Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Battle for Peace ❯ One-Shot

Battle for Peace

By Angel Love

Song: `God Don't Give Up On Us' by Jessica Andrews

Rating: PG

Author's notes: This is a Relena-centric fic based during the time that she was made Queen of the World. I have tried to stay as close to the actual Gundam Wing lines as I could, including the speeches that she made throughout that time. If you do not like Relena, do not read this. I will just ignore your flames. A special thank you to Guardian Kysra for helping me sort the idea for this out when I first heard this song so long ago.

Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Gundam Wing or the song `God Don't Give Up On Us'.

~ Who will win the holy war

Can you tell me what they're fighting for ~

Relena sat silently staring at the space in front of her. It was obvious with one glance into the azure eyes that she was not really aware of the women working around her as they fitted a long white dress with a red sash to her, another combing through her shining honey-blonde locks free from any tangles. Instead it was very apparent that the young woman was deep in her own troubled thoughts.

She blinked slowly and nodded once when the dark haired attendant told her what she wished to do with her hair before she returned to staring intently in the mirror. Her world had been changing in a constant drastic manner for the last few months, set off with her chance discovery of a gundam pilot, which was quickly followed by the death of the man she had thought was her father. Her eyes closed to the grief that still lingered in her heart for him, even as she thought of his revelation that she was not really his daughter, but a child that he had taken in when the fall of the Sanc Kingdom had destroyed all of the royal family, save her and her brother. She was in fact a princess to a pacifist country. She had begun to rebuild it again when once again her entire world was changed when she chose to surrender herself to the Romefeller Foundation to save her people from needless deaths, to save the gundam pilots from having to fight for her.

She had been certain that Duke Dermail would imprison her or even execute her to keep her from continuing to encourage the other countries to end this war and find a solution to find peace with the colonies. Instead he had offered her the role to be Queen of the World. It had not really been much of an offer but more of an ultimatum. She had not been afraid of what would happen to her if she had refused. It was the thought of what would happen to those people she cared about that had her sitting up throughout the night thinking of the consequences her actions would cause. In the end, even though she knew Dermail had used her own ideals against her, she had accepted.

~ And do you look down in disgust

God, don't give up on us ~

She knew that by accepting his offer she now made herself a pawn in his twisted game for power. She was nothing more than a symbol to everyone. Dorothy had once told her that she could make people follow her, a gift with words or something like that. It was that gift in which Duke Dermail wished to use to bend the wills of all the other delegates in the Foundation his way. He only wanted one thing, a war to destroy the wills of everyone on the colonies before he took them over for his own selfish needs.

Perhaps it was foolish of her to think that she could try to use her status to prevent more useless bloodshed. Duke Dermail had made it perfectly clear to her that she had no real power; she was merely a host for a title, an image for the people to look up to. She, however, did not want to be a symbol for war. She believed in complete and total pacifism.

Once more she thought of Dorothy's words about her having a gift. If she could only speak to the delegates, without Dermail shutting down her peace talk, then perhaps she could get them to understand that this war was fruitless. It was only going to cause more pain and strife for those that managed to survive the needless fighting. Peace could not be obtained through bloodshed.

~ Mother Nature's ashamed and bruised

All her precious gifts abused ~

When the maids were done they sat her down before a large mirror and left her alone. They seemed to know that their new mistress did not wish for them to linger with her. They could see the troubled look in her eyes as well as the very slight slump in her shoulders, even if her brows had been drawn down with a determination they had never seen in anyone else. She may have only been a girl of fifteen years of age, but she still carried the weight of the world on her shoulders. What was worse, she now carried that same title.

Relena's eyes slowly focused on the mirror. She almost didn't recognize the woman sitting there before her in the reflection. Underneath the make up, the dress and the jewelry she knew that she was still Relena Peacecraft, the daughter of a pacifist king and the adopted daughter of the last Vice-Foreign Mister Dorlian. She could not remember her first father, but she knew that just like the one who raised her that he would not wish for her to be used as a symbol that would endanger many men with the war that they were causing.

Her eyebrows drew downwards as she reached up her gloved fingers and idly fixed her necklace straight. She couldn't allow all of their ideals to be thrown away. She couldn't allow senseless bloodshed. She needed to end this war for her friends... for the pilots... for Heero.

~ Her forest burns, her rivers rust

God, don't give up on us ~

She folded her hands in her lap and closed her eyes. She was going to be strong; she was going to find a way to end all of this fighting. There was a way to talk this entire out. There had to be a compromise that would not result in more orphans, more desperation and more chaos. Not all of the delegates in Romefeller were like Duke Dermail, she knew that. He was their leader, yes, but if she could sway just enough opinion away from the wish for war then there was a good chance that there would be no more need for more soldiers like Noin and Heero to pick up arms again.

She turned her head slowly when she heard the door open once more. It was Dorothy to collect her for the speech that she was supposed to give to announce Romefeller's plan to make a World Nation. She saw the smug smile on the other woman's face but made no comment about it as she silently followed her down the hall. She would have her say before the entire world, perhaps she could sway just a few hearts to give up their arms and wish for peace.

She barely listened to Duke Dermail tell her what she should and shouldn't say when the video cameras turned on. She already knew that he probably would not be pleased with what she had to say, but then he should not have picked her if he wanted nothing more than a figure head as the Queen of the World Nation.

~ Don't give up on me

Don't give up on love

Nothing loved is ever lost

God, don't give up on us ~

Relena didn't watch him as he and Dorothy walked away to seat themselves in their seats around her. She took a deep breath and summoned up all of the courage that she had learned from Heero and then stepped up to the podium. She waited until she had complete silence before she spoke in a quiet, yet strong voice, opening her eyes slowly to focus on the camera directly in front of her.

"I wish to make an announcement to the entire world. As of this day, I, Relena Peacecraft, have taken on the duties as chief representative of the Romefeller Foundation. However, I am not doing this of the sake of the Romefeller Foundation, I think of this as the first step along a very positive road, and upon this road, we can all walk together. We can eliminate wars and create peace. At this time, I ask that you all discard your weapons and you stop fighting, because I am sure that we are all hoping for the same future. So together, let us all advance towards these objectives. I am announcing the elimination of all national borders. These borders have been the cause of wars around the world. I declare that there is one nation, the World Nation."

When she fell silent, she was not at all surprised to see Dorothy standing up and applauding while the others around her followed suit. Sometimes she wondered just what Dorothy's objectives were. Sometimes she would push Relena towards a peaceful solution like now, and sometimes she would goad her for not taking one. She closed her eyes slowly and then allowed herself to be called from the podium. The first step in her plan to get the Romefeller Foundation, and now the World Nation to end the war was now complete.

~ We hold our babies in our arms

And pray you keep them safe from harm ~

It was a short time later that she found herself sitting quietly behind Duke Dermail as he gave a speech about the rebels in outer space needing to be gotten rid of and no one could go against the World Nation and their plan for peace on Earth. Her gloved fingers tightened their hold on her silk dress in an effort to keep sitting there demurely as if she had nothing to say on the matter, when in fact she did. She had a lot to say against Dermail's plan to `do away with these rebels'. She wanted peace and he was still trying to drive them towards a war. However, she knew that if she pushed him aside right at that moment, no one would listen to her. She had to wait.

She got her chance when Marquis Warwage stood up and asked just what Duke Dermail authority had to say such things when she was the new representative. It had surprised her. She had not quite expected the support to come from within, and so quickly. In fact, he had even suggested that Duke Dermail would voluntarily step down from his post, or a vote to be made about the issue. There had been such a murmuring going on that all Relena could do was stare out at everyone in surprise. There was a wish for her to be something other than a figurehead. Some of them really wanted her to be their leader.

However, when Dermail promptly shut that down, Relena felt her hopes slipping. She lowered her head once more and listened as Duke Dermail continued to speak on his plans to rid the colonies of the `evil rebels' without showing any other sign that she was just sitting quietly listening. Her only hope that was eventually this led to the peace she and the people so desperately wanted.

~ In a world that's so unjust

God, don't give up on us ~

She sat at a table, not listening to the leading executives of the Foundation talk over their plans as she stared down at the tabletop. After the meeting from the day before Dermail had made it perfectly clear to her that she was to stay quiet and keep to his plan. They would put down the rebels and prove that Romefeller was superior. Then and only then would they strive towards the peace that he had waved in front of her in order to coerce her into becoming their figurehead. `Romefeller might take away my freedom,' she thought to herself in both defiance and sadness. `No, they might in fact end up killing me. Still, as it stands, Romefeller will use me to continue this war." Her eyebrows drew downwards and she nearly glared at white satin covered table. Could she really just sit there and allow it to happen? No, she would bide her time and hope that someone would listen to her. She had not come this far just to give up on her dreams for peace. Duke Dermail would not win. Romefeller would not use her for forever. She would find a way to end this war.

She felt a moment come in which she could start by moving them towards peace when she was addressed by Marquis Warwage and asked to explain her ideals for peace and how they could achieve it. She stood tall and erect, looking straight into their observant faces and began to speak, not realizing that she was clasping her hands tightly together in front of her. "Right now, people still feel that the Romefeller Foundation is using its power to exercise control over them. What Romefeller needs to do is set an example on how to correctly bring peace to the world."

She could almost feel herself jump with joy when Warwage asked her how she thought they could do that. It was her moment, the one she was hoping for. "By withdrawing all the OZ troops that are posted around the world under the pretense of maintaining peace," she answered, looking straight at Warwage. She ignored Dermail's objection and continued on. She could not loose this moment. "And then we can clearly announce to the people that the period of military rule has come to an end."

~ Don't give up on me

Don't give up on love

Dermail stood up, clearly wishing to put an end to the way those around him were listening to Relena's words. "I must object. I have to argue that those are grossly simplistic ideas. You haven't considered the guerillas stationed around the world, or the military force of the independent nations that still remain a threat to us."

Relena waved her hand in a move in a way that was almost like a plea for the others to listen to her. "Romefeller is the threat, not them. When a ruler calls on others to discard their weapons, naturally the ruler must be the first to do so."

It was obvious that what she was saying was affecting the other Foundation members because there was an edge in Dermail's voice as he continued. "Listen to me, Queen Relena, that is not how we at the Romefeller Foundation intend to govern the world."

~ Nothing loved is ever lost

God, don't give up on us ~

Her eyes narrowed with determination. He had just said the very thing that she wanted him to. "Considering that the Foundation is supposedly bringing peace to the world, the time has come that Romefeller to make some changes."

She could see the anger in his eyes as he looked up at her. "There's no need for us to change any of our traditions."

"I suspect that those might be your own personal opinions, Duke Dermail," she said, with just a hint of a smile on her face. She looked around at all of the others at the table. "Or are they the opinions shared by the Foundation?" As it came out that the Foundation was not in agreement with Duke Dermail, Relena felt a sense of victory move through her. They were listening to her, and Dermail was loosing his support. She had set the first steps in achieving her goal. Peace, true peace.

~ For every bullet fired, for every soul that's lost

Forgive our dark desires, and the pain we've caused ~

It almost amazed her that Duke Dermail had left before the parliament meeting to go to outer space, but Relena knew that Dorothy had somehow managed to coerce him into that one. She was not quite sure what the other girl was up to with her manipulations, however she was not going to dwell on it when she had the greatest opportunity ahead of her at that moment. She could speak to the entire Foundation without the worry of Dermail shooting her down and silencing her. Her heart was nearly clogging her throat as she moved up to the podium and gazed out at everyone. Then she took a deep breath, set her shoulders with determination and began to speak.

"Every one of you is a world leader, but to continue being the leaders of the world the Romefeller Foundation must undergo some changes, in the same way that our times are currently changing. Why is there always confrontation? It's natural that when more than one person is involved the second person will be a potential source of conflict. In order to eliminate this, we must become unified as one. I once again make a declaration, in order to eliminate boundaries and create one peaceful and consolidated nation, OZ, which holds the most power, must be the first to discard all of its weapons." She took a deep breath and continued on. "When we talk of bringing the world together, we must not limit it to the Earth alone. It only takes two to start a conflict; therefore we must become one with the space colonies. The Earth must look to coexist with outer space, and outer space must do the same. We must disarm OZ and appeal to the people in outer space. I ask each one of you as world leaders to accept these changes."

She looked around as she finished speaking, not at all sure that she got through to any of them. It was so quiet. Then she looked up and saw something that made her gasp in surprise, if not a tiny bit of pleasure. There was Heero, dressed in an OZ uniform in the balcony above her.

~ Please don't close your eyes to the part of us

That's beautiful... still beautiful ~

She knew what he was there for. He was there to honor the promise that he had made to her when she had invited him to her birthday party. She could see the gleam off the gun that was pointed straight at her. He had known the truth about her role in Romefeller. Oddly, she felt at peace knowing that it was Heero that would end her life and not the Romefeller Foundation. She bowed her head in acceptance. `Go ahead, Heero, kill me,' she whispered to him in her mind, knowing that even if she had not said the words aloud that he would hear them.

The quite suddenly something unexpected happened. Someone started clapping, and it was soon followed by the whole large room. Everyone was agreeing to what she had said. They would truly start towards the peace that she had hoped for. The Marquise came up and congratulated her, saying that they would start to abide by what she had said. She had succeeded. The Romefeller was going to change and the Earth and the colonies would begin towards their future without war.

Relena looked up at the balcony but Heero had gone. She looked around the room hoping that he was among one of the people there but he was not. She felt her victory wane a little as she realized that he had gone. However, just moments after the feeling of disappointment filled her she realized that he had not just abandoned her. He had chosen to let her live because he was supporting her. He was allowing her to fight this battle in her own way. Slowly, a smile formed on her face. `Thank you, Heero.'

~ How can we regain your trust ~

Her victory was very short lived though. As she gathered with the top executives and Dorothy in the small meeting room, White Fang had declared the uniting of the colonies and a war against the Earth. She had been shocked to watch the destruction of the OZ suits that had gone up into space, including the death of Duke Dermail. Even as her mind struggled to make sense of it the White Fang declared that they had a new leader. Her heart broke as her brother's face appeared on the screen. Her brother was now declaring war against her.

She took to her private room, wanting to be alone with her thoughts. As she sat on the bench, she felt two hot tears slide down her cheeks. Everything that she had been working for was gone in the matter of moments, and the one who had done it was the one person she had never expected. Her own brother had destroyed her dreams of peace.

She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and she looked up in surprise to see Heero, still wearing the OZ uniform standing just behind her. He gently wiped away the traces of her tears but said nothing. As a small smile formed on her lips, he gave her one in return. He squeezed her shoulder once and then turned to walk away. She watched him slip out of the door but did not go after him. "I believe in you, Heero," she spoke quietly into the air. Perhaps not all of her dreams had been shattered.

~ God, don't give up

God, don't give up on us ~