Special thanks to x-becks-x for the review =] And yes, you do need to write more for your stories especially the GW/SM ones! XD
Waves of heat could be seen trembling from the raven-haired royal as she strode menacingly through the halls of the Moon Kingdom. Any veteran knew that when the princess of Mars was simmering with heat, it was a good idea to steer clear from her. Her ruby red gown was flowing, the swaying fabric strongly resembling that of a flame as she finally entered the room wherein her target resided.
"What's this I hear about the Peacecrafts coming to the Moon?" She asked, ferocity evident in her voice.
The accustomed blonde looked to her fellow princess and nodded nonchalantly. "They'll be arriving shortly," she said, turning around to resume what she had been doing.
Dissatisfied by the answer, Mars persisted.
"Its rather foolish, don't you think, to just invite the possible suspects to the Moon kingdom that has yet to even finish repairs? Or have you forgotten that it was a Gundam that attacked us!" Mars stood in rather close proximity to the princess of Venus, her tone growing more and more irate.
"Mars," Venus said calmly. "What would you have us do? Start a war based off of assumptions?"
"It would be better than openly inviting them into the Queen's home!" Mars argued. "You do know that we have other forms of communication like telephones, radio or even video transmissions, right?"
Venus sighed, her tired blue eyes frowning at Mars' vehement displeasure of the whole situation. "Serenity wanted to see them face-to-face. She believes an in person meeting would be the most beneficial for all of us and since we are banned from entering Earth's atmosphere, we invited them here."
Mars hissed in detestation. "Why not have this meeting on Jupiter?"
Venus gave her a sharp look of rebuttal.
"Mars, you know Jupiter is in no state to be accepting visits from the Peacecraft family! They've already started rioting that we attack Earth. Makoto had to leave this morning to go try and tame the masses."
"Exactly why I think we should have it there." Venus hissed, her head shaking in disapproval.
"If anyone from Earth got hurt during this meeting, Mars, then we would have a war on our hands."
"Are you afraid that they would win if we did in deed have one?"
Again, Venus looked appalled. "The fact that you're even entertaining the idea of war is frightening. We're advocates of peace, or have you forgotten that slight detail?"
Mars shot her nose up indignantly. "It was a simple question, Venus. I was not suggesting we actually have a war. I just can't stand the idea that the Peacecrafts are coming here."
"As I noticed," Venus mumbled as she shuffled papers and moved various items. She had been up all morning preparing for the meeting with the Peacecrafts, her own inhibitions troubling her with speculations like whether they would be able to hold a civilized meeting or whether Earth was in deed coming to converse and not just throw accusations. For some reason or another, the Silver Moon Alliance and Earth weren't on very good terms with each other. Though they never publicly displayed their indifferences or did anything to earn such a relationship, it was evident that somewhere there was a small infraction that prohibited them from being able to see eye to eye.
"Mars," Venus sighed as she thought.
"What?"
"Will you be attending the meeting?" She peered skeptically at the fiery princess, her mind almost pleading for the girl to say no.
"I can't very well allow Serenity to be in the same room with them and not be there to supervise," she replied with arms folded across her chest.
"Of course not," Venus exhaled. "However, please do try to behave yourself."
Venus' blue eyes begged for Mars to listen and with a small frown, Venus could see that Mars had considered it.
"I'll behave for as long as they do," she simply stated.
"Good," Venus nodded, Mars finally taking notice of her friend's fatigue. Her lips parted in preparation to say something but another voice had interrupted her opportunity.
"Lady Venus," the quaint man spoke. "They have arrived."
The blonde inhaled sharply, her shoulders suddenly shooting up and back to ensure her posture was perfect. Already her hands were getting clammy, the perceptive violet eyes of the kingdom's priestess picking up on her distress. As the blonde moved, she was stopped by Mars' hand at her elbow.
"Are you well enough to be in attendance? I know you're the head of Serenity's court but Mercury and I are perfectly capable of filling in for you."
Venus smiled appreciatively at the raven-haired princess. That was Mars for you, fiery and hot-tempered but never blind to the needs of others.
"I'll be fine," she reassured. "Let's not keep them waiting."
Relena Peacecraft, Queen of Earth and sole ruler of its atmosphere twiddled her thumbs in worry. The meeting that was to take place on the Moon had arrived too soon for comfort, her body still unable to even accept that their ship had already parted from Earth and landed in its predetermined destination. She had only met the Queen once and it was just a brief moment. They had secretly met together, Queen Serenity trying to persuade her but Relena being adamant that it was necessary, denied her plea and signed the ban the day after.
Whether there was bad blood between them was unbeknownst to Relena, her mind constantly recalling times where the Silver Alliance had described Serenity as a person without hatred. It was an enviable trait, Relena had to admit, but whether it was true was a whole other ordeal.
The metal doors of her ship opened, her brother directly to her left and Heero Yuy following closely to her right. By promptings of her brother, she decided to leave Duo Maxwell and Wufei Chang back on Earth to overlook the Sanq kingdom's repairs alongside Sally Po. Originally, Relena wanted to leave Milliardo so that he could stay with Noin who had been severely injured but Milliardo wouldn't allow it saying that Noin would shoot him dead if she ever found out he let Relena go to the Moon without him. Knowing that to be the truth, Relena disbanded any attempts to leave him behind and brought along Heero Yuy, Trowa Barton and Quatre Raberba Winner for safety measures. For all she knew, the Silver Alliance could be plotting a trap for them and for this alone, Relena was ready.
"Queen Relena and Prince Milliardo, it is a pleasure to finally meet you both." A beautiful blonde greeted, her golden hair appearing to sparkle in the dimly lit halls. She wore an elegant yellow gown, multiple straps holding loosely to her smooth shoulders as the rest of the fabric clung softly to her alluring curves. She stood with an undeniable sense of confidence, her crystal blue eyes standing out like pools of sapphire. She was quite a sight to see.
"The pleasure is all ours," Relena spoke. "And your name is…"
"Lady Venus," she filled in with a smile. "And this here is the princess of Mars."
Another gorgeous woman stood proudly beside her, long ebony strands falling gracefully around her lithe frame. Her porcelain skin shimmered tantalizingly, deep violet hues permeating with irrefutable tenacity. Simply by looking at her you could see that she was not one to tamper with.
"Welcome to the Moon," she bowed, never once losing her poise. Brief nods and bows were exchanged before Venus dutifully led them to their Queen.
Crumbled pillars, charred gardens and massacred emblems could be seen along the path, eyes of Earth dwellers curiously skimming the scenery. The Moon was still beautiful even the mist of its partial destruction. They could only imagine what it looked like when there weren't so many fallen stones.
"Queen Relena." The familiar face of Queen Serenity shined in reverent glory, her pure blue eyes convincingly bright. It was amazing, the amount of emotion she could splay in those two simple orbs.
"Queen Serenity," Relena nodded as well as her brother. Heero, Trowa and Quatre stayed back a bit, each of them being directed to empty seats at a large table. The Earth representatives sat directly across from who were present from the Silver Alliance, that being: Mars, Venus, Mercury, Queen Serenity and King Endymion.
"Please excuse Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn and Pluto," the Queen stated apologetically. "They have pressing business to tend to on their home planets that kept them away from attending."
"I understand," Relena replied cordially. Her eyes shifted between the women and lastly to the king. To her, it was funny to see that they looked as ordinary as any other person on Earth. When she had first received word of the existence of life on the moon and the other planets, she assumed that they would look significantly different. Apparently, that was not the case as she could see now. It was almost troubling to think that they could so easily blend in on Earth if they had really wanted to…
A deep sigh escaped the peach lips of Queen Serenity before she spoke. "As you may have noticed," she started. "We were attacked quite viciously by something we believe to be a Gundam."
Immediately, Earth's people tensed, jaws tight as they continued to listen. Surely the Moon was not blaming them for this, were they?
"Are you sure it was a Gundam?" Milliardo spoke, his tone dripping with lucid venom.
"It was without a doubt, a Gundam," the blue-haired princess spoke for the first time. "Down to the very last centimeter." Her gaze was cold and immovable, surprising everyone that sat beside her. Content, Mars gave a small smirk at Mercury's refusal to back down silently commending her icy companion.
"Well," Serenity spoke, trying to annihilate the already rising tension. "We're not accusing anyone here. We're just informing you of our findings. I'm sure you also have some information to share…"
A silent stare down was taking place between Mercury and Milliardo, neither one willing to break it off. In turn, both Relena and Serenity found themselves lightly tapping their respective affiliates discretely under the table.
Shaking his head, the handsome face of Earth's prince returned to Serenity. "A strange power wiped out half of our kingdom's defenses. It's something we've never witnessed before but we were told by some sources that it is a power your Alliance is familiar with."
Serenity's eyes seemed to dim; undoubtedly her past experiences were probably flooding her mind. She was always so easy to read, always displaying her every feeling to all those that would look. It was a trait that Mars was uncomfortable with; a trait that she wished Serenity would try to hide especially on occasions such as this.
"Was it dark?" The question seemed quite despicable, Mars feeling sick by the mention. She didn't like when Serenity appeared as weak specifically because that was not the case.
"We only caught a glimpse of it and yes, it was pitch black."
A tight frown was pressed on the Queen's fine lips, her aura depressing in light. "I see," she murmured.
"I assume then, that you are familiar with this kind of enemy?"
Serenity nodded slowly. "More so than you can imagine."
A period of silence ensued, each side unsure of how to go about things. As it appeared, they were each attacked by the other's specialty. Whoever orchestrated this had done it with purpose.
"So," Relena finally spoke up. "What, may I ask is the purpose of this meeting? We've now discovered that we were both attacked by sources that we're unfamiliar with, so how do we go about this now?"
Serenity looked her over, gulping before she finally let out what it is she wanted to discuss.
"We are unequipped to handle another Gundam attack or any other type of mobile suit for that matter. Though we could build something to match its strength, we cannot hope to train pilots fast enough. We don't know who this enemy is or what they even want from us, but for the sake of my people I must find some way to prepare."
"You want us to provide you with pilots and their suits?" Relena questioned. The men seated to her sides took glances amongst each other, still unsure of what to make of this.
"Yes," Serenity answered, her eyes strained with concern. They were suspicious; it was evident in their movement. "And in return I will agree to send some of our senshi to your planet in case you too are attacked again."
Milliardo scoffed, his mind automatically assuming the worse. "Its quite convenient that we should get attacked by your enemies just to find you anxious to call us for a meeting so that you can send some of your spies to infiltrate our kingdom in its vulnerability."
By this, Mars was outraged, her body springing from her seat.
"Are you insinuating that we planned the attack?"
The temperature in the room dangerously increased, each Earthling feeling beads of sweat forming on their bodies. They had heard of the unnatural powers belonging to the Silver Alliance but had never quite witnessed it for themselves. The unexpected jump in heat was something they assumed was attributed to their legendary abilities.
"Would it be so farfetched to consider?"
Mars' fists clenched, Venus immediately standing a putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Mars please," she whispered. "Just sit down."
Mars would not have it.
"No," she replied. "If they want to throw out their shallow assumptions, then we should too! Mobile suits of any kind are banned from space. The only place it could have come from is Earth! Clearly, this is reason enough to assume the attack on the Moon was your doing!"
Venus shook her head in disappointment, a hand rubbing her forehead as she stood by Mars. Somehow she knew this would happen, and to her great discontent, Serenity was starting to grow nervous about the outcome of this meeting.
"Please," the blond man to the right of Milliardo pleaded. "I apologize if I am speaking out of turn, but innocent lives are at stake and I think it would be best if we tried to put away our pride and resolve this without blaming each other for our problems."
The voice of reason seemed to ring clearly in every one's ears, Mars grudgingly taking her seat. Serenity peered gratefully at the unnamed blond and sighed looking to Endymion who placed a hand over her own for reassurance. She did not know what to say now, the anger present still boiling but slowly dying. If she were not careful, it would be triggered again and for that she remained quiet for some time.
"Serenity," Mercury's soft voice was heard. "If I may say something…"
Serenity nodded with a smile, Mercury clearing her throat before she spoke.
"Our circumstances are quite foreboding. You were attacked by an unknown power that can best be faced by the very people you banned from your planet and we have been attacked in the same nature, our best defense lying in machines that we ourselves banned. This situation can play out in many different scenarios. We could try to face the problems ourselves without each other's help and chance not being strong enough, we could allow assumptions to pit us against each other or we can work together. I suggest we decide now which choice would be in our best interest."
The room shifted uncomfortably, each person contemplating what had been said. Pitting themselves against each other meant war and both sides had already dropped that notion. To face the issue without aid would be difficult but the fact of the matter was that neither side completely trusted the other. Therefore working together was hardly an option they wanted to consider.
"So," Serenity spoke as meekly as she could. "What have you decided?"
Relena cautioned another look towards Milliardo and then to the three pilots. They had all known the option that was best but suspicion barred her from admitting it so loosely. Taking a new viewpoint, Relena tried to envision the people of Earth and how they depended on her for their safety. She closed her eyes. With a long withdrawn sigh, she finally nodded.
"I believe we will be having these types of meetings often since we will be working together now."
Serenity beamed with excitement, her worry instantaneously fleeting in her plight. The men of Earth found it a bit strange, but refrained from commenting as they noticed Mars glowering in her seat. Well overworked and tired, Venus nodded giving a half-hearted smile for Serenity and Mercury simply observed.
"I will have the plans drawn up by the time your stay here ends, tomorrow you must travel the planets to meet the princesses. I believe it would do us all well if you at least get acquainted with each of them to see how they truly are."
The light nature of Serenity's speech was perplexing, the Earth representatives caught off guard by how quickly the Queen's mood had changed. Had they not known better, by the way she sounded now, they would have thought that they were honored guests looking to get tours of each planet and autographs from the princesses.
"Sounds reasonable," Relena muttered, nodding curtly in response. A meteor shower was forecasted to take place over the next few days between Earth and the Moon so travel was strictly unfeasible. The time visiting the rest of the Silver Moon Alliance would certainly be a time that Relena was sure she would not forget.
Sorry there's not much pilot interaction in this chapter. That won't really happen til a little bit farther down the road. But, I have an idea of where I'm going with this fic and I kinda like it =] So much so that its becoming one of my favorites…Anyways,
Thank you for reading!
Don't forget to review!
JPandS