January 29, 2001
Sequel to 'Have You Ever...'
Standard Warnings and Disclaimers apply.
What was the meaning of it all? The purpose? Where was the justice he had sought to live by? Where was his honor?
He thrust his trident forward, spearing the empty mobile doll, cleaving it in two. His dragon claw shot forward, crunching down on another doll.
'Dolls. Dolls! Empty! Meaningless! Unworthy!'
His breaths were gulps of recycled air as he fought to gain control over his wild emotions.
Where was the calm? The peaceful mind born of justice? Of doing what was right? Where was his purpose!!!
He screamed, enraged at the world, at the situation he found himself in. At Treize for out-maneuvering him, for using him as a means to suicide. At Zechs for forcing them into this position of opposition. At the colonies for not knowing what they wanted. At Earth for thinking they had all the answers. At the scientists who thought that by building machines made for mass destruction, they could fix what was wrong with civilization. At his family, for sacrificing themselves so that he would continue to fight. At Merien for being so headstrong and determined to have her own way. At his father for never caring about what *he* wanted to do. At his mother for not being there from him. At Heero for being everything he wanted to be. At Duo, for not loving him even a fraction as much as he loved the braided boy.
::Peacemillion and Libra are moving away from the Earth::
Wufei looked up at his view screens. Sure enough, the two ships were being propelled in the opposite direction of the blue planet. And then he frowned.
::A portion of the Libra is falling!::
::Shit! It isn't over yet?!::
::We have to destroy it! It would devastate the Earth!::
Wufei was already throwing his thrusters into overdrive when a flash of light to the left caught his attention. He smirked, be-lining to pick up the Buster Rifle where it floated in space. 'Didn't your mother ever tell you not to leave your toys lying around, Mr. Yuy?'
A full day at the health spa--no, a week. A complete get-away. Just him and Trow--
Quatre winced and gasped as Sandrock tiltered and threw him against the harness, tearing at the gapping wound in his side. He squeezed his eyes shut against the burning pain as it tore through him.
Mud bath, seaweed wrap, full body massage...
The blond boy fingered his com unit again, hoping that this time, the Japanese youth he was trying to reach would hear him. "Heero!?"
"Quatre?" the boy in question responding and Quatre felt a bit of his tension melt away.
"Thank Allah!" he praised before filling the other boy in. "This block is still plummeting towards Earth--"
"Understood," Heero cut the boy off before he could say more. "I'll destroy the propulsion system."
'Yeah, you do that,' Duo thought as he swung his thermal scythe through the metal walls of Libra. "Before this chunk falls to Earth, we'll turn it into lots of little itty bitty pieces," he said aloud.
"Never give up hope," Trowa's voice filtered through the com. "That is what I learned from this suit."
Duo arched his scythe again. 'Yeah? Really? I learned it's fun to be me.'
"Our chances of success are almost nothing," Quatre was saying. "But it's better than doing nothing!"
Duo was about to comment when he heard the blond boy cry out--followed by the almost joyous sounds of cheers.
"Are you okay, Master Quatre?"
Duo whooped in delight, hearing the voice of a friend and ally. And then another voice fed over his speakers and his 'whoop' blazed into the desire to jump up and do a jig.
"I've given Heero the buster rifle," Wufei told them, already making his way free from the falling chunk. The other forty-three mobile suits were not far behind him.
::Libra has infiltrated the atmosphere!::
Duo began knawling his lip, eyes unblinking as he study the scene playing out before him. 'C'mon Heero... don't fuck up now... I swear, I'll never forgive you if--'
::A unit is advancing ahead of it!::
'Don't die, Heero. Don't die, Heero. Don't die, Heero,' the blond boy prayed as he watched the struggling suit. 'ZERO protect him.'
::It's... Wing Zero!::
'No shit, Sherlock,' Trowa thought. 'Now would be a very bad time to try and self-destruct, Heero...'
::Heero?!::
::He's going to attempt the impossible!::
::No! He can do it!::
'Damn right he can do it, woman,' Wufei thought. 'You *better* do it, Yuy...'
The piece of Libra exploded before their watching eyes and they held their breath, waiting... waiting... waiting...
::Heero....?::
"There he is!" Duo shouted, already spurring DeathScythe Hell into action. "You really did it, Heero!"
Wufei humphfed, but couldn't hide his smile of approval. "Of course he did." He held back as the others rushed forward to meeting the returning Gundam.
"He's definitely something," Trowa said as he followed his comrades.
Quatre smiled, one hand pressed to his chest, eyes closed as he allowed himself to *feel*. "I understand now... He's the soul of space..."
"Mission Accomplished," the Japanese boy told them as they swarmed around him like excited not-so-little bees.
She paused just outside the door a moment after it slid open for her, looking in, almost afraid to enter. And then she stepped in, allowing the door to slide shut behind her, allowing the darkness of the room to enfold around her.
"Rini?" she called out, her voice only a timid whisper.
The bed shifted, the sheets rustling. Careful not to bump into anything in the small room, she made her way to the bed, and then folded herself over so she was kneeling beside it. A tentative hand reached out and stroked the soft strands of chestnut hair, tracing them from top of head to bottom of shoulders.
"Rini...?" she tried again. Her throat grew tight with tears, her eyes red and stinging.
"Why?" the girl's voice cracked. "Why did you let him do that to you?" she repeated after a moment of unbearable silence.
The two sisters found themselves enveloped in each other's arms, crying and sniffling as they held on to one another tight.
"It's going to be okay," Jack whispered. "It's all going to be okay, now. You'll see. It's all going to be okay..."
End of Part 32: Serenade to Moonlight
Andrea Readwolf
Please send comments to: andrea_readwolf@hotmail.com