Disclaimer: I thank whatever lucky stars are out there for the wonderful people that made up these characters. Because they are far more talented than I could ever hope to be. I may use and abuse them…but, sadly, I do not own them.

Warnings: ‘Cause you know that there will always be some… Some heavy HxR scenes in here. Nothing graphic, just angst, but I know that some of you out there don’t exactly belong to the Relena fan club, so I thought I would give you a little advanced notice. I, personally, love to torture them with their bottled emotions. HEHEHEHE!! That’s about as evil as my evil laughs go, so on to the story!

Legacies of Victory and Defeat by Luvspook

Episode 3: Relena’s Plea

The sky remained a dull gray, the clouds swirling across the twilight horizon like polished marble.

Trowa Barton sifted through the rubble of what had once been his life, the subdued melancholy in his soul touching each memory, as he glared down at the charred objects he had managed to retrieve from the ashes.

His hand gently embraced the surface of his clown mask, his fingers tracing the large crack that had blemished its perfection. The mask, like Trowa, was still intact-refusing to break, but would remain forever changed.

He cast it aside, bitterly, as the soft whisper of footsteps approached him from behind.

Maybe it was because the two pilots were so much more alike than either of them would readily admit. Maybe because there was an air of danger that followed the pilot of Wing Zero wherever he went. Maybe because even Heero Yuy’s allies could often sense his brooding, if not threatening presence. But, for whatever the reason, Trowa didn’t need to turn around, he knew who it was.

"I was too late." Trowa stated, without turning to face his friend. "I left and gave them every opportunity they needed to attack. I left them… and they suffered without even knowing why. It doesn’t make sense."

"Wars never do." Heero replied, icily.

"And that’s all our lives have amounted to…isn’t it?" Trowa whispered, his voice betraying the flood of emotions that had taken up refuge in his heart.

He absentmindedly sifted his fingers through the ash and soot, his emotional control stretched to the breaking point.

"All the battles…the peace we fought for…" He said finally, spinning to face the stone figure that was Heero Yuy, when the anger and pain became to much to bear. "Why did you come here, Heero?"

"Because I knew they were planning to attack. I was too late as well." Heero stated, slipping the list of assemblies he had retrieved from the archives into Trowa’s hand. "But I won’t be the next time."

"You’re going to fight again, Heero?" Trowa asked, in disbelief.

"We have a new enemy." Was Heero’s only reply, before turning his back to the Heavyarms pilot.

"You know who they are?" Trowa called after him, matching the intensity in Heero’s cobalt eyes, as he stopped to glance back over his shoulder. "Then I’m coming too."

"But, Trowa?…"

"There’s nothing left to keep me here, now. Not any more…" Trowa answered, softly, ignoring the hint of surprise that was peeking through Heero’s words. "So where do we start?"

* * * * *

"Hey, Quatre, are you really sure you should be doing this?!" Duo asked, examining the injured boy’s pained expression as he struggled out of his hospital bed, modestly trying to keep the all too revealing gown closed as he moved.

"I already told you, Duo…" Quatre replied, stifling his nearly inaudible gasps of pain. "I promised Trowa that Catherine would have the best care. The L2 cluster houses the largest scientific and medical constituency in the colonies."

"But what about the attacks?…" Duo inquired. "You know, you’re not exactly 100% yet, Quatre."

"I’ll be fine." Quatre answered, retrieving the small pile of clothes stashed in one of the drawers beside his bed. "Besides, from what Heero said, the attacks seem to be centered around the delegation. If the data he acquired is accurate, then the next delegation assembly is on Colony C-1013, in the L1 cluster. That will be where the next attack will come…and you can bet that’s where Heero and Trowa will be."

"And if he’s wrong?…" Duo questioned, suddenly, leaving Quatre searching for a response.

"Either way, we should get our Gundams ready again…" Quatre replied, finally. "Everything we fought for will be lost if we allow the colonies to get dragged into another war, now."

Duo’s eyes drifted to the scenery outside, as Quatre started to get dressed, his thoughts wandering to the picturesque view of a fast approaching winter.

…Hilde’s not gonna like this!…

* * * * *

The engineers were still busy preparing for the next mission as Dasenya made her way to the conference room for debriefing. She had reviewed the plans for the attack several times before leaving her room, and was fairly certain that the only concern would be intervention from the Gundams. She smiled inwardly at the thought of such an unexpected change in plan, secretly longing for the encounter.

"You wanted to see me?" Dasenya announced, upon entering the small room.

"That’s right. Is everything in order for the L1 assembly?" Her comrade inquired, sharply. "We must be ready for anything, now."

"Everything is prepared, but in all honesty, I think you give those pilots far too much credit…" She replied, her comrade quick to silence her.

"Do not underestimate them, Fallon. OZ’s past mistakes will be repeated if you are not smarter than those who trained you. Remember that."

"Yes. Forgive my insolence." Dasenya replied, softly. "But, even if the Gundams arrive this time, Avenger is an excellent suit…far more advanced than even Wing Zero…"

"You of all people should know, that the abilities of a mobile suit are insignificant compared to the abilities of the person who pilots it. The pilot of Wing Zero will not be relying on the strength of his Gundam alone. You must be prepared for anything."

"Of course. I have been studying Heero Yuy’s statistics quite extensively." Dasenya said, with the slightest of smiles. "Undoubtedly, he will prove to be quite a challenge, but he will not interfere with your plans. I will make certain of that."

"See that you do. There is no room for failure in our objective. The colony citizens will suffer…they will all suffer for what they have done to me."

* * * * *

The room was quickly filling with people and Relena could feel a certain uneasiness in the pit of her stomach as the colony delegates shuffled in. Exchanging glares of distrust and fear, they took their respective seats, noisily voicing their opinions as Relena began to speak.

"I have demanded that this meeting be held today in the hope that another war may be averted…" The Vice Foreign Minister said as, unbeknownst to her, two young men watched from the balcony, engaging themselves in a conversation of a much different nature.

"What do you think, Heero?" Trowa asked, quietly. "The delegation has never been the target for an attack before."

"That’s because we’ve been their only targets until now." Heero replied, all too calmly, his focus never straying from Relena. "But the colony representatives pose an even greater threat if they choose to retaliate. Their reaction to another attack might be enough to push the colonies toward another Operation: Meteor. It would be a mistake to overlook the probability that this will lead to war."

"But if we can prevent that attack from happening…" Trowa argued.

"We can’t." Heero interrupted, the response coming out so quickly, that Trowa wasn’t even sure that he had actually heard the words. "If that Gundam was built even remotely as well as Dr. J designed it, there’s no way the two of us can stop it."

Trowa wasn’t sure, but he could swear that he saw a flicker of something in Heero’s eyes as he spoke. He couldn’t put a name to it, but if he didn’t know better, he would swear it was something that resembled defeat.

Burying the thought, he turned his attention back to the words being exchanged on the floor below.

"We’re tired of being controlled by the Earth’s military forces!"

The voices assaulted Relena’s ears relentlessly, echoing the same angry words that she had heard only days before, at the L3 assembly.

"The Earth has no intention of directing you in the way you conduct your lives here. Their only desire is that matters between Earth and the colonies be handled peacefully, so as to benefit us all." She replied, quietly.

"But that peace is always provided on the Earth’s terms. The colonies were doing fine all on their own, long before any kind of intervention from the Earth!"

"Yeah!…" Several voices agreed.

"The colonies don’t need peace when it’s offered under your conditions!" Another voice argued, from the opposite side of the room.

"But if we all work together, I am certain…" Relena continued, her voice drowned out by the growing opposition.

"Why should we continue to place such blind faith in the ideals of a child, while our homes are being attacked…"

Relena could feel the sudden change in the air; the room now filled with loud, accusing tones that weighed heavily on her heart. The idealism that had guided her for so long, had left her in a dark maze of emotions that would judge and ridicule her, testing her strength.

"Perhaps my ideals for peace are childish. Perhaps the very notion of peace has become nothing more than a shallow promise. Nevertheless, as long as I stand before you, as a representative of both Earth and the space colonies, I will remain firm in those ideals, and would gladly sacrifice my life to ensure an end to battles of all kinds. Peace should be a goal that we work together to attain; it being the end result when we can lay the blame aside for our past mistakes, and strive toward a future of cooperation and unity. And I will continue to work toward that future, work to share that future with everyone…both on Earth and in space."

Several in the crowd of representatives fell silent, whispering amongst themselves, while still others were shaking their heads, blatantly disregarding the opinions of the young Vice Foreign Minister.

Heero’s eyes narrowed as he set his sights on the small group of representatives, clearly trying to make trouble.

"We don’t need anyone from the Earth telling us what direction our future should take! The colonies managed to live in peace up until organizations from the Earth interfered…" One of the representatives screamed, jumping to his feet. "And I say these attacks are just another threat to what we in the colonies obtained a long time ago."

"The Earth has no desire to start another war with the colony citizens. It would be foolish to give up everything we have all fought so hard to achieve, without rationing out the facts, first." Relena responded, trying to remain calm despite the abrupt disorder that was flooding into the room.

"Are you calling us fools, now!?!" A particularly burly looking representative screamed, reaching out to grab Relena’s arm, crushing it in the process.

Relena tried her best to stay composed, stifling the cry of pain and fear that wanted so desperately to escape her body.

"No…I wasn’t…" She stammered, as several others in the crowd rose to their feet.

Without warning, a single gunshot pierced the air, shocking the room into silence, and all eyes turned to the back of the room where Lucrezia Noin stood guard.

"That’s enough!" She screamed, her gun still displayed threateningly over her head. "You got a problem?…Then, you can take it up with me."

Seeing an open window of opportunity, the two pilots leapt from the balcony.

With swift, almost incomprehensible speed, Trowa flipped in mid-air, spinning several times before dropping into the fray, directly in front of the Vice Foreign Minister. Before anyone knew what had happened, Trowa had landed a solid blow to the opposing representative’s face, sending the man toppling backwards, forcing him to release Relena’s arm.

"You’d better hurry." Trowa said, never turning his eyes from the startled group of delegation members.

Relena quickly recovered her senses, but not before she felt a strong hand encompass her own, pulling her urgently through the crowd. It took a moment to realize who it was, but the flood of memories that assaulted her, conjured up his face with agonizing speed.

"Heero Yuy?!" She said, suddenly, his name reaching her lips as more of a question than an answer.

He didn’t turn to face her, his mind obviously focused on clearing a path for their escape, but in an effort to protect her, pulled her body closer to his own, shielding her from harm. He turned just in time to avoid being pummeled, as one of the delegates took a wild swing at his head, which he quickly answered with a swift punch that sent the man sprawling to the ground.

A well-placed kick sent another two representatives crashing across the surface of the conference room floor, as Trowa covered Heero and Relena’s escape.

He had just turned, poised to strike down another, when the man in front of him suddenly fell to the floor like a lead weight.

Just beyond, the former Lieutenant of the OZ forces came into view; a grim, but distinguishable smile, curling at the edge of her lips.

"Trowa Barton…" Noin said, sheepishly. "I should have known. You two had better get Miss Relena out of here. I’ll handle them."

Moments later, Relena could feel the cold night air touch her cheeks, and the blur of events that had just occurred, faded away as the three slipped into the shadows, and disappeared from sight.

* * * * *

They traveled through the night, to the carrier that would take them to the rendezvous point on L2-the salvage yard where Duo and Hilde had been living and working together since the war.

One communiquÈ from Heero had set everything in motion. Both Quatre and Duo had passed the time, preparing their mobile suits for battle, waiting for the moment when they would be put to good use again.

When reports of the attack on Colony C began to surface, they knew the time had almost come…

* * * * *

They had been driving for what seemed an eternity, nothing more than the discomforting silence exchanged between them, since they had abruptly exited the conference.

After their arrival on L2, Trowa and Heero had unloaded the supplies from the carrier, placing them on the flatbed trucks that Duo had left for them. Those same trucks would transport Heavyarms and Wing Zero to the salvage yard as discreetly as anything that large could possibly be discreet. Now, with so much preparation and careful planning, they had finally arrived.

Relena had occupied herself with observing the peaceful landscape, noting how truly beautiful life in the colonies could be, as she struggled to come to terms with the inevitability of the approaching war.

The truck pulled to an abrupt stop, exiting the bumpy service road that was under far too much scrutiny from the locals. Though most of the neighboring buildings were deserted, and the others who lived and worked in the area, knew who and what Duo was, they still kept the area as removed from the public eye as possible.

Relena’s steps were sluggish and deliberate as she jumped out of the truck, her pace slowing to an eventual halt as she took in the scenery before her.

Duo and Quatre were already waving the three new guests inside, the former yelling something about grabbing a bite to eat.

…Typical… Trowa sighed, inwardly. …It’s good to know that the threat of war hasn’t changed some things…

He turned, just about to call to Heero and Relena, when he noticed the severe expression on the Vice Foreign Minister’s face. Sensing their sudden need to be alone, he made a hasty retreat without so much as a word.

Heero inwardly thanked the boy before returning to Relena’s side.

"There’s going to be another war, now. Isn’t there, Heero?" She asked, her eyes downcast as though already knowing the answer.

He didn’t reply, knowing that she hadn’t honestly expected him to. His silence would be answer enough.

"And you’re going off to fight again, aren’t you?…" She continued, tendering her barely contained rage.

"It’s the only thing I can do." He answered, calmly, the accepting tone of his voice, only serving to infuriate her further.

"Why!?! Don’t you think that your life is a little too valuable to just throw it away in another meaningless battle?"

"It’s a battle that stands to ensure peace and reinstill the people’s faith in your ideals. You used to think that peace was something worth fighting for." He replied, remaining as detached and emotionless as always.

Relena spun to face him, as though his words had dealt her a physical blow. Searching his eyes, she cursed his strength, determined to find something that would betray him. Something that would show her that she stood a chance of convincing him not to fight. But there was nothing. Nothing more than willful determination and a conviction that, for him, answers would only be found on the battlefield.

"Peace is worth fighting for." She stated, coldly, turning away from him as though she could deny what she had seen in those lifeless eyes of his. "…But it should never be obtained at the expense of so many innocent lives. No cause is worth so much suffering."

"That’s why I have to fight. Soldiers like myself in this war, are far from innocent. If we fight, then those who have been untouched by the violence of war, won’t have to fight. They will bring the kind of peace needed to create something better when this war is finally over."

"Heero, please don’t go." Relena pleaded, desperately fighting to keep her welling tears at bay.

Her hands were clenched so tightly that she could feel her fingernails cutting into the soft flesh of her palms, even deep enough to draw blood. But she refused to cry, turning to the pain in her hands to numb the flood of emotions drowning within her soul.

"There are other ways…better ways to make my ideals a reality. A reality that everyone can accept, that will give people like us the opportunity to build a foundation for a better future. One that can benefit all of mankind."

"You’re allowing your idealism to blind you, Relena. It’s just not realistic to believe that all differences can be resolved by one person’s will alone. The only way to restore peace now is by fighting to defend it. By eliminating those who would oppose it. That’s the reality of war."

"I don’t believe that, Heero." She replied, quietly, her arguments leaving her exhausted. "And whether you allow yourself to admit it or not, somewhere deep inside of you, you don’t want to believe that, either."

Heero watched as the wind toyed with her sandy brown hair, tossing and twirling it, playfully. He cringed inwardly as he examined her painstricken face; turned downward, defeated by her own weariness and sorrow. A single tear glistened down the length of her cheek, and she made no move to hide it as she stared out across the countryside.

He reacted, ignoring the screams of the emotionless soldier inside him, and with the gentlest of embraces, tenderly brushed the tear from her cheek.

The motion caught her off-guard and she could feel all the blood rush to her face, betraying her heart, and making her blush. For the briefest of moments, she could see a flicker of emotion in his face as well, his blue eyes softening ever so briefly, as they focused on her own.

Her knees felt weak and she could feel her entire body tremble, held firmly in place by only his gaze.

"Heero…"

"You should go back to the Earth." He interrupted, the soldier in him silencing whatever emotions he had nearly set loose. It screamed at him, reprimanding him for the slight indulgence, reminding him of his weakness. "The Earth’s delegation will be able to protect you there."

"I can’t do that." She answered, stubbornly, and he could hear the pain and confusion evident in her voice. "If the war is to continue than I must stay here. What kind of representative would I be if I deserted the people when they needed me the most."

Their eyes met again, a cold battle of wills waged between the two as Heero quickly put his emotions back in check. He would have to sacrifice both of their hearts to keep her alive.

"It would be foolish of you to stay. The colonies want this war. Your presence here serves as little more than a threat to them. I can’t guarantee your safety if you stay, Relena. I can’t protect you here…"

"I won’t go, Heero. If you’re going to fight, then I can’t go…" She stated again, meeting his seething glare with equal intensity.

Without a word, he turned to walk away, too many angry words already exchanged between them. She felt her heart breaking as she watched him walk away from her, wanting so much to run after him…wanting so much to tell him the truth and to feel his strong arms around her.

"Heero…" She whispered, as she collapsed to the ground, clutching the fragile blades of grass below her, bathing the ground with her tears.

END

Sorry, sorry, sorry that this took so long to finish. I’ve been really under the weather, and this was a big one to write. Everything is leading up to the next couple of episodes, and I didn’t want to settle with something I wasn’t totally happy with. Pleeeeeease e-mail at luvspook@milwpc.com, I want to make sure people are still reading out there!