Again I don't own Gundam Wing any of it's characters or References. So enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 10: Dawn of Twilight
The abandoned city was deafeningly silent, the wind created echoes of the deal, it's howling made the city seem haunted, still the only living soul passed though the city, passed the corpse filled pathways, the crumbling houses and made his way to the heart of the cursed city where the cathedral resided.
As he entered the cathedral he was greeted with a familiar sight, the inside of the cathedral resembled the city, pews were broken and lay on the floor, the entire front where the altar lay was completely collapsed, though the inside of the cathedral was broken down, with large chasms on the walk path that lead to dark depths beneath the cathedral, the walls were also broken with cracks and some parts were completely broken down, surprisingly the windows were not broken, they were made of glass unlike the houses of the town which had wooden windows, these windows had glass of different colours and intricate designs that melded together, even as the setting sun shone through the windows the beauty of the light it provided was enough to make one forget of the crumbling architecture, yet despite all this the lone warrior made his way to the top of the cathedral that overlooked the entire broken down city, the top wasn't like the rest of the cathedral.
Firstly at the very top there were no walls just several circular pillars that supported the ceiling, the platform that Heero now stood on was shaped like that of a large oval, he didn't know what type of material it was made of but it was smooth, there was hardly any dust and he could clearly see his reflection on it, now that he thought about it the floor seemed to be made of mirror-glass, there were thirteen pillars at the very edge that supported the ceiling that was also the same shape of the platform where he stood, silently he went to the edge of the platform and looked down at the city, the golden light of the sunset spiraled down on the bluish town and shone through the great cathedral, it highlighted the damned city, and made it look ethereal.
"What is this place?" A childish voice asked from behind him.
Heero didn't turn to respond he knew who it was. He had heard the voice many times before, instead he just continued to look out toward the setting sun.
"War is something that has existed since as long as man did, I guess this city is an example of that," He replied never shifting his gaze.
"Huh? I don't get it," The childish voice said.
"This city in fact predates the entire AfterColony calendar, it had existed since medieval times, it was once a thriving city," Heero became quiet and lowered his eyes, the sun was slowly sinking into the horizon, "This city located on this island had remained untouched since that incident that occurred nearly a millennia ago."
"Heero?" The innocent voice asked.
"I only came here twice before in my lifetime, once after the eve wars and the other approximately three years ago," Heero stated, "I don't know why, but this town, it has a calming effect on me."
"I see," The young girl replied.
Heero finally turned to acknowledge the girl, he didn't have his icy gaze he usually did, "Isn't it about time you tell me your name?" He asked her.
"Okay how about this, I'll make you a deal, if you are victorious, I'll tell you my name," The girl replied smiling up at him.
"Victorious?" Heero asked slightly puzzled.
"Never mind that, tell me more about this city," She said smiling at him.
Heero couldn't remember the last time he felt like this, he barely knew the girl before him, he didn't know what was going on with him, but every time he saw the green-eyed girl he felt he didn't need to fight, he was at peace and didn't care what was happening to him, deciding to obey the young child he turned once more to the sunset, more than half of it had sunk into the horizon, the clouds seemed to be lit ablaze with the mixture of orange and red light, he leant up on the closest pillar and spoke again.
"The people here all they have ever wanted was to live in peace, but there were men who craved power, a foreign nation wanted control of this city, and they invaded, the killed everyone in the city, men, women and children, but this city also bears a dark secret, a secret that only the lord knew, when the invaders came to the cathedral he unleashed it's power," He explained.
"It's power?" The girl asked.
"The windows of the cathedral were made by the most skilled alchemists at the time, they have the power to harness the sunlight, it's not destructive but it blinds all who see it, once the light covered the entire city they all became blind, in the madness that ensued they killed themselves, since that time this city has disappeared from history, those unfortunate few who have found this city, whether it be adventurers, looters or historians, they all journeyed into the catacombs beneath the city and fell victims to it's unsolvable maze." The finished explaining.
"He..Heero," The girl muttered.
The blue-eyed boy was to caught up in his own story he didn't notice that his companion had collapsed, quickly he raced over to her form, she was lying on the floor and looking up at him, she was smiling and trying to hide the pain she was experiencing. He knelt down beside her and supported her upper body as he brought it into his arms.
"Are you okay?" He asked, "What happened?" His voice carried a hint of desperation in it.
The red-haired girl looked up and smiled at him, hearing the emotion of worry in his voice it re-affirmed her courage "Heero forgive me I'm not…strong enough," She muttered.
"Strong enough for what?" He asked, "What's going on?"
"Heero your dark half that you created, I can no longer contain him, please forgive me I tried my hardest…." Her voice went silent as her eyes closed and her body went limp in his arms.
"Hey wait," He almost shouted.
Before he could react he heard another voice coming from behind him, "Foolish child, I don't know what she ever saw in you," The voice said.
Heero didn't have to respond he knew who the voice belonged to, he quickly turned around and glared at the man in the military outfit, the sun had completely set, and night was beginning to creep in, his new adversary kept to the shadows close to a pillar so Heero couldn't see his face.
"You, what did you do to her!" Heero demanded.
"I made sure she will never interfere between us again," The man calmly stated.
Heero's gaze was now a cold as ice as he stared at the man, "You'll regret that."
The mystery man chuckled to himself, "You think so huh?" He asked rhetorically.
"Who are you?" Heero demanded.
"I thought you would have figured it out by now, but if you still haven't," The shadowed figure stepped out from the shadow behind the pillar and stepped into Heero's plain view.
Heero was shocked when he saw his adversary, despite his eyes being ruby red and his hair raven-black, it was his splitting image, his facial structure, build and height were identical to Heero's.
"I'm you, I'm your dark-half," The dark-Heero said.
Heero glared at the man, "Is that so?" Heero asked sarcastically.
"You don't believe me, allow me to demonstrate," As soon as he finished his sentence he disappeared from Heero's view.
Before Heero could even respond, he appeared at Heero's left, the blue-eyed boy could only sense his presence as soon as he tried to react his ruby-eyed opponent's fist collided into his jaw, Heero was taken off his feet and flew back until he collided with a pillar, a cloud of dust was raised from the collision, the pillar still stood but there was a crack from the impact. Heero stuttered to his feet.
"How did you…" He didn't have time to finish his statement.
"I told you before I'm your dark half, your anger, envy, pride, and most of all your enmity, I'm the you, you hated, the you that you didn't want to become!" His voice roared.
"He...Heero!" The young girl cried out from the floor, both their eyes met, "You are the only one that can defeat him, he was spawned from you, he has all your strength that's why you are the only one who can defeat him," She said almost pleadingly.
"So, still not dead yet huh?" the dark-Heero walked over to the girl, he extended his hand forward and clenched his fist.
She cried out in pain. Hearing her voice crying out and the suffering it held, was enough to rekindle Heero's strength.
"STOP!" Heero shouted.
The dark-Heero stopped and turned to his opposite. He had an expressionless expression on his face.
"I don't know what's going on with me, I don't know it you really are my dark half, but that girl there," Heero said his voice void of all emotions, his eyes glaring at his opponent, "If you plan on causing her pain," Heero paused for a moment, the girl looked at him she was still lying on the floor but was smiling at him, his other had an emotionless expression on his face, Heero clenched his fist, "I promise you this, if you harm her," He clenched his fist tighter, "I'll kill you."
"Can you?" The dark-Heero asked.
It was Heero's turn to use his super-human speed, but as he disappeared from his opponents view before could land a blow, his adversary appeared before him and connected his fist with Heero's face, once again Heero was sent back this time colliding with another pillar.
"You, I'll deal with you now," He paused for a moment, "how ironic that at the dawn of a new century will be the dawn of a new me," The dark-Heero stated.
"You, what are you after?" Heero asked supporting himself on the pillar.
"What I want, is to your dominant side, you erase your existence and replace it with mine," He said glaring at Heero.
"That will never happen," Heero replied, "Because I'm going to kill you."
Relena walked silently on the beach, there weren't anyone there, she was the only one, her brown sandals leaving footprints in the sand with every step, he had arrived at her destination, the rippled of the waves would reach up to her ankles, behind her there was a staircase that lead down to the beach, she could have stopped of by the staircase and taken it to this location but she enjoyed walking, she sat down on the semi-wet sand, her white skirt would surely have some sand residue and be wet when she sat down but she didn't care.
"I believe here's where we first met," She said speaking to no-one, "How long has it been Heero, I haven't seen you in so long, but I still think of you and quite often also," She said followed by a light giggle.
There was a soft wind blowing, it wasn't enough to sway her hair but it could be felt on her skin, the sun had begun it's decent but was still hadn't reached the horizon yet, it hung like a yellow orb above the endless blue.
"Heero I still believe that we will one day meet again, I know it, Heero, this is kinda odd isn't it, talking to you, but you're not here," She said her voice slightly lower than the sound of the waves, "Heero here is where I feel closest to you, so here's where I'll make my confession, Heero you changed my life, if I didn't meet you on this beach over four years ago I don't want to think about the direction my life would have taken, I was a spoilt little girl, but from the moment I lifted your helmet off, everything changed, you were always so strong, going of into battle never going if it was going to be your last, but that's what I admired about you," She stopped and sighed, another rippled reached up to her feet, she pulled her knees closer to her chin, "Heero I just want you to know that, well I'll just say it, I think I'm in love with you, strange huh, to love a person who isn't here but Heero I had forgotten all those lessons you though me, about being strong and following your emotions and well, my emotions lead me forward not backward, so I'm going to go on living and fighting, I don't know where you are but I hope you find happiness, I hope that you will also move forward and don't get trapped in your memories of the past, our memories are important they bring us both sorrow and joy but we shouldn't dwell on them to long or we may miss on an opportunity for future happiness I realized that with Dorothy and Quatre's engagement, Heero tomorrow will always come and I don't want to regret the decisions I made in my life so I keep going forward and there may be someone else there for me other than you, Heero this is my farewell," Slowly she got up, she didn't even notice it had begun to rain, but the sky had become overcast and there was a light drizzle, she turned around to see her limousine parked by the road and an aged butler standing at the base of the steps with an umbrella in hand, she smiled at him. She turned back once more to look at the ocean.
"Heero there are people who love me and care about me, so I'll move on, I'll never forget you, you who though me so many lessons, showed me my own strength, and forever changed my life, this will be the last time I come here, farewell Heero."
As she turned around from the beach she made a silent promise to herself to never look back at it. With her last words she dusted off the sand that stuck to her clothes and walked off towards the butler who was waiting for her. As she reached nearer and nearer to him the rain slowly picked up once she was in the car it came down as a torrent, the car drove off, leaving the beach behind.
To Be Continued…
Well about two chapters left, I hope to have them up before the week's end, but I'm not making any promises, well this basically ends Relena's story, Heero's one in the next chapter, then I got a surprise ending in the last chapter. Thanks to all who read and reviewed.
If you read this story you can always leave a review and let me know what you think.
Till next time...