Well, hope you like this, and this wets your appetite for the WHOLE story. Note, I'm obviously a Non-Yaoi writer, and a person who tends to write sappy stories, so if you don't like this kind of story, then GET OUT NOW!!! Please note that I don't any of the characters, except Nova and the villains. This does have a Sailor Moon crossover in it. Well, here's some more stuff that falls on my plot line.

And also more characters have a speaking part in this chapter than the other chapters. I've had to apologize to them for being bad and not giving them more screen time. ^_^;

Gundam Wing: Raptures of Paradise
Chapter 21---------- The True Enemy
By Sailor Celaeno

It was about two days later when the pilots returned to the Preventers headquarters. Despite the holidays, their jobs as peacekeepers was a never ending task. Especially with the Raptures running around causing chaos, they had to keep their toes up. Heero couldn't help picturing Relena as the angel that rescued Mariemaia. It bothered him when she fainted, but it wasn't so bad when he carried her. Having her so close where he could watch her made him a little more at ease. Duo was grinning like a fool when he saw his friend carry Relena. Quatre had a bemused look. Zechs was worried about Relena, but it didn't seem to bother him as much that it was Heero who had her.
He couldn't be distant with Relena anymore. It wasn't working. Being far away from her with his heart wasn't making things move smoothly between them. There was a great deal that he could do, but trying to deny how he felt was just pointless. There was only one thing to resolve all of this. He'd have to stop playing games and have a discussion with her.

Duo and Hilde were chatting as they usually did. The work was slow that day and it gave the pair a chance to socialize at work. "So babe, how's your morning been?"
"Oh you know it is on a slow day like this. Although..."
"Although? Like what, Hilde?" Duo arched an eyebrow.
"I got a memo from Lady Une."
"So... what does the boss lady want from ya'?"
"There's a new recruit. She has hacking and engineering skills, so Lady Une wants me to show her around since she'll be working in my department," replied Hilde.
"Is she cute?" Duo teased.
"Duo!" Hilde slapped him in the arm.
Duo pretended to be in pain. "You know I'm kidding, Hil." He wrapped his arms around her. "You know I love you. I'm glad to have you around."
Hilde smiled. "And I'm glad I stayed."
There was a tap on the wall of Hilde's cubicle wall. "Excuse me?"
Duo and Hilde turned around to stare at the owner of the voice. It was a petite girl with red-brown girls. Her built was not so different from Hilde's, but she was closer to Duo's height. She had blue eyes that had a nice twinkle that made her eyes look lively. Duo smiled charmingly, "Hi, I'm Duo Maxwell. Please to meet you," he held out a hand to shake the girl's.
"And I'm Hilde Sheikbecker. And you are...?"
"I'm Marie Mallone," replied the new recruit. She wore a preventers uniform and had her hair tied up in a similar fashion as Catherine does.
"Ah... I see you're the new recruit. I'm supposed to show you around Marie," replied Hilde.
"Thanks, for helping me out Hilde," Marie smiled pleasantly.
"Would you ladies mind if I join you? After all..." Duo said chivalrously. "... it would be an honor to be in the company of such lovely ladies."
Hilde laughed. "Oh Duo... You never quit, do you?"
"Well, there's never a dull moment with me babe," Duo grinned.
"Dating long?" Marie could see quite clearly that Duo and Hilde were a couple.
"We've just been friends until almost 6 months ago..." Hilde hugged Duo.
Duo just grinned goofily at Marie and pointed at Hilde. "She just LOVES me."
Marie had to giggle. Duo's antics were just too much. "You're just so cute together."
"Someone else who agrees!" Duo groaned as Hilde slapped his arm again.
"I think we should start the tour," Hilde walked beside Marie, and Duo followed behind.

Midii waited at the Cafe for a few minutes. Catherine had called and asked her to come for a lunch. Midii couldn't resist her friend and came. But instead of Catherine, her heart fluttered bitterly as she saw Trowa approach. "Cathy had some business at the circus. She'll come a little later. I'm supposed to keep you company until she comes."
"I should have known your sister better than that," Midii hid her discomfort.
"Despite my earlier feelings, I do wonder about you..."
"And why's that Trowa Barton? Trying to figure out why I'm here? If I'm using Catherine in some other plot?" Midii said with subtle sarcasm.
Trowa smirked. "As a Preventer and a gundam pilot, I've been trained to not take things at face value."
Midii frowned a little. "You're right about me. Never take me at face value. Just as you're a Preventer agent, I'm a spy. I'm never what I am. Perhaps, I've stopped being me," she whispered the last sentence almost inaudibly.
Trowa could barely hear her, but he did hear. It struck him deep inside his mind. It bothered him. Those words spoken so long ago came echoing back to his mind. "You know... a little girl once told me, that I was happier because I was empty. I had no one to look after and no guilt on my hands for what I had to do for their sakes."
Midii sighed a little. "Yes, I think I know her."
"She wanted to be empty like I was. She thought if she was empty, her guilt would go away..." Trowa walked closer until he stared straight into her eyes. "Has it gone away?"
"Damn you Trowa Barton!" she screamed. "You knew I wouldn't be happy! There! Are you satisfied? The enemy has fallen and is crawling about like a dying insect! I hope you savor my defeat. Perhaps someone can have joy, while I give up my happiness." She began to walk away.
Trowa ran ahead, just enough so she couldn't get away. "There is no victory for me in all of this. I'm not proud of defeating you. It is just as empty a victory as I once was. You are an enemy whose spirit is low and crushed. An enemy whose drive has faded away with no challenge."
"We are enemies, Trowa Barton. I destroyed your faith in your first friend. I betrayed you, and how do you know I won't do it again?"
"I'll take the risk Midii. I know that you aren't as strong an enemy as you claim to be." Trowa could see the look of surprise and shock on her face at his words. "Despite what you believe, you aren't as empty as you think you are." He walked away.
Midii began crying as he walked away. 'Damn it... he's right. I'm not so empty as I thought. Because I still love him."

Quatre couldn't quite know what to think any more. Dorothy had suspected that something was wrong with Esmeralda, and the Christmas party proved it. "What could she be hiding?" Quatre didn't want to believe that his old friend could hurt him or anyone. It wasn't what he believed. "Poor Emsie... was has happened to you?"
Quatre sat quietly until he saw his lunch appointment approach. She was in an elegant suit that was chic and stylish, just as always. She sat at the chair across from him. He stared intently at her. "Nova, what do you know about Esmeralda?"
"She's a long time friend of yours. What more do I need to know about her?" Nova replied. She sipped some tea that had been set before her.
Quatre frowned a little. "You know what I mean. You know what will happen to her because it's supposed to happen. How could so much darkness happen to a person like that? It isn't fair."
"No, life is not fair. If I could have my way, all the evil would be righted and the just would be rewarded, and no one would need to suffer. But it goes far beyond the desires of one. There is a never ending balancing act in the universe. It is my mission to make sure this balance is kept, or else..."
"The never ending balancing act? Yes... perhaps it's selfish of me to ask you," sighed Quatre.
Nova smiled gently at him. "Quatre... you were born with a heart that is kind and noble. It is with that heart that you act. It is YOUR destiny to open your heart and show others not to be afraid of what their hearts tell them. You are only doing what is natural. You want to bring light to Emsie's darkening world. But knowing what her destiny is, will not help her, or help you to help her."
"Why is that?"
"Despite what many people think, destiny is not as set in stone as people would like to believe. People have destinies, and they have the choice of following that path, or to run away. Though they are fated to travel to that destination, it is there choice on how they get there. Those who embrace their destiny will take the easiest path. Those that fight will travel the hardest and most bitterly."
"Did Emsie choose the bitter road?" Quatre asked as he stared into his tea.
Nova only smiled again. "She began the right way, but she's been led astray."
"Can she get back?"
"If she chooses, she will find the signs and get back on he journey."

Sally and Wufei were given orders to speak with a representative of a new colony based training center for Preventer recruits. They walked into a room and waited patiently. "I've heard this recruitment center has been doing wonders with instruction," replied Sally.
"Hn... so have I. I find it pointless for us to be the inspectors. After all... it's not our normal assignments," grumbled Wufei.
"I know Wufei, but this is very important for the Preventers. After the wars have ended we need make sure future generations will be as strong and ready defend peace. It's rare and fragile and peace needs people who will ensure it in the future," Sally replied. She hugged him.
Wufei sighed in her embrace. "Yes, I see. Hn... I'm not even 18 yet, and I feel like an old man. What a world!"
"You and me both," Sally sighed. They heard the door open and stood up to greet the representative. It was an Asian woman of great youth, just as Sally and Wufei were. She appeared to be about the same age as Sally. Her hair was tight in a bun and her eyes were penetrating and thorough.
"Nihao ma?" she asked in Mandarin. "I am Instructor Lung."
"Lung?" gasped Wufei. 'That name? It's not possible that another could be in the Dragon clan...'
"Yes, Preventer Chang. That is my name. I'm sure it would be familiar to you," she smiled sardonically.
"You seemed to be well versed in my past. It is unfortunate that I'm not familiar with you," Wufei replied with a forced politeness.
"I'm a distant relative of the Dragon clan. It is a pity that we have not been properly introduced sooner Preventer Chang. We would have had much in common. But Preventer business is the issue at hand, and shall be dealt with," Instructor Lung said with reserve.
"Of course. Lead the way, Instructor." Wufei followed a confused Sally and Miss Lung down several corridors. 'She may be a distant member of the Dragon clan, but she's more like viper in the grass.'
"As you can see, we put recruits through vigorous training. We feel at this facility that defending peace requires great effort of the body," Instructor Lung stopped at a room that had trainees learning martial arts.
"Impressive Instructor," replied Sally. "You and the others are certainly going to produce efficient agents."
"Not bad. Some of have possibilities," commented Wufei.
"I'm glad you approve," Instructor Lung replied stiffly as she continued the tour. After a few moments, she stopped them by a large lecture hall. "However, we also feel that the mind must function in harmony with the body. Without the mental abilities, they will not survive any encounters with the enemy," Instructor Lung said.
"How long have you bee an instructor here?" asked Sally.
"Almost six months, ma'am."
"I see..." Sally replied thoughtfully. She knew would need to have a chat with Wufei later.

Lucrezia and Milliardo were at the doctor's office. Lucrezia wanted to have monthly sonograms to make sure the baby was alright. The nature of her job made it important to ensure the baby was healthy, and not in anyway harmed. "Well Mrs. Peacecraft, let's see how little Annie is doing," smiled Dr. Prescott. She rubbed blue gel over Lucrezia's bulged abdomen.
Milliardo was interested in seeing his daughter. He wasn't able to see her at the first sonogram two months ago because he had a conference to attend. But he made sure he could come this time. Dr. Prescott began moving the scanner over Lucrezia. Soon an image appeared on the vid-screen and even he was amazed at what he saw. For weeks he saw that Lucrezia's womb was growing bigger, proof that there was a little person growing inside of her. But now, for the first time, he could see right in front of him, in black and white, the image of a tiny person moving. He could see his daughter floating and gently in the amniotic fluid. "That is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
Lucrezia smiled a little as she held his hand. "There she is."
"Want to hear her heart beat?" asked Dr. Prescott.
"Of course," replied Zechs in some awe. A minute later, the room was filled with the sounds of a fast pulsing heart beat. He smiled as he heard his daughter's heart beating. It was a strong beat and it was tirelessly working.
"Nothing like listening to a beating heart to make you realize how special life really is," Lucrezia sighed.
"Indeed Lucrezia," agreed Milliardo.
"Well this little person is normal. I don't hear or read any inconsistencies in her heart rate. Blood pressure is normal. Size is within healthy parameters. Not detecting excessive amounts of white blood cells in the amniotic fluid..." reported the doctor.
"Good... they're both healthy," replied Milliardo.
Lucrezia was filled with joy. Her life was more complete than it had ever been before. She was happily married and her baby would be born in April as Dr. Prescott estimated. She couldn't have imagined sharing a moment like this with anyone else, but with Milliardo Peacecraft. They had known each other since they were young children at the Lake Victory Academy. She had no doubts in her mind that he was destined for greatness. She couldn't stand being better than him for any reason. She was the only person in their class that was close to him in ability, but she had no intention of taking away his chance at greatness.
Milliardo's thoughts were mixed. He felt joy and worry. He was happy being married and having a successful place in Earth, now that order had been restored between the Earth and the colonies. What worried him now was staring back at him on that monitor. In four months, the little life he saw would be born. 'Would I be a good father? How can I teach her to be a good person when I am so stained with destruction that I created?'
It was twenty minutes later, when Lucrezia and Milliardo went into their car. A driver awaited them and drove them back to Preventers Head quarters. "Zechs, is something wrong?"
"How can something so perfectly innocent be my child?"
Lucrezia looked sadly at her husband. "Oh Zechs... why must you do this to yourself? You've never questioned what you do before. Why now?"
"Annie is my child. How can I be a father? Everything I do for her will affect the rest of her life. What if... what if I make a mistake?"
"No one can be the perfect father. I sometimes wonder if I'll be a good enough mother for her. After all Zechs... I'm going to be the one to teach her how to be a woman," she smiled. "Imagine me... teaching her how to be a woman. I've been nothing more than a soldier my entire life. There are just some things about being an average woman that I could never teach her. Zechs... we can only do what we can. There will be one thing that we don't have to worry about. And that is... that we will love her."
"Love her..." Milliardo repeated to himself.
"Everything we do is because we love her. That is something we never have to worry about."
Milliardo smiled at Lucrezia. "You're wrong about not being a good mother. You're a natural born teacher." He gave her a kiss on the lips that was deep and true.

Avatar smirked at herself in the mirror of her car. 'At last... Tempest has almost enough energy to escape the world of mirrors. Once she does, she will give me great power. Esmeralda will gather energy as I will. Two more people should be just enough.' Avatar rode a great long elevator ride.
The elevator soon opened and she stepped up to the desk. "Excuse me miss," Avatar replied in her most polite tone.
"Yes, may I help you?" the secretary replied as she finished typing something into the computer.
"I'm Lady Une's appointment."
The secretary glanced into a book. "Ah... you're Miss Nahira?"
"Here..." Avatar presented her ID card.
"She'll be free in five minutes. She's finishing another appointment. Just take a seat over in the waiting area."
"Thank you." Avatar took a seat and stared at her watch. 'Well Lady Une. You will have five minutes to live.'

Dorothy arrived at the house. She had received a cordial invitation by Esmeralda Debinder to her family's winter retreat house. Dorothy was too well-trained as a lady and a discreet politician to refuse a polite request. She drove to the tasteful looking house and admired the architecture. She walked to the front of the house and rang the bell. 'I wonder what she wanted to see me about.'
The door soon opened and Esmeralda appeared at the entrance. "Hello, Miss Dorothy. I'm glad that you were able to come. Please step inside," Esmeralda opened the door wider and made a hand flourish to get invite her in.
"Well when I received such a surprise invitation, I simply couldn't turn down such a kind offer for tea and lunch." Dorothy stepped inside and noticed the marble tiles. They were white with gold and silver edging. There light blue vases with flowers and ferns growing. There was a fireplace roaring in the living room. "You have a lovely home."
"Thank you Miss Dorothy. It took me a long time to have the house decorated like this. Finding the right furniture was hard. But I tried." Esmeralda led Dorothy to the dining room which was perfectly set for tea party/luncheon. "I hope the tea is to your liking, as well as the food."
"I'm sure it will be fine." Dorothy took her seat and Esmeralda took her seat as well.

"So Heero, I'm glad to see that Relena is well. She hasn't developed any stronger powers?" asked Lady Une.
"No. Proserpine seems to be the healing compassionate side of the Persephone symbiont. Hopefully Proserpine will no longer need Relena soon," reported Heero.
Lady Une nodded. "I see." She stared intently at Heero. "Heero?"
"Yes, Lady?"
"If you have anything that you feel towards Relena, I would suggest that you find the time to say so to her, very soon."
"Hn..." replied Heero in his usual grunt.
Lady Une stared out of the window towards the clear winter sky. "Heero... despite how you may try to act on the outside... it obvious to anyone with two eyes that you have certain feelings regarding our vice-foreign minister."
Heero stared back in silence. He didn't want confirm her suspicions, but couldn't bring himself to deny a single assumption she was making. It seemed like it would be a great lie somehow.
"There is no need for you to say a single word. Just remember what I said. After all, sometimes you have only one chance to say it."
"Hn... I see Lady."
"That's all. You may leave if there is nothing else we need to discuss," Lady Une said as she turned to face him.
Heero only walked to the door. He turned to look at her. "I think we've covered everything that needed to be said." He left the office. Heero knew she had been referring to herself and Treize Khushrenada. Even he had to admit, feelings can be revealed in many different ways, but nothing was the same as actually saying the words. He was lost in his thoughts when he fell backwards. He looked up to see that he bumped into a young woman. "I'm sorry Miss."
"I'm sorry myself. I should have moved out of the way." For a brief moment, they looked into each other's eyes. "I... have to go talk to Lady Une," She cleared her throat nervously.
Heero looked at her inspectively. "Hn... I see." He continued to stare at her as she turned the corner towards Lady Une's room.
"Something the matter Agent Yuy?" asked the secretary.
"Just a feeling."

Food was presented on the table by a maid. "Thank Maryann." There was a large bowl of salad, and pasta placed before the two young women. They each took some food and casually ate as the began several conversations about various topics. There was laughter on both sides as the time flew by. Soon the plates were removed, and Esmeralda led Dorothy on a quick tour of the house. Dorothy was impressed and complimented her. "Your tastes are impeccable Esmeralda. I'm sure you have a natural gift."
Esmeralda smiled. "You are too kind. I'm sure you can do the same. You are good hostess by the look of your manners. You'd make a good wife for Quatre."
Dorothy promptly blushed at the thought. It was a little ahead even for her to think about. It was already a great adjustment from being enemies, to being a couple. Marriage was something she didn't even dare think about just yet. She was almost 18, but still too young to have the thought cross her mind. "I..."
"Well, I apologize for embarrassing you. But of course, eventually... you will need to consider and think about things like that. With you and Quatre, you seem to be doing so nicely together, that I'm sure eventually the thought will come along..." trailed Esmeralda.
"I suppose, but such things about marriage is too soon for me to even think about," replied Dorothy as they returned to the dining room.
"Well of course. You are able to decide about that."
"And you aren't?"
Esmeralda frowned a little. "I'm sorry Miss Dorothy to say that my options are limited do to certain circumstances in my life. It is a sad truth, but a truth it is."
Dorothy stared at her intently. "Perhaps, you don't feel like discussing that particular subject. I won't push you into that subject."
"Thank you for your concern." Esmeralda poured the tea that she had made earlier. "This is a special Darjeeling tea that I make myself."
Dorothy readily took a cup and began to drink. "It's very good. Just like the kind Quatre serves."
"Yes. He's fond of this brew. Although I added something a little extra to make something special just for you."
Dorothy sipped more of her second cup when suddenly the room grew blurry. Dorothy became disoriented. "What's going on?"
"What's the matter Dorothy?" Esmeralda smirked as she spoke sarcastically. "Is the tea too strong?" Dorothy was out cold. Esmeralda walked to her rival. "You have something I can't have, so I'll take it away from you as well."

"Hello Miss Nahira. You said you had some important information to give me," replied Lady Une after she greeted her appointment.
"Yes. You'll find it useful. It seems that I have been able to find information on these Raptures that have been attacking people in the last few months."
"Any leads on them would be very helpful."
"I know about their ring leader. The one called Avatar."
Lady Une studied the young woman. "What do you have?"
"I know about her motives. About why she did the terrible things she did."
Lady Une had a strange look on her face. "You may proceed."
"It was almost 9 years ago. She had a fairly difficult life, but it didn't matter because she had two parents that loved her more than anything else in the world. She was a very special child who had something different about her from the other children. They were scared because they didn't understand. But her parents didn't care because they loved their daughter. One day, a man came to the research space station that was her home. He set off a bomb to kill everyone on the station. Under someone's orders..."
Lady Une paled as she started to recognize the part about the bomb. "I see..."
"His mission was to kill everyone on board..." the woman turned to glare at Lady Une.
Lady Une tried to get up, but found herself pinned down into her chair. "What's going on?"
"Unfortunately for you Lady... that soldier failed to kill everyone. There was one survivor..." She inched herself closer until she was a few centimeter from Lady Une's face. "Your thug couldn't kill me because I'm too powerful for any ordinary human to kill. You will pay for what you did to me."
"Go ahead. Kill me. I deserve it, I know I did after what I did to you. What I did to others..."
"No... your death is pointless. It wouldn't satisfy me." Avatar sat back a little. Since you are trying to stop me and the other Raptures from taking over the world with the help of the Negaverse... your punishment will be knowing that YOU are the last bit of energy we needed to release it!" Avatar zapped Lady Une.
Lady Une screamed as the energy was drained from her.

Quatre had taken the day off and returned to his home. He was had a lot to think about. He walked up the stairs and planned to have a talk with Esmeralda. It was very important that he find the time. He was getting more worried by the minute and he wasn't sure what to do. He arrived in his bedroom. He turned on the lights and saw Dorothy lying his bed asleep. He quickly went over to her side. "Dorothy?"
She didn't move. He shook her but she still didn't move. He went to feel her pulse. It was slow and faint. He quickly called the ambulance. "Dorothy?" He stared after her after he hung up the phone. He kept trying to wake her up. "You must be okay Dorothy Catalonia. I have NO intention of letting you leave me like this."

Marie sat with Duo and Hilde for lunch. They enjoyed each other's company, but Marie had strong feelings that she was the third in the proverbial crowd. Hilde and Duo never made her feel left out of anything. "It so strange. I'm completely new to them and they still want to be my friends. I just don't understand how they can just open their lives to me and just be my friends."
"It's called trust Quint," replied Hecate. "Something we all don't understand, or need except for each other."
"You? Why should I trust you? After all, you're very shady. I don't know anything about you except that Tempest thinks you're so important. It just bothers me so much that we need to depend on you for help."
"Whether you like me or not is completely irrelevant. The more important thing is that you focus on the mission. I have no intention of failing, and if you know what's good for you... you'd worry too."
Quint glared after Hecate. "What would Hecate understand about trust and friendship?" As far as she was aware of, Hecate had no one that could be considered close to her. Her twin, Proserpine, her complete opposite, was not the best example. Without Proserpine's power, Hecate was not powerful enough. Quint had figured that if Proserpine was as capable of good as Hecate was capable of evil, she began to wonder if she really knew what side was the best for her.

Author's note: Okay.. so I got done with this chapter faster than scheduled. Well... we'll have to see how lucky I can be with chapter 22... Ciao!