I do not own Gundam Wing. This fan fiction has no
commercial value and I am not making any kind of profit or income off of this.
Duo
shook his head and mentally tallied the odds. “There’s fifteen of them, that’s three a piece,” he said
quietly.
Trowa shook his head. “There’s no way, Duo.”
Duo looked at him
helplessly, “I promised her we wouldn’t let her go down without a fight,” he
said, regret and blame eating at his heart.
If I hadn’t insisted she come to the wedding, this wouldn’t have
happened, he thought bitterly.
Heero watched Wufei lead her
to the helicopter and help her inside, and couldn’t help but remember her words
or the look in her eyes when the Preventer had taken her from his embrace.
We can’t make
promises we have no control over whether they can be fulfilled…. “She knew,” he said
flatly. He closed his eyes and felt the
sting of hurt and betrayal well up inside.
She had left him. How could she
have turned herself in after everything that the others had gone through to
protect her? She was turning her back
on their protection, and she was turning her back on his love. The thought was too much; he whirled around
and stormed angrily back inside the church.
* * * * * *
They
arrived at Preventer Headquarters in the early hours of Sunday morning. The darkness and chill of the night
permeated Relena’s skin and reached her heart.
Earth… She thought and shivered at the thought that it had become
her prison.
Colonel Une had kept to her
word and brought the fallen princess to her new residence before alerting the
press and all other government officials. Une wasn’t about to allow the media
to present to the general populace pictures of the former queen being paraded
around as a common prisoner.
Their
agreement had been house arrest in the basement of the main Preventer building
located near Luxembourg. Relena nodded
at her old friend as she was led into her tiny sterile room. Lady Une followed her inside.
“We’ve
called in the attorneys you’ve requested.
They’ll be here first thing in the morning,” Une began.
“Thank
you. Will you fill me in on the situation as it stands now?" Relena asked quietly, taking a seat on the
bed.
Une nodded, and sat down in
the single chair in the room. “This is what we know so far...”
* * * * * *
“Prime Minister Talmadge,
Colonel Une of the Preventers just called, sir,” a young woman with dark auburn
hair called out from the doorway of the office that belonged to the head
representative of the West European region.
He was sitting in the large burgundy leather chair behind a solid
mahogany desk in an overtly expensive room filled with books, plaques, and the
region’s flags from a time when boundaries still existed. His back was turned towards the door from
which his assistant spoke, as he looked out the large window and puffed on his
pipe thoughtfully on that Sunday morning.
“What did she want?” The
elderly Prime Minister asked his aide coldly.
“She said that they had
arrested Relena Peacecraft, and were holding her at headquarters, awaiting
further instructions,” she responded grimly.
“Bloody hell!” He exclaimed
and turned his chair around to face the young woman who had just spoken. “Get me the President from the North
American region on the line, and the Representative from Euro-Prussia. If they give you any trouble tell them it is
an emergency!” He said and pounded his fist down on the desk in frustration. What does that woman think she’s
doing? She wasn’t supposed to capture
her! She’s going to ruin us all!
“I’m afraid we have a bit of
a situation on our hands,” Prime Minister Talmadge greeted the image on his
screen.
“You assured us this wouldn’t
happen - that the bomb would take care of this eventuality. Now look at the mess we’re in,” President
Taylor replied, glaring at the Prime Minister through the videocomm device.
“Now is not the time for
finger-pointing,” Representative Krizova cut in quickly. “We must concentrate on damage control.”
“What can we do now but sit
back and pray?” Talmadge asked curtly.
The other two members of the conversation remained silent.
* * * * * *
“I don’t understand,” Relena
said standing up from her place on the twin bed and turning away to face the
wall as she blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall. “I did this?” She asked softly.
“Relena, it wasn’t your
fault. It was the economic policies put
in place by those who thought they were following your direction.” Une said in a firm voice.
“Peace shouldn’t leave
people starving in the streets and homeless…how could I have been so blind?”
Relena asked, pain evident in her expression.
“Again, it’s not your fault,
Relena. You were only one
representative in ESUN. You had no idea
what they were trying to accomplish or why.”
“How did you figure it out,
Miss Une?”
“Well, we had to send in
someone to infiltrate the group. We’ve
finally nailed down the trio that is responsible for the current situation, but
unfortunately that doesn’t help you out of your predicament,” Une said
solemnly.
“But I still don’t
understand. If you can prove what they
were up to…” Relena fought to keep her voice steady, and the sense of dread
from crumbling the last of her dignity.
“The whole ESUN assembly
voted on whether or not your actions were treasonous, not just those
three.” Une said simply, trying not to
sound as cold as her chosen words, but there was no point in deluding the girl,
either.
“But they were the ones that
put me in that situation, it never would have happened if it wasn’t for them.”
She closed her eyes and tried not to think about how she might never get to see
Heero again…that she really might have to face an executioner.
“That’s not enough to clear
you, unfortunately. It’s better to go
about this the way we discussed originally.
Our contact on the inside will keep us informed as to their movements.
We’re hoping your capture manages to rattle them enough to get them to make a
mistake.”
“I see. And so I have no guarantee that helping you
will save me from execution, is that right?”
She asked, hoping that the older woman couldn’t see how badly she was
trembling on the inside.
“Yes, but there is a good
chance that the vote was rigged. Which
is why we have to petition to get it unsealed.”
“But again, if the attorneys
are able to open the vote, and it was counted correctly, then I remain a
traitor and condemned to die.”
“Yes.” Une said regretfully. War was a cold beast
that took one life the same as another – not caring the importance of the
individual to others. Mr. Treize…she
thought wistfully; the young princess’s spirit was one that his Excellency had
admired.
Relena thought a moment
longer, then opened her eyes and drew her shoulders back into a regal
posture. She turned and looked at the
older woman, determination glittering in ice blue eyes for a moment as she
nodded proudly a second before saying firmly, “I am not afraid to accept the
consequences of my actions, nor would I change what I did.”
“I know.”
* * * * * *
Duo found Heero sitting on
the steps at the back of the church, and sat down next to him. He placed a comforting hand on his friend’s
shoulder. “I’m sorry, this is all my
fault. I pushed her so hard to come, if
she hadn’t…”
“Forget it, it’s not your
fault,” Heero replied shrugging out of his grasp and standing up abruptly. “She betrayed us,” he spat venomously. “She turned herself in. It’s no one’s fault but her own.” He turned and went inside to get a ride back
to the hotel.
The next evening, Noin
knocked lightly on the door and discovering it partially open, entered to find
him staring blankly out the hotel window.
“This came for you, it’s from Relena,” she said softly while holding up
a small disk.
“Keep it. And take her stuff with you,” he said
flatly, trying to ignore the ache in his heart. She was as good as dead, what was the use in caring about someone
that didn’t love you enough to save themselves? And yet, he found he just couldn’t shut it off – not the feelings
he had for her, nor the hurt that had taken over when he saw her being led
away…
“It’s actually not what you
think, Heero,” Noin began, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks, which was
unusual for her. “Please, you don’t
understand…you need to watch this.
There’s a section encoded just for you that we weren’t able to get
into. But the rest we’ve seen. She didn’t turn herself in – she didn’t
betray you. But this may be the last
transmission we’ll get, if things don’t go well….” She moved over to the desk
where his laptop sat, and plugged in the disk.
Immediately, Relena’s face appeared onscreen:
“My dearest friends, Brother, Lucrezia,” she began seriously. “I’m so sorry, Duo and Hilde about ruining the wedding. Please accept my sincerest apologies, I never wanted to detract from this, the happiest of days…” Her expression was one of concern and regret.
“ You guys are too good at
protecting me. I hadn’t counted on you
all being so quick. Please understand
that this was something I had to do. I
want you to know that I didn’t exactly turn myself in, I would never waste all
your efforts that way, but I did make an agreement with Miss Une in order to
gain a little extra time.
“After talking with her, she
gave me permission to reveal to you that they need me in order to put pressure
on some of the men that are steering the government down the wrong path – a
path that could lead us all to war. I
couldn’t sit by and watch that happen as long as I could do something about
it. In exchange for my cooperation, the
Preventers will be directing my legal defense, trying to reverse the decision
against me.” Her voice was quiet and firm, but suddenly pain flashed in her
eyes. The next sentence was barely
above a whisper, “However, there are no guarantees…” She paused a moment before continuing.
“Please know that I am very
aware of the situation I am in, and I implore you to remember that I love you
all, and don’t regret anything I’ve done.
Even knowing what I know now, I would still burn those papers, and still
fight to protect you – all of you. And
even if I lose the legal battle, I’ll still win as long as I helped prevent
another war, prevent those men from sending you off to fight again. Please forgive me if the price is that I
don’t make it back to you.”
Heero had moved over to sit down at the desk when she had gotten to the part about not turning herself in. When the first recorded transmission ended, he closed his eyes a moment before looking over at Noin who stood still just inside his room, sobbing quietly. “I’ll leave you, now. I know the last part is private…” She said softly and exited, closing the door behind her. She left him in no less emotional turmoil than when she found him.
“Relena,” he said running a hand
through his hair, trying to figure out the emotions that clutched his
heart. He went to work breaking the
security codes that she knew only he would be able to crack. After a few minutes, a second transmission
appeared onscreen. Her eyes had that slightly
glassy look that signified she had been crying. His heart contracted painfully in his chest and again he thought
how he wished he could change places with her.
“It shouldn’t be your life on the line, it should be mine….” He
whispered to her.
“Heero, I don’t expect you to forgive me for what I’ve done,” she said quietly, an expression of remorse on her face. “I never meant to hurt you, please understand that this is my fight…. Just like you had your missions during the war, this is my battlefield. I have no room for failure, I know – but I promise to see you on the other side of victory, one way or another.”
“Incredible,” he thought bitterly.
She was the one in danger, and was still only concerned for him. He felt ashamed of himself for ever doubting
her motives, but the shame did nothing to crowd out the feeling of dread that
had come over him at her words. As she
paused momentarily after the phrase “one way or another,” he suddenly found
himself begging her silently not to say what he feared most…
“ It doesn’t matter if it’s in this life or the next, I’ll always be with you in my heart. Take care of yourself for me. I love you, Heero.”
The screen went blank, bathing the room in darkness once again. He bowed his head, letting the pain and emptiness take hold of him once more.