AN: Chapter 24, look out everyone! Lots of good old action for everyone. I hope that you all enjoy as my story starts to wrap things up! Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or any of the characters.

Preventers….

"Let's go people!" shouted Lady Une at one of the control panels.

The Gundam pilots fired up the engines of their re-born fighting machines. The large door of the space port opened and they took flight out into space towards the direction of the enemy. Following them were a team of Magnuacs and Preventers in other mobiles suits.

"Here we go boys, just like the good old days! WOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!" exclaimed Duo over the intercom.

Quatre smiled slightly. It did feel good to be inside the cockpit of Sandrock again. He had to admit that despite the burden he carried, some things were always worth it.

Trowa looked at a grid screen inside of Heavyarms. A blinking light on it indicated Relena's exact location inside the enemy's base. It would also lead them exactly to the enemy. "We are about twenty minutes away still," he told everyone. "We shall have to urge all speed in order to reach the Vice Foreign Minister on time."

"Copy that, Trowa," replied Duo. "And I can tell you all one thing right now, when we meet these guys, they are going to wish they didn't mess with Shignami."

"Watch yourself Maxwell," growled Wufei, "or you will get yourself killed.

"Wufei is right," cut in Quatre. "All of us must be on our guard at all times. We will need everyone. So no one had better be a show off, we just need to get the job done."

For a moment there was no reply until Duo's faint reply could be heard,

"In the end, death may be the only reward I shall want to receive."

Trowa frowned at the response. He sensed something was wrong and that Duo was planning on more than they had intended. He knew that it had to do with the girl, Hilde. Sadly he had been told by Sally Poe earlier she would not make it. He was now certain that Duo understood this. Trowa's own fears for the fate of his companion had just been revealed with Duo's own response. Yet the response did make sense: Should they fail death would be the only reward for all would be lost.

Heero was silent, as usual inside of Wing Zero. He was somewhat unsure of himself when he first sat back inside the cockpit. It had been several years since last piloting the giant mobile suit. But as memory progressed through his mind he felt himself grow accustomed to it once more. Heero felt like it had only been just yesterday when he last piloted the suit. No one standing against him would ever know the time that had elapsed since his last aerial battle.

Thoughts of Relena entered his mind as he wondered what would become of her. In a way he felt like he failed to protect her when the enemy took her away. But in the end he saw it was the only chance he had to keep her alive. Now was his only chance to get her back if she still lived. His orders from Lady Une were clear and precise. He was to destroy the base and rescue Relena even at the risk of his own life. He had to save her; the world needed her more than ever right now.

"Heero," interrupted Quatre over he intercom. "There is a meteor shower ahead. Preventers say it should pass us by without inflicting any damage.

"Copy that," replied Heero.

The band of mobile suits prepared itself as they entered the shower field. But to their surprise, instead of feeling some small amounts of turbulence, they drifted through smoothly. Trowa watched as tiny pieces of rock and debris floated by.

"This is no meteor shower," he reported to the others. "This is debris from something else. Something that used to be very large. That's the only reason why Preventers radar could have picked it up, because of the size of it. However, whatever it used to be is now nearly disinigrated. It was destroyed by something very powerful."

Wufei watched as tiny pieces of rock floated by. "My guess is that the enemy has been testing their new toy."

"I think that Wufei is right," replied Quatre. "We shouldn't wait around though to prove his theory. Trowa where are we as of now?"

"Approximately ten minutes away. I'm assuming that they will be waiting for us before we arrive though. We shall need to clear a path for Heero to enter the base somehow," said Trowa.

"Well my guess is that the enemy will come at us with everything they got," stated Duo. "My bet is that they will send out at least three hundred suits to counter our attack."

"That would also leave their hanger wide open," thought Quatre. He paused for a moment. "Heero, if we were to clear a path for you, could you land inside the hanger?"

"Hn," was Heero's reply. He was not so worried about getting inside of the hanger, or getting past the guards and soldiers in the station. His main concern at the moment was to get Relena out safely even if he didn't make it out alive.

"I'll take that as a yes, Heero," replied Quatre. "Everyone, listen to me," commanded the blonde pilot. "We need to keep the battle as far away from the enemy base as possible. The Gundam Wing Zero must land inside of the base. In order to keep that pilot safe as well as the rest of us safe we need to maintain a certain distance around the base. Do we all understand each other?"

"Yes sir," replied several other pilots from the Preventers.

"Master Quatre I believe it is a wise idea," replied Rashid over the intercom.

Quatre smiled slightly, "Thank you my friend, but now I must ask you a favor. I wish for you and the other Magnuacs to split into two teams. You and I shall lead one; the other shall be lead by Trowa. Next I want the remaining Preventers to split in two also. One group shall follow Wufei and the other Duo. Our plan is to scatter the enemy away from the base and form smaller frays rather than one large battle. This way Heero can slip through their defenses and land in the hanger. After we see that Heero has gotten through we shall regroup and finish out the battle together. Remember: Pull the enemy as far from the base as possible."

"All right," said Duo. "Let's lock and load!"

Enemy base…

Pentane was pleased with himself. Everything was going according to plan. The Vice Foreign Minister was in his hands and the Preventers had no way of getting to her. The people of he earth and colonies were panicking under no leadership and no one to guide them. On TV, riots were beginning to break out in the colonies and the people of Earth were blaming the colonies for the recent attack as well as the disappearance of the Vice Foreign Minister. Yes, things were going quite well.

Pentane overlooked outer space through the window in his office. After Relena announced her resignation, and the colonies were destroyed, he would step to the plate and become the new leader of the people. He would give them a new hope and make them serve him as he pleased. Power was nearly within his grasp. He would start new colonies and the people who lived on them would be his ideal people. The strongest most able body of human life that the universe had ever seen. And all those that opposed to him would suffer a most horrible death, just as Ms. Darlian would when her job was done.

He almost hated to see her go and depart from this life. She was young and beautiful and influential among the people. For a while he thought about asking the young woman to join him and his cause, but in his dark heart he knew she would never approve. It didn't matter though. She couldn't possibly win now. She was weak and broken. He had made sure he broke her within the past couple of weeks.

Mavica entered the room. He walked briskly over to Pentane who spun around, somewhat angry about being interrupted.

"What is it Bret?" he asked hotly.

"Sir, it's an army of mobile suits. They are heading right for us. Right now they are fifteen minutes away."

Pentane remained silent. Mavica spoke up once more,

"Sir, they are being led by the Gundams."

"How exactly did they find our location?" seethed Pentane.

"We don't know, sir."

Pentane was silent once more. It surprised him, then again it did not. He turned and stared outside of his window again.

"Bret, assemble a large team. I want to wipe them out. Do what you must to get rid of them. They will not ruin years of planning!"

"Yes sir."

"Meet them before they reach the base. They must not attack. And tell the team in the control room to make ready. We will attack the colonies before they even have a chance."

"Yes sir," answered Mavica. He turned to leave. As he walked out the door, a soldier came running into the office. He saluted quickly and Pentane looked at him disgustedly.

"Well what is it?" he demanded.

"Sir we wanted to inform you that Milliardo Peacecraft is one television right now. He is holding a press conference!"

Pentane spun around and walked out of his office at a fast pace. He entered the control room and shoved his way through a small crowd of soldiers gathered around a projected screen. On the screen was the image of a man with platinum blonde hair and blue eyes. He announced himself and Milliardo Peacecraft, a leader of the Cinq Kingdom and brother of Relena.

"So they think that one sibling will replace the other!" cried Pentane.

Angrily he stormed out of the room. On his way out he cried out a harsh command,

"Prepare to attack!"

The Gundam pilots and the rest of their fleet hovered nearby the enemy base. They were still grouped together. Heero had positioned himself behind everyone else to make his presence as unknown as possible.

"That place looks like it could be as big as a colony!" exclaimed Duo.

"Well one thing is for sure," replied Wufei, "justice will be served."

Lady Une's voice came over the intercom,

"Yuy, your plan with Zechs is working. He and Noin called a press conference. Some of the riots have even stopped. Everyone is listening to him as they would Relena."

"Good. Then he should buy us just enough time," replied Heero coldly.

"Right," replied the head of Preventers. "Everyone be safe out there and Godspeed!"

Heero looked out to the base. It was indeed massive. He quickly went over his plan once more in his head. He went over the route he was to take to set off the bomb. He had memorized the base layout before they left. Looking at a map would only cost him time. He felt confident. But something deep inside of him stirred. It was an unfamiliar feeling that he wasn't usually accustomed too. He had to find Relena on time. She was his number one priority as soon as he got out of his Gundam. That would give him more time to search for her before setting the bomb of as well. Deep inside, Heero Yuy was worried.

"Here they come," said Trowa quietly.

Heero snapped out of his thoughts as several hundred enemy mobile suits came towards the fleet.

Preventers Space Port…

Sally watched as the machine helped Hilde to breathe. She was growing desperate. She wanted Hilde to pull through for Duo's sake. But things were not looking good.

"Sally," cried Lady Une from behind her at the door.

Startled the doctor spun around,

"Yes?"

"We are going to need you to set up a medical center for the wounded with the other doctors and nurses. I'm sorry but Hilde will have to wait."

"I'll be right there," replied Sally.

Lady Une nodded and left. Sally turned one more time to look at Hilde. Her face was clouded with despair.

"God, Hilde, I'm so sorry. For both you and Duo." At that she left the room.

The sounds of the room were routine. The beating of the ventilator moved up and down with a slow rhythm.  The occupant in the bed remained motionless. She was deep in sleep unable to awake. But deep down, though no one could tell, she was fighting. Fighting to wake up from the endless slumber. All at once her mind began to whirl, and she heard a female voice call out her name, "Hilde I'm so sorry…"

Hilde began to move her fingers. Slowly her eyes fluttered open. Her vision was cloudy and she could barely make out where she was. Her mind was numb. Everything seemed to be spinning. She moved her head a little, as she became slightly more perceptive, and looked at her surroundings. She was in a hospital room. She had no recollection of why she was there though.

Drowsily she struggled to breathe in a little. Coughing and choking though, Hilde gasped for breath. Struggling to sit up she pulled out all the wires attached to her arms and pulled out the ventilator tube. Sucking in air, she gasped and sat back in her seat. She heard the ventilator machine go off in alarm because its former occupant no longer needed it. She leaned over and turned it off so not to disturb anyone.

Hilde breathed in slowly. She couldn't remember what had happened to her that would cause her to end up in the hospital ward. All she knew was that she was aboard the Preventers space port and that she had been helping to rebuild the Gundams with Duo.

"Duo!" exclaimed Hilde. He had to be so worried about her. She had to find him and tell him that she was okay, that things were fine again. She wanted more than ever to let him hold her and kiss her.

Hilde carefully swung her feet over the edge of the bed. She lowered them carefully to the floor and braced herself as she stood up. Her legs were shaky and she almost collapsed to the ground. However, she managed to maintain her balance. Carefully Hilde pulled out the IV needle in her arm. She cringed slightly.

Carefully, by grabbing onto the furniture in the room, she began to make her way towards the door. She peaked out into the hallway and was surprised to see that it was completely empty.  Filled with alarm Hilde inched her way back into her room. She was clad only in a hospital gown. She looked around frantically. On the chair by her bed she saw her clothes neatly folded in a pile. Peeling off her hospital gown she pulled on her clothes and looked out the window of her room. Space was quiet. She squinted her eyes. In the distance, she spotted an army of mobile suits heading away from the space port. They have all ready launched their attack, she thought to herself.

Hilde forced herself upright and tried to walk to the doorway. She stumbled from dizziness several times but eventually made it into the hall. She was too weak from being unconscious for so long. Bracing herself against the walls, she made her way down the silent corridor of the infirmary wing. Her blue hair fell about her face, and she could feel her strength already beginning to fade.

Hilde stopped to catch her breath at another window in the hallway. The army was no where in sight now. They were probably already miles away. Grunting Hilde forced herself to move on towards the docking bay. She could now hear the faint sound of voices. As she inched her way closer, they became louder. Just a few more steps and she was there.

Hilde gasped as she entered the command center. It was the center of activity. The hanger was open and all the mobile suits were gone, save for a few that belonged to the Preventers. A huge monitor, attached to the ceiling, projected the army of Gundams, Magnuacs, and Preventers making their way towards a titanic space station. Hilde gasped when she saw Deathscythe appear on the screen.

"Duo," she said under her breath.

Preventers and mechanics scurried about her, completely oblivious to the fact that she was indeed alive. But she didn't notice. All she could do was watch the screen. She glanced to her right and saw another screen projecting the image of Zechs along with Noin at a press conference. Confused, Hilde shrugged the image aside and once again focused on Duo and the other Gundam Pilots. Now she could see the enemy making their way towards the fleet. Hilde estimated about three hundred suits and dolls.

"Commander Une!" cried a voice. "They outnumber us three to one! We need more help!"

"You forget we have five Gundams on our side, soldier! They will do everything in their power to complete their mission. Even if it means death!" replied Lady Une.

A warning signal flashed inside Hilde's head. Death. Shignami. Duo had no idea that she was ok. He was probably torn in two. He would be dangerous out on the battlefield.

She acted without knowing it. She ran into the docking bay and grabbed a spare flight suit. Putting it on she struggled to climb into a spare suit. She sat in the cockpit and fastened herself in then fired up the engine.

Everyone jumped in surprise. A mobile suit was making its way to the open hanger door. Mechanics and Preventers scrambled to stop her. They started to close the door, but Lady Une motioned for them to stop. She peered closely at the cockpit. A voice from behind her made her spin around,

"Commander!" cried Sally. "It's Hilde! Her bed is empty she's disappeared! We have to find her, she is not well at all and it's a miracle she is even alive and…"

Une cut her short and motioned towards the suit,

"I think we can guess where she is going," she replied as Hilde blasted off into space, struggling to catch up with the others.

Sally stared in disbelief. She silently prayed for a miracle.

AN: There we go the next one is on the way! Did u like it? Email: WildRose1404earthlink.net