~Miss Chang Po
Heart of Space, Dove of Peace
"What on Earth just happened over there?!" Hilde cried out, watching the unearthly lightseveral miles away appear and just disappear over the horizon. "Are the others gonna be okay?"
"Thunder, you're a Preventer!" Sally snapped. "Your immediate concern is protecting this nation!"
"I know, but…" Hilde murmured.
"It's your job to stay focused on the mission!" Hilde murmured some sort of apology. Sally gave her areassuring smile. "The others will be fine," she said softly. "They've gotten out of worse scrapes than this. Now, it's our job to make sure they've got some place to come back to after all this mess is over and done with."
"You're right, Water." Hilde nodded slowly her eyes still betraying her feelings. Her Taurus slashed through another mobile doll, its back turned to the horizon. 'Oh, Duo…'
"Damnit!" Sally, fired a full round into several dolls, her thoughts betraying her as well as they strayed to a certain arrogant, Asian Gundam pilot. 'Wufei…'
"Water, Thunder!" Howard's voice sounded over the com-link.
"What's wrong, Howard?" Hilde asked, noting the look of urgency on his face.
"State your position!"
"We are currently in Sector 12 C, on the Northern side." Sally answered. "Why? What's wrong?"
"We were tracking the mobile dolls back here," Howard replied. "And a whole squadron on the Eastern side just vanished off the radar."
"What?" Hilde asked.
"What… are you saying?" Sally frowned. "We left the others on the western side, they couldn't gotten there that fast."
"I know." was the response.
"Is there someone else out here with us?" Hilde asked.
"Yes," Howard answered. "And they're heading straight towards you." At that same moment, a Scorpio doll made its assault; flying towards the two unsuspecting Taurus suits with its buster rifle in hand.
A blip on Sally's monitor alerted her attention to the danger. She gasped, wheeling around. "Hilde, on your six!" Before she could make a move, thermal energy came blasting out of nowhere, obliterating the attacker.
"What in…" Hilde turned around to see where the fire had come from, what she saw was totally unexpected. Though it was already flying away, those metallic angel wings were unmistakable. "Wing… Zero…?"
~*~*~*~*~*~
Racing across the city at top speed, the reconstructed Wing Gundam Zero blew away any mobile doll in its path. Pulling out its beam saber, it flew and slashed through its opponents with ease and angelic grace. However, its outward appearance was the exact opposite of what was going on inside the machine.
Heero was in turmoil. The faces of those whom he had sent to their deaths came back to him full force, forcing him to acknowledge and remember each event with crystal clarity. Threats, missions, and conversations echoed through the Zero's cockpit, into the Perfect Soldier's skull, making his head ache and reel at the same time.
Nausea overcame Heero, causing him to lurch forward and loose his grip on the controls. At that same moment, a mobile doll came flying at him, taking a shot. Heero's Perfect Soldier instinct immediately kicked it, forcing him to straighten up and grab the controls. Wing Zero stretched out its long wings and folded them in front of it, blocking the blast.
Heero bit back a curse. 'What I am doing?' he thought to himself. 'I can't keep going like this…' An image of Relena smiling at him appeared before his eyes, causing that familiar, dull ache to return. Gritting his teeth, he replied aloud. "No. I have to keep going. I have to find her. I have to keep fighting to protect the ones I care about!" Heero set his sights onan incoming mobile doll and charged towards it, beam saber in hand. "I will protect you… RELENA!!!"
~*~*~*~*~*~
"RELENA!!" Milliardo yelled, blocking a blow from Arch Angel that sent him flying backwards several yards.
"Milliardo!" Quatre cried out in worry. He turned his attention towards the attacking Gundam, which was now heading towards SandRock. "We've got to try and reach her somehow!"
"Kisama! Maxwell, haven't you reached her yet!" Wufei snarled in frustration, trying to hide the fact that he was concerned about Relena's wellbeing as well.
"I'm trying!" Duo exclaimed, off to the side in Deathscythe, working his way through wires and circuitry. "It's not exactly easing tapping into our Gundams' circuitry network. This ain't no walk in the park. I need time!"
"Time isn't something we have." Trowa said. Duo was about to respond, but cried out when he received a shock from one of the wires.
"Are you all right, Duo?" Noin asked when she heard a few 'colorful metaphors' coming from his direction.
Duo bit back another curse and appeared on the others' view screens. "Yeah, I think that oughta do it. You should be able to reach her now."
"About bloody time." Milliardo growled. He flew Tallgeese III towards Arch Angel, keeping a safe distance between the two of them. "Relena!" he cried out. "Can you hear me!"
Relena appeared on his view screen, with a pained expression on her face. "Onii-sama!"
"Relena, daijobu ka?" Quatre called out.
"You all have to get away from here!" Relena exclaimed. "I'm not in control!" At that thought, she wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. 'When have I ever been in control?' she thought, watching as her mobile suits wung and lashed out at the suits of her friends. 'I've always been controlled by others, molded into what they wanted me to be… never having a life or will of my own…'
"We're not leaving you, Relena!" Noin cried. "Don't worry, we'll help you!" Spotting an opening behind Arch Angel, Noin tried to steer Andromeda past the other Gundam setting her sights on the mobile doll emitting the Omega Jammer.
"Noin, wait!" Milliardo cried out.
Before Andromeda could reach the doll, Arch Angel turned on the mobile suit raising its crossbow to fire.
"Noin!" Milliardo yelled.
"NO!!" Relena screamed.
In a split second, moments after the crossbow had been fired, Tallgeese III rammed into Andromeda from behind, taking the hit. As soon as the arrow came in contact with the suit's hull, it detonated, sending both of the suits flying backwards. (AN: That's happened a lot to Zechs in the fic, hasn't it?)
"Zechs!" Noin cried out.
Milliardo looked up dazedly, trying to clear his head. "I'm all right." he said, much to Noin's relief. He then turned his attention towards Arch Angel, which was hovering over them like an avenging angel. "Relena!" he yelled out. "Why are you doing this?! Why are you piloting that thing?"
"I'm sorry, onii-sama." Relena replied. "I chose this path for myself. I realize now that merely taking the weapons away from those who wish to fight does not get rid of the will to fight. It is a part of human nature that can never be taken away. If I truly wish for peace to come to this world, I must put aside my childish, idealistic views." Relena's expression turned dark. Had Duo been in the joking mood, he would have pointed out the fact that her expression was similar to the one Heero often made. "People are imperfect." she went on. "Therefore there is no such thing as a Utopia. If there is to be peace, I have to fight for it – even if it means I must sacrifice my own life to do so."
Milliardo's eyes went wide. A Perfect soldier - one who was not afraid to die for their mission, for their cause. Was this his little sister he had bloodied his hands to protect? "Don't do this!" he cried out desperately. "Don't throw your life away!"
Relena wanted to laugh. Why didn't he understand? "I'm not throwing it away." she said calmly. "What right have I to throw away something that never belonged to me?" The others blinked at this. What was she talking about?
Arch Angel took out its scimitar and raised it in the air again, the same deathly glow forming around it again. It began to lower the scimitar, but suddenly stopped halfway.
"No!" Relena cried out, grabbing onto the controls, holding them back with all her might. "I will not hurt them!"
A safe distance away within the cockpit of the Scorpio Gundam, Naya snorted, watching the scene unfold before her. Flicking a switch on her console, Naya moved the mobile doll in closer, increasing the frequency. Arch Angel dropped the glowing scimitar to the ground. The other pilots let out a collective sigh of relief.
However, Arch Angel picked upTallgeese III's discarded Dober gun and began to charge it up. Relena looked up at the Scorpio Gundam andfrowned. 'You may have me now, whoever you are,' she thought to herself. 'But I'm going to get out of here, and put a stop to you.' With that, she activated Arch Angel's computer console, typingin the letters 'Z-E-R-O.' The cockpit immediately filled up with yellow light.
"Huh?" Duo blinked. "She activated the Zero system?!"
"What?!" Milliardo roared.
"Relena!" Noin cried out, struggling to bring Andromeda to its feet.
At this, Arch Angel directed the Dober gun at Andromeda's torso. "Please, Miss Noin," Relena pleaded, her voice strained due to the Zero's affects starting to kick in. "Don't move or I may accidentally fire."
"That Scorpio's system is too strong for you, Relena!" Quatre cried out. "Shut down your Gundam and get out of here!"
"Run… away..?" Relena repeated, dazed.
"Get out of here now, Relena!" Milliardo yelled from the disabled Tallgeese III.
The Zero System whirred loudly in Relena's ears. Her eyes flashed golden under the system's affects. "The only way I'm leaving here is if I activate the self-detonation device." she replied gravely. The others gasped in shock. "I've been running…" she went on. "I've been running all my life." She raised her head, her eyes blazing with determination. "And I refuse to run any longer!!" Arch Angel turned around, firing its cross bow through the mobile doll, disabling its Omega Jammer and blowing it to pieces.
"Finally," Duo guided Deathscythe Hell back towards the others. "We can move again – huh?" Scorpio flew off into the clouds.
"Relena!" Milliardo cried out as Arch Angel took off in pursuit.
"Where's she off to?" Duo blinked, watching her disappear from sight. Just then, Howard appeared on the main screen.
"Duo, you and the others get your butts back here!" he cried out.
"What's the problem, Howard?" Duo asked.
"The Dark Claw troops are gonna breach our last line of defense any minute now!"
"Blast!" Wufei replied. "I know those onnas wouldn't be able to hold them off forever!"
"What about Relena?" Quatre asked.
"She and the Scorpio headed in that direction." Trowa answered.
"We must hurry and get back there!" Milliardo said as Tallgeese III and Andromeda took off. The others quickly followed suit.
~End of Chapter 14~