Disclaimer : Gundam 00, characters and related indicia © Bandai, Sunrise

Author's notes : this was written for the Mechaphiles Holiday Fic Exchange 2008 (see Gundam00 comm at LiveJournal,) for Arislan-chan. The prompt was: "Nightmares and dreams." Thanks to Dynames for beta-reading, and for AndoyC for his input.

Only When I Sleep
a Gundam 00 fanfic by Cielo

Salty sea air caressed her sun kissed skin, lightly playing with her long silver hair. She shifted her feet, letting the soft, cool sand tickle her toes. Cargo pants rolled up to her knees, she softly giggled as azure surf washed over her ankles, lifting her feet up from the sand covering them. She shielded her eyes from the sun which gradually made its way down the horizon.

A gentle padding of feet made her turn her head back, as she smiled at the newcomer. The soft breeze ruffled his olivine hair, the sun's rays reflecting off his mismatched eyes. Smiling, he held out his hand, "Let's take a walk, Marie."

They made their way along the beach, the slowly rising tide lazily lapping at their feet. Hand in hand, they walked in silence, the sun unfaltering in its path. He fell back in his pace, and surprised Marie by enveloping her in his strong, warm embrace. He inhaled the scent of hibiscus, mingled with salty sea breeze in her hair.

Marie's heart raced – so much that she could swear he could hear it from where he was. She felt him smile against her neck, as the breath of a chuckle tickled her skin. The subtle contact made her skin tingle. She barely recognized her own voice as she sighed out his name, as one hand traveled up her neck, "Allelujah..."

"Is it just me, or did I hear you say, Hallelujah?"

The sudden change in his voice sent an icy chill down Marie's spine. Her breath caught in her throat as the arm around her waist tightened, as the fingers around her neck playfully pressed at her pulsing vein, at her throat, seemingly contemplating where he should tighten his grip to kill her in one move... Or if he should play with her first.

Marie's survival instincts kicked in: She shoved the hand by her neck outwards and the surprise allowed her to spin out of his grip and take two quick strides backwards. Hallelujah had a foot back, slightly hunched forward; his silver eye shadowed by the twilight, highlighting the manic glint in his golden eye.

The sun's downward journey was almost over, as the tide was pulled upwards – sea water was suddenly up to her calves, waves sending water up to her knees.

"Hey, Marie," Her eyes twitched at the way he mockingly drawled her name, "where the hell's Soma Peries? She's the one I want to kill!" He stood at full height and effortlessly walked forward, slowly covering the distance between them. She tried stepping back, but to her horror, her feet were anchored to the sand. She held her head in her hands as it throbbed at her disturbed Quantum Brainwaves, 'Allelujah... Come back, please, Allelujah!'

"Calling him won't do anything, Marie," he went up behind her, "and since Soma's not around..." he then pushed her forward, shoving her head underwater, "I'll have to make do by killing you instead!"

She wanted to scream. Her hair swam by her salt-stung eyes as she struggled against the grip that kept her head submerged. The sand swallowed her hands. She was out of breath, her lungs felt as if they were about to explode. Her mind screamed out for him squeezing her eyes shut, 'Allelujah! Please, ALLELUJAH!'

Marie suddenly felt her body spasm – was that her last breath? Is she dead? She slowly registered her surroundings – she was breathing, she was dry. Right in front of her eyes was a ceiling, and she was in bed . She turned her head to the side, and there was Allelujah, asleep, as if nothing happened.

But the blood-lust laden voice that echoed in her head was unmistakable:

'I'm coming to get you, Soma – no – Marie Parfacy... And not even Allelujah can save you...'

-- END --