Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Broken Wing ❯ Broken Wing - Chapter Eighteen ( Chapter 18 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Authors Notes: HIYAS



Authors Notes: HIYAS! Alrighty, I am going to say this ONE LAST TIME: Endymion's whereabouts WILL BE EXPLAINED!!!! I keep answering this question, and people keep asking it. This is the last time I will answer it; from now on I will ignore this question. UmaDeva: Ah, don't look at me! Marika Webster wrote the vision scene! She's got a better understanding of Wufei's psyche than I do, partially because she's writing an absolutely WONDERFUL GW fic titled Precious Are These Things in which Wufei is the main character. Go read it and see! And don't worry, I don't plan to spoil you guys. ;o) Anime Princess: Not revealing anything about couples!!!! ::grins:: Hime: I'm sorry ff.net was stupid like that! I could put you on my updates mailing list if you want. It goes out every time I upload a new chapter. Silver Dragonfly: Well… technically… she COULD stay like that forever… hmm… ::ponders:: But naaaah, I dun think I'll do that! But I won't tell you how I'm gonna fix it, so there! Usagi Asia Maxwell: You ARE loved! We're ALL loved!! ::does a little happy dance:: Wheeeeeee! Marika Webster: Erm, dear, you helped me torture "poor Feichan" as you so quaintly called him. Ah, how quickly they forget! Sailor Grape: Three days?!? WOW! I feel really special now!!! Arigatou! Mystical Jade: I am cruel, aren't I? BWAHAHA-- ::cough, choke:: Dangit, you think I would learn! Starlet: ::blinks:: Nani? Phoenix of Blood Red Mars: Aw, c'mon, I'm cruel, but I'm not THAT cruel! Even I wouldn't leave Usagi-chan in a catatonic state in a future that she doesn't belong with and leave the past in the hands of the leaderless Senshi and one abandoned Prince of Earth… hmmm… wait a sec, that might be a good idea… Darcey: I always try to make people feel special if at all possible! Hikari no Tenshi: Hikari-san!!!!! MEEP!!! I'm honored!!!! ::eyes mist up:: Rita: Oh, thank you for noticing my attempts to enter the characters psyches! I'm trying to understand them better as I go along! And I really like the Duo/Usagi garden scene myself too. ::sighs:: Blue Angel: Of course the future doesn't justify Setsuna's actions! But if Setsuna hadn't done what she did… there would be no story! I can reveal nothing about the workings of Time, or how these events will have an effect on the future. ::grins:: Okies, here's my explanation for the whole Galaxia thing: When I started writing BW, I didn't know that everything that happens to Usagi happens in the space of one year. I thought it was TWO years. So I was writing her as if she were 16 and had just defeated Galaxia and was fighting a new enemy. But then, about halfway through, I discovered the truth. So, technically Usagi defeated Galaxia over a year ago. As for why she henshined into SSailormoon and not ESailormoon… well, those wings are quite large, and I'm sure very heavy! SSailormoon form is much more comfortable! Alrighties! On to thankies: TRENCHCOAT MAN!!! YAAH!! It's all about Dimitri, man! MARIKA! It's all about the Mercy, and the Joy, and the Hope! It's all about the luuuuuuuuv… VEEBEES! Where ya been? ::sniffles:: I miss ya… Rashaka-chan!! You deserve a special thankies just for reviewing so diligently, despite the perils of Fido! Oh, and a little warning… ::looks around for anyone who may pound her:: … expect a bit of citrus in the chapter… just some lime, a teeny weeny bit. Nothin to worry about!

Author Recommendations: Orin!!! Go read her fics, they are absolutely AMAZING! Especially Heaven's Hope and Starlight in Motion.

Disclaimer: GW and SM not mine… BW mine. Me Tarzan, you Jane.


Broken Wing - Chapter Eighteen


Hiiro paced the hallway just outside of Relena's door. He wanted to barge right through and extract a promise from her to never, ever, EVER take her own life for any reason whatsoever. He wanted to give her a promise in return that he would always return to her, that his life would not end early on a battlefield. But he could do neither. He could not promise that he would not die, or that he would not go out to fight with the intention of dying. Should the mission require his life as a sacrifice to succeed he could not refuse. He couldn't . . . not even for the girl of the crystal clear eyes and shining smile.
But how could he tell her this?
Relena, in another Timeline I died and you killed yourself . . . please don't do that this time around, okay?
He doubted that would make much sense.
"Damn." The word shot from his mouth, a forced curse. And he had to admit, it felt good. Now he knew why Duo said it so much. That and other choice words.
He pulled in a breath, deep and determined, and turned to the door. He couldn't tell her exactly what was going on in his mind, but he couldn't just let her go without saying anything. Yes, so he would have to say something then. Exactly what, he would figure out when he saw her. Hiiro lifted his hand, fingers curled into a knocking fist.
The wood yielded before his fist without so much as feeling the first beat.
"Hiiro!" Relena blinked, hand still on the doorknob. Hiiro released his fingers from their tight ball and opened his mouth to speak.
"Relena, I-"
"Can this wait? White Fang is making an announcement and I have to catch as much of it as I can."
"White Fang?"
Yes. In that timeline Hiiro was killed in a battle against the White Fang.
"Yes," Relena continued as she closed her door and proceeded down the hallway, Hiiro close behind, "White Fang claims that they represent the colonies desire to be free from Earthsphere control. I just received a call from Noin saying that the White Fang's new leader is about to make an announcement and I should see it. She won't tell me why."
Hiiro nodded, all the while his thoughts going back to Setsuna and Wufei, to the madness that the Guardian put Wufei through, all because of him. And Relena. Why should two people be so important? Hiiro understood battle tactics and strategies, and the concept of sending one person to die for the sake of a thousand or more. But he couldn't understand how one single individual, or even two, could be worth sacrificing the lives of millions. And the situation in which he would soon have to face this reality was soon to be at hand, he knew, because now the White Fang had come into play.
But why should a simple colony rebel group be so important?
"Noin," Relena called as she walked into the conference room, where Noin and several other Sanch officials stood staring up at the wide screen, "Noin, what is-"
Stepping up behind the princess, Hiiro saw immediately the significance of White Fang.
From the monitor on the wall, the face of Milliardo Peacecraft peered down at them.
"-declare war on the Earthsphere and give one day for surrender or we shall show our true power."
"W-What?" Relena turned to Noin, asking for answers, "What is going ON? When did Milliardo become associated with the White Fang?"
"We aren't quite sure, Miss Relena," Noin's voice wavered, whether with anxiety or anger, Hiiro couldn't tell. "This is the first we've heard of it. But he isn't just associated with it. He's leading it."
"It's not possible-"
"He's got to have some reason-"
"You're both being naïve."
Hiiro was careful to keep his gaze to the floor, but knew that both females turned to him. It was always this way. People looked at him, and he looked at the ground.
"Obviously something has happened to the man we know as Milliardo Peacecraft. He has joined with the White Fang against the Earthsphere, against the peace that you are trying to create. It is possible, you are seeing the proof of it before you. There probably is some reason, but I doubt that it is anything as altruistic as you likely have in mind, Noin. No matter how much faith you have in him, he will do something that brings his own death, as well as millions of others."
Without looking up at them, Hiiro turned to leave, but Relena's voice made him pause.
"Where are you going?"
"To get the others. We need to stop him."


~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~


Assembled in Usagi's room, the five pilots sat waiting for Orders, information, or whatever it was Relena wanted to tell them. Duo spoke in an undertone to the catatonic girl, telling her what was going on. Quatre and Trowa sat beside him on the rarely used bed, the blonde wrapped comfortably within the arms of his taller companion. Hiiro and Wufei occupied the two single chairs in the room, and Relena stood in the door, observing this scene. These were five of the most pure-hearted people she had ever known, and she was about to order them out to battle.
"White Fang has declared war on the Earthsphere, and my brother, Milliardo is leading them."
Hiiro did not look up, Wufei paled, and Trowa and Quatre exchanged looks. Duo clutched Usagi's limp, pale hand in his own. They all recognized the name, apparently.
"So what do you want us to do about it?" Duo asked in his wavery voice.
Such an innocent question, but she knew it hadn't been asked from an innocent mind. Behind that face that still held some childish chubbiness, behind the laughing indigo eyes, lurked the mind of a trained terrorist, a more than competent killer. Such was the way with them all. And what she wanted of them was only what everyone always wanted of them. She caught a sob in her throat to stop it. She, like everyone they'd ever known, wanted only to exploit them.
"I want you to go stop him. Hiiro has already agreed. It was his idea, mostly."
"No," Wufei looked up, startling Relena with his sudden, passionate vehemence, "We will not go into space. Not right now. If we do, Hiiro will not go." The other three nodded fiercely. What was happening here?
"This is an order." That caught their attention. Quatre's eyes widened and even Hiiro broke his intense gaze with the floor to look up at her. "Milliardo is not only my brother, he is a child of the Peacecraft family. As Princess Relena Peacecraft of the Sanch Kingdom, I order the five of you to go into space and stop my brother. At all costs."
Wufei spat something in Chinese and shot up from his chair, lines of fury on his golden face. Quatre instantly burst into tears, falling deeper into Trowa's embrace. Duo cursed profusely in English. Hiiro stared at her with his indifferent Prussian eyes. But somewhere within their depths swam something else, something she couldn't place. What was she missing? There was something they weren't telling her.
"What-"
"We'll go."
"Hiiro, no!" Quatre pushed away from Trowa and stood, hands clenched together at the base of his throat, "You know what Setsuna said!"
"We have a mission. We've been given an order, and we have to carry it out. You know that, Quatre." Hiiro gave a glance between the four of his fellow pilots, "You all know that."
"Hiiro," Duo growled, standing, "if you go to space, you'll make this," he gestured to the mute girl staring out of the window, "all for nothing."
Relena couldn't keep her eyes from falling to Usagi. All of the talking and arguing around her dissolved as she took in the slack face, dull eyes, and limp form. How sad it was that such a vivacious girl should be forced to hide within her mind. An image tried to form in her mind of what could have created this utterly lifeless version of the cheerful girl she'd known. The vision wouldn't come.
"Show me what caused this," she said suddenly, surprising herself with her unexpected urge to understand exactly what had happened. "Show me what did this to Usagi-chan."
"Relena-"
"No, Hiiro. Don't try to protect me. If I am going to lead a pacifist nation, I need to have seen the weapons of destruction. And whatever did this to Usagi-can is certainly a weapon of destruction."
She set her jaw into her best determined princess expression and watched as the five once more exchanged looks, silent sighs hidden behind them. She clenched her hands into tights fists, awaiting their decision. The only sound in the room was Usagi's mindless silence. Relena worried at Wufei's stern, taunt face and at Quatre's pitiful sniffles. But the other three pondered amongst themselves, switching gazes every so often, until at last Trowa spoke.
"Alright. We'll take you to Alpha."


~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~


Monumental as always, Alpha observed its visitors with the cold objectivity of a machine. Eyes dimmed from under use, still the suit radiated power from every joint, every wire, and every surface. Despite its feminine shape and its pink color, Alpha commanded respect and even fear. Watching Relena as she stared over the vast expanse of the Gundam, Hiiro wondered if this aura of energy was due to the little Crystal nestled within the left leg.
"This is the power source?" Relena asked quietly, pointing to the Crystal.
"Yes."
"Why haven't you taken it out? Shouldn't you want to cut this . . . this thing off from its power?" She turned and gave him the most terrible of gazes, wide-eyed and horrified that they had allowed Alpha to retain the thing that granted its life.
"We tried," Duo offered, much to Hiiro's gratitude, "but it's stuck. Apparently only Usagi-chan can remove it."
Terror entered Relena's blue gaze, a terror that Hiiro longed to alleviate.
"It's just going to stay here, fully powered, threatening us with its mere presence?"
"Relena, you're acting like this is a demon or something. It's just a machine." Duo stepped back when the princess whirled on him, panic making her eyes a shade or two lighter than normal.
"It isn't just a machine! There's something evil in it, there has to be, for it to have caused so much horror. Look at Usagi-chan and tell me there isn't evil in this mobile suit!"
Duo swallowed and averted his gaze, unwilling to take her challenge. He'd seen Usagi lifeless for weeks; he didn't need Relena to remind him. None of them did. While the other four were not quite as despairing as Duo, they all missed the Usagi they once knew. They all respected her and now they respected her sacrifice. She must have known the danger she was placing herself and her future in when she left her own time to come to theirs. To save their souls.
"I want this hangar locked the moment you leave. I don't want anyone down here to touch or even SEE Alpha. Not Miss Noin, not any of the OZ defectors, no one. Do you understand? All of you?"
Dumbfounded by the pure command and force in the princess' gaze and voice, the five pilots merely nodded. Something about her, about her stance or her eyes or the way she stood taller, reminded Hiiro of Usagi demanding Setsuna return the Silver Crystal.
At their side, motionless in her wheelchair, Usagi gave a small, timid whimper.
"Usagi-chan?" Duo kneeled instantly by her side, indigo eyes leveled expectantly on her face. The others gathered around, save for Relena. Hiiro noticed casually that she stayed back, hands clenched together tightly. "Usagi-chan, what is it? Tell me."
"T-the bodies . . . they litter the ground . . ."
Hiiro saw Duo's arms begin to move away from her in a cringe, but the braided on stopped himself.
"Their souls are . . . aren't going to find peace . . ."
"Usagi-chan, please stop."
"They're damned!"
"Usagi-san," Quatre stepped forward, his eyes focused intensely on the girl. "Usagi-san, listen to me, listen to my voice, let me into your mind-"
"They're DAMNED!" The frail golden girl lifted her arms in a sweeping motion to cover her face, the first movement Hiiro had seen her make on her own since that day. She began to shake her head side to side, in the manner of someone who has suffered sever brain damage might do. "They're damned damned damneddamneddamnedDAMNEDDAMNEDDAMNEDDAMNED!!!" Her voice rose, screeching, searing through his ears and peeling away at the tough skin that covered his heart. Eventually the words vanished within the keening, meaningless wail of a deranged soul. Kami-sama, she sounded so pained, so lost, so full of agony. Over three dead OZ soldiers.
"What's causing this?" Wufei shouted over Usagi's still climbing voice, himself looking just as distraught as Hiiro felt.
"I don't know!" Duo tried to calm her, to pull her arms down and bring her into a hug, but the girl would have none of it. She slapped at his hands each time he tried to embrace her, and clawed at his face when he attempted to focus her gaze on him. The braided one looked close to tears. "Usagi!"
Hiiro passed an almost panicked look about the hangar. Usagi was in pain, his friend, Usagi. It must be something in the hangar, it had to be. She'd been fine before they brought her here,. Or as fine as one could be in a catatonic state. What had caused her to suddenly come to life, and so violently at that? He had to stop her pain, he couldn't listen to it any longer . . .
Alpha! The Silver Crystal!
"It's Alpha!" Hiiro pushed through his four friends and grasped the wheelchair handles in his outstretched fingers. "We shouldn't have brought her in here; her proximity to the suit and the Crystal is making her like this!"
The other four moved as soon as they understood Hiiro's words. While Hiiro veered Usagi's wheelchair around and towards the door, Quatre took Relena by the hand and pulled her with them. The young Sanch princess had a thoughtful look on her face. Hiiro decided he would ask her about it later. For now, all that was important was getting the screaming Usagi far, far away from the thing that caused her agony.


~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~


Duo tucked the once more silent girl into her bed, his heart breaking when he saw the blank stare she gave the ceiling. She lay on her back, hands loosely resting on the covers, waiting to be moved. This girl was so different from the one Setsuna had brought them at the hidden base. That Usagi had a mind, and a strong one at that; she would never let anyone else dictate her every motion. Now she had no choice.
"Usagi . . ." he brushed a stray hair from her cheek and leaned forward to kiss that smooth surface. Then, clumsily, in what little Japanese she'd been able to teach him: "Usagi . . . onegai, wake up. Ai-Aishiteru."


~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~


Relena sighed, untangling fine strands of light brown hair from themselves. Before her full length mirror, nightgown brushing the carpeted floor lightly, the Sanch princess looked into her own reflection. Alpha's quiet, looming presence still caused shudders through her entire being even though she was far from the machine now. Did it effect her so much because . . . because she was Usagi's descendant?
Usagi is a princess from the past, Relena. She's your ancestor!
She hadn't quite believed Quatre then. After all, it was quite a claim, and a princess must always look for the logical answer before putting faith in the extraordinary. But after her encounter with the suit . . . her doubts melted away.
She sighed and retrieved the brush from her dresser top and returned to the mirror.
Hiiro stood in the doorway.
Relena smiled. While he had never been to visit her at this time of night, still she was not startled to see him. Hiiro had that way of showing up when least expected, and through that she had learned to anticipate his odd arrivals. Or at least keep from jumping with shock.
"Yes, Hiiro?"
He must have come to discuss the pilots leaving arrangements. They would of course what to depart for space as soon as possible. She would be certain that no one of any consequence neared the Gundam hangar at the right time. Or the wrong time, depending on how one looked at the situation. Thinking over this, Relena ran the brush through her hair and waited for Hiiro to begin explaining his strategy for departure.
A few moments passed before she realized that he still had not spoken. She turned to face him without the mirror, head tilted in puzzled questioning. Hiiro did not look at the floor, but straight at her. She sucked in a breath, unnerved by that gaze, so pure, so unmasked by the downward slope of a head. Then he lowered his arms from their customary place folded at his chest and stepped into the room, closing the door behind him.
"H-Hiiro?"
Still silent, the boy crossed the room in a few strong, confident strides, stopping right before her. Relena felt her breath catch in her throat at the strange expression in his eyes as he looked down on her. They stayed that way a while, slim boy looking down at confused girl, her eyes wide and his a storm of things unsaid. Then, at last, he brought a hand to rest gently at her cheek, the smallest of smiles tilting his mouth upwards.
"Hiiro, wha-"
He stopped her question by placing his thumb over her lips. His other hand came to press lightly, possessively into the curve just above her hip. She could feel his fingers through the thin material of her nightgown and felt the bright creep of blush coloring her cheeks. He couldn't be thinking . . . not . . . Oh my God!
"Hiiro," she fought to speak through his silent protestation, "I really don't think-"
This time he silenced her by placing his lips on hers, this kiss more assured than the last. The hand at her side pulled at her until she found her body nearly crushed against his. These actions; the kiss, the roughness . . . Relena could almost read his mind beneath them . . .
Please Relena . . . just this one night . . .
I'm leaving tomorrow . . . I may not come back . . .
Let me show you what I can't say . . . please, please, please . . .
Realization flooded through her, the knowledge now of what he really meant, what he wanted, and with that realization came the desire to comfort him. But not as one would comfort a boy.
She stopped fighting and gave in to him, to her feelings, and to the night.


End Chapter Eighteen.