Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Behind the Facade ❯ "I thought maybe you could . . ." ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Alright, here's the next chapter! Whew, I finally got it done! Thanx to everyone who's reviewed, it means a lot! And a REALLY big thanx to Makoto Yuy, who beta-read this chapter and helped me make it a LOT better! :) I know you're probably getting confused, but some of your confusion will hopefully be cleared in this chapter. N'wayz, on with the story!
Angel~
Disclaimer: Of COURSE I own Gundam Wing, of COURSE I own Sailor Moon. Wait a sec, what'd you say? Opposite day's over? Aww, darn it!
Behind the Facade
By Angel of Death
CHAPTER 2-"Only She can win at last, and only He can give her heart . . ."
Trista closed her eyes for a moment, trying to figure out how to handle this drastic change in the situation while de-transforming herself in favor of a pair of black shorts and sleeveless, black polo-shirt with a black jacket over it. But, before she could gather her tattered thoughts, Relena spoke up.
"'Scuse me, ma'am, but would ya mind telling me what's goin' on?" Her voice wavered, and when Trista opened her eyes and looked at her, now in a dark green T-shirt and black jean-shorts, she could tell that she was quite shocked about the whole ordeal, but Trista couldn't help but nod in satisfaction when she saw how hard Relena was trying to control her emotions and keep a calm exterior about herself. Trista smiled and reached down to place a hand on Relena's trembling shoulder.
"It's alright, Little One, you've nothing to be afraid of. Your name is Relena. I do not know your last name. You were chased here by some teenage boys from the apartment building close by, who had knocked you out by the time I got here. I've seen you around, walking the streets. I found out that you have no parents. I was curious, in spite of myself, sorry to intrude. Are you sure you don't remember anything?" she lied easily. Relena shook her head.
"I don't remember anything. Wait, I do have a really blurry memory of gunshots and darkness, lots of darkness . . ." Her voice trailed off hopelessly. Trista felt a brief pang of guilt for forgetting the Shield around her charge, but she squashed it quickly, reminding herself of the Prophecy.
5--"Well, I can assure you that you have no parents or family, because I'm meticulous when I want to find out something and since you can't remember anything, why don't you come with me and I'll find you a place to stay temporarily?" she asked kindly. Relena's head snapped up, and her aquamarine eyes searched Trista's dark red ones for any sign of evil. After a few silent moments (disconcerting, for Trista), Relena nodded.
6--"Okay, I'll go with you." she said in a soft voice. Trista was momentarily taken aback by Relena's simple trust, then she smiled and took the girl's hand reassuringly.
7--"It's okay, I won't hurt you." she said soothingly as they walked. Relena nodded,
8--"I know." she said flatly. Trista cocked an eyebrow.
9--"Oh? And how do you know that?" she asked, chuckling.
10--"I can see it in your eyes. You're not a bad person. Not in the least." Relena replied simply. Trista smiled at this. 'Maybe things will work out after all . . .' she thought. A few minutes later, they had reached a huge building, which had many big buildings attached to it. Relena scanned it with uninterested eyes, then tugged on Trista's hand.
11--"Can we go now?" she asked, with a slight hint of impatience in her voice. Trista laughed.
12--"Impatient little imp, aren't you?" she teased, leading Relena to the back of the building where a set of sliding glass doors reflected the moon overhead. When they approached, a screen appeared out of the wall.
13--"Please state your name for voice identification and place your hand on screen for fingerprint analysis." a mechanical voice said from somewhere above them.
14--"Trista Meiou." Trista said, placing her hand on the screen. A line of light ran under Trista's bare hand, then the mechanical voice returned.
15--"Identification and analysis confirmed. Please enter." it said. A moment later, the doors slid open to reveal a dark hallway with many doors leading off of it. Trista, once again, took Relena's hand and led her through the darkness. A few minutes later, after climbing numerous stairways and the like, they came to a hallway that had one door at the end and none on the sides. They walked to it, and Trista raised the hand that wasn't holding Relena's and knocked on it softly. They heard a few unintelligible grumbles from within the chamber, then a male voice called from inside it.
16--"Who's there?"
17--"It's me, Richard, Trista." Trista replied softly, and a moment later the door opened to reveal a man in his mid-forties wearing a green bathrobe and had grey hair around his temples and light brown hair around the rest of his head, along with a pair of soft, hazel eyes and a clean-shaved face. His eyes first went to Trista, who he shook hands with, then to Relena, who he looked mildly surprised to see. His eyes were about to go back to Trista when he blinked and looked at Relena again, his eyes wide.
18--"That-that's-" he stuttered before Trista stopped him by pushing him back into the room behind him and walking in herself, taking Relena in as well. She closed the door and turned around to face the man, who was gaping at Relena. She sighed and looked at Relena.
19--"There's a guest room down the hall that I know is here from the last time I was here. Why don't you go and get some rest while I talk to Richard?" she said, pointing down a short hallway to Relena's right. Relena nodded and was about to say something when Trista silenced her.
20--"I'll be sure to wake you up and tell you before I go." she reassured the child, who nodded and went down the hallway. Trista turned back to the man, obviously called Richard, and sighed again.
21--"Can we sit down, please?" she asked. This seemed to snap Richard out of his trance, and he nodded, motioning to two chairs sitting nearby. They sat down, and Richard spoke first, calmly, this time.
22--"Trista, how did the princess of the Sanc Kingdom come into your company?" he asked.
23--"I was keeping guard in the Time and Space Hallway, as usual, when a force knocked me off my usual path, and I happened to . . ." Trista paused, wringing her hands as she searched for a word that wouldn't strongly imply that she was incompetent for her post.
24--"'Stumble', shall we say, into your old universe. Right into the Peacecraft mansion. Relena was lying at my feet, crying her heart out. From what I gathered, both from what she told me and what I saw, the Alliance was attacking, and when I searched the Past, I found that her parents had been killed just a little while ago. The . . ." Surprisingly, Trista's voice started to waver here, and it looked like she was fighting to keep from crying, something Richard had never thought she was capable of. He reached forward to pat her shoulder.
25--"Go on." he said kindly. She nodded.
26--"The only family she has left is her older brother, Milliardo, and they won't be able to stay together, anyway. He's too young and already has so much to do, he couldn't take care of Relena . . ." Here, Trista did surrender to the wave of tears pressing her. They slid down her cheeks, unchecked, and Richard thought he could hear her emit a soft sob. A moment later, she had brought herself together, and she ran the back of her hand over her eyes, averting her gaze from Richard's.
27--"I'm sorry, I just feel so sorry for that poor girl. I remember what it was like to grow up without a mother and father, all alone, and I hate that she has to go through it." She took a deep breath. "In any case, I thought that maybe you could . . ." Her voice trailed off expectantly as she finally came to the reason she had come. Richard's eyes widened again.
28--"Are you saying that you want me to . . .?" His voice trailed off questioningly, as well. Trista nodded. He stood up.
29--"You're crazy!" he cried, waving his arms about to emphasize his point. "You're a lunatic! You're-" Trista put a finger to her lips.
30--"Shh! You're going to upset Relena if you keep yelling like that!" she said softly, motioning for him to sit back down. He complied, rubbing his temples with a trembling hand.
31--"You can't possibly expect me to train the princess of the Sanc Kingdom!?" he said, in a soft voice this time.
32--"Why not?" Trista retorted, a tad angrily.
33--"Because she's a Peacecraft! And you know that the Peacecrafts are known for their commitment to total pacifism! How would it look if the Princess were to become a soldier!?" Richard said vehemently.
34--"That's why she's the perfect candidate! She could go back when she's older and make a name for herself as a pacifist while secretly helping the other Gundam pilots fight OZ and no-one would ever know!" Trista cried, clenching her hands in frustration. Richard was silent for a moment before relenting.
35--"I never thought of that. But that still doesn't make me feel good about training a Peacecraft, much less a three-year-old." he said, running a hand through his hair. Trista sat up straight.
36--"Then maybe the Prophecy will." she said sombrely. Richard looked up.
37--"What Prophecy?" he inquired. Trista closed her eyes.
38--"A few days ago, while I was making my rounds, a force knocked me off course, just like today. I was thrown into a portal I had never known was there. When I had stopped moving, and I could stand (on what, I don't know), I saw that there was an oval-shaped smokescreen in front of me. I know it was smoke . . ." Here, Trista looked a little unsure, so she shrugged.
"Or, perhaps, something similar, because when I walked over and put my hand through it, it wasn't hard, and it seemed wispy. It disappeared where my hand had been for a second, then the space gradually filled again." She shook her head and sat up straighter, in a gesture that meant she was moving on.
"Anyway, a picture appeared on the screen. A moving picture, like a movie. It was a fight, between Darkness and Light. I saw the faces of Princess Serenity and Prince Darien, of the former Silver Millennium (apparently, Trista had explained her past and such to Richard, who nodded when she had optically questioned his memory of it), along with the faces of the Planet Princesses who were transformed into their Sailor Soldier form, and their respective counterparts.
"Then, I saw new faces, that I didn't recognize in the least, standing next to the Inner and Outer Scouts. They were all no older than seventeen, save three. The first was a boy with long, brown hair tied back in a braid that dangled lower than his waist. He had violet eyes that looked grim, but seemed like they were normally cheerful, and he was wearing black jeans and a black shirt with a white inside. Next to him was a girl with black hair that held an odd, purple shine to it. She had deep, dark eyes that were either black or a very dark navy-blue, and that seemed like they were normally cheerful, too, though they were also grim. She was wearing black jean-shorts and a white T-shirt." Trista paused and closed her eyes, visualizing the scene in her mind, and her voice, when it came, sounded slightly trance-like.
"Next to her, about two-feet away, was a boy who was a bit taller than the first, with brown hair and bangs that hid half of his face. His eyes, or the one I saw, were Hunter-green, and they showed much pain, yet much wisdom. He wore very-light grey jeans and a dark-green turtleneck. Next to him was a girl with curly, red hair than shone. She had clear blue, almost grey eyes that showed great pain and wisdom, like the boy next to her. She was wearing a pink, long-sleeved T-shirt and greyish jeans. After her, about two-feet away again, was a boy with pale blonde hair and greenish-blue eyes, that showed kindness and trust, sincerity and intelligence. He was wearing a pink, long-sleeved shirt and khakis, along with a purple vest. Next to him was a girl with very long blonde hair about the same shade as the boy's. Her eyes were a sky-blue that held the same clearness as the red-head, and they reflected much pain and sorrow, coupled with anger and strength. After her, again about two-feet away, was a boy who looked distinctly Chinese, with black hair tied back into a small ponytail at the base of his head. He was wearing a black tank-top and white jeans, and had deep, black eyes that reflected pride, honor, and justice. Next to him was a woman who looked to be about five years older than the boy. She had blonde hair that was bound in two twists and lay on the front of her shoulders and blue-grey eyes that showed wisdom, cleverness, and bravery. She was wearing a green, long-sleeved shirt and khaki pants along with a dark-green vest." Here, she paused again, as if her mental image had eluded her. Richard, who was hanging intently onto her every word, was about ready to strangle her when her face relaxed again and she continued her revelation once more.
"Next to her, about two-feet away, was a man with platinum-blonde hair, almost white, with ice-blue eyes that showed pain, strength, and pride coupled with reliability. He was wearing a white T-shirt and grey jeans. Next to him was a woman who looked to be about his age, 21. She had black hair that had that odd, purple shine, and black eyes with the same purple shine. She was wearing a white, long-sleeved shirt and blue jeans. In front-" Here, Trista smiled, relaxing completely, knowingly allowing her smile to grow, her voice soft and, Richard thought, almost proud.
"In front of all these people, including the Scouts and their counterparts, were two people who stood alone, away from everyone else. One was a boy with scruffy brown hair and Prussian-blue eyes that were hard as steel, and that reflected everything in all the others' eyes combined. He was wearing a dark-green tank-top and black shorts. Next to him was a girl, his age, with sandy-blonde hair and deep, aquamarine eyes that were the exact same as his in every way save the color. She was in a Sailor uniform of all white, that glittered and sparkled like it was made of diamonds. On her head was the regular tiara, but the stone in hers was like a cross between a diamond and an opal, and it shone like a star, driving away the darkness." She sighed, then her face hardened, her eyes still closed.
"Then, I heard a voice echo around me. It said,


"Past is Future, Future's past
Is a battle long forgotten
Soldiers, together at long last
Must join hands so power can be gotten


Ten girls, with magic beyond compare
Must join with the ones they love
Wind rushing through their hair
As they fly through the sky above


Four boys, one man, with powers not of magic
But of machines that stand for all
Though 'tis not your galaxy you'll protect
You must stand and help before it falls


All of your powers joined
Alone, try and you will fail
Two more Soldiers do you need
Only with them shall you prevail


An Angel, with beauty unsurpassed
A Shadow, ready to do his part
Only She can win, at last
And only He can give her heart . . .'"


Silence rang loudly through the room as Trista ended her narrative, then turned to Richard, who was sitting, speechless and dumbfounded.
"I'll give you three chances to guess who the Angel is, and the first two don't count." she said grimly.
*****
Somewhere in the Hall of Time and Space, a voice whispered in the darkness.
"'Only She can win, at last
And only He can give her heart . . .'"
To Be Continued (maybe) . . .
AN-*hee hee* Ended at a really nice place, didn't I? Just one thing before you leave. One of the reviewers said that she likes the Outer Senshi(Trista, Amara, Michele, Hotaru a.k.a. Setsuna, Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru)'s names better than the English ones, as I do. However, I like the Inner Senshi(Serena, Mina, Lita, Amy, Raye a.k.a. Usagi, Minako, Makoto, Ami, and Raye)'s names better than the Japanese ones, as does my friend, so this creates a problem. I imagine it would be frustrating to read a story and have the author using both the Japanese AND the English names, but if it's not, I'd love to use the Japanese names for Pluto, Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn. Tell me in your review what your opinion is, I'd really like to know! Thanx! :)
Angel~