Heart of the Storm

Chapter Seven

Izreina stared blankly at the readout the computer screen displayed, sitting on the platform of Thundershock's cockpit hatch. Structural damage was clearly visible on the suit's armor, some of it having been completely blown off. And the computer displayed a large number of internal problems. But she had a difficult time concentrating, not really reading the reports, just staring at the screen, one hand idly twirling a lock of hair through her fingers.

"She'll be alright. I'm sure of it."

"Hmm?" She blinked a few times before turning her head. She stared directly into the eyes of what she thought was her counterpart. It took a few moments of focus before she realized it was Quatre standing beside her, looking down to her. She gave him a small sad smile. "I can't help but worry." She closed the laptop shut with a heavy sigh, finally deciding that the damage analysis would have to wait.

He stepped back, offering a hand down to her to help her to her feet. "I didn't mean to disturb you. I actually came down looking for Kalli."

She took his offered hand, and was surprised at his strength as he pulled her to her feet almost effortlessly. She took a moment to balance herself, as she had prepared to stand using her own strength, and had over-compensated, not counting on him actually being able to lift her up as if she weighed nothing. "Kal… is probably down at the firing range… It's where she goes to relieve stress." She felt a moment of heat fill her cheeks, giving him a very shy smile as she felt a hand take hold of her other arm to help steady her. "I… I wouldn't head down there, though… When she's stressed, she becomes aggressive, and has a tendency to shoot anything that moves… She never misses."

He continued to hold on to her as he felt her begin to tremble. "I'll give her some time, then. I wanted to make sure she was alright, but you look like you could use some comforting, yourself." He stared down to her, genuine concern in his eyes.

She felt like she had to literally tear her gaze away from his or she would have melted into the aquamarine pools that were his eyes. She let her eyes fall to the hatch underneath their feet, mustering every ounce of strength she could to keep tears from forming. "There was a very good reason we never revealed ourselves to our brothers… What you saw of us out in space, the battle… the death we leave in our wake…" She sucked in a quick, deep breath as she felt her voice crack. "We never wanted to expose any of you to that… or anything that we've been subjected to in our history together… Trinity knew that Heero would understand. But we weren't very sure about you and Isaac… I mean, Duo… I keep forgetting that's what he calls himself now…"

"Oh, Izreina," he said, gently taking hold of her chin, lifting it slightly to pull her gaze back up to him. "We weren't very different from you during the war. I was so distraught over the death of my father when I first came across Wing Zero. The ZERO system fed off that anger, no hatred, and fear. I killed so many while under its influence, without even knowing who I was killing. But it took my friends, who cared enough about me to risk their lives, to make me see my errors. I nearly killed both Heero and Trowa." He paused a moment, sighing. "I can't give back the lives I took, but no one during that war died in vain. We all learned from the mistakes made." He gave her a small smile. "And Duo? Keep in mind that his gundam's name is 'Deathscythe'… and during the war he called himself the 'God of Death'…" That earned him a small flash of amusement in her eyes that was quickly drowned with tears.

"Izreina, all our hands are stained with innocent blood, but we would have never realized the true value of life unless we took it and accepted the consequences for doing so." He slid his arms around her, holding her close when she could no longer fight the tears. "The three of you are truly amazing pilots. Watching what you did out there makes me thank God that the soldiers in you weren't used as they intended to use you. We would have never stood a chance."

She let herself be pulled against him, suddenly feeling small as his strong arms seemed to swallow her whole. It was everything she could do to keep from completely breaking down as she sobbed quietly into his chest.

"You're a kind person, Quatre," she said softly, closing her eyes as she felt his chin rest atop her head. She felt comforting warmth in his embrace, a safety in his arms she can't recall having felt before. "I wish I was… I've hurt Isaac… I've hurt Duo badly."

"What do you mean?" He looked down as she lifted her eyes to his. His fingers gently brushed back her bangs, clinging to her face, wet by tears.

"Until the other day, I had no intention on reuniting with him. I was convinced that it would do more harm than good, that he was better off not knowing what I had become. I even had a new life in place for when the Storm finally decided to retire… He's so upset with me… He hasn't said one word to me since the battle… I don't want him thinking that I didn't want to see him again, that I don't love him… And that's far from the truth. I've been fighting myself over that decision ever since I made it…"

"Izreina," he smiled down to her. "You're a very kind person. You took into consideration what your brother might feel and made the best decision you could. Duo will come around. He's just probably in shock about this whole situation. We spoke for the first time with the three of you only this morning, and a few hours ago, we were witness to the full force of the Storm, having great difficulty realizing those were our sisters. Just give him time. Besides, it's late. It's been a long day, for you and Kalli especially. Get some rest. Your head will be clearer in the morning, so will Duo's."

She smiled at him, closing her eyes as his fingers brushed her remaining tears away. "Thanks, Quatre…" She really was tired, she hadn't felt it before. Emotionally, physically, she was exhausted. She leaned against him as she felt the weariness all over. She had needed support, a friend to lean on, a shoulder to cry on, and even though she was too overwhelmed to have noticed it, he had seen it. "Will you walk with me back to Storm Haven?"

"Sure, but I still want to check on Kalli."


The sounds of her shots couldn't be heard over the sounds blaring from the stereo behind her. It took no time at all, to focus on her next target. Each shot seemed to be in perfect time with the down beat to her favorite song. The words echoed through her walls, allowing her to solely focus on the steady stream of moving targets in the distance. Everyone at HQ knew when the music was playing, stay the hell out of the way.

"Damn you, Trin!" she screamed, barely audible even to her as the music drowned out everything. "You never care… how anyone feels… about the actions… you take!" she shouted, firing in between words. "If you… had included us… from the beginning…" The music behind her stopped suddenly, and Kalli didn't hesitate to turn her aim to the new target, pulling the trigger. Had there been a bullet left, it would have been sent straight through Trowa Barton's chest. He had stood motionless, a hand still resting on the stereo when she had pulled the trigger. Either he had been counting her shots, or he didn't think she had it in her to kill an ally. She betrayed no emotion, didn't blink, refusing to lower the gun, staring coolly into his intense eyes as he walked towards her.

"You would have been dead from the beginning," he said, gently removing the gun from her loosened grip, giving him an inclination of her fracturing emotional walls. He laid the gun down on the counter, leaning against it, placing himself between her and the gun.

Her cool eyes never left his, narrowing in anger that she had allowed him to catch her off her guard. "I would welcome death… What we've become…" She looked away from him, taking a few steps away, hands clenched into fists so tight in anger her knuckles were white. "The Storm has become exactly what Romefeller and Barton wanted it to be!" she yelled as she threw a punch into a double pane of glass that cracked under the impact. She stood, her clenched fist still deep into the impact site, ignoring the glass shards as they cut into her knuckles, feeling blood trickle down her fingers. "Trinity has been my only voice of reason… The only way I've been able to tell who my enemy is…," she said softly. "Death is a suitable sentence for my crimes… I've disgraced the name of Winner too many times to repent…" She finally pulled her hand away from the glass, staring at her still closed fist, the blood trailing down her arm.

He remained silent for a moment, watching her eyes follow the blood trail from her knuckles down, soaking into the sleeve of her jacket, the color disappearing into its black depths. "You sound just like us… Some time ago." His voice remained soft, steady, and he could see her eyes light up in anger at it. He stepped to one side, blocking a swing she had taken towards him with her good hand. "You're trying to learn the lessons we now know… Just don't forget the lives we took to get there…"

"Don't patronize me!" she screamed at him as she threw another punch with her battered fist, which he caught only inches from his face. "You've no idea where we've been…" Her eyes connected with his for several moments, widening as she saw a reflection of herself within them, trying to figure out exactly who, what she had been fighting.

His large hand closed around her fist, tiny shards of glass left in her knuckles from her attack on the window sliced into his palm. His eyes remained constant, acknowledging no pain as his blood now mixed with hers. "You're right… I don't… But I recognize the urge to fight… And rarely is it ever clear who your enemy is… Most of the time, though, it is yourself…"

Her eyes watered, falling deeper into his gaze, images from her past constantly replaying before her. "I don't know who I am anymore…," she whispered. "I don't remember who Kalli Nicole Winner was or even Kalinda Guro… The names have no meaning anymore… if they ever did… all I know is Lightning…" Her fist trembled in his grip as the glass pushed further into her flesh. "Those responsible for our pain… our torture to become the ultimate soldiers… They had no hearts… They felt nothing for the people they sacrificed for the sake of war, power… So they stole ours… Made us as soulless as the dolls they created when their soldiers refused to continue fighting for them…" Anger flashed in her eyes, staring through tears into his. "War itself is my enemy and those that serve its purpose deserve no less than death…" She tore her fist out of his grasp, turning away from him, refusing to let him continue to contribute to her insecurity. She picked up her gun, reloading it.

"There is no salvation for us…" She took aim on the targets in the distance, hitting them one after the other with deadly precision, the sting in her knuckles doing nothing to distract her focus. She tried to ignore his silent presence beside her as he just stood there, watching. She could feel his gaze peer straight through her, adding to her irritation. He had no right to judge her, he didn't know her.

"I know you're confused…," he said in that soft tone of his. "It's a point that we all came to… You don't have to go through this alone, we can help you…"

His voice was, in a way, soothing. Any other time, she would welcome his presence, but she was past the point of consolation, especially from this pilot that had no business getting into hers. The words only fueled her fire. Control your anger, Kal, she heard Trinity's voice in her mind, a memory of the words she heard often from the older woman. She closed her eyes, the words echoing in her mind, pausing her shooting for a brief moment. Anger will only lead to violence… and eventually you're going to hurt someone you love…

Her eyes shot open when she sensed movement on her other side. Again she didn't hesitate to take aim. Kalli, STOP! She heard the warning in her mind a split second too late as she pulled the trigger. Her eyes widened, gasping as she finally focused on the newcomer.

"Oh, God… Quatre!"