Base 0:1

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters—except Angel, steal her and you die! —The stories of Gundam Wing and Neon Genesis Evangelion belong to there respective owners. I don't got any money, so don't sue me. I'm just a poor little fanfic author.

~~ Closing wounds, Opening hearts ~~

PROLOGUE

She sighed softly and sank back into the comfort of her cushioned couch.

The lumps were in all the right places, the huge down pillows had found their respective spots.

Her childhood blankie, faded, gray, and warm, was wrapped around her protectively. She gazed into the fire, shutting out bad memories.

The looming silence was broken by the sound of the phone ringing.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Ms. Kyoko Sakuri ?"

"Yes."

"This is Commander Noin. I'm calling from Base 0:1, I have a job for you."

**************************************************************************************

Chapter 1

Base 0:1. She hadn't heard the name for years. She had hoped

never to hear it again. Yet, now, here she was. In Japan. At the main entrance of Base 0:1.

Home to the last Evangelion unit.

Kyoko shuddered. This was where her childhood was buried.

And this was where she would find it again.

The gate opened. She was pulled into the shadows of her past.

**************************************************************************************

"Heero, would you tell us what the hell is wrong with

you before you wear a hole in the damn carpet!?!" exclaimed an irritated Duo.

Heero had been silently pacing across the room for almost two straight hours.

His fellow Gundam pilots had since become worried as they noticed the look on his face.

Blank. He was unreadable. This didn't sit well with the rest of them. The patience of Heero's

comrades had dissolved and frustration had set in.

************************************************************************************

A tear slid down her cheek and splattered against the cold floor.

"How could you?" Kyoko sobbed.

"What do you mean?"

"How could you do something so evil?"

"I'm still not sure I understand what you mean," questioned the doctor.

"You never destroyed Unit 1:1."

The doctor smiled cruelly, "Why of course not! We knew you'd return someday."

**************************************************************************************

" I still don't understand what's up with Heero," Trowa sighed exasperated.

The four pilots sat in the middle of den, trying to piece

together the odd behavior of their friend. Heero had long since departed

to go wherever it was he went to.

Duo snorted.

" I'm telling you that kid's got problems. And he knows

somethin' we don't. I just don't know what it is, yet. He's

been off his rocker ever since we found out there's a new pilot."

" Do you think it might be that he's worried?"

" Well, in case you haven't noticed, he's been acting worried!" shouted Duo.

Quatre shook his head, " No! I mean he's been like this ever since we found

out that the pilot was trained at Base 0:1."

The others nodded in agreement. A week earlier, they had been

informed that a new pilot would join their "squad". A girl who had

been trained at Base 0:1 in Japan. For some reason, those facts had upset Heero.

No one knew why.

" May be he's worried about making a good impression, eh?" smirked Duo.

" Somehow, I don't think Heero would spend a week

brooding over a girl no one's ever seen before," Trowa frowned," You maybe, But not Heero."

Duo threw a cushion at him.

" I resent that! I wouldn't NEED to worry about making a good

impression. I know I would. She'd be drooling as soon as she laid eyes on me!"

Trowa rolled his eyes. Wufei snorted.

**************************************************************************************

2 days later—onboard shuttle

Kyoko shifted distractedly. Noin noticed the younger girl fidgeting,

and saw the distant gaze in her eyes.

" Nervous"

"Yeah. I can't believe I'm doing this."

Believe it."

"I'm going to pilot Eva again. I'm afraid, Commander. I gave up that life

because of the pain it brought. Now I'm going back and something tells me

that the pain will be greater."

Noin just sat quiet and smiled knowingly.

"Noin?"

"Hhmn?"

"I'll see him again won't I?"

"Heero? Yes, you'll see him again."

Kyoko smiled weakly. She wondered if the years had changed him also.

She wondered if he was different than the boy she had known at Base 0:1.

Seeming to read her thoughts, Noin said softly,

" Don't expect the happy go-lucky kid he used to be.

He's not the sweet little boy you knew, Angel. That was a long time ago.

The war's been hard on everyone."

****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Interlude 1

He's not the sweet little boy you knew, Angel…

Those words said a lot. What they meant was not something

Kyoko needed, or wanted, to know.

He's not the sweet little boy you knew, Angel…

The words echoed in her mind. Fear and doubt took

on their native guises and proceeded to wreak havoc on her mind.

Kyoko sat bolt upright in bed.

I'll see him tomorrow.

Tomorrow.

At that moment, she realized how much she had changed.

No longer was she the outgoing, flamboyant child of yesterday.

Her past seemed so far away, and yet so close.

Her stomach clenched.

If she had changed this much, what about him? He had been in the war.

She had not. She had escaped. He had not.

She winced as the meaning of Noin's words hit home. It had been a long,

hard war. They had both changed, as people do. She no longer knew

what to expect. But one thing was for certain.

Angel was no longer brave.

****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Chapter 2

" I don't see the point of this!" argued Wufei.

"Aw, c'mon man, doncha wanna see the new chic?" goaded Duo,

"Heard she's pretty hot."

Trowa rolled his eyes, " Don't you mean, the new competition?

Besides no one here's even seen her yet, so how could they know if she's hot or not."

"You're so negative it's unbelievable!" cried Duo.

Quatre, who had been ignoring the harmless banter,

proceeded to read the new pilot's profile report. It had been

sent directly from Operations that morning.

"Hey, guys?" he questioned, " What's an Evangelion?"

A confused hush fell over the group. All eyes were on Heero.

He had been treading silently ahead of them, seeming to ignore them

all entirely. At the word 'evangelion', he had stopped immediately.

He abruptly turned to face them, an unearthly glare shadowed in his eyes.

"What did you say?" he snarled.

" I...I just asked what an Evangelion was," sputtered Quatre.

He had never seen his comrade act this way before. It was disturbing,

to say the least.

" Dude, what's the problem? You know something we

don't? You gotta admit, you have been actin' weird ever

we found out 'bout this pilot. What the hell's wrong with you, man?"

There was a moment of intense, silent tension, then bedlam broke loose.

In seconds Heero crossed the gap between himself and Duo,

and slammed the other boy against the nearby wall. No words were

exchanged between them. The look in Heero's eyes and the

expression on his face was enough. He let go of Duo and

stormed off to places unknown.

Duo brushed himself off and looked to the rest of the group.

"I think we'd better leave him alone for a while.

Whatever the hell ' Evangelion' means, it's got

something to do with Heero's past," he turned to

stare down the darkened passage, "That kid's got a lot of

problems he still need to deal with."

**************************************************************************************

" That's no Gundam."

It towered above them, casting its shadow

across the platform. They watched in wonder as the

'thing' was trucked down into the lower levels of the Base.

The 'thing' looked similar to a Gundam,

but it was a style of mecha they had never seen before.

And on another, stranger note, it was different. There

was something about it entirely foreign. Something it

had the their Gundams did not.

" That weird thing you're thinking of, the factor

you can't quite put your finger on? It's called a soul."

The voice had been distinctly feminine. The boys turned around.

And stared. Duo's jaw hit pavement. In turn Kyoko smiled.

"Call me Angel."

************************************************************************************

And hour later found the five teenagers in a small,

cozy café on the mainland.

" I really don't understand what the

Evangelion is exactly."

"Well, it's a creature that was created from

tissue from the organism Adam. Adam was the first angel…"

As she spoke, the eyes of her listeners

glazed over. She couldn't help but laugh.

"It's a long story, maybe you could take a

raincheck?"

"Offer accepted," Trowa grinned.

" One more question though," Wufei urged,

" If it's the last Eva, then why is it called Unit One?"

"No, no, silly! It's not One, it's called Unit 1:1.

There were for others: Prototype 0:0. , Unit 0:1, Unit0: 2, and Unit 0:3."

"And where are they?"

Kyoko stared at them blankly. The rest of the

world really had forgotten then. She wondered briefly

if anyone not familiar with Base 0:1 still even knew about the Impacts.

"Have you ever heard of the Third Impact?"

"Yea."

She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, Eva 0:0,0:2,0:3 were destroyed in it, along with

nine new prototypes that were crucified in outer space.

0:1 was lost. No one knows where it is."

"I thought that the whole Impact thing was just

some war 500 years ago, I don't remember ever hearing about Evangelions."

"Eva can live forever as long as there is a soul inside.

And the Impacts' a pretty complicated story, how' about I take

a raincheck on this, eh?" Angel winked.

The table once again became silent. Quatre rested

his chin on his hand and wondered aloud,

" I wonder how Heero's doing."

There was a sharp intake of breath from the new

pilot. And it didn't go unnoticed.

"Say, Angel?" Duo eyed her suspiciously,

"Would you happen to know a guy named Heero Yuy?"

There. He'd said it. Heero Yuy. The name that had been haunting her.

The name of the boy she had left behind. A familiar wave of guilt washed

over her. As she looked from face to face, panic crept through her.

What should she say? How was she going to explain that before he

had met them, before he had become a Gundam pilot,

he had been hers?

Be the actress, Angel. Play your part, Angel. Stay calm. Breathe.

" Odin Lowe?"

Duo sat back, stunned. The café around them

murmured in its usual aroma. It was filled with the soft voices of people

enjoying their own private worlds. At this table, however, the world had

stopped and the hush grew deeper.

" How do you know that name?" Trowa asked, almost harshly.

"I was there."

"What do you mean, you were there?"

"I was there, at Base 0:1, the day they code-named

him Heero. We were five," it took all the strength

she had to keep from crying.

Angel set her latte down. Her hand was

shaking violently. Duo placed his own over it and whispered gently,

"It's okay. You don't have to talk about it right now."

Angel smiled. She thanked him and proceeded

to question them about the base that would be her new home.

"Aquarius is the first Geofront the world

has seen for almost 500 years. 'Cept, it's a tiny bit

more advanced than those ones," Quatre grinned, " It has the latest in technology,

comfort, communication, and military command and training."

"Sounds cool. I'm guessing it's called

Aquarius 'cause it's built on an island?"

" Right."

"Don't worry! You're gonna love it here!" laughed Duo.

"Ya, whatever," Angel's eyes glittered with happiness.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

"Kay, so like, some chic named Relena Peacecraft is

coming' here to meet me, you guys know anything

about her I might need to know?"

Their voices trailed off into the night.

Under the soft glow of café light, the talk and laughter of youth continued.

**************************************************************************************

Interlude 2

He had known. He cursed himself for his stupidity.The moment

the report came in, saying that a pilot

would be arriving from Base 0:1, he had dreaded

the answer to his assumption. He had prayed he was

wrong, that it wasn't her. That it was some other girl.

Just some new Gundam pilot that he could ignore. But everything

in his being told him he was right.

Heero stared at his hands. People

had died at those hands. How would he explain that?

It was a war, Heero. You did what had to be done.

Heero's eyes darkened. But I didn't have to become what I've become.

He had done everything to forget his past. He had

become the perfect soldier. He had lost the meaning his childhood

had held. He was still running. He had learned to deal with pain. All

pains but those of memory. He was still running. Running from painful memories.

Now she had returned. The Angel had flown back to him; he had

to stop running. He had to face her, and face his past.

But heroes don't forgive fallen angels.

**************************************************************************************

Chapter 3

She hit the floor. Hard. The blond girl groaned.

"God! Why does it have to be morning already!"

The door to her room opened. Kyoko peeked out from

under her pile of blankets. And promptly found herself face

to face with a pair of black shoes.

"Rise and shine, sleeping' beauty!"

She screamed. The three boys laughed as they dodged

various flying objects, pillows included.

"Out! Out! Out!"

While the others hastily followed her orders, Dou

leaned back and added,

"Don't take to long. You don't want to miss your first

Aquariun breakfast."

15 minutes later, Kyoko was standing in front of a full length

mirror, surveying her reflection.

Looking good,Ky—

Angel, she corrected herself, You're Angel again.

She pointed a finger at herself,

" You're Angel, and you're gonna stay Angel."

She smirked. She was wearing her favorite pants—black leather

ones that fit like a pair of tight jeans--- and, for lack of better timing

(or wider selection, seeing as she hadn't unpacked yet) a green tank

that exposed a lot of midriff. Damn good.

She glanced at the clock on her nightstand.

"Oh, crap! Breakfast!"

**************************************************************************************

Angel burst into the dining hall, panting heavily.

"Am I late? You guys eat without me? I didn't miss breakfast did I?"

Quatre looked up from his coffee. He had a slightly amused

expression on his face.

" Angel, remember how I said that Aquarius had the latest in comfort?"

"Wha? Ya?"

" Well, the kitchen's open all day. You eat whenever you want," he smiled.

Angels face fell. Then they had to wonder why she had been dubbed "Angel".

Angel tackled Dou. She began beating on him with her fists, ranting and raving,

while all he could do was laugh.

"I can't believe you! You walk into my room! Wake me up! And then you

make me rush to get ready so I don't miss breakfast, then I find out that I

didn't need to wake up at all!"

Angel cursed him repeatedly, pausing briefly to shake and punch

the prankster. Duo of course, had been hoping for such a reaction, and he proceeded

to laugh and revel in his genius. This of course, made Angel angrier.

Wufei walked in. He was greeted by the site of Trowa reading a

book of some sort, Quatre drinking coffee, watching Duo and Angel,

laughter in his eyes. Wufei then let his gaze fall on the source of the

commotion. Duo and Angel. It seemed that the boy had tired of being hit,

(as the girl's punches were gradually getting more painful, and his head hurt

from being pounded on the floor) and he was trying to push her off him.

Except, Angel wasn't through with her punishment yet. She was

straddled across his hips, her hands gripping his shirt collar, the poor boy's face an inch away

from hers, his ears subjected to an extremely loud voice. Wufei decided to speak up,

"Would you two shut up! You'll wake the whole base!"

The victims of his fury hushed instantly, as if finally aware that they were

acting like children. They stared at the speaker. The latter added,

" And if you're just going to sit there and grope each other, you might

as well get a room."

Angel stood up. And dropped Duo. The back of his head hit the floor.

That time it actually hurt. Rubbing the sore spot he sat up.

"Guess she's not a morning person, huh?" he winked.

**************************************************************************************

The ruckus had settled and the five teenagers now found themselves

seated around various places in the dining hall. Wufei and Trowa were

seated at tables alone, each immersed in their coffee and objects of attention.

Wufei was cleaning a sword and Trowa was reading. Quatre, Duo, and Angel were

acting more human than the other pilots. Angel had decided that he feet were

comfortable on the tabletop and Duo had decided that he was comfortable sitting on a chair backwards. Quatre agreed with Duo. And, as if to complete the scene, the three were having a normal, teenage

conversation of nothing in particular.

Angel was smiling, something she had grown used to again. She would have to,

if she was going to remain anywhere near these boys. It had been years since

her smiles had been real. For the first time, in a long time, Angel was happy.

Then, silence descended. Their table had fallen to a hush. Heero.

He was leaning against a far wall, watching them. Watching her. Then, without

a word, he left and silence lifted. But the talk this time was different. It had a purpose.

" What is it between you, anyway?" Duo questioned.

"Nothing," Angel denied

Quatre looked her in the eye and said slowly, " He's probably on his way to

Operations, he goes there everyday."

Angel sighed. She'd have to face him sooner or later,

it might as well be then. She gulped and nodded. It would be now.

**********************************************************************************

"Heero, wait!" she called.

Her insides fluttered. What would she say? She needn't have worried. He kept walking

as though he hadn't heard her.

"HEERO! STOP!"

He stopped. And turned. Their eyes met. A wave of conflictin

emotions rushed through them. All the years they had been apart. The reason why.

The memories of a past long ago, a happiness they missed so much. And now,

a longing for something that didn't exist.

She saw his eyes darken and she felt the tear slide down her cheek.

No words could be spoken. Not then. It was too soon. His gaze wavered.

Her vision blurred and the last thing she saw was Heero walking away.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and pulled close to embrace her comforter.

Duo held her gently as she sobbed into his chest.

"He left me, my hero left… like I did. I'm sorry… so sorry, I never should've…

I should've…" she choked incoherent apologies through her tears.

For Duo the jokes were off. They wouldn't help now. This situation

was far more serious than he had previously imagined. Now was not the

time to pretend it was nothing, nor was it a time to do anything other than

let the girl in his arms do anything but cry.

And when she was done crying, he wouldn't remind her of it.

People don't like feeling helpless. He would do his best to keep her from feeling just that: alone.

The End,

For now

** a/n :: I hope you guys don't mind. I'm not an expert on Gundam wing. I live in america—that should explain it. To clear up some confusion—this takes place about 500 years after the End of Evangelion(I go bye the movie ending cuz the other one sucks) and after the end of Gundam Wing. I have never seen Endless waltz—so in my timeline it doesn't exist. I'll keep you posted on when the next chapters come out. Tell me what you think, I really wanna know. (And as for that last scene in ch2: I was trying to represent the ability of people to avoid what's painful. Hence—the drastic mood swings and changes on to topic of conversation—Angel doesn't want to talk about Heero cuz it kinda sorta hurts. For give them, their just teenagersJ ANYYYWAYY) *a lightbulb appears above Silky's head *oh yeah, and Noin's a Commander now!!

**a/n :: just thought I might warn you—I have drastic mood swings. This story will switch mood settings so fast it's unbelievable. Most of the time I do it on purpose, sometimes it just ends up that way—since the characters ARE people, and even people have fun. I'm referring to the Interlude2 to Chapter 3 change. It was kinda, well, let's just say Heero's a bit dark, and Angel was having a blondgetsmad moment.J J Hope you don't mind.