Chapter 7

Dimension GW

Silence reigned in the room as the pilots quickly exchanged glances. Heero, with the merest hint of reluctance, disentangled himself from Serenity's arms and moved towards the beeping computer. As he moved, the other scouts began to transform one by one, leaving only Serenity untransformed. She sat, transfixed by the image of Heero in front of his computer.

"01." He spoke, his voice echoing with an infinite calm.

"You have a new mission, for which you will require the aid of all four other pilots. You leave immediately, and will be attacking a base on L2 before the day is through. You are expected to retrieve a disk hidden in the innermost chamber. Plans for the base have been uploaded to your computer. 01 will infiltrate with 04, while the others provide cover. Understood?" The mechanic voice tonelessly filled the room.

Heero's eyes turned an astonishly blank shade of blue, bordering on empty. Serenity was on her feet in an instant, running to his side. She grasped his hand gently, forcing him to meet her eyes.

"Understood." He responded, his expression never altering. Serenity looked deep into him, nodding quietly. The computer beeped off, and Serenity smiled softly at Heero. A quiet pain filled her eyes. "We'll have to split up for a little while."

"Yes." She replied. "My team and I will go and protect the civilians from whatever is bothering them. You will once again prevent the organization OZ from destroying our planet. We will meet again."

Each word was deliberate; each word was exact. Heero stared at her, his eyes saying all that she might never hear. In the work they did, neither was ever assured of the other's safe return. Each moment was the last, and yet he still could not speak. One of his hands rose gently to touch her face, caressing her cheek.

"I love you too." Serenity said. Gently, chastely – swiftly, and sweetly, she leaned to her love and kissed him. "Ill tume al searin, tuame jeprotearon. Twandur, amedo."

Heero nodded his head once, and turned swiftly from her. He walked hastily from the room, the other pilots following after him.

"Duo!" Serenity called as they were almost out of the door. The braided one in question turned to face her. "Keep him and my brother safe, ne? And while you're at it – I'm not really in the mood to see any of my favorite guardsmen die, ok?"

"As you command, your highness." He said, the sarcastic edge in his voice at odds with the smile that plastered itself upon his face. He bowed mockingly, and and left. Then suddenly his head reappeared in the door. "By the way, Renity – don't die. Heero gets weird without you. Well, weirder than usual, that is. Not to say that he's – I mean – that is – never mind! Just don't die."

Serenity raised an eyebrow in royal superiority for a moment before bursting into her usual, joyous laughter. Her eyes sparkled merrily. "I'll try."

"'k then!" Duo's head vanished once more from the doorframe. Suddenly, the sound of various mobile suits powering up could be heard. Duo's final words were more than audible as he rushed towards the door. "Hey, wait for me!"

"Ready girls?" Serenity asked, looking around at her team. They nodded. Her smile took on an almost sadistic twist. "Good. Let's go show these creeps why they shouldn't mess with my planet."

"Ne, Renity, shouldn't you change first?" Haruka asked. Michiru drove her elbow into Haruka's stomach, glaring at her, but Serenity nodded her head. She snapped her fingers, and in yet another of those godforsaken blasts of light that perpetually occur around her, transformed into her goddess form – Artemis, Guardian of the Moon.

Artemis was certainly a sight to behold. Tall and beautiful, she stood above them all. Her garments powdery soft, Artemis shone against the pale white of her outfit. Green vines wrapped themselves around her, and delicately crafted silver sandals gleamed from her feet. Her hair floated about her in an ethereal way, colored in places by flowers, vines, and stars. A silver bow glimmered in her right hand. Over her shoulder was slung a quiver full of arrows made of moonlight. Truly, nothing could be compared to her beauty. Eyes clung to her for long moments.

"Could all of you please stop staring?" Serenity said, blushing. One by one, the others shook off the spell of her beauty and glanced away. Serenity looked to her older brother. "Motoki, do you want to come with us?"

"You know I do!" He exclaimed, immediately initiating his transformation into Helios. A golden fire glistened at the edges of his toga – clad body. In has hand gleamed a whip of blackest midnight color, wreaths adorning his hair.

"Impressive!" Venus exclaimed, her voice shrill with joyful exuberance. Then she laughed. "But you don't hold a pen to Artemis."

"Candle, Minako. Candle." Mars shook her head. The others glanced on in amusement.

"Are you coming or what? We have innocents to save!" Artemis proclaimed from the doorway. "I will not stand by while injustice is done to guiltless people."

She turned on her heel and stalked out, the pace of her resounding steps growing as she picked up speed and headed towards the screams. The rest of the senshi and Helios nodded at one another briefly before taking off after her.