The Other Side of Paradise

Part:  17

Author:  Nyneve

IT'S A MIRACLE!  I LIVE!  *nervous laugh*  Uh, yeah.  Hope you guys didn't think I ran off and forgot or anything.  Cause I didn't.  Hope you're all well, and that you won't strike me dead for not updating.  I'm really really really sorry.  It's just that I've been working on more original stuff lately, and the ficcies kind of…um…dropped by the wayside, shall we say?  Well, I'm sure you haven't missed my ramblings, but the stories themselves, so I leave you now to our thrilling climax.  Don't own the anime.

-Nyneve

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"You doin' okay, Ames?" Duo asked.  Amy sat on Deathscythe's shoulder, her visor lowered to communicate.

"It's a little rough, but I'll be all right.  I can see the palace from here.  At least it's still in one piece," she commented.

"Yeah, I hope Saturn and Janus are safe," he answered.

"What about Neptune and Uranus?"

"…I'm still mad at them."

Amy couldn't help but burst into hysterical laughter.  But inside, she still felt more than a little worried.  Serenity was in Hecate's clutches, and neither of them had heard from the other Senshi or the pilots.  And above it all, the lingering darkness of Endymion and Rini's deaths made everything dark.

"Ames?"

"Sorry.  What?" she asked, shaking her head.

"I just got a transmission from Wufei.  He and Lita are safe," Duo said.

"Oh thank god.  What about Nemesis?" Amy asked.

"Apparently, Truth and some other chick named Duty showed up and turned her mortal.  She was so horrified she ran off into the hills," he explained.

"Duty?  Hm…hey!  What's that noise?"  she cried suddenly.

"We've got another Gundam out here…Quatre!" Duo exclaimed.

"Raye!"

What? Amy heard her friend's voice in her head as Sandrock appeared out of nowhere.

The two mobile suits met and the pilots climbed out.  Duo helped Amy off Deathscythe's shoulder, while Quatre gave Raye a hand in climbing up from the ground where she had been running at an amazing speed.

"You're okay!  I was so worried!" Amy gasped, hugging her friend.

"Me too.  I wouldn't have made it back if it weren't for Quatre," Raye commented, beaming at him.

"Ah, in Heero's words, 'Mission…Accomplished'," Duo grinned, clapping his comrade on the back.

"Speaking of Heero, have you heard from him?  Raye received a message from Trista before.  She and Trowa are both all right," Quatre said.

Duo shook his head.  "No, just got a transmission from Wufei."

The four looked at each other.

"I hope Heero and Mina are okay…" Raye murmured.

"Hey, neither of them go down that easy.  Don't worry," Quatre replied, putting his arm around her.

"Well, why don't we get back to the palace as soon as possible?  That's where Wufei said he and Lita were gonna meet up with us.  Trowa and Trista will probably be there.  Heero and Mina too," Duo suggested.

"Yes but…maybe it would be best if Raye and I teleported ahead to the palace…just to check things out," Amy said.

"No way.  I'm not risking losing you again!" Duo cried.

Quatre nodded in agreement.  "Just the two of you would be too dangerous."

"More dangerous than arriving to find an ambush?  At least let us go check.  We'll come right back," Raye said.

Duo and Quatre looked at each other.  Neither one wanted to take the chance that Raye and Amy would be caught unawares.

Raye reached out and touched Quatre's chest gently.  "I promise we'll be careful.  It'll only be five minutes.  Anything more than that…expect trouble when you get there."

Before either man could protest, the women were gone.

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"Come on, admit it!  You'd have missed me if I was gone!" Lita smiled as she and Wufei slowly made their way back to the palace on foot.  After a fifteen minute argument, it was concluded that Lita was hurt too badly to simply ride on the outside of Altron, or to walk alongside.  So, after sending a transmission to Duo, Wufei had hidden his Gundam and was supporting Lita on the long hike back to the palace.

"…Aren't you supposed to be in agony?" Wufei countered.

"Hey, you're the one who insisted on going back on foot.  I could just teleport us there, you know," she replied.

Wufei rolled his eyes.  "I think you neglected to mention that."

She shrugged.  "Hey, I got zapped by a thousand volts of electricity.  Give me credit that I'm still able to annoy you."

Lita let go of him and leaned against a tree while she pulled out her henshin pen.  As Wufei reached out to support her, she raised it over her head.  There was a flash of light, and they were gone.

When they reappeared in a dark hallway, Lita's arm went limp and she dropped her pen.

"Okay, that was harder than I thought…" she murmured, and passed out. 

Cursing under his breath, Wufei laid her down on the ground.  Checking her pulse and her breathing, he realized there was nothing he could do but wait for her to come around.  He didn't dare leave her alone. 

A few minutes later, she still wasn't conscious.  However, was starting to sense movement…from somewhere else.  Slowly, he stood up and positioned himself in front of Lita.  Narrowing his eyes, he took a fighting stance.  It was coming closer.

Suddenly, there was a scream, and he saw the flash of a blade in front of him.  The Thanatos katana materialized in his hand, and he managed to block the blow.  Then he realized who he was fighting.

"Hotaru?" he asked.

"Wufei!  Lita!  Thank God," she cried, lowering her glaive quickly.  "Janus!  It's all right, it's Lita and Wufei!"

The boy darted out of the shadows, a look of pure relief on his face.  "We thought you might be Night or one of the others…but where's everyone else?"

"If you'll hold that thought," Hotaru said, then knelt down to take a look at Lita.  She gently touched her forehead, and a bright light flashed throughout the hallway.  When it cleared, Lita's burns were healed, and she opened her eyes.

"Whoa…Hotaru!  Did you just heal me?  Thanks!" she cried, sitting up.

"I'm glad you're all right.  What happened to you?"

So, bit by bit, the story was told, alternating between Wufei and Lita's narration.  About Hecate's threat, Serenity and the other senshi's abduction, and the fight with Nemesis.

"You left out something," Janus said when they had finished.  He pointed to Wufei's blade.  "What is that?"

Lita turned to look at him.  "Yeah, I was going to ask that.  That was the katana you used to defeat Nemesis, wasn't it?"

Wufei nodded.  "It's my Thanatos shard.  Normally, it would've started sucking the life out of everything…but I've managed to keep it under control."

She stared at him.  "Why don't I find that surprising?"

He narrowed his eyes and cursed her under his breath, then turned to Hotaru and Janus.  "Have either of you seen any sign of Neptune and Uranus?  They said they were going to look for you."

Hotaru shook her head.  "No, nothing."

"We'd better see if we can find them.  If anyone is in here that shouldn't be, they're going to need some help," Lita said.  The others nodded in agreement, and they headed down the hallway.

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"…Are you all right?" the ivy-haired woman asked her companion, glancing sideways at him.

Trowa didn't answer, but reached out for her hand as they walked towards the Palace.  With Heavyarms destroyed and Trista too weak to teleport them, they had to try and make it back on foot.  Luckily, they were only a mile or so away.  But still, it was difficult for them both.  Trista had to use a fairly large amount of energy to send a message to Raye, and was tiring quickly.  Luckily, Trowa was always there to catch her when she stumbled.

"We're almost there," he commented, pausing to scan the area.  There was no sign of any danger…

Suddenly, two figures dropped down from a tree a few yards away.  Bracing themselves for an attack, Trista and Trowa stood back to back in defensive stance.  However, there was no need as they recognized the figures.

"Uranus…Neptune…" Trista sighed in relief.  "Thank God."

"Pluto," Uranus caught her by the shoulders.  "What the hell happened to you two?"

"It's a long story.  But we don't have to worry about Night anymore," Trowa answered.

Neptune closed her eyes.  "That's good to hear.  But we still haven't found Hotaru and Janus."

"I'm sure they're all right.  It doesn't look like Hecate's been here," he said.

Uranus barked out a short, contemptuous laugh.  "She wouldn't dare take a break from tormenting Serenity to kill her son.  Ow!"

Neptune glared at her as Uranus rubbed the spot on her arm where she'd been punched.

"Guys…not now…" Trista pleaded.

"Yeah, you're right.  I'm sorry.  Come on, we'd better get you guys back inside.  We'll teleport you, all right?" Uranus said, giving Trista back to Trowa and taking a hold of his shoulder.

The four huddled together, then in a flash of light, appeared in the throne room.

Before anyone could say anything, they heard a familiar voice call out.  "Mars, look!"

Mars spun around at Mercury's call and gasped as Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Trowa materialized in front of them.

"Mercury?  Mars?" Trista blinked in surprise.  "How did you guys get here?  Where's Quatre and Duo?"

"We teleported, same as you.  Don't worry, the guys are safe.  Is everything all right?"  Mars asked.

"For the most part.  Any sign of anyone else?" Trowa glanced around.

"Duo received a transmission for Wufei saying he and Lita were coming here on foot.  We don't know about Mina or Heero," Mercury answered quietly.

"Janus and Hotaru?" Neptune pressed.  The two girls shook their heads.

"Damn it…" Uranus swore as she detransformed.  The other senshi, save Mars, followed suit.

"I'm going to go back and let Duo and Quatre know what's going on.  I'll come back on foot with them.  Amy, maybe you'd better make sure Trowa and Trista aren't hurt too bad," she suggested.

"Stay here though.  Michelle and I will search the palace for any sign of the others.  Let us know when Lita and Wufei get here," Amara said, heading off down the main hall.

"All right, see you in a bit," Mars finished, vanishing.

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Mina and Heero slowly made their way westward through the deserted streets of Crystal Tokyo.  Although she had been dead only hours before, Mina's resurrection had left her feeling strong and revitalized.  The same could not be said for Heero.  Which explained why it was he who leaned on her shoulder for support.

"We're going to make it Heero, I promise," Mina whispered every few minutes when they stopped to rest.  Heero had not said one word to her since they were out of the dreaded Marine Cathedral.  But then again, she didn't expect him to.

Now, they were almost at the palace gates, only about 700 yards or so away.  Heero did not even seem to be conscious anymore.  Mina stopped and nudged him gently.  After a few moments, he opened his eyes.

"We'd better quit for a few minutes.  You've gotta be tired," she murmured.

He said nothing, but knelt on the ground next to her.  Wishing she had healing abilities like Serenity or Hotaru, Mina placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.  He subconsciously reached up and held it there.

Suddenly, Mina blinked and heard a scream.  A split second vision passed before her eyes, almost too fast and short to be noticeable.  But the scene was too horrible to ignore.  She saw Serenity, her crystal casing shattered, laying bloody on the floor of a cave.

"We'd better hurry," Heero said suddenly, standing up.  He too had witnessed the vision, but somehow he had become accustomed to Hecate's nightmarish mental images.

"Heero?" Mina asked, half out of fear and half out of surprise at his sudden regain of energy.

"Come on," he said, taking her hand and breaking off at a run.

The two made their way past the ruined palace gates and inside the giant crystal structure.  Mina was about to call out her friends' names, but Heero placed a hand over her mouth and silently pulled out yet another gun.  Motioning for her to follow him, the two stealthily made their way towards the throne room.  A light was on inside it.

"On three," Heero whispered.  "One…two…"

"There you guys are!  Do you have any idea how worried we've been about you?" Lita asked, stepping out from behind a pillar.  She, Wufei, Janus, and Hotaru had met up with Amara and Michelle about a half hour before Raye returned with Duo and Quatre.

"Lita, you're okay!" Mina cried, hugging her friend.

"Yeah, Hotaru took care of me.  Amy's handling the lesser injuries in there," she answered, motioning towards the throne room.  She scanned up and down Heero, who looked like he had been to hell and back.

"Um…maybe you'd better let Hotaru handle him," she whispered to Mina.

"I'm fine," Heero answered, then moved into the throne room.

The others were seated in chair off to the side, talking.

"Hey, look who finally decided to show!" Duo grinned, bounding over and slapping Heero on the back.  "So, how'd things go?"

Heero shot him a death glare and said nothing.

Mina suddenly remembered the vision.  "You guys, we don't have time for this.  Serenity is in serious danger!"

"No kidding," Raye muttered, then quieted as Quatre stared at her quizzically.  She was amazed at his ability to control her without realizing it.

"I mean, I saw it.  Her.  I saw Hecate break the Silver Crystal.  Serenity's on her own now," Mina cried.

"Are you serious?" Lita exclaimed.

"We'd better get over there…" Duo agreed.

Quatre held up his hand.  "Wait a minute everyone.  Rushing over there in a blind panic isn't going to help.  We have to have a plan."

Michelle nodded.  "He's right.  Hotaru and Janus will stay here and—"

"No," Janus said, speaking for the first time.  "I'm not going to stay behind while the rest of you fight my mother."

"Aw come on kid.  Just hang here for a few hours.  We'll be back before you know it!" Lita grinned, ruffling his hair.

Janus glared at her.  "Stop treating me like a child!  If you want any proof of my strength, just ask any of the Gundam Pilots."

Eight pairs of eyes moved towards the group of young men.

Duo bit his lip.  "Well…if anyone can stand up to Hecate, I gotta admit, the kid's probably the one to do it."

"And he knows his way around the temple," Wufei added.

"So then it's decided.  Janus is coming with," Trista said finally.

Hotaru glanced at the rest curiously.  "Do you want me to come, or should I stay and guard the castle?"

"Normally I'd say join the party, Hotaru-chan, but…" Amara clapped a hand on her shoulder.  "I think you'd better stay here and keep your eyes on things.  If we need your help, we'll send someone to get you, all right?"

"I understand," she nodded.

"Well then what are we waiting for?" Duo asked.  "Come on, let's go save Serenity!"

The others nodded in agreement, then headed for the gates.

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Well, how's that y'all?  Good for my return to the fan fiction community?  R+R+R!