June 6th, 2004

Author's Notes – Konnichi wa, minna-san! I hope everyone is doing well. Thanks so much for all of your encouraging words (on all my fanfics!). Work has been hell with the way it's managed to sap up most of my creative/energetic juices, but it's well worth it! I can finally buy my laptop (and hopefully pay my tuition but... well....)

But anyway! Things certainly have been spicing up in this fic haven't they?

Wufei – Seeing since she's making it up as she goes along...

Wufei! Honestly... the things you say sometimes... ::laughs nervously:: Ahem... anyway... With Naya and her Black Scorpio Gundam down for the count, it seems as though Relena has turned her sights on Heero and Wing Zero. Can the Perfect Soldier protect himself without putting her in harm's way? Can he make her realize she is not to blame?

Wufei – Do we really care? ::grunts as authoress elbows him in the gut::

If you'd like to know the answers to these questions, read on in the next chapter of 'Heart of Space, Dove of Peace', or else...

Heero - ::pops up out of nowhere causing Wufei to gawk in surprise:: Omae o korosu.

Chapter 23 –

Hilde's mobile fired another barrage of bullets, ripping apart the hull of the enemy mobile doll in front of her. Despite the feeling of satisfaction welling inside of her, a frown of confusion made its way across her face.

"These things were comin' at us like crazy not too long ago," she mused aloud. "Now it's like shooting ducks out of a barrel."

"That's prob'ly cuz they're runnin' out of reinforcements." Howard offered over the comm.. "You guys have got'em on the run. The boys are prob'ly takin' care of the rest as we speak."

"All right!" Hilde exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air as a sign of victory. "Another fire effectively put out, eh, Water?"

"No... it's not over yet."

"Eh?" Both Hilde and Howard turned to face their monitors. 10 more dolls were fast approaching them.

"They just don't seem to give up, do they?" Howard mused.

"What was that you were saying about running out of reinforcements just a minute ago?" Hilde exclaimed. The old man on the screen only shrugged in response. "We can take'em, can't we?" The old mobile suit engineer looked down at the readings on his console. "'Cording to my readings, your suits should be able to hold out fine..." He looked back up, a worried frown passing across his usually laid-back features. "But what about you two?"

"That'd be 5 suits for each of us," Hilde murmured aloud. "I think we can handle it."

"What about you, Sally?" Howard asked. "How's your injury holding up?"

The ex-major stared at the screen in front of her, gritting her teeth in concentration. "I'm fine." She exclaimed. Then without warning, the image before her began to blur. Bringing a hand to her head she let out a curse of frustration. Her fingers were wet and coated with blood.

'Damn...' It was common knowledge in her field that head injuries tended to bleed more than normal, but this was enough to even cause her some concern. Her vision continued to blur to the point that she did not see the mobile doll rushing towards her.

"SALLY, LOOK OUT!" Hilde cried out.

The mobile doll slammed into her side, knocking her to the ground. Looming over her, it raised its stinger for the final strike...

"SALLY!"

Hilde looked up to see six figures blotting out the light of the setting sun. Before she could figure out what was happening, a green blur zipped past her. A three-pronged trident slid through the air, cutting the doll in half. Having passed out during the following explosion, Sally did not see the Gundam with dragonheads for hands shielding her fallen suit from debris.

"Sally! Sally!"

Her head hurt, very, very badly. At least, that was the first thing she realized upon regaining consciousness. She must have hit her head on the console – again – she deduced; aside from the cut currently residing on her forehead, Sally was almost positive she was sporting a pretty nice black eye as well.

"Sally! Sally, wake up!"

She frowned. She had recalled Hilde calling out her name before the first impact, but...

"SALLY! Answer me, damnit!"

...That was not Hilde's voice. She opened her eyes slowly, squinting against the bright light shining in her eyes. "Turn that light off..." she grumbled. "Are you trying to blind me?"

The light disappeared, followed by a disapproving grunt. "Amazing how you can still run that mouth of yours when you've obviously got a concussion..." a gruff voice answered her. She let out a squeak of surprise. "Some doctor... You're damn lucky to be alive... Idiot woman."

She blinked. As her vision cleared, an image of Wufei began to come into view. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise. Was that worry she detected in his expression? "Wufei...?"

"Just what the hell were you thinking, you stupid woman?" he snapped. "Were you trying to get yourself killed?" Sally stared at him a few moments. "Well?"

She gave him a slightly confused smile. "You were worried."

He blinked, stamping his patented look of frustration into place. "Nonsense!"

A warbled image of Duo appeared on what was left of her monitor. "Poor Wu- man!" he laughed. "The guy wouldn't stop going 'til he reached you, Sally ol' gal. He was worried shitless even though you and Hilde made a perfect capable team on your own..."

From somewhere off to the side, Sally could hear Quatre tittering softly. "As though you weren't just as worried, Duo..."

Wufei merely humphed; Sally gave him a look. "Don't you forget, woman," he replied in a quiet tone. Sally merely blinked. "You're my partner."

She let out a hoarse laugh and nodded. "And you're mine."

Lifting her up into his arms gingerly, he merely nodded back in response. Settling back inside Shenlong with Sally in his lap, he pointedly ignored the jeering coming from Deathscythe Hell. Glancing at him discreetly, Sally only smiled.

"Duo," Milliardo called out. "Any word on Relena and the main Scorpio?"

The pilot of Deathscythe Hell turned to his console, scanning through the readings coming up before him. "I'm not getting anything." He replied, his violet eyes frowning. "Howzabout you, Howard?"

The old man appeared on all of the pilots' monitors, his sunglasses reflecting the monitor in front of him. "'Cording to our equipment back here at the base, it appears as if Scorpio's systems are offline."

"So Relena did it?" Hilde asked hopefully. "She beat the Scorpio?"

Howard scratched his head reluctantly. "Well, that still remains to be said..."

"What do you mean?" Trowa asked.

"What I mean is Scorpio's not showing any activity right now," Howard replied. "That doesn't necessarily mean it's been destroyed."

"And what of Relena?" Noin asked desperately. "Is she all right?"

There was silence. "Howard?"

"Oh crap!" Everybody turned towards Deathscythe.

"Duo?"

"The Zero System in Arch Angel is active again!" the American pilot exclaimed.

"What?!" the others exclaimed.

"Where the hell is Heero?!" Milliardo roared. "Why isn't he with her?"

"He is with her..." Duo's face looked strangely pale on the other pilots' monitors. "Relena's fighting him."

No more words as the company of Gundams took of in pursuit of their wayward comrades.

()()()

"Then you too, are any enemy."

Heero had had very little time to react as the thermal arrow flew through the air towards him. With reflexes that had earned him the title of Perfect Soldier, he yanked back his controls, enfolding his suit in its ivory wings. Though the shield proved effective in protecting the cockpit, the brunt of the attack knocked him backwards. He struggled to regain balance, retracting his wings only to see Arch Angel rushing towards him with its scimitar in hand.

He grunted as his cockpit shook from the brunt of the impact. Luckily, he had managed to draw his beam saber to prevent being sliced in two. Clenching his controls, he strained to push Arch Angel back and away.

"Relena, what are you doing?" he cried out. "Why are you attacking me?"

"Heero," He paused. Her voice sounded so empty; so hollow. "Anyone who stands in the way of peace is my enemy."

"That's the Zero System talking, Relena!" he exclaimed. "I am not your enemy!"

Arch Angel reared backwards before coming back at him again with a downward slash of its blade. "Not my enemy?" Relena asked, her voice eerily calm. "You say that when you were protecting her not just a moment ago?"

"I was protecting you, Relena!" Heero replied fiercely. "I couldn't let you take her life?"

"Why not?" she asked. "She has sent numerous people to their deaths. Does she not deserve to die?"

The soldier in Heero said yes, but he shook his head. "She deserves to be punished, yes – but it shouldn't up to you decide whether she lives or die. You don't need anything like that hanging over your head." He dodged another swing of Arch Angel's scimitar, knocking it off course with his beam saber.

"What is one more...compared to the lives of all those I have already led to slaughter?"

"That's not true!" he exclaimed, shooting into the air. Relena quickly followed in pursuit. "Every person is responsible for their own fate. All those people you claim died on your behalf died in the name of peace – the beliefs you instilled in them."

Arch Angel's crossbow was charged again. "Beliefs that were wrong!" Three thermal arrows zipped towards him. Wing managed to out-maneuver two of them, but the last collided with its arm, knocking its beam saber out of its hand.

"Whether it was right or wrong doesn't matter!" Heero exclaimed. "It was what they believed. They made the choice to believe in it. It's called free will."

"I have no free will," Relena replied softly. "I'm a puppet, a doll put on display for the masses to encourage them."

"Relena..." Could he tell her differently? When had she ever been given the chance to live a normal life? "I'm sorry..."

"I don't want your sorry!" Arch Angel collided against him, plowing Wing Zero into the ground.

The two Gundams plummeted towards the ground at rapid speeds. Heero struggled to position his suit so that it would hit the ground first, absorbing most of the impact.

"Stop trying to protect me!" she yelled.

Heero merely smiled. "I can't do that."

Relena's eyes widened in surprise, 'He's... smiling...?'

The two Gundams hit the ground with a loud thud.

()()()

'This... isn't working the way I planned.'

"Idiot... I told you it wouldn't."

Heero opened his eyes, frowning at the Doppelganger currently standing over him. He was back in the void again with his soldier counterpart. And he just had to be smirking...

"You said I wouldn't be able to beat the Scorpio Gundam..." he scowled, sitting up. "That was pretty much taken care of without my help."

The Perfect Soldier made a noise that sounded similar to a scoff. "You seem disappointed."

"I didn't expect Relena to be piloting a Gundam, if that's what you mean," he replied.

"You're taking it very well."

"I really didn't have all that much time to react to it." He replied. "Though it turns out she didn't need my help."

"She didn't need my help." The Perfect Soldier corrected. "But she still needs your help."

Heero nodded. "She wants to kill Naya."

"Do you know why?" They both turned to face the same young girl from before. She gave them both a curious smile.

"She thinks she's a threat to peace – even though she's already been defeated."

The young girl shook her head. "Naya reintroduced Relena to an emotion she has not felt in a very long time... the desire for revenge."

"What?" Before Heero's eyes, an image of Naya's Scorpio Gundam destroying his Leo. It then switched to a distraught Relena pulling his mangled body from the debris. "I don't..."

"All of Relena's actions – be they verbal or physical – have stemmed from her desire to protect."

"I will protect you.... Heero."

"Because we could no longer fight," Heero's Doppelganger replied. "Because we chose to no longer fight, Relena decided to take up arms and fight in our stead."

Another image appeared before his eyes, one he was no familiar with. Back at the Peacecraft mansion, Relena stood over his unconscious form, a pained expression on her face.

"I can't." Her eyes were sad, gazing down at him. "I'm not a fighter like you, Heero. I've never been strong, no matter what people say."

But she doesn't have to be, Heero kept telling himself. Didn't she realize he was willing to fight for her? To keep her hands clean, her soul untainted?

The girl and his double merely watched him.

He watched as she gently took his hand in hers, tracing her fingers over it gently. He could almost feel a ghost sensation tickle over his hand.

"But I will make amends, Heero." she told his unconscious form. "I won't stand by and allow you to suffer on my behalf any longer. I'll fight my own battles from now on. Heero... I won't let you protect me anymore"

He shook his head back and forth, stumbling back a few steps. He could feel an aching sensation in his chest once again. She didn't want him anymore...? Why did the thought pain him so...?

"It's not that she doesn't want you," his double explained gruffly, as if he felt awkward for having to explain. "She doesn't want you to protect her."

"Don't you see, Heero?" the girl asked him. "She says she doesn't want your protection – she fights so you don't have to. Don't you see it yet?"

"I still don't understand," Heero replied. "Protecting her... it's all I've ever lived for up until now. I would die for her."

"Then live for her." The Perfect Soldier replied. Heero looked at him. "So far all you've managed to protect is her body. Now it's her soul that needs protecting – saving. Can you do that?"

A resolute expression returned to Heero's face.

"You know what it is you want, Heero," the young girl replied with a smile, fading back into the recesses of his mind. "Now you must find out what it is she wants."

()()()

Relena panted heavily, her body sagged against her seat's restraints. With the Zero System's influence slowly fading from her senses, she tried to account for the past few hours. Glancing at her peripheral monitors, she spotted the disabled Scorpio Gundam on its side a few miles from her location.

'I... defeated her...' she thought to herself. 'But when...?' She vaguely remembered a thermal blast coming towards her. She'd been prepared to face death, when another Gundam appeared out of nowhere, shielding her from her attack. 'Was it my brother's... no it was Wing Zero....' Her eyes widened in horror. "HEERO!"

"You're awake."

She blinked, staring up into the cobalt eyes watching her on the main monitor. "Heero...?"

He gave a slight nod of his head. "I'm glad." She stared at him in confusion. "The Zero System has a way of messing with your head. You can't tell who are your enemies and who are your al – friends."

"My... friends...." She let out a gasp, her memory returning. "Oh god... I attacked you?! Even when you were injured... Oh god..."

Heero gave her a ghost of a smile. "I've endured worse."

She was staring at him as if he had grown a third head. "Heero... you're..." She swallowed uncertainly. "Your memories... they're back?"

His expression was warm as he gazed at the disbelieving girl – no, woman – on his monitor. "The important ones at least."

"Heero..." 'So... he's back to normal... I should be glad, shouldn't I?' Much to her surprise, he smiled again.

"I have you to thank, Relena." She gave him a 'huh?' look. "It was because of you that I regained my memories, and something else as well."

Relena blinked. What was this? Heero was smiling? Oh God, could his eyes get any brighter? She could feel her mouth going dry with shock. "What...?"

"My humanity."

She let out a sharp gasp, though this was due mostly to the pain in her ribs rather than her shock.

"I understand now, Relena," he told her. "At least I'm trying to. You deserve better than what you've been given. You should be able to decide what you want, what's best for you. You're not an object to be used towards a goal – no matter how noble it might be."

Relena's eyes were slowly loosing their manic edge, returning to their normal cornflower color. "You... really believe that, Heero?" she asked.

He nodded. "I want to believe it – more than anything." He gazed her at intently. "I may not always be able to protect you... but I'll do everything in my power to see that it comes to be. I want you to be safe... but..." He paused briefly, looking down. "I also want you to be happy."

She let out another gasp, this one of pure surprise. "You want...."

"But what really matters," he replied, cutting her off. "Is what you want?"

"I... want you both to DIE!!!" Neither Relena nor Heero had to react before Naya's Scorpio was suddenly upon them.

End Chapter 23

Author's Notes –

Oh ho ho ho ho! What have we here? Yet another cliffhanger?

Wufei – You are a twisted one, so it's to be expected.

Well... this one was kinda deliberate...this chapter was already much too long for my liking... but I figured, 'you guys deserve it!'

Wufei – ::deadpans:: Well, aren't you gracious?

::doesn't catch the sarcasm:: Anyway? Rest assured guys! 'Heart of Space, Dove of Peace' is finally ( I mean it this time!) drawing to a close. I'm debating whether or not to include an epilogue, but other than that the next chapter will bring resolution to the conflict between Relena and Naya. Excited, ne? So'm I.

So, keep a lookout for Chapter 24 of 'Heart of Space, Dove of Peace' in the very near (honest!) future. And in the meantime, remember the three R's of fanfiction.

Ja ne!