Hi!
Last A/N, I said that I would let you all vote for whether Heero should be with Virginia or Duo. You all have one more chapter to vote if you care. The votes are so far:
H/D – 6
H/V – 4 (2 reviews and 2 people who read, but don't go on so Duo is winning. By quite a bit. Please vote, I'd like to know what you all think. If you have already voted, then thank you, and no double voting is allowed.
Sorry about taking so long to update, but a lot has been going on, and I'm only allowed to go on the computer for a set amount of time a day now. But it's a snow day, and I am all alone with the computer…
There will only be one more chapter after this.
You know, when I look at the hits just the last chapter has gotten, it says 338. Now, I know that it counts each opening of the page as one, without regard as to who opened it, but unless the ten or so people that continuously review for me read the chapter 33 times each, other people are reading this story. Why do you not review? Do you all not like it? If so, why are you reading chapter 13? Any words of encouragement are nice, they keep me writing and keep me updating faster.
Well, as fast as I can.
Thank you to Sutoomu, zex, Indi-Scarga, Mithryl, Hitokimi, Calli Maxwell, moonpixi, Jjinks, deppforever07, Serenity Maxwell, and Vwolf Yujutsu, who all reviewed.
Disclaimer: My search has taken me to the high mountains of the world, where I nearly died several times, yet I still have not found the rights to owning Gundam Wing.
Enjoy!
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Shinigami
/Come to me. /
Yudisey held up a hand, stopping Duo from completing the spell. She sent out soft enquiries, listening for more. It's coming…
/Come to me, cousins. /
"That's Virginia." Duo said.
Yudisey nodded. "It is the Lady. Now, we just need to figure out where she is."
"I…I think she set up a path for us to follow." Duo murmured, his eyes looked slightly out of focus.
Again, Yudisey nodded. "She has. How about following it? Do you think you can do that without any help from me?"
He remained silent for a moment before answering. "Yes" he said finally, "I think I can trace it."
"Good." She paused, as the voice of her Lady came again.
/Come, cousins. Time is short now, we do not have all the time in the world. /
Does Duo know what this battle will mean to us all? Does he know how much will change for us? "We should get going. Lead the way. You can do it."
Duo nodded and they both stood up.
(Space)
Virginia was waiting for them. She looked around, letting a small smile come to her face. How ironic. This is where I met them, where it all began. Now it is where we will part, where it will end. Yet, I can't regret. If I could, I suppose that this would be something I would regret, that I didn't spend more time with them.
She walked to where the ocean met the sand. It will take some time for all of them to get here, as none of them have remembered there wings yet. Well, actually, Heero has, but he is keeping them a secret for the time being. So I will rest for now while I wait. It is… almost over.
She hummed softly to herself as she went deeper into the water. When it was about waist height, she loosened the bonds that gave her a physical form, and entered the water as a part of it.
(Space)
Duo looked around. At the beach. Why is it that everything happens at this damn beach? He asked himself dryly. "This is where she led us, but I don't see my sister anywhere." He told Yudisey.
His teacher nodded. "It is indeed where she led us. And she is here, I can sense her. Seeing is not everything, and when dealing with a water mage seeing is often nothing."
"Especially a water mage with the Lady's strength and skill." Came a voice from behind them. Both Duo and Yudisey turned to see the rest of their little group. Gene continued speaking. "It is possible that she joined with her element, the is certainly enough of it he– Heero, where are you going?"
Hero had walked down to the water. He knelt down just within the water's edge, and touched the water. He closed his eyes.
He stayed that way for several minutes before he stood up. Duo watched him using Sight, trying to figure out what he was doing, but he couldn't See anything. He opened his eyes, which were glowing red. The water began to swirl around him, turning into a huge spinning column, hiding Heero from view. Then the water began to calm and return to its original small waves. As it fell, it revealed Virginia standing next to Heero.
"May I suggest that when this is finished, you all go back Home. There is still much that you all need to learn, except for perhaps Heero. Out of all of you, only he knew how to call me from the water." Virginia said, smiling.
"How did he know what to do?" Wufei asked.
"I knew because I have all the memories of my past life."
Duo took a closer look at Heero. It was true, Heero had changed since Virginia had come to them. He moved more gracefully than he had before, hell, he even stood more gracefully, held himself differently. And there was… almost a… glow… around him that Duo could have sworn was not there before.
And his eyes had changed.
Before this whole mess had started, Heero's eyes had looked haunted, as he had seen too much pain, death, and suffering too fast and too early. They had had a pained, haunted look to them that was disturbing to see, whether or not it was recognized. They were so different now. It seemed like you were looking into twin deep pools of wisdom. There was still the feeling that he had seen a lot, more than he should have for his age, but the pained haunted look was gone. Actually…
They looked like Virginia's.
And when Duo looked at the others, he saw that they had reached the same conclusion. He also noticed that Gene's, Yudisey's, and Leanne's eyes did not have the same deep wisdom in them.
Heero turned his head to the side, as though he was listening for or to something. He held his arm out, summoning his sword in a burst of flame. "High Lady, they are coming." He murmured softly to Virginia.
She nodded. "Summon your weapons." She murmured, as a glaive appeared in her hands.
The others did as they were told. "Oh, by the way, Heero will lead you now." She commented with a smile as Heero shot her a death glare.
And the sound of wings once again filled the air.
Except this time they were not attacking, not really. They were flying around them, stopping any escape, but not actually harming them.
/Stand your ground. / Came Heero's mind voice.
A woman appeared in the center of the clearing. Duo recognized her as the girl they had met so long ago on this very same beach, around the same time they had first met Gene and that Shinigami of the Order of the Moon. Except this time, she made no effort to hide her identity. She looked evil… just… evil.
She shot them all a smile that was cold and, well, evil. "My name is Eileen, the Queen of Demons, and soon to be Queen of everything. And unfortunately for all of you, you are in my way. So now I have to destroy you. Well, specifically, I have to kill Her." She looked at Virginia. "So I really hope you are all prepared to die. You won't get help from your devil friends this time."
Virginia smiled slightly. "You can't win."
Eileen's glare could have boiled a rock, but it apparently didn't affect Virginia. "And what makes you say that?" There was a slight hiss to her words.
"I am going to stop you." She answered. Duo found himself and all the other Guardians being pushed away, until they were closer to the wall of demons than he would have liked.
/She has put up a shield. Evenly space yourselves around it in a circle. / Heero ordered. They did as they were told.
The two women were facing each other at opposite ends of the shielded space. Heero spoke to them all again.
/Join with me and with each other. We are going to put up a shield around ourselves and her shield. /
Duo focused, and sensed the others doing the same. He reached out to the two on either side of him, Heero and Wufei, and joined first with them until every one was joined with those on either side, and then they all joined together. Trowa was on the other side of Heero, then came Quatre, then Yudisey, then Gene, then Leanne, the Wufei, and back to Duo. It was an odd feeling, as it was like sharing the thoughts of seven other people, but it was not unpleasant. They raised another shield around themselves and Virginia's shield.
Virginia was not transforming into Shina.
Alarm bells were going off in Duo's head, and he sensed confusion from everyone else in the link too, except for Heero.
/She does not have to be Shina to fight. She was an adult long before she became Shina, and you must remember that though they look different, they are still the same person. She will be able to hold her own. /
Duo sighed, but he knew Heero wasn't lying. His own memories were still very fragmented, but it seemed true.
Eileen had a weird weapon that Duo had never seen before. It looked like it was based off a spear, but it had an odd point that kind of twisted in a weird way. It also had six whip-like things hanging off near where the blade connected to the handle, which had another, more normal point on the other end and jagged spikes sticking out on the top third of it. /What the hell is that thing she's using? / Duo sent.
Leanne answered him. /I've never seen it before, but it seems to be a cross of a spear, whip, and rose bush. She can probably use it as a whip to some degree, too. /
/Sounds good. / Quatre muttered.
/Were… you just being sarcastic? / Trowa's shocked mental voice asked.
Quatre avoided answering.
Eileen charged at Virginia, who instantly stepped to the side and struck out with the glaive. Eileen dodged, and snapped the weapon at her, causing the things hanging off it to whip at Virginia, who barely dodged them. Again Eileen snapped the whips at her, but Virginia spun her glaive, forming a sort of shield and causing them to bounce off harmlessly. Virginia then seemed to disappear – /She's phasing. / Heero said – and then reappeared behind Eileen and swung the glaive, forcing Eileen to block using the weird spear thing.
Eileen's face was full of rage. Apparently she had thought that Virginia would be an easier target. Again she tried to gain the upper hand, this time by swinging the spear thing so that the spikes on the side would hit her. Virginia blocked it easily using the glaive, but forgot about the whips, which continued swinging until they hit their target – Virginia's back.
Duo saw a flash of pain cross Virginia's features, but it was momentary, and she managed to disentangle herself from the whips and spin away. Duo saw six large gashes in her back, and winced for her, sensing the others react in almost the same way.
Eileen was ecstatic. "First blood is mine, Lady." The infliction on the word "Lady" made it very clear she thought Virginia was no such thing. Virginia remained silent.
/That's disgusting. She likes causing others pain. / Quatre sounded disgusted, and Duo could sense vague nausea from him through the link.
/It's called sadism. / Heero answered, sounding sick and disgusted as well.
/I hope she's not masochistic too, as that could end up being problematic. / Yudisey muttered.
/I don't think she is, as she is trying to avoid being hit. And I don't see any scars of any sort on her that would lead me to believe that. / Gene answered.
Again Eileen tried the same move, but Virginia was better prepared this time. Instead of blocking it with her glaive she unfolded wings that had been hidden, wings that were white with a hint of blue. She used them to shield herself. Duo winced wondering what that spear thing could do to tear the wings apart, but was surprised when it simply bounced off.
/The wings of immortals are different from the wings of birds. When an immortal wants them to, they can harden, yet still retain the flight property. Each feather is also like a mini blade, as they are all sharp edged when the wings harden. / Heero's voice whispered to them. /Watch. /
And watch they did, as Virginia spun into a complicated attack sequence. She swung the glaive and her wings, just battering at the spear thing. Finally she saw an opening as she batted the spear away, and she spun one more time, slashing Eileen across the face and stomach with the edge of her wings. She then phased across the shielded space to give them both more time to breathe. Eileen was left with her hand to her left cheek alone on one side of the clearing. When she brought her hand away, Duo could see three deep lines etched into the skin bleeding freely, and seven gashes across her stomach, also bleeding.
/Umm… just how sharp are those wings? / Wufei asked.
/Very sharp. They can cut through quite a bit. / Heero answered.
"You bitch! How could you do that to me?" Eileen snapped.
Virginia did not answer.
Eileen looked at her, now getting annoyed. "Why don't you speak? Trying to scare me? Well it's not working!" But Duo could hear the slight tremor in her voice.
/She is a bit frightened by Virginia. She thought that she could win this easily, but she has found that's not true. And an opponent who does not speak, and whose expression barely changes is rather disconcerting to the other. / Heero told them.
"SPEAK, damn you!" Eileen shrieked, and flung herself at Virginia once again, swinging the spear thing above her head, trying to bring it crashing down on Virginia. Virginia danced out of the way, and dropped to the ground to kick Eileen's legs out from under her while she was trying to regain her balance. Eileen hit the ground and tried to roll out of the way as Virginia jumped back up and slashed with the glaive, but she misjudged the distance between her and Virginia and was rewarded with a large slice in her left arm. She hissed in pain as she jumped to her feet, and let loose a combo attack that consisted of kicking, whipping, and stabbing. Virginia held out, but was rewarded with two gashes on her right arm and another on her left leg.
/If they survive, they are both going to be covered in bruises. / Gene muttered.
Eileen smiled triumphantly, but it didn't last, as Virginia immediately retaliated with a counter attack of her own. Again Virginia's wings and glaive left their marks in the form of a large gash on Eileen's back and many smaller cuts all over her. She was also favoring her right foot.
Eileen made as though she was going to swing at Virginia again, but pulled back as Virginia went to block, throwing her off balance. Eileen threw a whirlwind at Virginia – one that had teeth. When Virginia finally countered it, she, too, had multiple cuts, and bruises were beginning to form.
/And so magic enters the fight. / Heero murmured dryly.
Virginia pulled back for a moment, and then flung a waterspout at Eileen. Eileen put up a shield, but Virginia's eyes narrowed slightly, and it shattered, letting the waterspout pick up Eileen. She was flung around a few times before she pulled herself free and collapsed the spout.
/Why isn't Virginia using the greater magics she told us about? / Duo asked.
/She… has not had the strength to use them for a while. / Gene's mind voice was hard to hear, it was so soft.
/Why? What happened to her strength? / Trowa asked.
/… She's dying. Fading, actually. Her strength has been disappearing little by little over the course of the past 9 thousand years. / Gene answered, still speaking very quietly.
A shocked silence answered him. But then Duo noticed something else.
Heero was not surprised. He could sense sorrow and pain from him, but no shock, no surprise.
/You… you knew, Heero? / He asked.
He got a feeling of sorrowful affirmation.
/Why didn't you tell us? / Duo whispered.
/She did not want you all to worry. / Came the soft answer.
Duo pulled his attention back to the battle going on before him. Both Virginia and Eileen had once again pulled apart from each other, both looking rather the worse for the wear. They had both gained more cuts, slashes, gashes, and bruises. They were both breathing very heavily, too.
"You will NOT win." Eileen snarled. She again charged Virginia. Somehow, in the confusion, she managed to get behind her. Duo saw it happening, but was unable to do or say anything, and Eileen took a hidden dagger from the end of her spear thing. She again swung the weapon, causing Virginia to block it with her glaive. She plunged the dagger into Virginia's back, and then swung herself away from Virginia.
Virginia screamed in pain. As she fell to her knees and hands. Through Quatre's empathy, he could feel the pain coming off her. It was almost like he had been hit instead of her, and he could sense the others around him stagger as well.
/Keep the shield up! / Heero cried through the pain that they all shared.
Eileen laughed.
"Looks like I win, little princess." She purred, beginning to walk towards her. She stopped though, as Virginia pulled herself to her feet.
"What the hell ARE you? Don't you die?" Eileen cried.
Virginia held her hands in front of her chest, and a clear crystal in the shape of a starburst appeared in between them(1). Her glaive remained on the ground near her.
She began to sing.
"We are young, heartache to heartache we stand
No promises, no demands
Love is a battlefield
We are strong, no one can tell us we're wrong
Searchin' our hearts for so long
All of us knowing, love is a battlefield"(2)
The crystal glowed brightly, until the only thing visible was the bright white light.
Quatre screamed.
When the light finally cleared, neither Virginia or Eileen was there.
/Quatre! Quatre! Snap out of it! It's not you! / Heero's voice cried. Duo sensed pain and immense sorrow coming from Heero. When he looked, he saw that Gene, Leanne, Yudisey, and Heero all had tears running down there faces. He realized both shields had been broken, and all the demons were gone. Heero was shaking Quatre, who looked like he had gone into shock. Trowa was also trying to get Quatre to wake up. Finally Quatre blinked, then just burst into tears. Heero handed him to Trowa.
"Ro, what just happened?" Duo asked, his own voice sounding shaky.
"She used Final Strike, Duo. She killed Eileen, and took herself out with her."
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(1) This is not mine. This is from Sailor Moon – it's like the heart crystals, just clear.
(2) This is not mine either – This is the chorus to Pat Bennitar's song, "Love is a Battlefield". Don't sue me over it. Please don't report me over it – it's one chorus, and I acknowledge it's not mine.
The whole Final Strike thing isn't mine, either. It has been lovingly stolen from Mercedes Lackey's "Valdemar" bunch of books.
Please don't kill me. I really hope no one is crying over this, it wasn't meant to be that sad. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed it, it is the last time we will ever see Eileen.
Thanks for reading, and please review. One more chapter left!
DarkLady