Standard disclaimers apply, I do not own Gundam Wing.
1 Tears of the Bloodstone
By: Godshatter
Relena Peacecraft sat at her desk staring at the same sheet of paper that she had been staring at for the past 5 minutes. Slowly, a single jeweled tear slipped from the ocean of her eyes and dropped onto the paper with a spatter. She just couldn't believe he was dead, through the past 4 months she had been clinging to her delusions that he was somehow alive in the cold reaches of space. But these dreams were shattered with the arrival of the very document that she held in her hand, she never thought that a single sheet of paper could changer her life so completely.
She had awakened to a very nervous Duo shaking her awake, "C'mon Relena, wake up!…. please wake up". Her eyes fluttered opened and as she drifted back to reality she said with a hint of annoyance in her voice at having been so forcefully woken up at glances at her alarm clock 4:00 AM??!!! "Duo Maxwell! If you do not have a half way decent excuse for waking me up at this UNGODLY hour I-", she was promptly cut off when she finally realizing that Duo was staring at her in a very disheartening way. "Hmm… now what could have shaken him up so badly that he came and woke me up at a time like this" she thought to herself as she glowered at the normally hyperactive American pilot who, for some reason, looked like he was about to fight off 100 mobile dolls unarmed. Suddenly realization dawned on her, "Oh my God, what did u find out about Heero?" she said, barley able to conceal the nervousness and fear in her voice. Duo just looked at her like he had been stabbed in the chest and tried to say something but for some reasons he just couldn't get it out. He found that for once he couldn't find the words to tell her so instead he thrust a sheet of paper into her hands. She looked at him questionably but proceeded to reed the document.
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER:
MISSION STATUS: FAILED
MISSION OPERATIVE STATUS: KIA
LAST KNOWN LOCATION: MAP SECTION 89T3, SUB COORDINATES 5-354-45
CONFIRMATION CODE: ALPHA-ZULU-01
For a moment Relena stared at Duo questionably when the full realization of what she had just read hit her like a sledgehammer. She gasped for breath and uttered a meager wimper before she promptly passed out on to the floor. Duo gently picked Relena up and placed her back on her bed and pulled her covers back over her slim body. Before making his exit he placed a single kiss on her angelic face, after which he slipped out into the cool night.
Relena awoke with a start. * it was only a dream it was only a dream, oh please God let it only be a dream! * was the only thought racing through her mind. She got up and was getting ready for her morning bath when she heard a rapping on her bedroom door. "Who is it?" she called. Duo being Duo simply opened the door and jumped right in to her room startling Relena out of her daydream. When Relena saw who it was she turned white as a ghost and said in a trembling voice "So it wasn't a dream was it Duo", Duo just nodded gravely and stepped out. Once outside Relena's door he hollered at her to get dressed and that he would return within the hour and that he had some important things to discuss with her.
"The nerve of that guy, barging in on me like that. I could have been undressing for all he knew." Relena thought as she began dressing. As Relena was bending down to pick up her favorite hair band from the floor (which Duo had knocked over when he slammed the door open), she noticed a small piece of yellow paper laying on the floor face down. "Hmm, what's this?" Relena picked up the paper and the hair band forgotten fell to the floor with a small clatter. As Relena read the document she remembered Duo from last night: his actions and his words. The tears formed and flowed uncontrollably. "I don't care if I cry or not anymore, he isn't here to be strong anymore… to be strong for himself or for me". Relena stood up and walked over to her office and sat down, the chair's new leather creaking softly as she sat down on it. Relena looked outside and decided to open the windows, as she did so her office was filled with the musical tones of the birds and the light soothing droning sound of honeybees hard at work gathering pollen to store for the hard winter's months ahead. "This would be a perfectly beautiful day, in fact it would be a perfect day for a long stroll in the park", she thought to herself. As she thought these thoughts another one barged in on here private reflections, this one was one of her sitting under a tree with Heero, or rather, Heero sitting under the tree and Relena leaning against him, her head on his shoulders sleeping, wistfully dreaming of Heero and how he had saved her yet again from the clutches of another crazed warlord in a line of a hundred. It had been a day much like this one, the sun was shining and the birds were singing, yes, it had been a perfect day.
This sudden thought brought tears flowing freely from Relena's eyes once again. The memory of this intimate moment, if it could be called such, was simply too much. Relena collapsed onto her desk and sobbed uncontrollably for several minutes.
Duo was tired, upset and very determined as he ran/stumbled up the stairs and down the hall to Relena's bedroom. When he arrived there she was nowhere to be seen. "Shit, where could she have gone?" he thought as a frantically searched the 2nd story of Relena's mansion. As he was looking through the study/library that resided above Ms. Dorlin's office he heard a soft muffled noise. He instantly froze and cupped a hand around his ear so that he could here better. "What was that noise I heard?… there it is again, wait, that sounds like crying!". Duo runs over to the balcony that overlooks the Vice Foreign Minister's office and peers down at the office below him. Sure enough he sees Relena hunched over her desk, her hands over her face crying. "Oh shit, I gotta get down there and calm her down ASAP or I wont be able to explain a thing to her." Thinks Duo as he bolts down the stairs and across the hall to the adjacent room (which happens to be Relena's office) and practically flew through the door. "Ms. Relena! Get a hold of yourself, you HAVE to listen to what I'm going to tell you, it's extremely important!", Duo yelled/said to the now hysterical Relena. "I don't care anymore Duo, he's gone, long gone and he is NEVER coming back!" screamed Relena. "Shit shit shit" thought Duo, "She has really lost it this time". "How am I going to get her attention with her in this condition!" Duo yelled silently to himself. Then Duo did something he thought he would never, ever be able to do under normal circumstances (or any for that matter). He SLAPPED Relena. Duo didn't think he could or would ever hit a woman, much less Relena Peacecraft/Dorlin, Vice Foreign Minister. "I'm going to regret this, I just know it" were the words that floated through Duo's head as his hand connected with the soft skin of Relena's right cheek. The impact left both a small red imprint of Duo's hand and Relena speechless for a few seconds. Then, in a very soft and controlled voice Relena said, "Thank you Duo, I needed to be brought back to my senses, though I don't particularly approve of your methods." Duo simply nodded and apologized to Relena. "You had mentioned earlier that you had something important to tell me", said Relena. Again, Duo simply nodded and said, "Can we speak in the garden? I have to be sure that the information that I am about to give you reaches your ears and your ears only." Relena stared mutely at him for a moment then nodded "Of course Duo, I would be happy to walk with you in the garden, I need some fresh air anyways."
"Man, she is taking this rather well now that I restored her senses to her, but I have a feeling that It wouldn't take much to set her off again, I'll have to be very careful how I explain this to her. Damn, I hate when I have to use my head and watch my tongue like this", thought Duo as the couple walked out onto the gravel path that lead to the rather extravagant garden behind the house.
As Duo and Relena strolled along the path to her garden Relena noticed that Duo seemed a bit fidgety so she asked him "What's on your mind Duo? I don't think I've ever seen you quite for more than 5 minutes before." "Hn" was all Duo had to say to her. Relena chuckled softly and remarked, "So I see you have been hanging around Heero to long, you're even picking up some of his habits." Duo, deep in thought paid no more attention to Relena or her questions. "Ok Duo, we're here, now lets talk."
As Duo and Relena entered the garden Duo was a bit taken aback by the sheer vastness and beauty of the garden. The morning dew lay gently on the leaves and flower petals of virtually every plant in the garden. Duo felt as if he had just walked into a giant prism with the sunlight reflecting off of the tear like dewdrops. The effect was quite dazzling and Duo found himself lost in the quite serenity of the seen which seemed to stretch on forever in front of him. Relena's words startled him out of his revere. "DUO, for the n'tenth time, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Relena asked in an exasperated tone. Duo just smiled at her and sat down in the soft grass and patted the ground beside him indicating for her to sit down beside him.
Duo looked up and realizing that they had walked onto the shore of a small lake about 2/3 of a mile in diameter with small reeds on the east and south banks that swayed in the winds gentle caress. He picked up some stones from the ground and began skipping them across it. One stone skipped about 4 or 5 times and Duo being quite proud of this accomplishment looked up at Relena and gave her a lopsided grin and said "Not bed eh Lena? I hadn't even noticed that we had parked ourselves on the shore of this lake." Relena had finally given up on trying to pry Duo for the information that he was so obviously trying to convey to her but for some reason was reluctant to tell her, so she just managed a weak smile at Duo and sat down beside him. "You know, none of the colonies have places like this, sure they have some parks here and there and an occasional fishing pond but nothing like this. I suppose the only colony that could possibly hold a place as large as this and have such a myriad of plants and animals would have to be the farming colony L-8c." Duo said. As he said this the thought reminded Duo of a time when he and Heero had spent time on colony L-8a for several months on a recon/demolitions mission. Duo laughed at the memory of a time where he and Heero had gone to a bar late one night after an especially hard day harvesting one of the larger quadrants (they didn't call fields "fields" in the colonies, they called them quadrants) and found themselves in a fight that turned into an all out brawl.
The incident started out when a large man who looked to be about 35 and wearing a pair of tattered blue jeans, steel toe (presumably) boots and a large black and red checkered work shirt walked up from behind Heero and ordered him out of his seat saying he had taken it from him. Heero simply ignored the man at first but as he persisted Duo sensed that this would get messy if he didn't intervene, and quick. Duo walked up from behind the burly man (who they later found out was named Pete) and asked if he could buy him a drink in hopes that the man would forget about his "stolen" seat. The man took Duo up on his offer and eventually left the bar after Duo had bought the man 2 or 3 shots of whisky and the night proceeded without further incident.
The man came back, piss drunk and was sporting a black eye and a nasty looking cut on his right cheek that stretched from his chin all the way to the tip of ear and was open, dark thick blood continued to flow/ooze down his cheek and neck, eventually soaking his red and black lumberjack style checkered work shirt. The man looked none to happy about it and when he spotted Heero still in his seat the man went ballistic. The man charged at Heero screaming and cursing at him. Heero heard the man's bellowing and jumped off the barstool just as the man collided with the bar, as he did so Heero instantly spun around and executed a round house kick which landed on the back of the man's neck. The man, reeling from the blow to his head/neck stumbled a bit and hunched over the bar, after a few moments he stood up and seemed to calm down a bit, but only for a moment for he saw Heero and charged again. Heero easily dodged and tripped the man as he shot passed. "Hrmmm, this is quite amusing now that I think about it" Heero quietly thought to himself as he landed another kick to the man's mid section followed by a quick punch to the kidney and a head butt to the mans nose which caused an explosion of blood when he connected. When the man stood up again Heero was ready for the charge and as the man ran by, Heero grabbed the man's belt and ripped it off of him. Heero took the belt and rapped it around his hand until he had the buckle facing out. As the man turned to face Heero again, Heero lunged at him and smashed the buckle into the man's face causing yet another red explosion. The snapping of bones could be heard echoing throughout the room (which had become strangely silent as the fight wore on). All of this had taken place within a matter of moments. Heero bent down to put the belt buckle at the man's side and as he stood up the whole bar seemed to expand, as the people shuffled back from this seemingly harmless young farm boy who had just beaten the holy hell out of one the toughest bar fighters the small colony had ever seen. Heero began to pull out his pistol to finish the man but was stopped by Duo, who had grabbed his wrist and just shook his head. Heero got the message: no more trouble tonight.
The pair paid their tab and sauntered out into the warm night. They walked over to an odd pick-up looking contraption (it was really a pickup with the bed removed and a steel panel placed where the bed should have been). Duo got in first and smirked at Heero as he eased himself onto the tattered sun bleached leather seat, "Quite a night neh? You really took that dumb bastard drunk apart. Towards the end there I saw some of the ladies in there eyeing you, you lucky scoundrel" chided Duo as he * gently * nudged Heero in the ribs. He was quickly met with the Yuy Death Glare. As Duo gunned the motor the lights from the bar softly faded into the distance as softly as the memory.
Duo awoke to the sounds of birds and the hum of bees. "Wha… what?" thought Duo as he sat up. "Man, what a trip, I didn't even know I was dreaming" said Duo as he looked down to see an angelic looking creature sleeping with its head on his lap. Startled, Duo nearly jumped up but managed to restrain himself from doing so. After a moment he realized that it was only Relena. "I guess when I fell asleep she decided to take a nap too, hmmm, she certainly is beautiful, almost looks like an angel sleeping here in my lap. I can see why Heero likes her so much, though he doesn't even know it himself even if everyone else save Relena does", thought Duo as he peered down at the sleeping princess. "Oh well, I guess ill wait till she wakes up to talk to her, its not like I could do anything right now anyway" Duo said softly to himself. * YAWN * "Hehehe, I guess ill take a quick nap myself. Good night Lena, sweet dreams", whispered Duo as he nodded off and let oblivion claim him.
* FLASH * * BOOM-CLAP * Duo awoke to the booming of thunder rolling over the hills, sounding much like some distant battle ground. Luckily, Relena had heard the thunder also and had gotten up a few moments before Duo had been awakened. "Awwww great, just what I need. Now its gonna take forever to get my hair dried", whined Duo as he clutched his braid and attempted to ring it out. "Well, we have a long walk ahead of us, we might as well get going. I wish I had thought to bring a watch, or an umbrella", Duo ruefully remarked. The duo got up and decided that since they were going to get soaked to the bone anyways they might as well take it easy on the ¾ mile hike back to Relena's mansion. On the way back Duo was deep in thought. "Dammit! I wasted the whole friggen day out here with Relena and I didn't say a single word about what Dr. J told me. I wish he could have told me this BEFORE he told me to give that report to Lena, I know it tore her up inside. When we get back I'm going to tell her, precautions be damned. I don't give a shit if her room is bugged or if Dr. J told me not to tell her, she might be a strong person, she sure as hell proved that long ago but she cant go on and me not give her this information. I just wouldn't feel right." "Duo?" Asked Relena, not quite used to this more quiet and reserved Duo. Duo didn't even acknowledge her question, he just kept walking, obviously deep in thought. "I can't believe this guy! He is worse than Heero, if I don't get some answers out of him I'm gonna cut off that braid of his and beat it out of him", Relena angrily thought to herself as they trudged home along the now muddied path.
As Relena unlocked the back door with a click of a deadbolt she softly opened the heavy wooden door with a creek of the hinges. "I should probably get those oiled", thought Relena to herself as the pair entered the mansion.
The first thing they noticed as the came in out from the rain was that the power had apparently gone out. As Duo realized this he instinctively reached for his 9mm, although he doubted the threat of an attacker one could never be too careful.
"Wait right here, I'm gonna go down to the basement and check the fuse box. Ill be back in a few minutes", whispered Duo as he left to go get a flashlight. Relena looked down to see that he had given her is 9mm.
"Ahh, here it is, damn, that must have been a helluva shock to the system" said Duo as he whistled while eyeing the shredded metal cable before him. "Wait a minute, there's no burn or flash marks on the plaster on the wall behind the cable or its power coupling", said Duo to himself. "There's no way that that cable didn't cause at least some damage to the wall when it overloaded, in fact, it almost looks as if its… been… cut", Duo mentally kicked himself in the ass for not thinking something was awry, he knew there was no way that a mere thunderstorm could overload the systems and the backups that he and Heero had personally installed in here.
* BANG BANG BANG * " Fuck!" yelled Duo as he heard the report of a pistol followed swiftly by the * ratattatta * of a rapid-fire machine gun. "Dammit I knew I shouldn't have left her, I just KNEW it!" Duo practically screamed at himself as he bolted up the flight of stairs to the kitchen where he had left Relena.
Relena felt the cold metal and the light weight of the gun in her right hand. Strange, it almost felt natural the way the gun was balanced when she held it up to eye level as she brought the sights down on her reflection in one of the many mirrors that had been scattered throughout her manor. "Hmmm, now that I think about the last time I had leveled a gun on someone was in Russia, when I shot the rose off of Lady Une's dress. Strange, I don't think I could bare to shoot her now that we have become such close friends", Relena thought quietly to herself. As she turned to look at out the window to the now pouring rain she thought of how comforting it felt to be inside, to here the light pitter patter of the rain as it bombarded the elaborately crafted windows. While she was deep in thought she heard a noise behind her, she spun around and in one fluid motion she brought the gun to bear on a short, very well built young man of about 25.
The young man gave an evil smile and lunged at Rrelena, who dodged his attack and dropped to the ground, firing 3 quick bursts with Duo's 9mm. The man recovered from the tumble that he had taken due to Relena dodging his attack. He quickly stood up and brought what appeared to be a gauss rifle to bear on her. She dove and rolled behind the couch as the man let loose with a barrage of diluted uranium (DU) slugs, which exploded when they impacted with the hard metal of her refrigerator; showering the floor with sparks. Just as he was about to finish Relena off at point blank range the man was hit hard in the back of the head, just at the base of the neck. The man slumped over, dead.
As Duo stared at the prone figure laying at his feet he noticed a black armband with a large anarchy symbol on it. "Christ, not ANOTHER terrorist organization. I thought the White Fang and the Sigon Clan were it and everyone finally got the message of peace", said Duo as he smacked himself upside the head. Relena just looked at the dead soldier with a distant stare, she said nothing but headed for her room upstairs. "YAWN", "I guess she has the right idea, ill stay with her the night but first thing in the morning we are having a chat", thought Duo as he collapsed on Relena's sofa and checked his watch 10:45. "Man, we were out there MUCH latter than I thought. Oh well." Duo decided it was time to sack out and began to slowly climb the wooden stairs, each step coaxing moans and creeks from the old steps. "I'm going to have to be more careful now, more careful now that Heero won't be around to protect Relena for a while. I never thought I would have to keep this promise that I made to Heero to protect her, I always figured he would be here for her. After all, they guys indestructible… Isn't he?" mused Duo as he opened the door to the bedroom suite adjacent to Relena's own room. Before turning in for the night Duo padded over to Relena's room in just his socks and black boxers and slowly opened her door with a soft creek. "I hope she gets plenty of sleep, tomorrow is going to be a long day for both of us" whispered Duo to himself", and then louder, "Good night Lena, and sweet dreams." Releena gave a soft sigh and then "Heero" in reply to Duo's remarks. "Poor girl, I know this is tearing her apart inside. I just hope what I say to her doesn't give her too much false hope. I hope that all can and will be made right in time." Duo wondered if he was doing the right thing as he closed his own door. Soon deep snoring could be heard from the other side of the door.
Perched on a limb of a large oak tree just outside the front wall of Releena's estate sat a dark figure with an eye that glowed as if it were a flame and a gaze as empty as the vacuum of space. Slowly a small smile formed on his lips, though the disfigurement of his face made it seem more like an evil grimace than a smile. The man stood up and with the grace and agility of a cat he leaped from the branch and executed a double flip before he landed with but a small * pat * on the soft grass 30ft below. "You may live a bit longer princess, but only a bit. We are coming and when we come the Armageddon machines that we will unleash upon the Earth will make the skies rain fire. The seas will become as blood and all creation will tremble before those whom she banished from her sight and loving embrace to the farthest reaches of Hell. Sleep well princess, and sleep easy, I have not come to take you from this world tonight." These words were but a whisper, lost to the night air even before they reached the man's ears. All that could be heard was the rustle of leaves and all that could be seen were the clouds pushed by the wind across the endless starry night.
1 Tears of the Bloodstone
By: Godshatter
Relena Peacecraft sat at her desk staring at the same sheet of paper that she had been staring at for the past 5 minutes. Slowly, a single jeweled tear slipped from the ocean of her eyes and dropped onto the paper with a spatter. She just couldn't believe he was dead, through the past 4 months she had been clinging to her delusions that he was somehow alive in the cold reaches of space. But these dreams were shattered with the arrival of the very document that she held in her hand, she never thought that a single sheet of paper could changer her life so completely.
She had awakened to a very nervous Duo shaking her awake, "C'mon Relena, wake up!…. please wake up". Her eyes fluttered opened and as she drifted back to reality she said with a hint of annoyance in her voice at having been so forcefully woken up at glances at her alarm clock 4:00 AM??!!! "Duo Maxwell! If you do not have a half way decent excuse for waking me up at this UNGODLY hour I-", she was promptly cut off when she finally realizing that Duo was staring at her in a very disheartening way. "Hmm… now what could have shaken him up so badly that he came and woke me up at a time like this" she thought to herself as she glowered at the normally hyperactive American pilot who, for some reason, looked like he was about to fight off 100 mobile dolls unarmed. Suddenly realization dawned on her, "Oh my God, what did u find out about Heero?" she said, barley able to conceal the nervousness and fear in her voice. Duo just looked at her like he had been stabbed in the chest and tried to say something but for some reasons he just couldn't get it out. He found that for once he couldn't find the words to tell her so instead he thrust a sheet of paper into her hands. She looked at him questionably but proceeded to reed the document.
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER:
MISSION STATUS: FAILED
MISSION OPERATIVE STATUS: KIA
LAST KNOWN LOCATION: MAP SECTION 89T3, SUB COORDINATES 5-354-45
CONFIRMATION CODE: ALPHA-ZULU-01
For a moment Relena stared at Duo questionably when the full realization of what she had just read hit her like a sledgehammer. She gasped for breath and uttered a meager wimper before she promptly passed out on to the floor. Duo gently picked Relena up and placed her back on her bed and pulled her covers back over her slim body. Before making his exit he placed a single kiss on her angelic face, after which he slipped out into the cool night.
Relena awoke with a start. * it was only a dream it was only a dream, oh please God let it only be a dream! * was the only thought racing through her mind. She got up and was getting ready for her morning bath when she heard a rapping on her bedroom door. "Who is it?" she called. Duo being Duo simply opened the door and jumped right in to her room startling Relena out of her daydream. When Relena saw who it was she turned white as a ghost and said in a trembling voice "So it wasn't a dream was it Duo", Duo just nodded gravely and stepped out. Once outside Relena's door he hollered at her to get dressed and that he would return within the hour and that he had some important things to discuss with her.
"The nerve of that guy, barging in on me like that. I could have been undressing for all he knew." Relena thought as she began dressing. As Relena was bending down to pick up her favorite hair band from the floor (which Duo had knocked over when he slammed the door open), she noticed a small piece of yellow paper laying on the floor face down. "Hmm, what's this?" Relena picked up the paper and the hair band forgotten fell to the floor with a small clatter. As Relena read the document she remembered Duo from last night: his actions and his words. The tears formed and flowed uncontrollably. "I don't care if I cry or not anymore, he isn't here to be strong anymore… to be strong for himself or for me". Relena stood up and walked over to her office and sat down, the chair's new leather creaking softly as she sat down on it. Relena looked outside and decided to open the windows, as she did so her office was filled with the musical tones of the birds and the light soothing droning sound of honeybees hard at work gathering pollen to store for the hard winter's months ahead. "This would be a perfectly beautiful day, in fact it would be a perfect day for a long stroll in the park", she thought to herself. As she thought these thoughts another one barged in on here private reflections, this one was one of her sitting under a tree with Heero, or rather, Heero sitting under the tree and Relena leaning against him, her head on his shoulders sleeping, wistfully dreaming of Heero and how he had saved her yet again from the clutches of another crazed warlord in a line of a hundred. It had been a day much like this one, the sun was shining and the birds were singing, yes, it had been a perfect day.
This sudden thought brought tears flowing freely from Relena's eyes once again. The memory of this intimate moment, if it could be called such, was simply too much. Relena collapsed onto her desk and sobbed uncontrollably for several minutes.
Duo was tired, upset and very determined as he ran/stumbled up the stairs and down the hall to Relena's bedroom. When he arrived there she was nowhere to be seen. "Shit, where could she have gone?" he thought as a frantically searched the 2nd story of Relena's mansion. As he was looking through the study/library that resided above Ms. Dorlin's office he heard a soft muffled noise. He instantly froze and cupped a hand around his ear so that he could here better. "What was that noise I heard?… there it is again, wait, that sounds like crying!". Duo runs over to the balcony that overlooks the Vice Foreign Minister's office and peers down at the office below him. Sure enough he sees Relena hunched over her desk, her hands over her face crying. "Oh shit, I gotta get down there and calm her down ASAP or I wont be able to explain a thing to her." Thinks Duo as he bolts down the stairs and across the hall to the adjacent room (which happens to be Relena's office) and practically flew through the door. "Ms. Relena! Get a hold of yourself, you HAVE to listen to what I'm going to tell you, it's extremely important!", Duo yelled/said to the now hysterical Relena. "I don't care anymore Duo, he's gone, long gone and he is NEVER coming back!" screamed Relena. "Shit shit shit" thought Duo, "She has really lost it this time". "How am I going to get her attention with her in this condition!" Duo yelled silently to himself. Then Duo did something he thought he would never, ever be able to do under normal circumstances (or any for that matter). He SLAPPED Relena. Duo didn't think he could or would ever hit a woman, much less Relena Peacecraft/Dorlin, Vice Foreign Minister. "I'm going to regret this, I just know it" were the words that floated through Duo's head as his hand connected with the soft skin of Relena's right cheek. The impact left both a small red imprint of Duo's hand and Relena speechless for a few seconds. Then, in a very soft and controlled voice Relena said, "Thank you Duo, I needed to be brought back to my senses, though I don't particularly approve of your methods." Duo simply nodded and apologized to Relena. "You had mentioned earlier that you had something important to tell me", said Relena. Again, Duo simply nodded and said, "Can we speak in the garden? I have to be sure that the information that I am about to give you reaches your ears and your ears only." Relena stared mutely at him for a moment then nodded "Of course Duo, I would be happy to walk with you in the garden, I need some fresh air anyways."
"Man, she is taking this rather well now that I restored her senses to her, but I have a feeling that It wouldn't take much to set her off again, I'll have to be very careful how I explain this to her. Damn, I hate when I have to use my head and watch my tongue like this", thought Duo as the couple walked out onto the gravel path that lead to the rather extravagant garden behind the house.
As Duo and Relena strolled along the path to her garden Relena noticed that Duo seemed a bit fidgety so she asked him "What's on your mind Duo? I don't think I've ever seen you quite for more than 5 minutes before." "Hn" was all Duo had to say to her. Relena chuckled softly and remarked, "So I see you have been hanging around Heero to long, you're even picking up some of his habits." Duo, deep in thought paid no more attention to Relena or her questions. "Ok Duo, we're here, now lets talk."
As Duo and Relena entered the garden Duo was a bit taken aback by the sheer vastness and beauty of the garden. The morning dew lay gently on the leaves and flower petals of virtually every plant in the garden. Duo felt as if he had just walked into a giant prism with the sunlight reflecting off of the tear like dewdrops. The effect was quite dazzling and Duo found himself lost in the quite serenity of the seen which seemed to stretch on forever in front of him. Relena's words startled him out of his revere. "DUO, for the n'tenth time, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Relena asked in an exasperated tone. Duo just smiled at her and sat down in the soft grass and patted the ground beside him indicating for her to sit down beside him.
Duo looked up and realizing that they had walked onto the shore of a small lake about 2/3 of a mile in diameter with small reeds on the east and south banks that swayed in the winds gentle caress. He picked up some stones from the ground and began skipping them across it. One stone skipped about 4 or 5 times and Duo being quite proud of this accomplishment looked up at Relena and gave her a lopsided grin and said "Not bed eh Lena? I hadn't even noticed that we had parked ourselves on the shore of this lake." Relena had finally given up on trying to pry Duo for the information that he was so obviously trying to convey to her but for some reason was reluctant to tell her, so she just managed a weak smile at Duo and sat down beside him. "You know, none of the colonies have places like this, sure they have some parks here and there and an occasional fishing pond but nothing like this. I suppose the only colony that could possibly hold a place as large as this and have such a myriad of plants and animals would have to be the farming colony L-8c." Duo said. As he said this the thought reminded Duo of a time when he and Heero had spent time on colony L-8a for several months on a recon/demolitions mission. Duo laughed at the memory of a time where he and Heero had gone to a bar late one night after an especially hard day harvesting one of the larger quadrants (they didn't call fields "fields" in the colonies, they called them quadrants) and found themselves in a fight that turned into an all out brawl.
The incident started out when a large man who looked to be about 35 and wearing a pair of tattered blue jeans, steel toe (presumably) boots and a large black and red checkered work shirt walked up from behind Heero and ordered him out of his seat saying he had taken it from him. Heero simply ignored the man at first but as he persisted Duo sensed that this would get messy if he didn't intervene, and quick. Duo walked up from behind the burly man (who they later found out was named Pete) and asked if he could buy him a drink in hopes that the man would forget about his "stolen" seat. The man took Duo up on his offer and eventually left the bar after Duo had bought the man 2 or 3 shots of whisky and the night proceeded without further incident.
The man came back, piss drunk and was sporting a black eye and a nasty looking cut on his right cheek that stretched from his chin all the way to the tip of ear and was open, dark thick blood continued to flow/ooze down his cheek and neck, eventually soaking his red and black lumberjack style checkered work shirt. The man looked none to happy about it and when he spotted Heero still in his seat the man went ballistic. The man charged at Heero screaming and cursing at him. Heero heard the man's bellowing and jumped off the barstool just as the man collided with the bar, as he did so Heero instantly spun around and executed a round house kick which landed on the back of the man's neck. The man, reeling from the blow to his head/neck stumbled a bit and hunched over the bar, after a few moments he stood up and seemed to calm down a bit, but only for a moment for he saw Heero and charged again. Heero easily dodged and tripped the man as he shot passed. "Hrmmm, this is quite amusing now that I think about it" Heero quietly thought to himself as he landed another kick to the man's mid section followed by a quick punch to the kidney and a head butt to the mans nose which caused an explosion of blood when he connected. When the man stood up again Heero was ready for the charge and as the man ran by, Heero grabbed the man's belt and ripped it off of him. Heero took the belt and rapped it around his hand until he had the buckle facing out. As the man turned to face Heero again, Heero lunged at him and smashed the buckle into the man's face causing yet another red explosion. The snapping of bones could be heard echoing throughout the room (which had become strangely silent as the fight wore on). All of this had taken place within a matter of moments. Heero bent down to put the belt buckle at the man's side and as he stood up the whole bar seemed to expand, as the people shuffled back from this seemingly harmless young farm boy who had just beaten the holy hell out of one the toughest bar fighters the small colony had ever seen. Heero began to pull out his pistol to finish the man but was stopped by Duo, who had grabbed his wrist and just shook his head. Heero got the message: no more trouble tonight.
The pair paid their tab and sauntered out into the warm night. They walked over to an odd pick-up looking contraption (it was really a pickup with the bed removed and a steel panel placed where the bed should have been). Duo got in first and smirked at Heero as he eased himself onto the tattered sun bleached leather seat, "Quite a night neh? You really took that dumb bastard drunk apart. Towards the end there I saw some of the ladies in there eyeing you, you lucky scoundrel" chided Duo as he * gently * nudged Heero in the ribs. He was quickly met with the Yuy Death Glare. As Duo gunned the motor the lights from the bar softly faded into the distance as softly as the memory.
Duo awoke to the sounds of birds and the hum of bees. "Wha… what?" thought Duo as he sat up. "Man, what a trip, I didn't even know I was dreaming" said Duo as he looked down to see an angelic looking creature sleeping with its head on his lap. Startled, Duo nearly jumped up but managed to restrain himself from doing so. After a moment he realized that it was only Relena. "I guess when I fell asleep she decided to take a nap too, hmmm, she certainly is beautiful, almost looks like an angel sleeping here in my lap. I can see why Heero likes her so much, though he doesn't even know it himself even if everyone else save Relena does", thought Duo as he peered down at the sleeping princess. "Oh well, I guess ill wait till she wakes up to talk to her, its not like I could do anything right now anyway" Duo said softly to himself. * YAWN * "Hehehe, I guess ill take a quick nap myself. Good night Lena, sweet dreams", whispered Duo as he nodded off and let oblivion claim him.
* FLASH * * BOOM-CLAP * Duo awoke to the booming of thunder rolling over the hills, sounding much like some distant battle ground. Luckily, Relena had heard the thunder also and had gotten up a few moments before Duo had been awakened. "Awwww great, just what I need. Now its gonna take forever to get my hair dried", whined Duo as he clutched his braid and attempted to ring it out. "Well, we have a long walk ahead of us, we might as well get going. I wish I had thought to bring a watch, or an umbrella", Duo ruefully remarked. The duo got up and decided that since they were going to get soaked to the bone anyways they might as well take it easy on the ¾ mile hike back to Relena's mansion. On the way back Duo was deep in thought. "Dammit! I wasted the whole friggen day out here with Relena and I didn't say a single word about what Dr. J told me. I wish he could have told me this BEFORE he told me to give that report to Lena, I know it tore her up inside. When we get back I'm going to tell her, precautions be damned. I don't give a shit if her room is bugged or if Dr. J told me not to tell her, she might be a strong person, she sure as hell proved that long ago but she cant go on and me not give her this information. I just wouldn't feel right." "Duo?" Asked Relena, not quite used to this more quiet and reserved Duo. Duo didn't even acknowledge her question, he just kept walking, obviously deep in thought. "I can't believe this guy! He is worse than Heero, if I don't get some answers out of him I'm gonna cut off that braid of his and beat it out of him", Relena angrily thought to herself as they trudged home along the now muddied path.
As Relena unlocked the back door with a click of a deadbolt she softly opened the heavy wooden door with a creek of the hinges. "I should probably get those oiled", thought Relena to herself as the pair entered the mansion.
The first thing they noticed as the came in out from the rain was that the power had apparently gone out. As Duo realized this he instinctively reached for his 9mm, although he doubted the threat of an attacker one could never be too careful.
"Wait right here, I'm gonna go down to the basement and check the fuse box. Ill be back in a few minutes", whispered Duo as he left to go get a flashlight. Relena looked down to see that he had given her is 9mm.
"Ahh, here it is, damn, that must have been a helluva shock to the system" said Duo as he whistled while eyeing the shredded metal cable before him. "Wait a minute, there's no burn or flash marks on the plaster on the wall behind the cable or its power coupling", said Duo to himself. "There's no way that that cable didn't cause at least some damage to the wall when it overloaded, in fact, it almost looks as if its… been… cut", Duo mentally kicked himself in the ass for not thinking something was awry, he knew there was no way that a mere thunderstorm could overload the systems and the backups that he and Heero had personally installed in here.
* BANG BANG BANG * " Fuck!" yelled Duo as he heard the report of a pistol followed swiftly by the * ratattatta * of a rapid-fire machine gun. "Dammit I knew I shouldn't have left her, I just KNEW it!" Duo practically screamed at himself as he bolted up the flight of stairs to the kitchen where he had left Relena.
Relena felt the cold metal and the light weight of the gun in her right hand. Strange, it almost felt natural the way the gun was balanced when she held it up to eye level as she brought the sights down on her reflection in one of the many mirrors that had been scattered throughout her manor. "Hmmm, now that I think about the last time I had leveled a gun on someone was in Russia, when I shot the rose off of Lady Une's dress. Strange, I don't think I could bare to shoot her now that we have become such close friends", Relena thought quietly to herself. As she turned to look at out the window to the now pouring rain she thought of how comforting it felt to be inside, to here the light pitter patter of the rain as it bombarded the elaborately crafted windows. While she was deep in thought she heard a noise behind her, she spun around and in one fluid motion she brought the gun to bear on a short, very well built young man of about 25.
The young man gave an evil smile and lunged at Rrelena, who dodged his attack and dropped to the ground, firing 3 quick bursts with Duo's 9mm. The man recovered from the tumble that he had taken due to Relena dodging his attack. He quickly stood up and brought what appeared to be a gauss rifle to bear on her. She dove and rolled behind the couch as the man let loose with a barrage of diluted uranium (DU) slugs, which exploded when they impacted with the hard metal of her refrigerator; showering the floor with sparks. Just as he was about to finish Relena off at point blank range the man was hit hard in the back of the head, just at the base of the neck. The man slumped over, dead.
As Duo stared at the prone figure laying at his feet he noticed a black armband with a large anarchy symbol on it. "Christ, not ANOTHER terrorist organization. I thought the White Fang and the Sigon Clan were it and everyone finally got the message of peace", said Duo as he smacked himself upside the head. Relena just looked at the dead soldier with a distant stare, she said nothing but headed for her room upstairs. "YAWN", "I guess she has the right idea, ill stay with her the night but first thing in the morning we are having a chat", thought Duo as he collapsed on Relena's sofa and checked his watch 10:45. "Man, we were out there MUCH latter than I thought. Oh well." Duo decided it was time to sack out and began to slowly climb the wooden stairs, each step coaxing moans and creeks from the old steps. "I'm going to have to be more careful now, more careful now that Heero won't be around to protect Relena for a while. I never thought I would have to keep this promise that I made to Heero to protect her, I always figured he would be here for her. After all, they guys indestructible… Isn't he?" mused Duo as he opened the door to the bedroom suite adjacent to Relena's own room. Before turning in for the night Duo padded over to Relena's room in just his socks and black boxers and slowly opened her door with a soft creek. "I hope she gets plenty of sleep, tomorrow is going to be a long day for both of us" whispered Duo to himself", and then louder, "Good night Lena, and sweet dreams." Releena gave a soft sigh and then "Heero" in reply to Duo's remarks. "Poor girl, I know this is tearing her apart inside. I just hope what I say to her doesn't give her too much false hope. I hope that all can and will be made right in time." Duo wondered if he was doing the right thing as he closed his own door. Soon deep snoring could be heard from the other side of the door.
Perched on a limb of a large oak tree just outside the front wall of Releena's estate sat a dark figure with an eye that glowed as if it were a flame and a gaze as empty as the vacuum of space. Slowly a small smile formed on his lips, though the disfigurement of his face made it seem more like an evil grimace than a smile. The man stood up and with the grace and agility of a cat he leaped from the branch and executed a double flip before he landed with but a small * pat * on the soft grass 30ft below. "You may live a bit longer princess, but only a bit. We are coming and when we come the Armageddon machines that we will unleash upon the Earth will make the skies rain fire. The seas will become as blood and all creation will tremble before those whom she banished from her sight and loving embrace to the farthest reaches of Hell. Sleep well princess, and sleep easy, I have not come to take you from this world tonight." These words were but a whisper, lost to the night air even before they reached the man's ears. All that could be heard was the rustle of leaves and all that could be seen were the clouds pushed by the wind across the endless starry night.