Disclaimer – New Mobile Suit Report Gundam Wing does not belong to me. I merely borrowed it for entertainment purposes (yes, my life is that boring). Don't sue, what would it serve?
September 27, 2004
Author's Notes- Oi, oi, oi... konnichi wa, minna-san! How's everybody?
::audience throws rotten fruit:: 'Bout frickin' time!
Nataku-chan - ::tosses a head of cabbage:: Yeah!
Hey! ::gets pelted by the cabbage:: Ewww... Er, sorry 'bout the delay guys... inspiration was just not forthcoming. Luckily, with help from Chevelle's new album, "This Type of Thinking (Could Do us In)", I was able to bust out this chapter of 'Heart of Space, Dove of Peace'. This is the end! It's been 3 years in the making; hope you guys enjoyed the ride!
Chapter 24
"Heart of Space, Dove of Peace"
She'd known he was different the moment she laid eyes on him. He was unlike any person she'd ever met. Of course, it went without saying she had never seen anyone wash up on the shore and promptly engage himself in a mobile suit battle or take a bullet and keep on going as if nothing were out of the ordinary. However, it wasn't what he was or the circumstances of their meeting that drew Relena to Heero Yuy. After all, one of the first words he had ever spoken to her had been a promise of death.
Still, despite that something about him had drawn Relena to him like a moth to a flame. His harsh words and numerous brushes with death had singed her numerous times. Still she fluttered behind him diligently regardless of the distance he tried to put between them. His crashing into her world had ignited something within her and not she or anyone else would be able to quash it.
It began as a young girl's infatuation with something that was beyond her understanding. A new world had been opened to her, one beyond parties, and throngs of patronizing peers and admirers, a world in which a young man with piercing blue eyes cared nothing for her status or title or prestige. Granted she was in fact an obstacle the needed to be dealt with, but it didn't matter.
Heero made Relena feel real.
000
"I... want you both to DIE!!!"
Heero's eyes widened as the battered Scorpio Gundam rushed towards them on a collision course. He grasped at his controls to intervene but they were slow to respond. "Damn!"
"I won't let you live!" Naya was screaming. "I won't let you live in a world full of lies!" Any trace of sanity she had possessed was gone from her eyes. Zero dove in front of Arch Angel, leaving itself open to attack. The Scorpio landed a pile-drive to Zero's torso, pounding the damaged mobile suit into the ground.
Heero let out a grunt of pain, feeling the coppery taste in the back of his mouth. Naya's maniacal laughter filled his ears.
"I want Natasha's killer erased from this world," She grinned down at them manically, "And your ashes scattered to the wind!"
"Natasha's killer no longer exists in this world."
Both Heero and Naya's eyes went to their monitors, where Arch Angel stood with its crossbow poised to fire.
"Relena..." Heero exclaimed.
"Natasha died at the hands of her own father, who cared for nothing more than pursuing his own selfish desires." Relena's eyes flashed under Zero's power as the incident played itself out once again in her mind. "He had her killed so that his wicked deeds wouldn't be exposed."
Naya's eyes were wide in disbelief as Scorpio fed the image to her mind. Natasha's death replayed over and over before her very eyes... "My father... Vladimir Mayomato... is dead..." Her expression became hooded. "I killed him with my own hands."
Relena closed her eyes. Regardless of his actions, the thought of her brutally murdering her own father... "Your sister has already been avenged. This battle is meaningless."
"That's not true... that's not true..." Naya's breath was erratic, her hands trembling at her controls. "This battle is necessary... The Dark Claw..."
"Is nothing more than another Vladimir Mayomato seeking to carry out his own selfish needs..."
"NO!" Naya gripped her head, green strands threaded loosely between her fingers. "I am not like him – I AM NOTHING LIKE HIM!" She let out a high shriek before gripping her controls again wildly. "My fight is not meaningless... my life is not meaningless... I am just as important... I won't be overlooked! The Dark Claw will not be forgotten... we will achieve our goal – I WILL destroy the personification of peace!!!"
"But Naya..." Relena's face was completely calm. "She doesn't exist anymore."
Heero gazed at the scene before him. Two gundams stood before each other – Arch Angel and Scorpio; Light versus Dark. Relena and Naya; devotion versus obsession. He could only watch to see what would happen next.
Naya was silent a moment. Before long she began laughing hysterically, tears running down her face. Her hand fumbling feebly across her control panel eventually she found what she was looking for – the self-detonation device. "Neesan..." she exclaimed. "I do this for you..."
She pressed down, being consumed by blinding light. She smiled. The Cinq Kingdom would be destroyed. The mission would be complete. Closing her eyes, she didn't see the thermal arrow rushing towards her. But at that point, it didn't matter.
The explosion that occurred was brilliant. She was certain Natasha would have liked it.
000
She had watched the menagerie that was her world shatter around her, laying way to the reality of wars and power trips and bloodshed. Of lies and deceit and hatred. The world that Heero was so deeply immersed in that the only thing that mattered to him was completing his mission.
It was wrong. So wrong to make a boy into a soulless drone with no purpose but to fight on behalf of men twice his age. But then, she realized it was everyone's fight. Age should have no deciding factor in the battle for peace. She had quickly learned that she had been thrown into the eye of the maelstrom long before she had even been aware of it. Her father, the family she had never known had been killed for their beliefs. The father she had thought was her own had merely been filling the role of a man who had been stripped from her before she had even gotten to know him. Because of war, she had been whisked away from it all only to live comfortably in the shelter of a lie.
Just as she had been ready to sink deep into despair, the thought of the boy with piercing cobalt eyes came to mind once again. He overcame difficulties much bigger than her own almost every day. If he could rise over his shortcomings to become what he was, than so would she.
If Heero could live in this world of seemingly endless battles, so could she. If he could stand in the face of his enemy and remain strong, so could she. If Heero Yuy could stand and fight in the name of peace, then on behalf of her family – the Dorlian and the Peacecraft – she too would stand and fight.
She would fight for the people who, like her, longed for peace – an end to the needless deaths and fighting. She would fight for the soldiers, who knew nothing other than the necessity to engage in meaningless battles. She would fight for her fathers who died not only to protect her, but the beliefs that they had chosen to live by. She would also fight for Heero, the Perfect Soldier without emotions, but whose eyes revealed brief sparks of humanity buried beneath years of conditioning when they bored into her, the one who claimed her presence was a distraction, but never seemed to be able to extinguish her life when she offered herself to him.
Fighting was not a practice she was accustomed to, but she would fight – for everyone. But most importantly, she would fight for herself.
"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."
In sight of her mission, she'd forgotten... somehow she'd gotten caught up in all the speeches, meetings, and conferences... So desperate to assure peace for everyone she'd lost sight of herself. She'd become what she felt everyone wanted her to be...
"The Dove of Peace..."
"The Heart of Space..."
Relena opened her eyes. Cobalt blue, so deep she found herself getting lost. Nothing else mattered but those piercing eyes; they always seemed to see right through her.
"When I look at you," Heero's voice was quiet but rough, with a note of sadness to it. "Sometimes, I see a part of myself... That part of me that wanted to forget everything; I didn't want anything to do with the fighting or the missions... "
"...I wanted to disappear." Everything around her was so bright; all she could see was Heero. Was she still in Arch Angel?
"But I chose to live this life. I can't just quit when there are so many depending on me."
"I know..." Relena held back the tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. "But it's not fair..."
She could almost feel his hand on her cheek. Was she imagining things? "No, it's not..." Heero's eyes were light. "But it's the life we've chosen. We have to finish... see it through."
Yes, she had sworn to carry out her task. She had to complete it no matter what it took from her. She just had to make it to the end. She had to!
"You will make it to the end." Heero's voice was clearer now, resolute. "And I'll be there with you."
She stared up at him with eyes alight in wonder, "Heero..."
He was so strong, so much stronger than her – she always found herself looking to him when she found herself lacking. And yet, she had vowed to protect him... why...?
"But what really matters"
She loved him. She loved Heero Yuy.
".... Is what you want?"
Her mind was made up. She gave him one last parting smile before fading back into reality. She ran a hand over her control panel. Strange how comforting it felt; being in Arch Angel's cockpit felt natural. Scorpio had initiated its self-detonation sequence, but Relena felt no pressure. She was confident in her decision.
She knew what she wanted.
000
A shockwave had rushed across the ground, sending the systems of any mobile suit in the area into a frenetic frenzy.
"Shit!" Duo exclaimed, yanking his hand away from the sparks that had just flown off of his console.
The few remaining Scorpios that had been putting up opposition suddenly fell to the ground like lifeless dolls. "What the hell is going on?" Wufei demanded.
"Your guess is as good as mine," the American pilot responded, peering at the gibberish on his console. "Howard, old buddy, any insights?"
"I can no longer detect the Scorpio Gundam," he replied.
"That means she did it!" Noin exclaimed.
"Relena beat Naya? No way! That's awesome!" Hilde exclaimed.
"Awright!" Duo whooped, pumping a fist in the air. "I knew 'Lena could do it! The good guys win again – this calls for little victory dance..." He flicked on his speakers, blaring music in his cockpit and across the comm..
JUST WILD BEAT COMMUNICATION
AME NI...
"Oh HELL no! Turn that off, Duo!"
"Eh? Don't like that one? Howzabout..."
FLASH BACK! Kagayaku kaze
FLASH BACK! Sekai wo kakenukeru
DON'T STOP! Furimukanai...
Sally's smothered laughter could be heard clearly over the comm..
"Damnit, Maxwell! KISAMAAAA!!"
"Not now, you guys," Noin replied urgently. "This fire hasn't been put out completely yet."
"She's right," Quatre replied. "Let's get to Heero and Relena... it's time to go home."
000
Heero opened his eyes to blue sky. That didn't bother him so much except for the fact he could see it through the gaping hole in his cockpit rather than on his monitors. Taking note of the awkward position he had woken up in – the ground was above him rather than beneath him – he deduced that his Gundam had sustained some serious damage. Painfully untwisting himself from the confines of his chair, he pulled himself up towards the exit hatch. With a few good kicks, the failsafe mechanism kicked in, blowing the hatch outwards.
Everything was a mess. Scorched and smoldering shrapnel and debris lay before him. However, he could still see the main capital several miles off, safe from harm. Blue eyes narrowed, calculating. Something wasn't right.
There should have been more damage.
Naya had activated her self-detonation device in a last ditch attempt at victory. A mobile suit of Scorpio's caliber had the potential to wipe out everything in a 20-mile radius. What had happened?
A loud creaking to his right pulled his mind from his thoughts. Several yards behind him stood the remnants of Scorpio. The hulking mass of twisted and charred scrap metal looked nothing like the once fearsome Gundam it had been. Still it was strange, its power coils should have wiped out everything in the explosion. How could he have...
"Relena..."
He had leapt down from his cockpit, running without really realizing it. Arch Angel stood hunched over on its knees like a penitent man in prayer. Part of its faceplate had been melted away in the explosion, the outer plating sandblasted away to reveal the gundamium beneath.
The doctors were impressive; Arch Angel was indeed an incredible machine.
But what of its pilot? He reached its feet in record time, ignoring the screaming protests of his injuries. A short circuit in the mobile suit's leg sent sparks flying out before him. Ducking out of the way he took a few quick breaths before looking upwards to the cockpit.
"Relena!" he called out. "Relena, can you hear me? Relena!"
There was no response.
Why wouldn't she answer? It couldn't be possible that she was...? A knot that had been forming in his stomach tightened painfully, nearly sending him to his knees.
"No..." He clenched his eyes shut momentarily. There was no way it could be possible. There was no way for them to come so far and have it end like this. There was way she could be dead – not when he was beginning to realize how much he...
Heero felt sick. Looking to the cockpit once again, he took a deep breath before crying out, "RELENA!"
There was a brief rattling sound before the cockpit hatch flew outwards with a loud clang. Heero didn't breathe. A few moments passed before a slim hand appeared, followed by a head of honey blonde hair.
"Relena..."
She blinked at the sound of her name, gazing down at him with a look of relief flooding her face. "Heero... you're all right..." She sighed, closing her eyes and lowering her head. "It worked..."
She looked so frail supporting herself at the edge. Had she sustained injuries he couldn't see? The Perfect soldier in him stepped forward to assess the situation. "What are you talking about?" he asked. "What happened?"
Something passed over her face at his curtness, but neither commented on it. Her gaze ventured over to the Scorpio Gundam. "Naya... activated her self-detonation device."
Heero glanced over and nodded, remembering. He, too, had once been prepared to end his life in a similar manner. Though he wondered, what had spurred Naya to attempt such an act.
But again, he made no comment, choosing instead to ponder the action's result. "Self-detonating should have caused more damage than it did," he replied pensively. "The eruption of its power coils alone could have caused considerate damage."
"Naya did not self-detonate."
He glanced back up at her again. Her face was frighteningly pale; had she suffered blood loss somehow? "Relena...?"
Gazing at the black Gundam's remains, Relena's expression was sad. "She fought because she had lost the most important person to her... if she took her own life... she wouldn't get to see her again..."
The thermal arrow that had come out of nowhere at the last moment; Relena had been responsible?
Relena closed her eyes, a silent prayer falling across her lips. "Naya, Natasha... this is my apology to you...and my goodbye..."
"You stopped her." It wasn't a question.
"But I had no right..." she replied softly. "It was not for me to decide..."
"Relena," Heero replied, that familiar pain returning to him at the sight of her so distraught. "By trying to self-detonate, her life was forfeit... What you did was to protect her..."
"I was protecting you." Heero blinked in confusion at first, but then he realized. He had been the closest in proximity to the Scorpio when Naya had decided to self-destruct. Had she succeeded, he would have... "I'm sorry... you told me not to do it, but I couldn't let..."
She was leaning heavily against the frame now, her legs shaking beneath her. Heero took another step forward; he had to get her down from there. "Relena..."
"I didn't want you to die... Heero..." she was saying. "I didn't want to be alone... just when I found you again..."
He had been lost? If she was referring to his memories, could it possibly mean she had preferred him the way he was before? The pain in his chest intensified. "I can't go back to the way I was, Relena..." he replied sadly.
Her expression mirrored his own. "Neither can I. But that's all right..." Her hand fell down to her side. "At least I know... at the end... I'll be with y—" Her legs buckled beneath her and her body pitched forward sending her rushing towards the ground.
"RELENA!" Instinct kicked in and Heero rushed forward, pushing his body as fast as he could to meet her. Catching her limp body in mid-air, he tumbled downwards using his own body to shield her from the fall.
Landing at the feet of Arch Angel, Heero cradled her in his arms, checking for any signs of life. This woman, who had stumbled into his path, had become so important to him in the past years without his knowing. There was no way he could lose her now, not when he realized how much she meant to him.
He traced his hands over her face, drinking in the sight of her – silently pleading for her eyes to open. Trembling hands moved down to her neck, starting at the feel of a pulse beneath his fingertips.
Thoroughly shaken and relieved, Heero threw his head back and laughed – really laughed to the point tears formed in the corners of his eyes. He then leaned forward, embracing her unconscious form tightly. She was alive...
The young girl from his past came to his mind one last time. "And what will happen once she's safe?"
He ran a hand through her hair, taking comfort in her steady heartbeat. He took no notice in the sound of trucks coming towards him. "I can stay by her side for real."
Somewhere off in the distance, beneath the sounds of engine motors, music could be heard.
I just feel "Rhythm Emotion"
Otagai no setsunasa
Kanjiai wakeaeru nukumori wo shinjite'ru
I just feel "Rhythm Emotion"Kono kiss de tashika na
Jounetsu wo tsutaetai so far away...
He looked up at the sight of emergency transport jeeps bearing his companions rushing towards them. They were all waving and calling out to them, intermingled looks of worry and relief on their faces.
Heero let out another quiet laugh, the brunt of his injuries finally beginning to take their toll. The fight had ended; it was all over. As their companions closed in on him, the ex-Perfect Soldier could feel himself slipping into unconsciousness.
He could hear their voices now, calling out to them, trying to rouse them. Damn, he was tired, but he did not relinquish his hold on Relena – not for a minute. He'd told her they'd make it to the end, he'd promised to be there with her.
He would never break his promise to her.
To be concluded
"Just Communication" – 1st Opening theme
"Knock down Hesitation" – Chang Wufei song
"Rhythm Emotion" – 2nd Opening Theme
- All of these lyrics were found on
Author's Notes – IT IS OVER! The good guys have won! Everyone is alive!
Wufei – Accept for that crazy Mayomato-onna...
Yes, well... ahem... we all saw that coming. Anyway, for those of you who still need closure, there will be an epilogue. (so don't go into shock or anything like that... it wouldn't do well for my conscience.) So, don't go too far, kay? The real end is coming soon!
Nataku-chan – I sense a fear of closure...
Oh hush! ::makes a face at her, thus initiating a tongue war::
3 R's of Fanfiction...
Reading
Writing
Reviewing )