Unsung Farewell
Why did she feel nostalgic to be staring down a barrel of a gun at point blank range when those familiar colored eyes stared just over the pistol's hammer?
It seems like just yesterday he washed up on shore at her feet only to point a similar, older weapon at her a few days later. But those days belonged to a tragic, childhood past. Whimsical memories of a young woman who was much stronger now. It was obvious he had been frozen as she had been, but did not remember like she did. Pangs of pain pulsed in her breast at the fact she knew who he was before, and now who he was after. Relena also could not ignore the lightness of seeing him again.
"Will you kill me?" she asked while keeping her gaze locked with his.
The finger pressed against the trigger never wavered, as she knew it would not. The emotions and memories needed to make him falter were no longer present. That past was erased and he was now what his training had finally achieved him into becoming. A perfect killing machine. She couldn't help pitying his very existence at this moment.
"Your existence must be erased, Relena Darlian. You threaten the peace of this world."
Relena closed her eyes, listening to his voice. The tone sounded so blank and emotionless. That was the difference between them now. She could still feel!
Narrowed eyes snapping open, she reached up and pulled the pistol closer until the nozzle was digging into the center of her jugular.
"Then do it. Kill me, Heero."
As soon as she uttered his name, the iris' within his cold eyes flickered. Had she struck a nerve?
In the rafters above their heads, Katherine Winner lined up a shot on the dark haired man's leg. She thought it foolish that they spare this former Gundam Pilot since he was now their enemy. He wasn't even the same person anymore. She had voiced her opinion to Instructor W who gave her a pained look that made her feel guilty for even bringing it up.
When the young girl noticed the muscle in the man's arm move just seconds before he pulled the trigger, Katherine fired once into his arm holding his weapon. That first shot was Relena's cue to get clear of her assassin and on her way to the shuttle that was waiting for her arrival to depart. The second shot pierced through muscle and nerves of his left leg to slow down his movement. True to Relena's word, he paid his injuries no mind and simply reached over for the weapon hanging from his useless arm before it fell to his feet in order to kill his target.
Dropping down from the rafters, the young Winner shot the gun from his hand and placed herself firmly in front of the female President.
"Miss Relena, we must leave. If he is here, then the others are sure to be not far behind. We don't have any time left!"
Nodding as she stared at the injured young man, Relena let her guard secure the doorway as he crouched on the floor, bleeding freely from his new bullet wounds. She knew he would try again and again. He'd commit suicide if it meant completing the mission. This sickening and familiar mindset from so long ago made her want to scream but could not bring herself to do so.
She needed to live. Her brother's life would have been for naught if she died here and that was one thing she could never let happen. They were on opposite sides of the battlefield now and this time, she made the choice to step off the sidelines.
"You failed again, Heero. You always will." she murmured knowingly, then whirled away from him as she replaced her brother's mask back on her head.
They ran from the room as he struggled to get himself up, already speaking into his communicator of his failure and change of plans. No one would be able to see his hand freely shaking as he spoke or the conflicted look in his dark, blue eyes.
Katherine and Relena safely made it to the shuttle where Noin and Instructor W were waiting, already having the engine fired up and the gateway just seconds away from opening. Faintly behind them, the blond haired 'Prince" could hear explosions and more gunfire. Would she always be haunted by those sounds?
"Miss Relena?" Quatre Raberba Winner, now taller with thicker looking hair, asked with concern as he held her hand while pulling her into the shuttle and his sister secured the area behind them. Once the door was locked, they were taxiing toward the now opening to the stars of space.
"I saw him. I was prepared for it, but I…" She jerked the mask off once she sat down in her seat and lowered her head into her hands, eyes closed to block out the world.
The former Gundam Pilot and heir to the Winner family knelt down in front of her and gripped her shoulder gently, but firmly.
"He eventually will remember, Miss Relena. You did. He will too."
Looking up with tired eyes of an older woman in a younger body, Relena felt the weight of everything bearing down on her harder than before.
"But at what cost, Quatre?"
Letting his large hand slip from her dainty shoulders, the light haired man looked away. Knowing she would get no answer, Relena urged him to aid Noin in steering them free from Mars. Looking out her shuttle window while Katherine sat in a seat somewhere behind her, she had to come to terms that Heero may never recover.
A war was starting once again. Now the rules and players have changed drastically. There was no Zechs or Treize to take the weight of responsibility from her shoulders anymore. No Heero to protect her from all threats. She was going to fight this time, but not just with words. Her brother had been murdered and the peacekeepers of the Earth Sphere were now a threat. She would thread the fragments of peace together once again, but this time with a vengeance.
FINI
I threw TONS of random facts in there with what little the novel Frozen Teardop has given us already. This was just my version of Heero and Relena's first meeting in the novel. It isn't offical so sorry for the confusion. I have no idea what Operation Mythos will be, or how the 'frozen and not remember' thing works. All I know is that this will not be a happy story. Thanks for reading! Remember, this is a oneshot so it just one chapter. Please review! The feedback is much appreciated!
