sorry it ended so badly, but really now, this was a war story ; I promise my next one will be better, cause this isn't my best look for it in August, cause I have to concentrate on my original now. Thank you for reading and reviewing!!