Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Broken Wing ❯ Broken Wing - Chapter Twenty ( Chapter 20 )

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

Authors Notes: Now, unless things have changed between me writing the authors notes and me finishing this chapter, this SHOULD be the final chapter of Broken Wing, minus one epilogue



Authors Notes: Now, unless things have changed between me writing the authors notes and me finishing this chapter, this SHOULD be the final chapter of Broken Wing, minus one epilogue. ::whew:: I'm not going to answer every little comment this time around, because it would take up space that I need for this, the longest chapter of BW! Silverforest: ::looks around and whistles innocently:: Not answering that… you'll find out anyway! It's like I'm always telling people who ask me questions in the middle of a movie: "Keeping watching and you'll find out dammit!" Or in your case, keep reading! Sailor Grape: Hey, can I take a peek at some of your ideas? ::standing on her tiptoes trying to see over Sailor Grape-san's shoulder:: Well, anyways, I can't spoil you guys by posting TOO often, now can I? ;o) Koneko-chan: Relena didn't have any way of knowing that the Crystal had to be mastered. She didn't know that it'll suck the life out of someone who uses it until they master it . . . poor, poor Relena. Rashaka: MEEP! Calm down!! BREATHE!! And I didn't think that paragraph was so cynical. I mean… Duo is finally recognizing that there IS a God. Even though I am not Christian, I do believe in a higher power, and I think someone who doesn't must be a very sad person who feels very alone. To me, just the fact that he is recognizing a higher power isn't cynical at all, but a giant step upwards. I received the Duo fanart pic, but have yet to DL it. I think. I can't remember! Usagi Asia Maxwell: I'm glad you slightly approve. ::smile:: I'm writing Relena the way I am on purpose, because it's the way I see her portrayed in the series. I don't agree with the authors who make her a stupid, conniving, obsessive, or ditzy airhead. She is NOT that way in the series. Well, maybe a LITTLE obsessive. The only fanfic I really like with her being the villain is Gods and Other Creatures by Eternal SailorM, because in that fic she is an actual villain, intelligent and powerful. Darcey: I REALLY love you! You're one of the few people who totally support my Hiiro/Relena pair! You and Rashaka-chan! ::huggles them both:: Polgara: ::takes a deep breath and holds it… turns blue… passes out:: Jordan: Remember when Usagi first started using the Silver Crystal it would drain all of her energy and she would "die"? I use the term "die" very loosely… ::can't count on both hands or both feet how many times Usagi and the others have "died":: Well, Usagi has mastered the Crystal now, so it doesn't so that to her anymore, but Relena has not, so it does. UmaDeva: My, you must really love BW! Teehee! I'm glad I gave you a good daydream! And you get a huggle for supporting Relena too! ::huggles::

Disclaimer: ::sighs:: Okay, since I don't have to say it TOO many more times. Sailormoon and Gundam Wing aren't mine (especially since I'm using a lot of quotes directly from the GW series in this chapter . . .). ::sniffles and breaks into sobs:: Why oh why couldn't they have been mine?!?
Author Recommendations: I'm gonna repeat the three I've already given you, cause I know there are those bad people out there who haven't taken my advice yet! Read: Precious Are These Things by Marika Webster (now complete!), Great Duo Hunt by TrenchcoatMan (He's… working on it…), Heaven's Hope and Starlight in Motion by Orin (Orin-san!! YEAH!), and Let's Make a Deal by Mitsugi ( ::does a little happy dance:: )
"And how do you wait for Heaven?
And who has that much time?
And how do you keep your feet on the ground
When you know you were born to fly?"
~~ Sara Evans, Born to Fly

Broken Wing - Chapter Twenty

Another battle loomed on the horizon. Quatre could feel it, deep inside the part of his soul that could feel these things. His heart already claimed pain that was not its own. The five Gundams perched silently in their comfortable new homes on Peacemillion, but the little blonde could already see the blood that would stain them. Oh no, not literally. No, in space there would be no blood. But in his mind and the minds of his comrades there would soon be spiritual blood added to that which already caked the seemingly clean surfaces of their beloved machines. He placed a hand on his beautiful Sandrock and wished that such a magnificent piece of work could be used for anything but for killing.
My Quatre, the suit whispered to him in his secret soul, I'm sorry I cannot be what you want . . . an instrument of peace instead of the most treasured weapon of Death. But I am only what I was made to be.
"I understand," spoke the delicate Arabian aloud, "I don't blame you for what you were designed to do."
The other four pilots were in the room, tending to their own Gundams. None of them looked at him strangely for speaking to Sandrock. They all had their own connections to their suits, some more than others. But all understood what he felt; the Gundams had minds and souls. They simply couldn't speak as their pilots could. Quatre knew without a doubt that Sandrock could think. He'd seen it the day his precious suit had saved his life before self-destructing.
"Hand me your wrench, will ya Wufei? I can't find mine." Without question or reply, Wufei obliged the braided one as Quatre looked on. In the corner Hiiro and Trowa both bent over the laptop. During the flight and the unloading, different pilots had worked together until all of them had labored with each of the others. Here their sweat mingled in a bond of friendship in toil. Out there, on the battlefield, it would be their blood mingling, if only figuratively.
"Quatre."
The little blonde turned to see Wufei standing behind him, dark eyes settled on him in an appraising look. Whatever was going on behind those eyes was completely the knowledge of the Chinese boy; Quatre could tell nothing.
"Wufei?"
"Are you nervous?"
Quatre gulped, feeling the knot in his throat almost slide down. Stubborn, though, it remained rooted deep and kept him from breathing properly. Was it that obvious? Could the others so easily see the tense anxiety that held reign over his insides?
"Y-yes. I haven't been in a battle like this since . . . since . . ."
"The Zero System incident," Hiiro offered, approaching from the other side. They sandwiched him between their two strong presences and made it impossible for him to get away. Vaguely he noticed Trowa standing behind Hiiro, arms crossed, saying nothing in his defense. His eyes swung to Deathscythe, where Duo tinkered lazily with a certain nut and bolt pair which seemed to be giving him particular trouble. He was pretending not to notice Quatre's predicament.
"The Z-Zero System, yes," Quatre stuttered, forcing himself to stand straight. If Hiiro and Wufei wanted to question his capability, so be it. But he would not let them take him from the team without a fight. "It was months ago, though. I . . . I can handle it."
"We know you can," Wufei said with a sudden, slight smile, "That's why we're installing the Zero System in Sandrock."
"With both you and I operating the Zero System, this battle shouldn't last long."
Quatre, eyes wide, looked back and forth between the two. This was not at all what he'd expected. Questions, yes, accusations, aloud wonderings of whether he was able to carry on in a battle. But not this . . . not this voluntary placing of him into a situation that could be potentially dangerous for them all.
"B-but . . . what if-"
"You won't go crazy," Hiiro waved off his concern, "you can take it. We all have faith in you, Quatre."
The little blonde dared to glance at Trowa, only to see that the taller one had returned to his place at the laptop. Quatre could feel the satisfaction and relief coming from his koi and knew that he had something to do with Hiiro and Wufei's sudden complete trust.
"Thank you," he said, but not only to the two standing before him. They both grunted and turned back to their own work. Trowa did not even look up at him, but the Arabian knew he had heard.

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

Daylight and sound broke into her blind, deaf world. The slits of golden yellow sunlight grew as she allowed her eyes to open, and the fuzziness of the bustling noise around her became clearer. But the light blinded her and the voices were still vague and unrecognizable. Aching in every muscle and pore of her body, she tried to push herself up only to be wrestled back down by unnamed hands.
"Don't try to move yet, Miss Relena; we're still not quite sure what happened to you or what its long term effects will be."
"Noin?"
"Yes, Miss Relena. Now-"
"She'll be fine, Noin-san." That voice was also familiar, but had not been recently heard. Who was it? Who used such odd suffixes? Who-
"Usagi-san!"
Relena opened her eyes wide and pushed Noin's hands aside, fighting against the dull ache in her bones. The room was filled with doctors and nurses, all of whom had no doubt been called into to examine her after what she hoped had been a simple blackout. But across from her, perched in most lady-like fashion on a white stool, sat Usagi. Awake and aware. The golden girl smiled brightly at Relena.
"Ohayo gozimasu, Relena-chan! Good morning! Now that you're awake, can we eat… I'm STARVING!!!"
She couldn't help it. Through her disbelieving tears a smile rose, followed soon by joyous laughter. Usagi was awake! How could anything in the world be worth tears when this one miracle had occurred? How could she do anything but laugh?
"I'm afraid you can't eat yet, Usagi-san," Noin stepped forward again, one hand crossed over her torso, and bowed to Relena. She seemed to be somewhat annoyed that her efforts at keeping her princess subdued had been neatly undermined by one teenage girl, but that passed quickly enough. "Since you're fully awake now, Miss Relena, there's something I think you should see." The expression on the lieutenant's face, however, said she'd rather do anything else except show this thing to her princess.
"What is it?" Panic slipped around her like a familiar old coat, one worn much too often. She knew somewhere that she would wear this coat many, many more times before her life was over. She watched as Noin motioned to a private to turn on the infirmary news screen.
"You've been unconscious for two days, Miss Relena. Before you say anything else, this is a recording of an announcement made yesterday afternoon."
As the princess gazed on the screen, once more her brother's face appeared larger than life. There was a new coldness there, however, that made the younger Peacecraft shiver. His face was a taut mask of barely concealed hatred and anger. Relena sensed that these emotions were aimless, without any real target. And so, he had created his own.
"-if the Earthsphere does not bend to the White Fang's demands within forty-eight hours," Relena heard as she was finally able to tear her attention away from the physical rage showing on Milliardo's face, "we will fire our beam cannon without mercy on the largest Earthsphere cities."
"No . . ." Relena passed a frantic glance from her dark-haired lieutenant to the golden-haired girl sitting on the white stool, "No, he wouldn't do that! He couldn't do that!"
"He can, and he will." Noin and Relena both stared at the solemn-faced Usagi, who sighed and closed her weary eyes. "He isn't Milliardo Peacecraft anymore, or at least the one you knew. Look at him," she gestured to the man whose face filled the entire giant wall screen, "that isn't the compassionate and honorable man you described to me, Noin-san. Nor is that the protective older brother who sent someone to look after his baby sister, Relena-chan." Usagi opened her eyes and stared at the image for a few silent moments before turning her burning blue eyes to Relena. "He's dangerous."
The Sanch princess stared into the eyes of the ancient, unfathomable Moon princess and a deep, secret understanding was made between the two of them concerning the war, space, Hiiro, Milliardo, and many other things. Of them all, the most important was the one that spilled next from Relena's lips.
"I have to go to space. To stop him." Usagi quickly corrected her mistake.
"We have to go. Together."

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

"Dammit! How can they move so fast?!?" Duo's almost panicked voice echoed through the small cockpit of Sandrock, made thin by the inter-Gundam comm system. Quatre took a moment to dodge one of the phenomenally fast mobile dolls before replying.
"Even for mobile dolls, they're moving extremely fast; I don't understand how." Quatre, his trained sight allowing him to see almost all things on his screen at once, noticed a lone Gundam swarmed by mobile dolls. A quick adjustment to the magnification showed him Altron fighting a valiant losing battle against the metal monstrosities. "Wufei, you should move back, get away from them. They're over-powering you."
"Why?" Duo's voice cut in before Wufei could reply, "All he needs is a little backup!" As usual, the spirited and hasty Deathscythe pilot sped off to battle, giving no heed to the warning Quatre attempted to shout at him.
We can't win like this . . . we aren't fighting together . . . we aren't using the bond that Usagi-san created for us . . .
The decision, made in a hurried fraction of a second, was simple when the blonde considered the gruesome alternative. Mouth set in a line only known as determined, Quatre's fingers leapt upon the console, typing one word with the air of one who knows where their fate is to lead them.
Z-E-R-O.
A golden glow took over his front and side screens, a diffusion of light that carried on it the wave of strength that shone from within each of his companions always and Quatre seemed only to know in the most desperate of times. The battle swirled around him. Quatre spun Sandrock around. Altron and Deathscythe filled his screen.
"Wufei. Fly right through the enemy troops." The little blonde heard his own voice, cold and sharp, no longer the quiet tones of a boy who is a peacemaker, but the commanding resonance of a leader. He became less another fighter amongst the five of them, but their authority. "The rest of us will direct fire to where Wufei was."
"Quatre-"
"Don't fight me on this, Duo!" Quatre snapped as Heavyarms approached him from behind to begin carrying out their strategy, "This is the moment that Usagi-san prepared us for and it would be an insult to her if we didn't use the bond she created between us! We are friends and we are fighters, and we fight together from now on, do you understand me?" A pause decorated the space between the four suits, a silence that could mean almost anything. At long last Wufei spoke for both of the hesitant pilots.
"What's the rest of the plan?"
"The enemy's divided into a number of units," Quatre continued as if there had never been a delay, "Our chance is to defeat those units one at a time. Trowa, you attack on the upper right side. Then destroy the front unit, Duo and Wufei."
"Roger," Trowa snapped in true militaristic form.
"Gotcha."
"Good plan." Wufei's statement was made in what for him translated as an incredulous tone. Apparently even after Trowa's endorsement, the Chinese boy had never expected Quatre to be so strong, let alone take charge.
The system's trying to control me, thought the blonde as he felt the insistent tugging at his mind, the feeling of ZERO tearing at his discipline, shredding it with its sheer persistence. "I can't let the system control me," he spoke aloud to bolster his determination, "There's no choice now but to master the system." Show me what you know . . . show me, ZERO . . .
A vague voice filled his head, one that he might recognize if he could truly hear the tone and not just the words . . .
"I don't understand. The Gundams are predicting each of my moves. How come; what's happening?"
Then Quatre understood.
"The movements of these mobile dolls aren't programmed. Someone's changing their tactics based on the actual battle. Gotta predict them . . ."
"Who's doing this?" the voice, clearer, asked his mind through ZERO, "Who could it be?"
"Someone's controlling these mobile dolls," Quatre murmured to himself, searching through the golden haze ZERO showed him, picking through the dull images in order to find the one that was relevant.
"It must be . . ." Female! The voice was female! Long hair, platinum blonde . . . a fierce expression unfitting a woman . . . "Quatre Raberba Winner!"
"Dorothy Catalonia!" Her face interrupted his mind with its stern frown and battle-glow. And then true comprehension dawned on him; she was using the Zero system as well. That was how she could predict the Gundams moves as efficiently as he did hers. But how? How had White Fang gotten the Zero System? It wasn't important.
So quickly that it snapped him back to full awareness, the link between his mind and that of Dorothy Catalonia was severed. She had deactivated her system. The mobile dolls dimmed and ceased responding accordingly. Suddenly the pilots were faced with a space battlefield filled with dead dolls.
"What happened?"
"The Zero system controlling the mobile dolls was deactivated," Quatre explained to Duo. He told them what he knew, and confessed his anxiety that Dorothy Catalonia must be up to something wicked if she had so suddenly switched her system off.
"I know what it is," Wufei grumbled, "Look, the Libra's beam cannon is preparing to fire. She must have told them to fire it at us."
"Then we must return to-"
"Shit!" It annoyed Quatre that he could be so easily interrupted by the braided one, but Duo didn't let him be annoyed for long. "There's a shuttle out here! It heading towards Libra and it's right in the path of the beam!"
"Who on Earth or any of the colonies would be insane enough to approach Libra at this point?"
"I don't know, Wufei, but we can't just leave them out there to be slaughtered." Quatre swallowed, feeling the initial burst of strength received from ZERO fade back into his usual tentativeness.
"You're right," the Chinese boy agreed, much to the blonde's delight and momentary confusion. Then he realized that Wufei must have truly been reminded of the lessons Usagi taught them. Especially him. After all, she had saved his life once, after he had been nothing but rude and unkind to her. Wufei had apparently taken her actions to heart.
"It's too late," Duo informed them even as he turned Deathscythe about, "The cannon's about to fire."
Truly it was, for in the next second there was a flash from Libra, then a spout of burning yellow light. The inert mobile dolls were destroyed immediately, the Gundams only scratched, and the shuttle was lucky enough to only catch a wing in the beam. Certainly some people aboard had been injured, but no one would have been killed from that. Quatre sighed in relief and made a mental note to next time not spend so much time talking, and merely act. Then he noticed something odd.
"Libra is taking the shuttle."
"I wonder . . ." Wufei could be heard muttering, but he did not elaborate and none of his companions felt the need to hear anything further. There was nothing any of them wanted more at that moment than to be back on Peacemillion resting for the next battle.
"Come on," Quatre sighed wearily as he turned Sandrock towards the ship, "I'm sure Hiiro won't be too far behind us. I doubt the next battle will end the same way this one did."
~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

Silence . . . thought Usagi as she peered out into space. The last time she has seen the blackness and the stars this up close had been when she traveled into the atmosphere of Earth in an attempt to escape Kunzite. And then she had not had the luxury of a glass window between herself and the void. Just another benefit of being Sailormoon and the Tsuki no Hime she supposed. But then she had seen space in a different light. Another year older and several allies wiser, Usagi saw in that vastness the face of a dear friend. There, in the velvet darkness that was the Universe, was the very thing that she and her protectors had once feared. Now she knew a young girl in whose eyes this scene could be found, in whose voice could be felt the limitless loneliness of space, and whose power was the very essence of silence. Hotaru-chan . . . minna . . . I miss you. Mamo-chan . . .
"What's wrong, Usagi-san?"
Feeling the light hand upon her shoulder, Usagi shook her head and discreetly wiped a tear from her cheek, a memorial to the friends she didn't know if she would ever see again. A glance behind showed the face of the Sanch princess, a tired visage that should have no room for anything save that weariness, but showed concern nonetheless.
"Just thinking about home," she replied with a sigh, for there was no reason to hide this from Relena, "about my friends there. I'm worried about them. Are they alright? Do they miss me?" Through the blurred wall of tears that attempted to block her vision Usagi managed to just make out the small smile her companion offered.
"Usagi-san, if they are your friends, then they must know you the way I do, and the pilots do. Of course they miss you. They have to miss you; you are a light in whatever darkness surrounds you. And . . . you give the people around you strength. If you've given them half of the strength you've given me, then your friends are fine, no matter what might happening in your own time."
Usagi nodded and took in a deep, calming breath as she tried to focus on what was going on around her at that moment. Technically, this was her future. But for the time she was there, it was her present and she needed to be fully there, not in the past.
The door on the opposite side of their shared room slid open. On the other side, standing straight and seemingly calm, was the ill-fated leader of the White Fang himself. He idled there, a strange uncertain light in his blue eyes, as if he were about to enter a place too holy for his mortal footsteps to soil. When neither of his two "guests" spoke to him, and he seemed unable to simply stand there and absorb their twin azure gazes, Milliardo Peacecraft took that first wary step inside and allowed the doors to slide shut behind him. If it were not for his actions, Usagi would never know that he was capable of the violence he threatened on the Earthsphere. The man who stood in the room with them gazed on Relena as if she were some distant goddess manifested before him. Those eyes, so blue, so much like his little sister's . . .
With a sudden jolt Usagi realized that this man too was her descendant. She had of course known that Milliardo was Relena's older brother and rightful heir to Sanch, but until that moment it had simply never occurred to her what that meant as far as his relationship to her. Before either of the two Peacecrafts could begin to speak, Usagi stepped forward, raised herself onto her toes, and wrapped her arms around the taller man. She felt him stiffen in her embrace, no doubt surprised and suspicious of this action.
"Daijoubu," she told him even though he would not understand, "daijoubu, I forgive you."
His hands closed around her shoulders and pushed her away from him. He stared at her with narrowed eyes, attempting to discern the motive behind her curious action and words. She put forth no aura of deception, for there was no trickery anywhere within her. At last, no comprehension at all in his gaze, Milliardo tossed Usagi aside and turned to Relena.
"I understand you wanted to speak with me," he asked with a small, ironic smile curling his lips. Why else would Relena have left Earth in a shuttle and put that small ship in the direct path of Libra's beam cannon?
"Yes. I want you to stop this. There is nothing to be gained from what you threaten except the deaths of millions of people, perhaps more. It is foolish, and goes against everything we stand for, as Peacecrafts. Please, brother," Relena entreated him as much with her eyes as she did with her words, "please don't do this."
Usagi watched, waited, held her breath while the platinum-haired man regarded his younger sibling. She realized that this was a man who saw himself as completely unworthy of anything good in life, of any kindness or love. That was why he did not assume the throne of Sanch. And he saw Relena as the only person able to take on that mantle, and perhaps he was correct. Truthfully, the younger girl had ruled the kingdom much more ably than her brother had controlled his life.
"No, I'm sorry," came his reply, in tones of determined regret, "this is my destiny. It's the way things have to be, Epyon showed me the future. You can't understand." Usagi couldn't understand how he could remain so calm when he knew he spoke of the destruction of the Earthsphere, and by his own actions. But he merely stared down at Relena with eyes that were filled with sorrow, but hard with conviction. He would not back down, she knew it, and she could see that Relena knew it as well.
"The Gundam pilots will stop you."
Milliardo did not seem surprised or horrified by his sister's statement. He simply tilted his head to the side, taking it in, and nodded.
"Perhaps. Perhaps I will prevail. If not for the rash actions of Miss Catalonia, I might have defeated Hiiro Yui only moments ago. Then again, maybe it was also destiny for that battle to end the way it did. Maybe I was meant to kill him at a later time, maybe he is destined to kill me. Either way, I will defend the colonies in the way I was shown. I know you can't understand this, Relena. You're too innocent and too good. I would never expect you to understand it. But this is the way my life must play out; I could not have chosen another way."
Destiny . . .
Such a wicked word, in Usagi's mind. As much as she wanted to scream at him that destiny was not something that was shown, it was something that was unfurled, she could not. She remembered a long ago day, a year ago, four thousand years ago, when those words had been spoken to her. It is your destiny to fight the Enemy! It was her destiny to fight, to love Mamo-chan, to be a queen and a mother. These things she could never deny, for they were a part of her that she had seen glimpses of and would know when she grew. So she understood destiny, even if she didn't like the idea of some power ruling over human lives. So she had to let Milliardo leave with his insane vision intact.
Kami-sama . . . help him to see the truth before it's too late . . .

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

Silent, staring at various points of the starkly lighted conference room, the five Gundam pilots sat immersed in their own diverse thoughts. No one spoke, even Quatre and Trowa who nevertheless stayed close to one another. Wufei stood at the large window with a cup of steaming coffee in his hand, dark eyes staring into the void that matched them in color. Duo sat at the sterile steel table, his own cup sitting untouched before him. His violet eyes were dull, and there was no doubt as to what thoughts danced around his head. Hiiro sat as well, though he took up the seat at the far end of the table, away from the rest, as usual. But now this was not so much of a separation, because even though he still preferred to remain physical apart from his comrades, he did not feel so separate from them mentally or emotionally anymore. He had not yet decided whether he liked this new camaraderie or not.
His thought train was derailed by the sound of hurried footsteps banging down the metal corridors towards their quiet room. They all heard it, but none of them moved. There was only one set, and there had been no alarms. It was one of their own, no invasion. In moments a harried Howard tried to stop inside the doorway but slid on the slick floor and forward into the room. He stumbled, then windmilled his arms and managed to remain standing. The five pilots looked up with five sets of battle-dulled eyes and waited for the man to make whatever statement he had come to make.
"S-she's coming," his words were interrupted by exhausted panting, "h-here, t-to Peacemillion."
"Who?" Duo asked blandly, his posture and his tone indicating how much he really cared.
"Noin! S-she says-"
"What do you mean Noin?!?" The braided one pushed his cup away, spilling the dark liquid over the tabletop, "She's supposed to be on Earth watching Usagi-chan!"
And Relena . . .
"The girl you're talking about," Howard seemed to be catching his breath, "Usagi-san; she's awake. Noin couldn't give me any details, but she said to tell you that Usagi-san is awake and she and Relena are on Libra."
Hiiro felt a panic surge within him at those words. Not only was Relena no longer safely on Earth, but she was in the middle of the lion's den itself.
"The shuttle!" Quatre cried, wide-eyed, "It was Relena and Usagi-san!"
"Damn!" Duo whirled and kicked over his chair in a fit of fury, "Damn, damn, damn! Damn those women! Why can't they for ONCE stay out of business that isn't theirs!"
"You've been spending too much time around me, Maxwell," murmured Wufei as he settled a hand on the braided one's shoulder to calm him, "It doesn't suit you." The Chinese boy was amazingly serene in the face of this new information. "Usagi-san is not the sort to remain safe while her friends fight, and Relena is truly Usagi-san's descendant. We cannot curse them for being brave."
In Hiiro's opinion there was a very, very fine line between bravery and stupidity. Unlike Wufei, he had not yet decided which category the two girls' actions fell into. Considering, however, that he and the other pilots had things in space well under control, he would most likely have to say it was stupid.
"What do we do?" Quatre's wide, watery eyes scanned the others. Hiiro stood and turned his back to them and walked to the doorway.
"I'll go get them. I'll go alone; I won't be gone long." He assumed that the other pilots realized that trying to stop him would be futile at best and fatal at the worst. None of them tried to stop him.

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

Relena was asleep only halfway peacefully on one of the small beds when the door slid open a second time. Usagi turned to face Milliardo but was greeted instead with the sight of Hiiro in the door, gun gripped gently in his right hand like a loved child. His eyes landed on Relena's prone but safe form and Usagi saw in their Prussian blue depths a small flicker of relief. Then it was gone and he looked at her.
"You're awake."
"Hai, Hiiro-kun," she replied, unable to keep the sarcasm from her voice, "thank you for noticing." She couldn't help feeling annoyed at his constant astute statement of things that were quite obvious. "Here to rescue us, or just dropping by for a friendly visit?"
"Rescue," he grunted, "and to kill Zechs if I get the chance."
"No," Usagi shook her head vehemently, sending golden streamers flying on either side of her slender frame, "you won't kill him. Relena won't let you, and neither will I. He isn't evil, Hiiro-kun, he's just confused."
"I'm not Wufei. I won't let him destroy the Earthsphere just because you tell me not to kill."
"Haven't you killed enough in your short lifetime?!?"
Her shout was too loud. Before Hiiro could reply, Relena stirred on the bed and turned over, her blurry eyes blinking and then focusing on the shape of the boy in the doorway.
"Hiiro?"
"Relena. Let's go."
The Sanch princess did not question him. She merely rose from her resting place and followed him as he led the way out. Usagi trailed not far behind, but her mind was more concerned about what would happen to this boy. She knew, from what Setsuna had told her, that he was important somehow. But his attitude hadn't seemed to have changed much since she'd been here. Isn't that what she was supposed to do? Change his attitude?
I've failed.

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

The confrontation with Milliardo came, as it was meant to, and it went. Hiiro did not kill him, thought it could not be said for his lack of trying. The pilot delivered Usagi and Relena safely to Peacemillion, where a disapproving Wufei and frantic Duo both admonished the girls for putting themselves in danger. Usagi her equally stubborn descendant promptly put their scolders in their places. With the confidence and airs that only princesses can affect, they reminded the pilots of their own stupidity in leaving space to pit the five of them against the entire mobile doll army of the White Fang. Wufei and Duo were not appreciative when, in an attempt to help, Quatre piped up and reminded them that not only were they fighting mobile dolls, but mobile dolls controlled by the Zero System. Fairly soon the Chinese boy and the braided one were wondering when they had progressed from scolders to scoldees.
Noin gave both girls a hug but was not foolish enough to attempt a reprimand.

A good nights sleep and a stress-filled day later, the pilots were called once more to battle. Libra's position changed in space as it prepared it last great defense of the space colonies. A defense that would leave the Earthsphere barren and mostly dead. Usagi was greatly relieved by the knowledge that they, unlike in her one venture into mobile suit battle, would be fighting soulless machines with no pilots. Still, the entire situation was heavy in her mind because of the great significance it had on the whole of humanity. Could the Gundam pilots truly win this war on their own? They were five ordinary human beings, without the exceptional abilities that made her and her Senshi protectors of Earth.

And Hiiro, he was going off to fight Milliardo alone. Relena had gone with him to the hangar as he prepared to leave, minutes after the others already had. Usagi had not pried; she knew not what was said, but the princess who had been determined to convince Hiiro not to leave emerged alone.

"Usagi-san!"

She blinked and pulled her gaze away from the viewscreen and the brilliant trailers of blaster fire that colored it. Noin had a hand around her arm and was pulling her frantically. Around them the others, which included a woman Usagi had not met before named Sally Po, were quickly running from Peacemillion's bridge.

"Nani?"

"Usagi-san, we're ramming Peacemillion into Libra to try and divert it's course. We have to evacuate now." The lieutenant did not berate her for not paying attention, but the look on her face suggested that she wanted to very much. Usagi nodded and allowed herself to be lead away to an escape pod along with Relena and other, nameless members of the Peacemillion crew. Outside and all around them the battle surged on without giving any notice to the small ship escaping its cold grip. Usagi saw the other girl's blue eyes scanning the space between the stars and knew that she was searching for a certain stubborn pilot and misguided brother.

Perhaps time for the participants of the battle went by quickly, in a blur of motions and decisions, one life and death struggle back to back with another. But for the simple observers in the ship, time slowed down. Usagi wondered if this was Setsuna's doing, or her own cruel imagination. Either way, time crawled over her eyes as separate dots in the void exploded and she couldn't know whether they were mobile dolls, or the last bright blossom of life from one of those six fighters out there who had souls. Seven . . . seven fighters. Somewhere along the way, she remembered, the man named Treize had arrived. Was he still out there as well, or had he been one of the explosions?

Finally, something seemed to be happening. The lights were fewer, and finally were only . . . four? Only four of them? And those four were crowded about Libra, blasting it, trying to make it break apart. But they would never succeed, it was too big-

Then there was an eruption from inside the star-crossed ship and Usagi suddenly realized where the other two lights were. Wait . . . there was one, outside of Libra. Falling into the burning atmosphere. At this rate it would burn up before it managed any good. It was a suicide.

Hiiro . . .

"HIIRO!"

At her side, Relena stared wide-eyed into the vastness and held her breath.


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


Light expanded from the lone section of the Libra still headed for Earth. The explosion was soundless in the vast emptiness of space, but it blared with ominous force inside her mind. Her hands were spread on the window of the shuttle, her blue eyes wide and quivering as she stared into the fading brilliance that had been the light. Milliardo . . . Hiiro . . .
There was nothing from within the Earth's atmosphere, where Wing Zero had vanished into a bright orange cloud of burning gases.
"Are they alive?" she whispered a spilt second before she turned her helmeted head to the man who was piloting the shuttle, "ARE THEY ALIVE?!?"
"I can't be certain about Mister Milliardo, but I didn't register any explosion from the other suit. And I'm not reading any debris."

Relena's breath left her in a relieved whoosh. Somehow she had been certain his words would be different. Almost . . . almost she could hear him telling her that there was no way Hiiro could have survived. But that was not what he had said, and she let the vague mist-like thought leave her. It never returned.

In moments Wing Zero emerged from the orange atmosphere like a triumphant phoenix risen from a world's ashes.


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


A week later there was a party in Sanch Palace. There were celebrations spanning over the entire realm of human control, both on Earth and in space. The war was over, peace would reign. The five boys who had once been nameless, then pariahs, were suddenly venerated as the heroes of the war of AC 195. None of them particularly liked the attention, save perhaps Duo, but Hiiro in particular had a difficult time dealing with the unexpected focus on him. Quatre was used to it, and Trowa put up with it for his benefit. Wufei remained calm under any circumstances, though there had been a deeper darkness in him since that last battle. Something that dealt with the death of the man Treize, but no one asked him about it and he shared with no one. The five were closer, but they were not that close. Yet.

Usagi watched over them as Hiiro and Relena waltzed, Duo muttered to himself in a corner, Wufei was surrounded by admiring girls at his table. Sally Po was the only one he paid any attention to, and that was only to ask her to refill his drink. Usagi laughed when she brought him the drink, then poured it over his head. Quatre and Trowa were oblivious to all else in the room. Noin had been subdued since the unconfirmed announcement of the death of Milliardo Peacecraft, a.k.a Zechs Merquise. She and Lady Une were hovering over the long buffet table, not eating but talking. From what Usagi could understand they were talking about setting up a special organization whose purpose would be to watch for and extinguish possible future crises. Howard was passed out at one of the smaller, circular tables, completely drunk. Dorothy Catalonia hung back at one wall, uncomfortable with being in a room with people who until recently she fought against. She didn't seem to know what to think now that they had so kindly forgiven her and welcomed her to their celebration of the war's end. Usagi couldn't blame her.

"Would you care to dance?"

Usagi blinked, brought from her observations by the deep voice that had uttered the question. She saw a golden-hued hand extended into her line of vision, and followed that to the arm up to the shoulder and finally to the delicately masculine face. Dark eyes stared passively at her, waiting for a response.

"H-hai, Wufei-kun." She took his hand in hers and he pulled her closer, into the waltz position. She was glad that he had changed his shirt since Sally dumped punch on him. Heat rose to her face; she'd never danced this close to anyone save for Mamo-chan, and that had only been once. As other people noticed them, there came soft murmurs and some whistles. Usagi dared a glance up as his face, and saw to her shock that Wufei was blushing as well.

"Hey, Wufei!" called a voice from the crowd, distinctly female, "No wonder you weren't paying any attention to any of us!"

Usagi's face heated to furnace power. They were insinuating that . . . that Wufei . . . but no! He couldn't! Not her! Could he? No . . . he had Sally Po. Some of the built up pressure in her furnace of a face released at that comforting thought. Wufei couldn't possibly . . . not when Sally . . .

Over Wufei's shoulder, she caught a glimpse of a very put out looking Duo.


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


Damn Wufei . . . he never said anything . . . he never gave any clue . . . damn him!

Several hours after the end of the party, Duo was still wandering about, cursing his fellow pilot's hidden smooth nature. Obviously Wufei had had designs on Usagi the entire time, he was just crafty. Yes, that's it. Very crafty. And exotic. With that golden skin and ebony black hair and eyes, Wufei certainly had more of a mysterious attractiveness than Duo. But he was also a chauvinist. Usagi would never go for that. No, she couldn't; she was too independent and strong-willed.

"Ha ha! Back off Honor Boy, Shinigami still has a chance!"

Outside the door to Usagi's room, Duo paused, hearing a conversation from the inside. One voice was Usagi's, the other was Setsuna's. Duo's throat clenched. Setsuna couldn't be here to take Usagi back! Not yet! Not when he was so close!

"Demo, I don't understand, Setsuna-san. I didn't do anything."

"You did, Usagi-chan. It's hard to explain what you did, but you're just being here changed their futures for the better. You'll understand-"

"When I'm older." Usagi intoned with her, the sound in her voice that of an exasperated teenager who has heard something much too often. There came the sound of Setsuna chuckling.

"Hai, Usagi-chan."

A pause.

"Can't I at least say good-bye to them?"

"It would be best if you didn't. You are almost as close to them as you are to your Senshi in your own time. If you tried to say good-bye, it would only be harder for you to leave."

Duo couldn't stand it. She was going to leave without warning! Without a good-bye!

"Stop!" He let go of all pretenses of eavesdropping and turned into the room, eyes wide and desperate. Setsuna's maroon eyes settled on him, and she didn't look at all surprised to see him there. Usagi, however, looked on him with a surprise akin to shock. "You can't just leave without saying good-bye! You can't leave!" Not caring at all about Setsuna or what she would think, Duo surged forward and took Usagi's hands into his own. He locked her gaze with his and tried to convey in that look what he felt, what he wanted. "Usagi-chan . . . Usagi . . . onegai . . . aishiteru!" He saw her eyes widen even more. Blue swirled into blue as he watched. He knew she was confused, perhaps even angry. But he couldn't just let her walk out forever. Setsuna would make sure he'd never see hr again. "Usagi . . ."

Usagi slapped him.

Not hard, not enough to seriously hurt him, but enough to sting more than just his cheek. He felt his heart fall into a million pieces and shatter in the hollow place that was his chest. She had spoken no words, but the slap was more than enough. Eyes lowered, he backed away in silence and left the room. He didn't look back.


End Chapter Twenty. Stay tuned for Broken Wing: Epilogue