Was that me? Relena wondered, thinking that perhaps she hadn't heard it, or maybe it came unconsciously out of her mouth.

But everyone whipped around to the sound of the voice, and they weren't looking at her. They were looking at Dorothy Catalonia.

Dear God, what has she done now?

"I mean it!" said Dorothy determinedly, fire in her eyes.

"And under what circumstances are you to justify your objection?" asked the bishop, aghast but keeping his composure.

"I'm in love with Heero Yuy!" she lied boldly.

"Christ, Heero!" exclaimed Duo, "three women?"

"Watch your mouth!" snapped the bishop, seemingly more annoyed with Duo's cursing that Heero's supposed philandering.

This is crazy, thought Heero, CRAZY!

"Does he feel the same way?" asked the bishop.

"Yes!" said Dorothy, turning to Heero with a fierce expression on her face. "Yes!"

Everyone turned to Heero.

Who looked uncharacteristically stunned.

"You do, don't you?" pressed Dorothy.

"I…"

"I do!" he blurted out, surprising himself.

The bishop threw up his hands in frustration, walked away.

Julianna's eyes turned steely, her sharp mind aware of the lies. She moved to the microphone.

"The deal is off" she announced, "there will be war, after all. But in the name of honor, I will allow two hours, for everyone loyal to the United Earth Nations to find a way out of my colony. Anyone caught here after that time will be considered prisoners of war. The time on my watch is exactly sixteen hundred hours. Time starts now."

She walked out of the room, shedding her veil and her flowers, flanked by those loyal to her.

Cameras flashed, and the single women stalked straight for the discarded bridal bouquet.

Julianna felt ridiculous, planning a war in her wedding dress.

She was in her room, along with General Trumble, who was gloating.

"I told you it was a mistake" he said.

She glared at him. "We've covered that. Now I'm ordering you to put our forces in an alert status, ready to move out in two hours."

General Trumble's pale eyes glistened, as he drew a gun on her and some followers of his barged into the room.

"Change of plans, Princess"

She was more outraged than afraid. "Put those away now!"

"No can do" he said, circling her like a predator. "I wasn't much for your marriage plans. Always did hope I'd take a shine to you. But…well, bygones. A war could always wait, I thought. And if we had Commodore Yuy on our side, as he is your husband, we would surely win. But now…now that he and all the Gundam pilots and the Vice Minister are in our hands, you're willing to let them get away? Big mistake, Princess."

"You have no honor" she seethed.

"I'm a practical man"

Dominic, who was on his way to Julianna's room to speak with her, paused when he heard the exchange.

Bastard! He thought, and was tempted to storm in there and rescue Julianna. But, he too was a practical man.

Dominic, at a run, headed straight for the rooms of Colonel Une.

"Bring what you can carry and head for the docking bay!"

It was the singular order that was hastily followed by all those who were part of the United Earth Nations.

They were a force to be reckoned with, sure, but deep in enemy territory, their chances were slim if an all-out fight was to ensue.

The group did it discreetly, so Trumble wouldn't be forced into acting rashly. But given half an hour, almost everyone was ready for take-off.

Almost everyone.

"Where's Heero?" Relena demanded of Wufei and Zechs, who were dragging her by the elbows to a ship.

"He'll come" Zechs promised, grunted when she resisted.

"Relena, don't make this hard" said Wufei.

She sighed, relaxed as she was led to a small but undeniably fast personnel carrier. She led the way inside, grabbed open a cabinet and screamed.

"What?" the two men asked, drawing their guns and peering inside.

"There's a man hiding in there!" she said hysterically, "I think he's a spy!"

Cautiously, Zechs and Wufei stepped inside.

And she locked the door behind them.

"Sorry!" she called over, as they banged on the door.

She jogged away, determined to look for Heero.

Heero, of course, had other concerns.

Relena stood at the back of his mind, forced there not merely by the call of yet another brand new duty, but also by the assurance that she was safe… no one can touch her, as long as she was with Zechs and Wufei, as Une had said, in the fastest personnel carrier they had.

He focused his mind on what Dominic had just told him, and what Une said had to be done. The three of them were in the Colonel's suite, discussing their plan of action as Dominic and Heero donned dark clothes and weapons.

"You realize the risks," Une told Heero flatly, clearly implying that it could very well be a clever ploy to take their greatest war hero from them.

"Yes," Heero said calmly, not breaking his pace as he loaded, re-loaded, cocked his guns and placed them in their respective holsters. Une thought he looked more sure than anything, in his commando clothes.

Dominic paused. "You know I can't go to anyone from my side. I have no idea how far the conspiracy goes. Besides… this is as beneficial for me as it is for you"

"Of course," said Une coolly, "Make this simple, boys. Take the Princess Julianna and get the hell out of the hothouse. We're leaving one of our fastest personnel carriers for your use. It's small, with just a capacity of three. But it's the fastest anywhere. Rescue her and leave. The war we can take care of, and possibly even prevent, if she were safely in our hands"

"Yes," agreed Dominic, "I strongly believe that if our lower-ranking soldiers and our people find out she is being kept against her will, they will no longer follow Trumble's orders"

Heero nodded, accepting this. "Don't wait for us, Colonel," he said, "Leave this airspace with time to spare. Make sure the Vice Minister is safe"

"The Gundams will be here in the space of an hour," Une said.

Dominic's head shot up at that. "Gundams? I thought…?"

"We do not go into anything blindly," said Une evenly, "the other pilots, save for Commodore Yuy and Wufei, would be intercepting the arrival. If this war should push through, we won't be wasting any time"

Heero nodded in approval. "Good. Be safe, Colonel. We'll follow shortly"

After the initial, frantic evacuation of the United Earth Nations' forces, the corridors of the palace were noticeably emptier. There were a few scattering of guards here and there, no problem really for Heero and Dominic to dodge. It seemed the immediate concern was to prepare for the war less than two hours hence.

"She's confined to her quarters," Dominic said softly.

Heero nodded. He hoped that the two of them wouldn't have to encounter open resistance. Surely, he has kept in shape. And nineteen was not exactly retirement-age. But it has been awhile since he had been on the field, though theoretically, he was the best (no one has ever matched his scores in training, and that had been years upon years ago), that's why Une took the risk on him. But Heero was used to working alone, and Dominic was… a handicap he would have preferred not having if he didn't need a 'native guide.' Dominic moved lithely, which meant he must have had some training in the past. But he surely wasn't expert-level.

Either way, Heero doubted they would encounter open resistance anyway.

At least, not any time soon. First, there were very few soldiers within the palace, for most were out either preparing for war or fortifying the outside, so no one would get in. Second, if any soldier would see them, he would only find Dominic, authorized pretty much to do whatever the hell he wanted. Third, anyone who sees Heero Yuy lingering would let him stay, hoping he would be detained long enough to become a prisoner of war.

The two men stopped at the corner around which was Julianna's suite. The outside of it was guarded by two men.

Dominic muttered a curse, looking at them. "You just got a glance of the best commandos you'll ever see this side of the universe"

"Any other way in?" asked Heero, looking at the blueprint in his mind. He was pretty sure there was a secret passage somewhere, that wouldn't have been in the official prints he had picked up.

"No other way in," said Dominic, "but there is another way out. She's the princess, you know. I can assure you we have several emergency exits"

"We can't use them to get inside?"

"They've been engineered precisely for that purpose"

"Would those men let you in?" asked Heero.

"I should think so," said Dominic, "If I got rid of the guns"

"No, don't" said Heero, "Tell them it's war, everyone has to be prepared. Go up front and I'll give you two minutes to locate her. I'll cause a distraction out here, you get her out that secret passage. Where do we meet?"

"Hangar," said Dominic, "Definitely the hangar"

"If the guards inside don't buy the distraction," said Heero, "Shoot them"

"I have to tell you I've never done this before"

"There's a first time for everything"

"You have no idea how comfortable that makes me feel"

Here we go…

Dominic held his breath as he walked leisurely towards the two guards, who had tensed upon his arrival.

"Halt!" one of them commanded, when he came five feet from the double doors. Dominic complied and looked as irritated as he could. He was, after all, supposedly part of the upper-class in this system.

"What?" he snapped, "I've come to see the Princess Julianna"

"Why are you armed as such?" they asked.

"It's war!" he replied irritably, "I've come to protect m'lady, as is my right, and privilege"

"We protect the Princess adequately," one of them said.

"I am her right-hand man, gentlemen," said Dominic, "Move away and let me inside"

"We follow the command of General Trumble alone," said the other man, "and his orders narrow to two things: no one is to go inside, and no one is to leave. If you should defy these, we will have to detain you"

"The General," seethed Dominic, "follows the Princess' orders, which come through me. Move. Over. Or pay the consequences"

Heero watched with narrowed eyes as the tension increased.

Dominic was not doing very well in this at all.

A curse froze in his mouth when Dominic said something and got pushed against the wall, efficiently disarmed and further frisked.

Then, surprise of all surprises, he was released and allowed to move into the room, though without his weapons.

Heero breathed through grit teeth. Definitely a setback, for Dominic to do this unarmed. He weighed in his options, wondering if he should push through with the original plan, or if he should just wait it out some more…

"Princess…" Dominic said, his voice more tight with emotion than he wanted. The last time they had time together, he had already decided it was goodbye. He walked her to the aisle and literally gave her away. He stood by and watched her move away from him…

Julianna had been standing by the window, her back to him. He recognized her stance. It might have been one of the few things that remained childish about her, her defiance when she doesn't get her way.

She whipped around at the sound of his voice. "Dominic…"

He held his place, not wanting to come any closer to her, before he did something crazy. "Why?"

"What?"

"Why?" he asked again, "Why did you come up with this crazy marriage idea?"

Her cheeks colored. "She had everything, Dominic. Relena has everything. I looked at the two of you, that night, that party… I thought she had you too. So I wanted to take something away from her"

Dominic closed his eyes. There was going to be a senseless war. The foolishness of it all.

"I won't say I'm sorry," she said shakily, though she might as well have. It was a big mistake. The war, the marriage, everything.

Dominic opened his eyes and nodded at her. He had to keep this conversation limited to the personal things. After all, there were two guards more in the room, and he supposedly wasn't aware yet of Trumble's betrayal.

Come on, Yuy. Do it…

It could have been an easy kill.

But Heero, to get to his goal, had to cause a ruckus. And ruckus he was going to get.

He charged the two commandos, disarming them and starting a fight sans weapons. It hurt a hell of a lot more, but would served his purpose best. Sure enough, others were alerted to his presence. He almost grinned when two more soldiers from inside Julianna's suite joined in.

"Moving out," Dominic muttered under his breath, grabbing Julianna's wrist. She resisted for a moment, looking at him accusingly.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm rescuing you," Dominc said with a sick grin. He started to pull her towards the secret passage, but she was still hesitant. Dominic looked at her in an injured manner. "Don't tell me you don't trust me"

"I've reason not to trust anyone these days," she said, but followed him anyway. They entered the secret passage behind one of the suite's many mirrors. "Dominic, I didn't know you were aware I was being held captive. What's the situation? Is anyone else aware? Is there a rebellion at hand? Mutiny against the general?"

"Kind of," replied Dominic, rushing through the halls, "I asked for the help of United Earth Nations"

--

"You didn't"

"I sure did"

"You had no right to show them our internal struggles"

"You can thank me later"

"Freeze!" someone yelled.

Heero grinned sickly. Someone got his hands into a gun, and it wasn't him. Hm… maybe he was getting a little too old for this…

Knowing a defeat when he saw one, Heero Yuy raised his hands over his head in surrender. The guards around him re-armed themselves, and decided that General Trumble would be extremely delighted with their catch.

"You and Zechs?" Duo tsked over the communication line, watching Wufei's dismayed face. "Shame on you…"

"Shut up, Maxwell," Wufei snapped, "Our arrival is going to be a little delayed, as we have to locate our wayward Vice Minister. Can you handle it up there?"

"Deathscythe and I are one again," Duo said cheerfully, "What do you think?"

"I think we're all in fucking trouble"

"Is that sense of humor I hear? Or is the line breaking up--"

Wufei cut the comm and turned to a displeased-looking Zechs. The two of them have finally escaped Relena's makeshift prison, and reported to the parties concerned that a search was going to be at hand.

Relena skidded to a stop before the sight of Heero being escorted by a bunch of Trumble's men.

She was just turning a corner and walked right into them.

"Heero?!" she exclaimed in surprise.

"Relena?!"

The guards were just as stunned.

Heero seized the moment, attacked the nearest one and got his hands on a gun. Big Mistake, for his enemies, to have let him done that. Grabbing Relena and pushing her behind him, he made inhumanly accurate use of his gun.

Heero grunted as one of the guards shot him right on the hand that held his gun, making it spin away from his burning fingers. Another shot got him in the shoulder.

But even unarmed as he was, men fell, making him suddenly realize that all the blasts weren't coming from him. He spared Relena a glance. She too, has grabbed a gun.

Pretty soon, there was only two of them left standing.

"Heero," she said, looking at him worriedly. She had just killed me, her mind screamed. But she looked at Heero, and understood. Sometimes, there was no other way. They worked, so that it would never have to be the case again.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" he demanded.

It took her a stunned moment before replying.

"Saving your ungrateful ass!"

He growled, genuinely annoyed. "You were supposed to have been gone first flight out of here! Don't you realize how important you are to Earth? To our new government? To peace? Have you forgotten your responsibilities?"

"If I have, then good!" she seethed, "I'm through with all this, Heero. I'm human. So are you. It's about time I started doing something for ME, for a change. For ME. If we can't serve individuals or uphold love and, and compassion, then maybe no one is worth saving anymore!

"I love you," she said vehemently, taking his face into her hands, "Let me fight beside you"

He studied her face for an infinite moment.

"Let me fight beside you…" she said again.

"Then I'll make sure we win," he said, kissing her.

Whatever happens now, she thought, we already have.

He pulled away from her, grabbed her hand and started running for the hangar. "first," he said, "I'll get my hands on a communicator. Then, I'll get my hands on your neck"

"Communicator?"

"Who did you run over to escape, Relena?" grated Heero.

Zechs and Wufei were barely out of the aircraft when Heero's message came through, saying he had Relena with him.

"We're at the hangar," Wufei said, "Do you need us?"

Heero suddenly recalled that Une's fastest carrier could hold only three people, and that was him, Dominic and Julianna. With Relena along… yes.

"Yes," Heero replied, "We need a transport out of here"

"Make it fast," Wufei said, "It might just be me, but security's tightening up"

The bodies that Relena and Heero left in their wake were spotted by other guards, who had sounded a general alert. General Trumble further ruffled feathers by saying that Princess Julianna had been kidnapped by the United Earth Nation, and that they had no honor to wait for the time that Julianna had allotted them, murdering people as they escaped. He also mentioned that Dominic, trustee of the Princess, turned traitor.

This, of course, angered everyone, and made them more determined than ever. Security doubled and redoubled. The palace was airtight.

Dominic and Julianna broke through the secret passage and sprinted to the small carrier, right next to a similar one where Zechs and Wufei stood by.

Heero and Relena followed but a moment afterward.

"Wufei, you're in top form," Heero said, acutely aware of the pain in his arm, "Take Julianna and Relena in one aircraft, ship them off without a glance backward to the flagship. Dominic and Zechs, with me in the other one. We'll trail, keep your back clean"

Wufei nodded. The six people barely got inside the aircraft when they heard gunfire, right in their direction.

"Stop!" the commanding officer of the overzealous troupe hollered, "You might get the Princess with friendly fire!"

The shooting stopped.

But Dominic had already fallen.

"No…" Julianna mouthed, stepping toward him, only to be grabbed by Wufei.

"Inside, now!" he said tightly, escorting her to a seat in the carrier, with Relena right behind them.

"No…" Julianna sobbed, sitting beside Relena as Wufei flew them out.

Heero grabbed Dominic and hustled him into the carrier. Zechs took the controls.

The controls took them to the skies.

"We're out of the hothouse," Heero reported laconically over the communication line at Une, even as he tried to staunch the heavy bleeding that, he knew in his heart, would kill Dominic before they could reach safety.

"Not exactly," Zechs said through grit teeth, dodging as fire pursued them from behind. "Damn"

"No…" Julianna said again, seeing his face, over and over. Dominic has fallen. Nothing mattered anymore. Everything had been for him…

"Are they stupid?" snapped Zechs, "they'll kill their precious little princess if they keep firing at us like this"

"Maybe that's the idea," said Heero, "Trumble's idea. Then he'll end up blaming it on us"

Heero looked down at Dominic's ashen face. He had received a shot in the chest, and a much more damaging one to his stomach. He wouldn't last long. But since before the shock on his face at getting shot, his look now had been the only one that seemed aware of what was going on.

"Is… she… safe?" he struggled to say, blood leaking from his lips.

"She will be," promised Heero.

"Good…"

--

"God, it hurts…"

"It won't be long," Heero said.

"I love her so much…"

--

"It won't be long," Heero said again, at a loss for anything else.

The aircraft shook, taking a direct hit, when Zechs maneuvered the craft to block the one that carried Relena, Julianna and Wufei from harm. It slowed them down considerably. One or two more hits like that and they'd be goners.

Wufei was nearing the United Earth Nation flagship.

But Zechs' craft was lagging behind.

"Heero?" Relena called out, using the communication line frantically, searching for his face.

"Be safe," he told her with a beatific smile, "You know what you're supposed to do"

Then, static.

Another hit.

The plane shook.

Communication lines shut down. The panel glowed in the eerie red of emergency power.

Heero looked down at Dominic's face, after watching the aircraft that Wufei piloted enter the U.E.N.'s flagship.

"They're safe," he told Dominic softly.

Dominic's eyes rove around the red-lighted interior. It was his turn to say, "It won't be long"

Julianna ran into the bridge, flanked by Relena.

"Calm down!" the Vice Minister said.

"I need a comm line," said the Princess urgently, looking half-insane, "I need something that can get whatever I have to say to everyone who has to hear it"

Une's eyes glowed with appreciation, "Comm officer, get the Princess whatever the hell she wants"

Trumble cursed when he found out that the Princess made it safely to the enemy flagship.

"However, sir," said his aide, "we do have the other enemy craft still in sight--"

"Sir!" the comm oficer said, "I think you've got to see this…"

Trumble muttered a curse as the comm officer tuned in to the local news. Channel after channel, every single communication line was conquered by the face of a tired but determined Julianna.

"Shut it off!" he demanded, "Scramble it NOW!"

"I have a confession to make," she began, the speech known to her heart completely, if not her head, "Or… is it still a confession if everyone is aware of it already? Either way… I've been very selfish. I've forgotten that everything I had, I had only because you gave it to me. My People. I've forgotten that everything I was, was to serve you first and not myself.

"It is undeniably a weakness of mine," she continued with a heavy breath, "that has been exploited, because I let myself be used as a pawn. General Trumble is a master of deception, and a man without honor"

"Sir," said the comm officer, "you'll never believe this but our scramblers are being scrambled"

"WHAT?!"

"They're using something I've never seen before, sir"

"Get me into contact with that flagship NOW"

"But I do not say this to absolve myself," Julianna continued, "I say these things to right everything that I have destroyed. There are lives… lives that can never be taken back. There are losses that won't ever be retrieved. But there are lives that can still be saved, and losses that can be spared.

"Do not listen to Trumble's lies," she said, "In the palace, he tried a coup against me, and I was rescued by the United Earth Nation. I am in full possession of my faculties. I am not here against my will. I am protected by them. They are friends. And so… I ask, I beg, all those who are loyal to the Order, all those who are loyal to me… Please lay down your weapons, and help me end this senseless war that I have begun"

Relena held her breath, watching Julianna end her speech on the bridge. She seemed not the only one who was frozen over what would happen next.

The comm officer called to Une, telling her that General Trumble was on the line.

"Is this a surrender?" Une asked the General bluntly.

"Not in your dreams," sputtered the General, "Put Princess Julianna on, Colonel. I promise it would be worth her while"

Julianna stepped forward. "Give up, Trumble. This is over. This is finished. Try for mercy. You might be surprised"

"When you hear what I have to say," said Trumble, "you're the one who's going to be doing all the begging, dear"

Julianna's eyes narrowed.

"I have a ship in my sights," said Trumble, "and if I'm not mistaken, it carries some very, very, vital personalities you would want to see alive and well"

"The shooting stopped," Zechs said, disbelieving.

With everything in the small personnel carrier destroyed, the three men inside were oblivious to what was going on beyond.

Heero…

My brother…

Relena's heart wrenched at the thought of the double-loss.

Julianna stared at Relena's stricken face before returning to the General. "What do you want me to do? What's done is done"

"Take it back," said the General, "Tell them it's a lie. Tell them that United Earth is keeping you captive, stage something in there where you get to seize the line. Take the fuck out of it back, and you'll see your three buddies safe"

Julianna looked at Relena again, unflinching, her eyes imploring, What do you want me to do, What do you want me to do?

To Julianna, Dominic was dead. She had lost all. She wants to tell Trumble to go screw himself. But Relena… She made that speech precisely so that the Vice Minister would not lose the man she loved, as Julianna had. It was her retribution.

Relena's mind raced, reading Julianna's desperate stare.

She loved Heero, as she loved her brother.

Be safe, he had said, You know what you're supposed to do.

Heero gave body and soul for peace. It was what he wanted. Relena had no right to take it away from him. Was this what love really meant? To let go? She loved Heero as much as anyone could ever love. To keep him would be a heck of a thing. But to just love… maybe it was enough.

She reached for the communication switch.

"Do whatever the hell you want," she told the General numbly, turning it off.

"Fire on it," commanded Trumble, "I want it to fucking explode right before that prissy bitch's eyes--"

But before Trumble could say anything else, one of his officers came up behind him and pressed a gun to his temple.

"The punishment for treason," said the man, "is death"

The sound of a shot was followed by the thump of a body.

"Comm officer," said the man, "send in a white flag to the United Earth Nation"

"Yes, sir!"

The Gundams arrived just in time to do clean-up work.

"Great," muttered Duo, "Not only is the party over, WE'RE the ones who are supposed to clean up too"

"I don't know," said Quatre, "but I'm pleased"

"This conflict was resolved without the use of a Gundam," added Trowa, "Maybe it is a New Time, after all"

Heero went straight into the arms of Relena, upon their battered craft's arrival at the hangar.

"I thought--" she said brokenly, pulling away from his kiss.

"It doesn't matter," he said huskily, his mouth taking hers again. Divide and conquer. Upon sight of Julianna, he pulled away from Relena.

Dominic had died. Julianna walked towards his body woodenly and touched his face with reverence.

"He said he loves you," Heero told her.

"He would," she said with a sad laugh. "I love him too. No surprise there"

"I'm sorry," Relena said.

"No," said Julianna, "I am"

Dominic was given a hero's burial.

Once things had settled down, Julianna went in search for the perfect spot. The funeral was attended by a multitude of friends and acquaintances, even men and women who would have been his enemies.

Heero thought Julianna looked older now. Wiser. More at peace. Stronger.

He clutched tightly at Relena's hand. The two of them attended the ceremony, sitting next to Julianna.

Relena's fingers tightened in reflex too. She recalled what it felt when she thought she had lost him. She recalled what it felt when she gave him away, during the wedding and again to General Trumble.

Sooner or later, one of them would leave the other. In a fight, a war, a death. Whichever way. But you live, you love, you lose then you go on. Let it all fall down.

She looked at Julianna's face. The Princess caught her eye and gave her a slight smile, which Relena gratefully returneed.

The greatest gift anyone could ever give you after they leave, next to love, is the strength to move forward.

She looked at Heero, who was devouring her with his eyes.

But not yet.

She hung onto his hand like a lifeline.

I'll hang on as long as I could.

Maybe people were just really made that way.


THE END March 29, 2001


NOTES: 1. "There's only one thing you can't give for your heart's desire. That's your heart. Sometimes, the price is just too high" is a quote from Lois McMaster Bujold's "Memory." 2. "Say it like it doesn't mean anything" is my favorite parting line of all time, from the movie "Fearless." 3. Sorry for any ooc-ness and any inconsistencies!!!

end

any suggestions, comments, flames email me mirror_dance@hotmail.com