Last Resistance to Peace
Chapter 13

by Scarlet Eve

A.C. 204

December 24

Heero Yuy stood before a large mirror, examining himself. The black and gold OZ formal uniforms looked ridiculous, in Heero's opinion. He was uncomfortable wearing formal attire anyway. He also did not understand why the Gundam pilots needed to attend this holiday ball, either.

His door opened and Duo Maxwell stepped inside, followed by Quatre. Both were already wearing their uniforms. "Are you ready?" Quatre asked. Heero only grunted in response.

"Oh come on. We're off duty for the night, and there will be alcohol there. And chicks," Duo said.

"That hardly interests me," Heero said. Duo raised an eyebrow.

"Then what does?"

"Completing our mission and ending my involvement with this organization," Heero said. Duo scoffed.

"You sound like Wufei," he said.

"Hn."

"Come on," Quatre said, checking a watch on his wrist. "We're already late." He led the way to the door, followed by Duo. Heero glanced in the mirror one more time, shook his head, and followed Duo and Quatre, shutting off the lights in his room as he left.

Outside of their quarters, they met up with Trowa and Wufei, who were similarly dressed. Another thing Heero didn't like - being dressed the same as several other people. "Come on. We're late for our introduction," Quatre said, hurrying the group along. As they walked, Duo struck up a one-sided conversation with Trowa, talking about his plans for the evening. Heero tried his best to tune him out, but Duo's voice had a penetrating quality that made it difficult to think of anything else.

Quatre led the way through the tunnels that connected their living quarters to the Romefeller building, where the ball was being held. An elevator took them up to the main floor, and when they exited the elevator, they joined a throng of formally dressed people, all queuing for an entrance into the ball. The Gundam pilots pressed through the guests towards the front. Heero overheard many people whispering to each other as they passed, wondering if they were the Gundam pilots. Thankfully, none of his comrades heard the whispers. Heero was sure Duo would stop and announce who they were to everyone.

However, as Heero quickly realized, an introduction was going to be made anyway. Through the doors to the ballroom, they were met by Chief Commander Treize, Duke Dermail, and Colonel Une. A herald with a microphone announced each of the Gundam pilots' names to the already crowded ballroom, causing everyone to stop talking and to stare.

Heero glared out at the room. He noticed a few people blush and turn away.

"Please, enjoy your night off, gentlemen," Treize said, just before they descended the steps into the ball. "Just don't do anything too crazy." He winked. In spite of his earlier declaration that he had no need for alcohol, Heero craved a drink. He followed the others down the steps where they melded into the crowd.

Heero had only managed to consume one whiskey before the noise in the room fell into a sudden hush. He followed the gaze of the crowd towards the back of the room, where a woman had just entered, standing at the top of the steps. Her blonde hair was piled on top of her head in curls, and she wore a long, dark blue dress. The top half was beaded and a fine tulle covered her shoulders and arms. The rest of the dress flowed to the floor with a small train. Heero frowned, wondering why anyone cared about this particular woman. Then he noticed the delicate silver crown nestled in her hair.

"Presenting Queen Relena Peacecraft of the Sanc Kingdom," the herald announced. The whispers in the crowd grew louder.

"That's her," Quatre whispered. Heero glanced at the other pilot. Duo was craning his neck to see over the crowd, while Trowa and Wufei were utterly disinterested.

"She's the one that Duke Dermail is so worried about?" Wufei asked. "She is hardly a threat."

"There must be something more," Trowa said. "I doubt he would worry about a pacifist country unless they had some other secrets."

"I heard that Treize made her lock up her own brother," Duo said, finally ending his attempts to see the Queen.

"Why?"

"For breaking into an OZ facility."

Heero snorted. "What a fool." Surely there was nothing special about this woman. She was just another monarch.

The Queen descended the steps and the crowd parted to allow her through. Two women in lavender colored uniforms followed behind.

"Who are they?" Duo asked.

"Probably just bodyguards," Quatre said.

"But they're women," Wufei commented.

"I want a female bodyguard," Duo said. Wufei punched him in the shoulder.

"Shut up, Maxwell."

"Their uniforms look military," Heero said. "Why would a pacifist nation have military uniforms?"

The others shrugged. "Show of power?" Quatre suggested. Heero narrowed his eyes. Perhaps this Queen was up to something.

"I want to meet her," Duo said, pushing his way through the crowd.

"Duo, no!" Quatre cried out, trying to grab hold of Duo's jacket, but he missed. Quatre darted after him through the crowd. Heero shrugged and followed, his second whiskey already lowering his intolerance for social gatherings. Trowa and Wufei followed behind.

The Queen had taken her seat at a table near the front of the room, just to the right of the table reserved for the Romefeller leaders. Treize was near the table, holding a glass of wine and talking to Colonel Une, who looked as annoyed as ever. When Duo burst from the crowd, he drew Treize's attention.

"Ah, I hope you are enjoying yourselves," he said, turning from Une. Duo skid to a halt and saluted the Chief Commander.

"We are, sir," Duo answered. "We were hoping to meet Queen Relena." Treize glanced at the Queen and smiled.

"Of course. Let me introduce you." Treize led the way towards the Queen's table, where she was whispering to one of her lavender clad guards. He bowed, and the Queen rose up from the table. Heero watched as her blue eyes surveyed the pilots. He had a feeling she knew who they were.

"Your highness," Treize said, rising from his bow. "I'd like to introduce you to my star mobile suit pilots." The Queen surveyed them, one eyebrow arched. Heero could see the skepticism in her eyes, and he tried not to grin. "This is Duo Maxwell, Trowa Barton, Wufei Chang, Heero Yuy, and Quatre Winner," Treize said, gesturing to each in turn. The Queen swept her gaze across the five of them.

"Pleasure to meet you," she said, giving them a slight bow of the head. Her two guards at her shoulders looked on without emotion. She shifted her gaze to Quatre. "Winner? Of the Winner Corporation?"

Heero detected a slight change in Treize's demeanor. He looked stiff and nervous. Quatre shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't say I have a connection to that family," he said. Heero narrowed his eyes, and wondered if Quatre's father knew he was a Gundam pilot. Duo glanced at Heero, giving him a significant look.

"Mister Treize," Colonel Une said, appearing beside him. "Your presence is required." Treize turned back to the Queen.

"Please excuse me," he said, bowed, and followed Une away from the table, leaving the five pilots with the Queen. She turned her gaze away from them towards the dark haired women standing beside her.

"Would you kindly find me a glass of wine," she said. The woman nodded and left the table. Heero could tell the Queen was uncomfortable, but he was slightly enjoying her discomfort. She sat back down in her chair and motioned to the empty chairs. "Feel free to sit."

Relena's hands shook among the folds of her skirt. What was she supposed to talk about with five highly trained mobile suit pilots, whose sole purpose was to bring the entire planet under OZ control?

The braided pilot, Duo Maxwell, dropped unceremoniously into the chair beside her, which caused his fellow pilots to flinch. "So how long have you been the queen of the Sanc Kingdom?" Duo asked. Relena blinked at him.

"Since I was eighteen," she said. From the expressions on the faces of the other pilots, Relena assumed this was normal behavior.

"Geez. So I guess you never had a normal childhood," he commented. This time, the blonde one, Quatre, pressed a hand to his face. Relena smiled.

"No, I suppose not," she answered.

"What happened to your parents?" Duo asked. This time, Quatre grabbed Duo by the shoulder and hauled him up from the chair with surprising strength.

"Come on, Duo. You're bothering the Queen," he growled and pushed Duo back through the crowd. Two of the other pilots turned to follow without a word, leaving behind the other brown-haired pilot. Relena thought his name was Heero. His dark blue eyes were staring intently at her, and she felt her heart flutter. With a frown, she scolded herself.

"How can you preach total pacifism and expect it to work?" the pilot asked. Relena blinked.

"If every person were a pacifist, there would be no war," Relena said, trying to hide a smile. She recalled her father saying this often, usually as a joke. Heero stared at her, unsmiling. Finally, she chuckled. "It's a joke. But pacifism is a goal, and a way of life," she said.

"It's an unrealistic way to achieve peace," he said.

"How would you achieve peace?" she asked. At her shoulder, she could tell that Sally was probably irritated and wished to send this young man on his way.. Heero crossed his arms over his chest.

"I don't believe peace can be achieved," he said. "Humans, by their nature, will always want to fight."

"I advocate pacifism to try and change those people's minds," she replied. "I disagree that humans always have to fight."

"There's no system of government that gives all people what they want and need. They'll fight to get those things," Heero said. Relena smiled.

"I can't argue there," she said.

"Then what do you do, to keep your people happy?" he asked.

"I cannot keep them all happy, but they are peaceful," she said. "My assemblymen and women help me make sure that all people have their most basic needs met." He stared at her skeptically. "I protect their land and their way of life by not allowing anyone to infringe on their happiness. Even if I was forced to join Romefeller." She averted her gaze from his and found Treize in the crowd, talking to Dermail and Une. Heero turned to follow her gaze.

"Why do you fight, Heero Yuy?" she asked him, snapping back to his eyes. Though his skin was already dark, she saw it darken. He merely stared at her for a moment longer, then turned and disappeared into the crowd.

"What a strange young man," Sally said. Relena nodded, then looked around.

"Where is Noin?"

Heero stormed away from the Queen, his face burning. It's not as if she'd asked him a difficult question, but no one had asked him that particular question before. When he was recruited by OZ, they never asked why. He didn't think they cared why.

Why do you fight, Heero Yuy?

He knew why he fought.

Do you?

Heero growled in his throat and made his way back towards the bar. He could see the other pilots crowd gathered at one end. He slammed his glass down on the counter and gruffly asked for another whiskey.

"What's your problem?" Wufei asked.

"Nothing," Heero said.

"Don't lie," Duo said. "You're bad at it."

"What were you talking to the Queen about?" Quatre asked.

"Yeah, Quatre dragged me away. How come you got to hit on her?" Duo asked.

"I wasn't," Heero said. He threw back his whiskey and asked for another. "She was just-"

Several people screamed. Heero snapped his head up, the buzz from the whiskey overpowered by adrenaline. He searched the crowd, looking for the source of the screaming. Something exploded. Heero dropped to the ground, his hands instinctively covering his head as he did so. The explosion rattled the room, and more screams erupted from the guests.

Heero found Treize in the crowd. His expression was a mixture of fear and anger. So this was not a staged attack. Heero drew his gun from his holster hidden at his waist.

"Gundams?" Quatre asked.

"Not yet," Heero said. He began to run through the screaming crowd. As he ran towards the direction of the explosion, he saw Queen Relena stumbling up from her chair, her bodyguard pulling her away from the wall of the ballroom. Another woman in the lavender Sanc uniform sprinted across the ballroom floor towards the Queen. She leapt and tackled the Queen to the ground. Heero slowed his run, and another explosion rocked the ballroom.

Relena landed hard on the ground after Noin tackled her, bringing Sally down with her. Just as Relena was about to reproach Noin for tackling her, another explosion went off. The entire ballroom shook as a portion of the outer wall broke and crumbled to the ground. Relena let out an involuntary screen and threw her hands over her head.

When the reverberations of the explosion ebbed, Relena drew her arms away and sat up with help from Noin. "I apologize," Noin said, but Relena shook her head.

"We have to get out of here," Sally said. "Who is attacking?"

Noin pursed her lips together before answering. "I was trying to find that out. When I stopped to get drinks, I saw something moving outside the window. I decided to go check it out, and I found a man, who began shouting at me in a language I didn't know. He pushed me away, and just as I cleared the area, the first bomb went off," Noin explained, speaking quickly. Noin and Sally rose to their feet and pulled Relena up from the ground. Around them, there were still screams and cries. Many guests had gotten caught under the crumbling wall.

"Your highness!"

Relena turned to see Treize jogging towards her with Une at his heels. "You are not injured?" he asked.

"No," she answered.

"Get out of here," he commanded and continued on, running towards the crumbling wall.

Sally pulled her phone from her pocket and began dialing. Noin wrapped an arm around Relena's shoulders and directed her towards the door to the ballroom, to where the other guests were flooding. Along the way, Relena glanced to her side and saw the Gundam pilots making their way through the crowd towards the crumbling wall. For a brief moment, she met the gaze of Heero Yuy, before both were separated by the surging crowd.

-SE