AN: Chapter 26. Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or any of its characters.
Peacecraft Mansion…
Milliardo was worried sick. Relena's broadcast had been abruptly shut off and Relena, herself, seemed to be frantically trying to get in her final words. They were coming for her. For all he knew, she was dead right now.
He paced around the room and began to grow angry. He screamed and picked up a vase and threw it. It smashed to pieces on the floor. He began to overturns chairs and lamps. He knocked over the coffee table.
All the while, Noin watched sadly in a corner of the room. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. Relena certainly did know how to give a speech. Her good friend was probably gone from this world, and now, the only man she believed she would ever love was destroying himself right in front of her. She couldn't take it anymore. Things were falling apart. Just when Milliardo looked like he was about to smash the television in, Noin cried out and ran to him. She grabbed his arms and began to plead with him,
"Milliardo, please! Don't do this to yourself! You have to be strong; you have to go on without her! We all do! You are not the only one who suffers!"
"What do you know of it, Lucrezia?" cried Milliardo. "She was the only family I had left, and just when I found the sister I lost, I have only lost her again!"
"And I am losing the only one alive that I have ever considered to be like family to me!" retorted Noin.
She dropped his arms angrily and sat on the couch, nearly the only thing in the room left untouched. She turned her face away from him as fresh tears began to form.
Milliardo stood, dumbfounded. He stared at her for quite some time. Slowly he sat down next to her and grew silent in thought. After a few moments, Milliardo put his hand on her shoulder. She spun around to meet his face. For a moment they looked at each other. Then, Noin gave a small whimper as he drew her tightly into his arms and whispered into her ear,
"I am so sorry, please forgive me, Lucrezia."
"There is nothing to forgive," she replied sadly. "Only know one thing: I could never care for anyone as I do for you. And I hope that with that love, we can find a way to make it through all this together."
Milliardo pulled back and stared into her eyes. He pulled her to him, and as he kissed her he knew that everything would be all right… some how.
Preventers…
"Have we heard from Yuy?" cried Lady Une.
"No," replied Sally heavily.
"Damn it!" cried the Head of the Preventers.
They had all stood still when Relena had issued her address. Now they were in a panic. The battle with the suits had also begun.
"Commander, what would you have us do?" asked Sally.
"All we can do now is pray for a miracle. Our army is outnumbered, and for all we know Relena may be dead. Let's just pray that Yuy is able to destroy that base."
Meanwhile…
The battle was on, and the remaining four Gundam Pilots were locked in the middle of it. Thus far the plan had worked considering Heero had been able to get inside of the base. Now all they had to do was keep fighting to make sure the enemy did not get back to the base so that Heero would have time to destroy. Quatre kept urging the army to keep moving further and further away from the base. This not only gave Heero more time, but it also gave the Preventers a safe distance from the bomb, once it was detonated.
"How are things looking with you Wufei?" asked Quatre through the communicator.
"These men fight like weak onnas! They do not stand a chance against Nataku!" replied the Chinese pilot.
Wufei sliced through the enemy suits with ease. He was one again with his Gundam. It was the part of him that had been missing for years. His spirit was back, nearly all of it. This was where he belonged, this was his home. He wished not to depart from it ever again. He was fighting for what he believed in now: to triumph over evil and let justice be served.
"It just seems like more and more of these suits keep coming!" exclaimed Quatre and he blasted away more of the enemy.
"Let them come!" cried Duo as he sliced through them with his scythe. "When they do, they will meet the God of Death and all that comes with it!"
"Watch yourself Maxwell," warned Wufei. "You act as if you want to die today."
Duo snorted inside of his cockpit,
"What's it to you Chang? You never cared before why should you care now?"
"It is not honorable to take your own life. It is weak," replied Wufei as he brought down another suit.
"Who says that I am taking my own life? They will help me out," said Duo solemnly.
"Duo, stop talking like this; we need you right now more than ever," cut in Quatre. "Wufei, just don't say anything else to him go it?"
"Yes, I "got" it," replied Wufei.
"Let him talk!" cried Duo. "I don't give a damn anymore!" he said as he plunged his Gundam further into the fray.
"Duo!" cried Quatre.
"Let him go, Quatre," said Trowa softly. "His destiny is his own. He shall be the one to make it. It he chooses to die today then we can not stop him from doing so."
"But Trowa, it can not be this way! There are others who care for him!" cried Quatre.
"Quatre," said Trowa, "in the end, death is sometimes the only reward we may gain. Do not be the one to deprive him of that."
Quatre was quiet for a moment,
"I understand," he replied coldly, though in his heart he was still so unsure.
Lady Une came in over the communicator,
"How are things going Winner?"
"As good as can be expected I suppose! But we are outnumbered three to one! We could really use Heero right about now!" replied Quatre.
"Just keep doing what you are doing. You are giving Heero the time he needs to plant that bomb."
"Has there been any word from him yet?" asked Trowa.
"None," said Lady Une gravely.
Trowa and the others all frowned. It was unlike Heero to check in. He was suppose to give them fair warning of when the bomb was being planted. That way they would have time to get out of there.
Trowa looked at a radar screen in his cockpit. A large object was making its way towards the battle. It was coming closer at a fast speed.
"Something is wrong," said Trowa quietly.
Quatre looked up and out of the window of his cockpit. He held his breath at a terrifying sight. It was the Gundam Gehenna. It was making its way into the battle, quickly. It had already started to wipe out the Preventers rear flanks.
"Everyone, come together!" ordered Quatre.
The four smaller groups that made up the army of the Preventers came together as one. The four Gundam pilots sat in front and watched as Gehenna drew closer.
"Who is this guy?" asked Duo.
"Whoever it is, he is good," said Quatre. "He uses the zero system. Therefore, he must be as skilled as Heero, if not stronger."
"That puts us at a slight disadvantage," replied Trowa.
"That does not matter," said Quatre. "We outnumber that pilot. Four Gundams against one, even with the zero system. If we work together, we can defeat him."
"Let him come!" cried Duo. "He shall get a taste of the God of Death!"
"And Nataku!" exclaimed Wufei. "Justice will be served for this machine has killed many innocent people. There is no honor in that."
"All right!" shouted Quatre. "Let's go!"
"YEA!" screamed Duo.
The four of them plunged into a new battle.
Enemy base…
Heero was running with Relena through the base trying to reach the main hull where he would plant the bomb. It was not all that easy. Their presence was now known by the few hundred soldiers still remaining aboard who showed no signs of lightning up even though their leader lay dead in the control room. They were almost there. Heero pulled Relena's hand tighter as he urged her to hurry as fast as her weary body could go. On his back was a pack which carried the bomb. In his free hand he carried his gun.
They were in a hallway now with white splashed walls that almost blinded them along with the lighting. On either sides there were doorways leading to different rooms. Heero hurried Relena along. He still had to plant the bomb then get Relena off the base safely.
Heero stopped suddenly. They had reached a part of the corridor that branched off three different ways. Remembering lay out plans in his head he began to turn right, but he soon stopped once more at the sound of footsteps. He took out a knife and angled it around the corner so that he could see. It was a band of ten or so soldiers, who were, no doubt, searching for him and Relena. Footsteps from the left of the hallway also made him freeze. He could see them coming in both directions. If they were to just keep going straight through they would be seen and if they simply stayed where they were they would be seen. He looked at Relena who had worried eyes. Quickly he pulled her backwards, retracing their steps and began checking all the doors. Most of them were locked. Finally he pulled open two double doors, grabbed Relena, and pulled her in. He shut the doors and locked them in hopes that the soldiers would think them just like all the others.
Heero told Relena to hide wherever she could. He then took his gun and aimed it at the doors intending to kill the first person to enter the room. He could hear them just outside the hallway. Just as he had thought, they were now checking the hallway he and Relena had just been in. They were checking the doors. Finally they were at their door. Heero could hear Relena hold her breath as they started to turn the handle.
"This one is locked sir, like all the rest of them!" said the soldier to his commanding officer.
"All right, let's keep going! They couldn't have gotten very far!"
The footsteps paraded further down the hallway and faded in the distance.
Relena let out a sigh of relief. Heero let down his gun and for the first time, the two of them began to inspect their surroundings. They were in a dormitory, most likely the soldier's barracks, where all of Pentane's men stayed when they were not on duty. On the right, were rows of bunk beds and on the left were lockers and benches. Relena sat down on one of the beds trying to regain her breath. Heero on the other hand, opened one of the lockers and pulled out a flight suit, much like the one he was wearing. It was black and form fitting, with blue stripes going down the side of it. He tossed it across the room to Relena.
"Here, put this on, it will be much easier for you to move in," he ordered calmly.
Relena nodded her head. She watched as Heero opened another locker and pulled out a pair of boots, much like his. He frowned at their size and threw them back and opened another locker. This time he pulled out the black boots and nodded his head after looking them over. He walked over and placed them next to Relena on the bed.
"Thank you," she said.
Heero didn't answer but simply nodded his head and turned away so that she may change with a little bit of privacy. Relena slightly blushed and kept her eye on Heero as she began to undress. She knew he would not look at her, but she was still self conscious about it. She zipped up the flight suit, which hugged her body perfectly. She then sat on the bed and pulled on the boots. They were about half a size too big, but she could move freely in them without any problems.
"I done," she said.
Heero turned around and looked at her. Her form looked so tiny in the black flight suit. And it hugged her curves so well that Heero couldn't help but stare at her for a moment. He quickly snapped out of his thoughts and grabbed Relena's former clothing and placed it into one of the lockers.
"Heero, where do we go from here? The hallway is surrounded by guards..." said Relena quietly.
Heero nodded his head and looked about the room. They were still a level above the central control panel, where he needed to plant the bomb. Going through the ventilation shaft would be too risky, they might be heard by the soldiers. A large laundry shoot caught his eye at the end of the room. He paced over to it and lifted open the door. It was more than big enough for both he and Relena. A large slide that went down into a dark nothingness. Thinking quickly, Heero turned on his wrist-com.
"This is Gundam pilot 01 communicating with Preventers base, do you read me?"
The voice on the other side of the connection was one of surprise,
"Yuy is that you? Where the hell have you been?" asked Lady Une.
"There is no time to explain," said Heero quickly. "Listen I need Howard to look at the base layout plans and tell me where all laundry shoots lead to."
"Laundry shoots?"
"Yes, do it! And hurry!" ordered Heero as he paced about the room.
"He's on it right now. Yuy is Relena with you?" asked Lady Une, a worried tone evident in her voice.
Heero paused and looked at Relena with gentle eyes before he answered,
"Yes she is with me, and she is safe so far."
"Thank God, we've been so worried."
"Well we're not out of here yet," said Heero. "Has Howard finished?"
"Yes here he is."
"Report to me Howard," ordered Heero quickly.
Howard's voice came over the wrist-com,
"According to the lay out plans, all laundry shoots end up in well, the laundry room, on the main floor of the base."
"How would I get to the central control panel from there?" asked Heero.
"It's easy Heero. The laundry facility is only a little ways away from where you were supposed to have landed your Gundam. As soon as you exit the room, make a right and walk to the end of that hallway. Then take another right, and you are at the hanger where you landed. Go straight past the hanger, and take a left. You will then take an immediate right and find yourself at the door, where you should punch in the code. Got all that?"
"Mission accepted," said Heero as he turned off the connection.
"Come here," he said to Relena.
She followed his command and stepped up to the laundry shoot. He held open the door, helped her inside, and told her to sit. He then came in behind her as he closed the door. It was completely dark. Heero could hear Relena breathing heavily. He told her to put her legs in front of her. He grabbed her waist and placed his own legs in front of either side of hers. He could feel Relena tighten her grip on his hands.
Heero pushed forward and away they went down the slide. Relena gasped and held onto Heero. They were going so fast that Heero tightened his grip on her so that she would fall free. They fell into black nothingness for nearly a minute. Then slowly, very slowly, they could begin to make out a tiny light ahead of them. As they continued on, it grew larger and larger until it was suddenly blinding, and they soon felt themselves free falling and landing in a pile of clothes.
They hit the pile with such force that Relena came out of Heero's grip. They were separated and as Heero fell directly onto the laundry and stopped, Relena rolled down the huge pile and hit her head on the concrete floor, going back into the black nothingness from whence they had just come.
AN: Comments please!
Email: WildRose1404earthlink.net