Hating a Phoenix, Chapter 9

by: Firey Angelwings

***Hey guys! I’m back in school and everything, so chapters will probably be slower, but don’t worry! I can fit everything in, I promise! For the complete deal, see my AN at the bottom.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, or anything having to do with the show, etc...

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Maxwell Pavey hadn’t been in the brightest of spirits yesterday. He had been completely prepared to celebrate the confirmed destruction of Relena Peacecraft in battle, the champagne ordered and everything, and she still managed to survive!

Today however, he was a bit more cheerful. He had spent the majority of the night plotting revenge with his generals.

Therefore, the next morning, Pavey opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling for a number of minutes. He quietly muttered to himself,

“The trap is set, Phoenix. You won’t get away this time.”

***********

Her eyelashes fluttered daintily before her eyes flew open completely. She stretched out luxuriously for a moment, the wrapped her sheets tightly around her, revelling in the morning peace.

Memories of the past night resurfaced.

Relena sat upright and rigid in bed. She felt a small stain of disgust and violation, and her wings tensed up. But then...she relaxed.

There was no sign of Heero in her room. Relena reviewed what had happened last night in her mind.

‘OK. Meeting with Heero. He said...things...about my mother. Then he touched my wings. And now I’m in my room. He must’ve...”

Relena felt a twinge of embarassment at the thought of Heero carrying her up to her room. The idea of being so totally vulnerable gave her goosebumps.

However, the sensation of him touching her wings hadn’t been so bad. It had felt...different, to say the least. Like a wave of warmth had washed over her. She must have fainted because of the overwhelming sensations.

Relena felt slightly puzzled, though. The feeling had been the opposite of what the books on Phoenixes described...

No, the emotion Relena was filled with the most was confusion. About her mother. Was it possible for her biological mother to have killed Maxwell Pavey’s father? Was Heero right?

‘When is he ever wrong?’ She thought sarcastically. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, and her wings disappeared from her back.

The woman hopped out of bed and over to her closet. She selected a pair of dark blue jeans and a deep red tank top, all the while wondering.

Relena debated over the ‘what ifs’ as she brushed her teeth and washed her face. She decided to forget about the obstacle of makeup and exited her set of rooms.

She was halfway down the stairs to the first floor when Relena encountered her brother. She visibly stiffened, then relaxed as he handed her an elastic for her hair, as he did every morning. As Relena stopped to tie her hair back, she waited for Milliardo to start talking. He did.

“Lena...look. I know I was wrong. I--”

“--You are so behind, brother!”

He looked startled at her interruption. She explained,

“Enough about your mishap yesterday. Forgiven. Whatever.”

Relena sighed, then added as she headed down the rest of the stairs,

“Ask Heero about our parents, and you will get up to date on our current situation.”

Milliardo watched her back as Relena headed into the dining room. She was so confusing and abrupt sometimes.

*********

Relena continued to surprise everyone at breakfast. She was remarkably (and almost alarmingly) pleasant to everyone who addressed her. Never mind the fact that her own brother had almost gotten her killed the day before, but Relena wasn’t exactly a morning person.

Hilde was happy too, because Duo had just paid her on their bet. Howver, everyone else felt considerably lighter once Noin took their attention to other matters.

“Everyone, we need to rendezvous at 2 pm today at the hangar. The computers picked up some of the Purifiers’ troops preparing for battle around L3, so we should destroy them before they start any actual battle.”

*********

After breakfast, Relena returned to her room. She sat on the floor, with five different candles, unlit, before her. Her eyes were covered by a blindfold, and her hands lay on her lap.

If anybody saw her like this, they would definitely not understand, because she remained in this position for a considerable amount of time.

Slowly, she lifted her right hand until it hovered over the nearest candle. She closed her fist. Then she opened it.

The wick burst into flame.

Relena quickly performed the same thing to each candle, successfully. She peeked out from under her blindfold, and smiled happily when she noticed her success.

“You’re still working with candles?”

She nearly jumped out of her clothes from fright. A hand lightly massaged her collarbone. Without turning around she ordered,

“Milliardo. Don’t. Do. That. Again.”

With each of her words, one of the candle flames went out. Relena turned and glanced over her shoulder,

“And I only use candles in my room. You don’t want me to set my bed on fire, do you?”

Milliardo laughed, then answered,

“I doesn’t matter. Working with your elemental powers can be dangerous. So, working with candles could result in setting your bed on fire anyway.”

She smiled and stood up.

“Smartass.”

Milliardo sat in a large armchair.

“It runs in the family.”

Relena said nothing, until her brother said gravely,

“I talked to Yuy.”

She looked up, then whispered,

“What do you think?”

He rubbed his brow and sighed in sadness.

“Though I don’t like to say it, Yuy’s theory makes perfect sense. And even though I don’t like to say this even more, I’m going to believe him.” Milliardo placed his face in his hands. “I’m going to believe that my mother was a murderer.”

Relena cocked her head delicately to the side, quietly analyzing her brother. She walked slowly over to him and sat gently in his lap. She ran her long fingers sadly through her brother’s long hair. Relena spoke quietly and in a soothing voice,

“But a justified murderer. We all are.”

Milliardo raised his head and leaned back. As Relena placed her head against his shoulder, he whispered back,

“You’re right, of course, little sister.” He paused and examined her. “You’re acting...different...Lena. What’s up?”

She shook her head lightly and closed her eyes.

“Just tired. That’s all. Didn’t sleep enough.”

Milliardo watched his sister yawn lazily, then quickly fall asleep. He stared at the still-smoking candles below him, gazing at the twisting patterns. It was a matter of minutes before he fell asleep as well.

**********

Duo, Hilde, Heero and Noin were all in one of the many lounges in the mansion. They were having very odd discussions, and Duo kept on bringing up this annoying and embarassing story about Hilde.

“So anyway, Hilde had this really busy day. And so, she got all ready and everything, then left. Everything’s normal, right? The only problem was...she was so busy, she wore these knee-high boots and a slip, but forgot to wear her dress! Ha ha ha....”

The three other people rolled their eyes as Duo roared with laughter. Hilde turned a shade comparable to a tomato, then got up and left.

Duo’s eyes followed her as she departed, calling out,

“Hey, Hilde! Why’re you leaving? Hey, I’m sorry...Wait!”

She was gone. Heero and Noin boh looked the other way. Meanwhile, Duo was thinking,

‘Wow, she’s beautiful even from behind! Hee hee hee, especially from behind! Stop! Gotta stop thinkin like that. New topic. NEW TOPIC!!!’

“NOIN!!!”

She looked up, surprised at Duo’s voice level.

“Yes?”

“Umm..where is...um...Milliardo?”

‘Good save, Maxwell’ Heero’s mind snapped.

“He’s with Lena. I don’t think you should bother them.”

“Ohh... well....so...how’s the weather?”

***********

Milliardo eyes slowly opened. He felt a small weight on his shoulder, and looked down to see his sister sleeping peacefully. He shifted slightly, and Relena let out a sleepy murmur. Her eyes flicked open.

She sat up, scrubbing her eyes roughly with the back of her hand.

“What time is it?” Relena asked in a sleeprough voice.

Her brother glanced at the watch on his wrist. He raised his eyebrows in alarm.

“It’s five to 2 o’clock. We gotta get to the hangar to meet everyone.”

Relena nodded her head pensively and stood up. Her brother followed suit. She turned and told him,

“I’ll meet you there. I just have to put away the candles and stuff.”

Milliardo nodded and was out the door. She busily collected all her things and replaced them where they were meant to go. For a moment, Relena just stood in her room, as she spoke softly,

“Heero touched my wings. But it wasn’t bad. Why is that?”

She pondered thoughtfully as she headed to the hangar.

*********

The bleak blackness of space. Suddenly filled with bursts of light, as the pilots tore through the enemy troops. Explosions don’t seem like such a bad thing when they add some colour to the boring black that is space.

All of the pilots stilled their suits as a large battleship loomed overhead. Noin did an analysis of it. Five minutes later, her voice was panicked.

“Problem.”

All eyes flicked to Noin’s face on their screens.

“The ship is completely empty, but it’s set to detonate in ten minutes.”

Wufei’s face appeared.

“Why don’t we get the hell out of here then?”

Noin’s calm voice answered back.

“Can’t. If we let it explode, there’s a huge possibility of the blast harming the colony. We have to defuse it. From the inside.”

“We can’t. None of us are wearing suits habituated for space without a mobile suit.”

Both Relena’s and Milliardo’s faces appeared onscreen. They both said,

“I’ll do it.”

Noin looked shocked.

“How? Your blood would boil, you guys!”

Relena smiled, then answered,

“Not exactly. Phoenixes can travel in space for a period of 2 hours. Besides, I’ll go because my suit has an ability to board unwilling vessels from a point such as...” She indicated a spot on the battleship. “There.”

The group conferred for a number of seconds, then agreed.

Viore approached the ship quickly, not willing to waste any time. It attached itself to the wall of the ship. A door opened in the cockpit of Relena’s suit.

She slid out of the straps and floated onto the ship. Relena stuck an earpiece in her ear, and Quatre’s voice filled her head, giving her directions to the control room.

It took about 3 minutes to reach it. With Quatre’s help, Relena quickly difused the self destruct sequence. She was just beginning to relax when Noin’s voice screamed at her,

“Lena! Get out! There’s people heading towards you!”

She whirled, and came face to face with a very large group of armed soldiers. Relena’s hand raced down to her belt and pushed a tiny hidden button. The Viore detached itself and began floating aimlessly in space.

Before she could do anything else, Relena was surrounded. She shouted at her group to get out while they could.

A numbing pain at the base of her skull. Then blackness.

***********

As the remaining Gundams docked in the hangar on Mars, the pilots all got out and explained the situation to the others. Milliardo was in hysterics and was talking incoherantly. Finally, they all managed to get to their main control room, waiting for updates.

They were caught in a stalemate. Now, it was the Purifiers that held all they keys. They had Relena.

**********

Her head was throbbing, like something was causing it to vibrate at a painful rhythm. With all of her strength, she opened her eyes. Examined her surroundings.

She was still clothed (thank god!), and was held in a small grey room with one door across from her. She was standing, with her arms held apart, chained to either wall. Her feet were similarly shackled. There was a small table in front of her, loaded with compliated machinery, and a small chair.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. But before she had any time to think, the door opened.

In walked, a politician she recognized. He stared at her with hateful eyes.

“Ah. So you’re awake Ms. Peacecraft. May I introduce myself?” He made a small bow. “My name is Maxwell Pavey. I invite you to beg for mercy, though it won’t do much.” He sat in the chair.

Relena tossed her head back and spat in his direction. Pavey frowned and clicked his tongue.

“Now, now. That wasn’t very ladylike of you. Aren’t you a diplomat? Don’t you know proper manners?”

His lip curled back and Relena could almost taste his hatred.

“No, I don’t suppose you would. And no, you aren’t a diplomat. I’ll tell you what you are. You are an animal. A disgusting animal.”

She raised an eyebrow, then finally spoke,

“Believe what you want to believe. It makes none the difference to me.”

Pavey sneered.

“How dare you speak to me in such a way. I will have you calling me your god before I decide to kill you.”

He pushed a button on the switchboard in front of him.

A coarse rush of pain made its way through her body. It seemed like her veins were suddenly filled with fire, and her muscles jerked painfully and involuntarily.

Then it stopped. He spoke again.

“That was a common torture method. The use of electricity. But I do know that it is far less painful than it normally would be for a human. And I want you to experience the highest amount of hurt ever.”

Pavey smiled sadistically. He stood and pushed all the equipment on the floor. He stood right in front of Relena, who looked him straight back. He snapped his fingers loudly.

A soldier entered the room. He silently walked behind Relena. She felt the push of his thumb on the middle of her back, near the spine.

Pressure point.

Relena’s whole body contracted violently, and a loud tear was heard as her wing sprouted through her shirt. The soldier stepped back.

Pavey laughed maniacally when Relena shot him a glare of steel. He reached forward.

He fingered the end of two feathers.

*********

Milliardo’s head shot up. He had felt a disturbance in Relena’s spirit. A gift among Phoenixan siblings.

“No.” His voice choked up with fury. “No. Don’t do that. Anything but that.”

********

The world before her swirled, until it was only random colours of sickening green and blood red. Pain boiled at the back of her eyes. Her whole body shook. A disgusting and revolting nausea pierced through her mind, darting in and out of the agony and violation filling her mind. No. It was nothing like before.

‘No. That’s wrong. Anything but that. Stop it. You’re not supposed...to. God, stop. Torture me. Rape me. Kill me. God, stop. Make it stop.’ Her mind screamed at the defilement.

Everything swam in and out of focus, yet she couldn’t seem to go unconscious.

**********

Milliardo’s eyes were filled with rage. He shouted and everyone, even Heero, kept oout of his way. In his anger, he punched through a glass wall, and then didn’t even give it a second thought.

Finally, Hilde burst out,

“What the hell is happening, Milliardo?”

He turned his bloodshot eyes on her. He managed to spit out,

“What is happening? It is the worst thing that could ever happen to a Phoenixan person. Breaking the law of the highest taboo, a rule never to be crossed. Even rape is below it.”

Milliardo was on the verge of tearing out his hair.

“The bastard is touching her wings. Never, ever should that be done. He should burn in hell forever and more for this.”

The eyes of each person were wide. What was going through Heero’s mind was undefinable. He briefly thought back to the previous night, where he had accidentally touched...

Milliardo’s voice bellowed out in fury,

“Relena! Roast them! Use your damn powers. They deserve it.”

*********

Somewhere in her mind, Relena heard him. Somewhere in her desolation, her brother’s voice came piercing through. She gathered her strength, what was left of it, and added it to her anger.

The whole room burst into flame. All that could burn...did. Two high pitched shrieks came from Pavey and the soldier behind her. They raced for the door and into the hall, trying to beat out the flames on the clothes.

The fire didn’t touch Relena at all, but did eat away at her bonds. In a matter of seconds, she was free. Her body still trembled, and her eyes seemed crazed.

She exited the room, the fire following her progress. Relena had no idea where to go, so she simply went wherever she could.

In five minutes or so, Relena lowered her hands and the flames lowered as well. Soon, she was cornered once again by soldiers.

Relena backed into a corner, then slammed her fist on a large red button on the wall. The hatch into space opened in the wall. Both she and the soldiers were swept out.

“Your blood would boil, you guys!” “Not exactly. Phoenixes can travel in space for a period of 2 hours.”

For a moment, Relena floated aimlessly. Then, her wings contracted and propelled her towards the Viore. She trembled even more violently now, as she entered the cockpit of her suit.

The controls looked foreign. Relena couldn’t understand. Her mind was still shut down, like her soul had been rejected from her body by the violation. She pushed random buttons, then collapsed into her seat as the suit began to move.

********

The whole crew was doing what they could to calm Milliardo. It was easy for Heero to slip away. His mind was focused as he reached the Wing Zero. He left the hangar with one mission in mind:

GO GET RELENA

********

The comm link of Viore opened, and her brother’s face suddenly appeared. Relena stared at him like she was staring at a stranger. She could barely hear what Milliardo was saying,

“...Relena! Get control!.......I know it’s hard........heading into the Earth’s atmosphere........wrong trajectory........get killed.......crash.........Relena...........

......RELENA!”

Tears streamed down her face as she tried to form thought. When she recognized her brother, she finally answered,

“No! Don’t look at me! I’m so disgusting....he, he---- he touched----he touched----”

Relena stopped talking and shut off the comm link. She sat back in her seat. It was getting hotter. Though she didn’t know it, Viore was entering the Earth’s atmosphere.

She closed her eyes, wanting to escape. Relena was rewarded, when everything crashed as the suit hit the ground.

Everything went black.

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~Finished September 3rd, 2001

~~~Cliffhangers, cliffhangers. Don’t you just hate them?

*An angry mob starts chasing Angelwings*

Sorry, sorry, sorry! You’ll just have to wait.

Stuff:

1.) Blah, blah, you know that feedback is MANDATORY!!!! I mean, if you’ve read for this long, you’ve got to like it just a little. And everyone has suggestions so.... don’t be shy! I’m a very nice person!

2.) If you haven’t already (or if you’re reading from it) go visit my site! It NORMALLY has the fastest updates, yadda, yadda.

The URL is: www.geocities.com/angelwingsfics/Home.html

3.) No, I haven’t changed my mind about the ‘no lemon thang’. Everyone keeps asking me that!!

PS: I got these two mails from somebody named Dizzy Black (? I think ?) and I couldn’t really understand what they were saying. If that person could mail me again in a more understandable way, that would be nice.

Much love,

Angelwings