Disclaimer: I do not own the Gundam Pilots or anything else that is
affiliated with them. Pretty much anything you recognize. =) I do own the
plot. The names I use that don't seem familiar, you can give the credit to
my best friends.
Author's Apologies: It's good, but kinda short, sorry it's not up to my usual standards. But it was best to leave it where I did so the story continues to flow smoothly. Sorry, I understand angry reviews or flames. ~shys away, glancing around nervously~ You'll see....
~*~Chapter 9~*~
The Flames
Heero slipped off into a world of his own, finally falling to sleep. But a peaceful sleep as he had hoped would invade his dreams didn't, for they eluded him. Instead, the horrendous nightmares visited his slumber as they had so many times before.
Heero was fighting the war once more, in his faithful Wing Zero as took on an entire squadron of OZ soldiers. Mobil dolls and manned suits flew at him from all directions as he battled to keep the Cinq Kingdome from falling, his loving Relena watching fatefully within the castle walls.
"Heero!"
He heard her voice cry out just before his gundam was smashed, throwing from the cockpit as the door flew open. He landed with a harsh *thud* on the littered earth beneath him, neck snapping as his head hit a sheet of metal and bounced off of it. Within minutes, he heard the sound of the OZ soldiers surrounded him.
"Heero!"
Relena's voice neared and soon he felt her embrace him, by his side as she screamed at the advancing soldiers. Opening his eyes, he found her to be looking on in shock, not aware of the things around her but her eyes forward, wide in disbelief with her mouth hanging open. Slowly, she began to cough and gag, then fell backwards. "Relena!" Catching her before she hit the ground, he felt a warm, thick, liquid flow under his fingers, a metallic scent following. "No! God Relena, don't die. Please, don't leave me! Relena!" Trying to shake her awake, he only felt her slip away, her eyes accusing as if he was the one that had shot her.
And further she slipped.
"Relena, don't go! Please Relena!" Eyes filling with tears, he held Relena's limp body in his arms, her life gone.
"And now you worthless little brat, you die." An OZ soldier held a gun to the back of Heero's head; it's metal cold and bitter. The soldier did not have a face, but the voice was all too familiar. It was Treize.
Heero began to panic, for he now held Relena's lifeless body in his hands and his life would end as well. Hearing the click of the gun being cocked, he awaited the fateful pull of the trigger.
A shrill sound echoing through the air pulled him from his nightmare as his eyes flew open, frantic and confused. Breathing heavily, Heero blinked as he realized that what he'd just experienced was yet another nightmare. "...I-It was just.... just a dream...." Bringing his hands to his face, he rubbed the sleep from his weary eyes with the palms of his hand, trying to disregard the headache that still plagued him and the decreasing pain. It did not leave him, but it wasn't as tormenting as before. "...urnh....mph..." With soft groans, he rose into a sitting position, noticing that it had become hotter in the house than before. "Maybe Duo turned up the heater or something." Thinking to himself, Heero wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm, then rose unsteadily to his feet to change out of his now sweat soaked clothes. He was reckless in noticing that small wisps of gray smoke floated into the room from under the door as well as not taking notice of the scent of charred wood.
~*~
Duo pulled up in front of Maya's house, honking the horn as he waited for Hilde to come out. "Like I said, sorry about this guys, but Hilde's friend Maya has some problems in her studies and Hilde's helpin' her. That girl needs more help than anyone can offer her if ya get what I mean." Giving a slight chuckle, Duo heard Noin try to hide a sudden outburst of giggles. He heard a soft chuckle from Milliardo and possibly even one from the evasive princess, but she wasn't in the best and most polite of moods. Duo understood, but kept his mouth shut as he only anticipated her reaction upon seeing Heero and visa versa.
Noin hadn't meant to be rude, but she had so much anxiety and excitement built up within her that it was hard not to be in a good mood and do such girlish things, even if she was supposed to be a sophisticated woman. But then again, sometimes one just has to let go and have fun.
Milliardo refrained from anything more than slight laughter as he tried to keep his composure, also anticipating the events of the night. He didn't want to give up the surprise yet and if he did act too relaxed, his sister would know that he was up to something.
Relena gave a small smile, not really wanting to be in the car or anywhere else except for her bedroom. But she didn't want to be rude to Duo and Hilde either, besides the fact that she was made to attend by her brother and Miss Noin. She was still in mourning over the fact that she had once again driven her prince away and may never see him again. He told her himself that she'd been one of the first and only people he'd ever let get close to him, to come into his heart. What did she do with such a chance? She'd ruined it, and she didn't deserve another. Closing her eyes, she watched images of her strong prince cross before her mind's eye, her only possession of him.
Hilde jumped into the front, passenger side of the car, a huge smile portrayed across her lips. "Hi guys! Sorry if I took a little while, but you'll enjoy your stay with us in Valley Ridge, I know you will. Even you, Miss Relena." With a smile she turned back to face Relena as Duo headed toward their home once more. "Maybe we can go window-shopping or something tomorrow Relena, you, Miss Noin, and me. Duo won't mind us spending his money, he never does." With an outburst of giggles, she watched Duo's face give her a look that just screamed, "Excuse me?".
"Uh...no. I don't think so Hilde, I'm workin' my butt off here and you wanna go shopping? Man, I swear, I get no respect. Watch out Milliardo, I have a feeling that Lucretzia and Relena are gonna do the same thing, only you're probably raking in the money. Women are the number one cause of bankruptcy." With a smile and a chuckle, he listened to Hilde's disbelieving, "Uh!" and felt a sharp slap on his forearm. "Owe! Hey, now see how abusive they can get? Man, where was my mind when I met you?" He gave a mischievous sneer as he awaited yet another slap.
Hilde smacked Duo in the arm harder, her eyes holding a sign of revenge. "Oh, is that so? Just wait till we get home Duo, just wait."
"Nice one Duo," called Lucretzia from the back seat as she leaned into Milliardo's embrace.
"I agree, but you are getting yourself in a lot further than you want to. I pity you Duo, I really pity you." Milliardo snickered as he watched Lucretzia look up at him with skeptical eyes.
"If you don't mind, I am tired and would like to try and get to sleep as soon as possible. If you don't mind, Hilde, Duo." Relena heaved a sigh, leaning her forehead against the cold window.
"Oh, we don't mind Relena. I want to talk to you first, it'll be really short though. Sorry, but it can't really wait until morning." Hilde spoke with a regretful smile, only trying to hide her true need to release her excitement.
~*~
Heero exited the bathroom that was adjoined to his room, taking in forced breaths. It was getting really hot in his room.
The smoke alarm continued to shriek down the hall.
Walking toward the door, he stopped by the bed, leaning against the foot of the bed as he crumbled to his knees in dizziness. As he waited for the dizzy spell to pass over, he noticed truly for the first time the shrill sounding of the fire alarm. "Duo, if you don't learn to cook.... Dang it Duo, just shut the stupid oven off!" Yelling down the hall, he had forgotten that Duo was nowhere in the house, he was still out running the "errands". Slowly getting to his feet, he walked to the door, his path swerving due to his lightheadedness. Reaching the door, he opened it and was immediately met with a thick, gray cloud of smoke.
A small spark that had come from the entertainment system had fallen onto the rug and caught aflame. The wires connecting the entertainment system to the television were severed slightly but it still worked, so that no one was the wiser of the hazard.
Heero choked on the smoke, falling backward as the heat from the flames became unbearable and the gray cloud filled his room. Coughing, he covered his nose and mouth with the front of his shirt, squinting against the burning smoke and the scorching heat of the bright flames dancing around him. "...what the...."
The ceiling above the bed fell onto the mattress, catching the sheets aflame and collapsing the bed. Had Heero not been awakened by the nightmare, he would have died.
Heero fell to his back, stunned momentarily. Gasping, he climbed to his feet and walked into the hall, neon orange and bold red flames dancing around him, their beauty deadly and mesmerizing. Each of his steps swayed; his vision blurred and useless to him for the smoke stun his eyes with floating ashes and a dry heat. "If I can get to the front door, I'll be fine," his thoughts coached him on as he tried to walk down the hallway, trying to stay away from the flames as much as possible. With sluggish footsteps, he continued to walk, the gray smoke entering his lungs and collapsing him to the floor once again in a violent fit of coughs. Peering through the smoke while his eyes began to water, he slowly rose to his feet once more as the ceiling around him began to catch aflame and fall. Sweltering heat hung in the air around him, making it nearly impossible to breathe. "....*coughs* D-Duo!....*more coughing and choked breaths* " Calling out, he looked past the corner into the living room, finding the door frame completely collapsed and it was nothing more than a giant wall of flames that danced with a spell-bounding movement, coaxing one to their doom.
Sirens wailed outside, frightened and curious neighbors looking on from the street. One particular neighbor, Mr. Chen, was the first to notice the flames and called the fire station, but he had seen both Duo and Hilde leave and hadn't known that Heero was in the house at all.
The flames raged from the roof, the house now beyond saving. And still, curious and worried spectators watched the house, deaf to the cries of the youth, drowned by the raging flames.
Taking in a deep breath of smoky air, Heero staggered into the kitchen his eyes lighting up at seeing the back door still clear and standing. Stopping but a few paces from the door, he waited for another dizzy spell to pass over him as he tried to steady himself. His sight of the world around him was beginning to turn to a black blur, fading into the shadows.
He wasn't aware of the roof burning away over his head, the wooden frame weakening and cracking, the entire ceiling threatening to cave in.
Hearing a loud snap, Heero looked up, only having time to raise his arms above his head to protect himself as the ceiling collapsed on top of him, a heavy wooden beam hitting him and knocking the young man unconscious.
From beneath the smoking pile of wood and tile, a hand fell on the tile of the kitchen floor, grasping out one last time for help before falling limp under the pile smoldering wood.
~*~
Duo drove down main street, looking quizzically in the distance at a gray cloud that was rising over the houses, something lighting up the night sky. "What on Earth is going on?" Duo pointed it out to Hilde and the others, just moments before he had to pull over to let two fire trucks and an ambulance pass them by.
"I don't know." Thinking for a minute, she watched the fire and medical vehicles turn off onto Morgan Street. "Duo, those are heading down toward our house!"
Duo's eyes widened in fear and urgency. "Oh Shnaps!" Flooring it, he sped down the street, turning off onto Morgan Street to find their house dancing in the midst of feverish flames. Reaching the end of the first block and the beginning of theirs, he immediately stopped the car, bolting out the door and sprinting down the street. Pushing past the onlookers, he scanned the area, not finding Heero at all. Running up to a firefighter and whirling him about, Duo questioned with little patience. "Has anyone come out of this house? Did my brother come out?"
"No one came out of the house, kid. Was anyone in there? Did you look everywhere for your brother? He probably got out."
"God, Heero's still in there! He was sleeping, and he's not here!" Pushing away from the firefighter, he stared with fearful and disbelieving eyes toward the house. "Oh God, no. No!" He felt Hilde and the others near him, Hilde could be heard trying to choke back sobs. There was no way anyone could have gotten out the front door, not now or any other time. Blinking back an onslaught of tears that depicted extreme grief, his eyes widened even more in realization. Heero still had a chance and the back door might still be clear. Without hesitation, he placed his left hand on Hilde's arm and then tore off for the back door.
Meanwhile, a trapped youth lay beneath a lumbering pile of wood and tile, each breath losing more and more oxygen as black smoke took its place. Each inhale was forced and his every heartbeat grew softer as time progressed. Time was running out and taking with it, his life.
~End Chapter 9~
-Lady Stardancer
Author's Note:
Hey all, I know, I know, post soon and you're probably ticked about me leaving it here. Again, SORRY! But it finally came, that's an up. My best friend's been helping me and high school can keep one VERY busy. ~giggles nervously~ Look for Chapter 10, I'd give you insight on the next chapter's title, but I haven't thought of it yet. ~smiles and hugs~ Please
Author's Apologies: It's good, but kinda short, sorry it's not up to my usual standards. But it was best to leave it where I did so the story continues to flow smoothly. Sorry, I understand angry reviews or flames. ~shys away, glancing around nervously~ You'll see....
~*~Chapter 9~*~
The Flames
Heero slipped off into a world of his own, finally falling to sleep. But a peaceful sleep as he had hoped would invade his dreams didn't, for they eluded him. Instead, the horrendous nightmares visited his slumber as they had so many times before.
Heero was fighting the war once more, in his faithful Wing Zero as took on an entire squadron of OZ soldiers. Mobil dolls and manned suits flew at him from all directions as he battled to keep the Cinq Kingdome from falling, his loving Relena watching fatefully within the castle walls.
"Heero!"
He heard her voice cry out just before his gundam was smashed, throwing from the cockpit as the door flew open. He landed with a harsh *thud* on the littered earth beneath him, neck snapping as his head hit a sheet of metal and bounced off of it. Within minutes, he heard the sound of the OZ soldiers surrounded him.
"Heero!"
Relena's voice neared and soon he felt her embrace him, by his side as she screamed at the advancing soldiers. Opening his eyes, he found her to be looking on in shock, not aware of the things around her but her eyes forward, wide in disbelief with her mouth hanging open. Slowly, she began to cough and gag, then fell backwards. "Relena!" Catching her before she hit the ground, he felt a warm, thick, liquid flow under his fingers, a metallic scent following. "No! God Relena, don't die. Please, don't leave me! Relena!" Trying to shake her awake, he only felt her slip away, her eyes accusing as if he was the one that had shot her.
And further she slipped.
"Relena, don't go! Please Relena!" Eyes filling with tears, he held Relena's limp body in his arms, her life gone.
"And now you worthless little brat, you die." An OZ soldier held a gun to the back of Heero's head; it's metal cold and bitter. The soldier did not have a face, but the voice was all too familiar. It was Treize.
Heero began to panic, for he now held Relena's lifeless body in his hands and his life would end as well. Hearing the click of the gun being cocked, he awaited the fateful pull of the trigger.
A shrill sound echoing through the air pulled him from his nightmare as his eyes flew open, frantic and confused. Breathing heavily, Heero blinked as he realized that what he'd just experienced was yet another nightmare. "...I-It was just.... just a dream...." Bringing his hands to his face, he rubbed the sleep from his weary eyes with the palms of his hand, trying to disregard the headache that still plagued him and the decreasing pain. It did not leave him, but it wasn't as tormenting as before. "...urnh....mph..." With soft groans, he rose into a sitting position, noticing that it had become hotter in the house than before. "Maybe Duo turned up the heater or something." Thinking to himself, Heero wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm, then rose unsteadily to his feet to change out of his now sweat soaked clothes. He was reckless in noticing that small wisps of gray smoke floated into the room from under the door as well as not taking notice of the scent of charred wood.
~*~
Duo pulled up in front of Maya's house, honking the horn as he waited for Hilde to come out. "Like I said, sorry about this guys, but Hilde's friend Maya has some problems in her studies and Hilde's helpin' her. That girl needs more help than anyone can offer her if ya get what I mean." Giving a slight chuckle, Duo heard Noin try to hide a sudden outburst of giggles. He heard a soft chuckle from Milliardo and possibly even one from the evasive princess, but she wasn't in the best and most polite of moods. Duo understood, but kept his mouth shut as he only anticipated her reaction upon seeing Heero and visa versa.
Noin hadn't meant to be rude, but she had so much anxiety and excitement built up within her that it was hard not to be in a good mood and do such girlish things, even if she was supposed to be a sophisticated woman. But then again, sometimes one just has to let go and have fun.
Milliardo refrained from anything more than slight laughter as he tried to keep his composure, also anticipating the events of the night. He didn't want to give up the surprise yet and if he did act too relaxed, his sister would know that he was up to something.
Relena gave a small smile, not really wanting to be in the car or anywhere else except for her bedroom. But she didn't want to be rude to Duo and Hilde either, besides the fact that she was made to attend by her brother and Miss Noin. She was still in mourning over the fact that she had once again driven her prince away and may never see him again. He told her himself that she'd been one of the first and only people he'd ever let get close to him, to come into his heart. What did she do with such a chance? She'd ruined it, and she didn't deserve another. Closing her eyes, she watched images of her strong prince cross before her mind's eye, her only possession of him.
Hilde jumped into the front, passenger side of the car, a huge smile portrayed across her lips. "Hi guys! Sorry if I took a little while, but you'll enjoy your stay with us in Valley Ridge, I know you will. Even you, Miss Relena." With a smile she turned back to face Relena as Duo headed toward their home once more. "Maybe we can go window-shopping or something tomorrow Relena, you, Miss Noin, and me. Duo won't mind us spending his money, he never does." With an outburst of giggles, she watched Duo's face give her a look that just screamed, "Excuse me?".
"Uh...no. I don't think so Hilde, I'm workin' my butt off here and you wanna go shopping? Man, I swear, I get no respect. Watch out Milliardo, I have a feeling that Lucretzia and Relena are gonna do the same thing, only you're probably raking in the money. Women are the number one cause of bankruptcy." With a smile and a chuckle, he listened to Hilde's disbelieving, "Uh!" and felt a sharp slap on his forearm. "Owe! Hey, now see how abusive they can get? Man, where was my mind when I met you?" He gave a mischievous sneer as he awaited yet another slap.
Hilde smacked Duo in the arm harder, her eyes holding a sign of revenge. "Oh, is that so? Just wait till we get home Duo, just wait."
"Nice one Duo," called Lucretzia from the back seat as she leaned into Milliardo's embrace.
"I agree, but you are getting yourself in a lot further than you want to. I pity you Duo, I really pity you." Milliardo snickered as he watched Lucretzia look up at him with skeptical eyes.
"If you don't mind, I am tired and would like to try and get to sleep as soon as possible. If you don't mind, Hilde, Duo." Relena heaved a sigh, leaning her forehead against the cold window.
"Oh, we don't mind Relena. I want to talk to you first, it'll be really short though. Sorry, but it can't really wait until morning." Hilde spoke with a regretful smile, only trying to hide her true need to release her excitement.
~*~
Heero exited the bathroom that was adjoined to his room, taking in forced breaths. It was getting really hot in his room.
The smoke alarm continued to shriek down the hall.
Walking toward the door, he stopped by the bed, leaning against the foot of the bed as he crumbled to his knees in dizziness. As he waited for the dizzy spell to pass over, he noticed truly for the first time the shrill sounding of the fire alarm. "Duo, if you don't learn to cook.... Dang it Duo, just shut the stupid oven off!" Yelling down the hall, he had forgotten that Duo was nowhere in the house, he was still out running the "errands". Slowly getting to his feet, he walked to the door, his path swerving due to his lightheadedness. Reaching the door, he opened it and was immediately met with a thick, gray cloud of smoke.
A small spark that had come from the entertainment system had fallen onto the rug and caught aflame. The wires connecting the entertainment system to the television were severed slightly but it still worked, so that no one was the wiser of the hazard.
Heero choked on the smoke, falling backward as the heat from the flames became unbearable and the gray cloud filled his room. Coughing, he covered his nose and mouth with the front of his shirt, squinting against the burning smoke and the scorching heat of the bright flames dancing around him. "...what the...."
The ceiling above the bed fell onto the mattress, catching the sheets aflame and collapsing the bed. Had Heero not been awakened by the nightmare, he would have died.
Heero fell to his back, stunned momentarily. Gasping, he climbed to his feet and walked into the hall, neon orange and bold red flames dancing around him, their beauty deadly and mesmerizing. Each of his steps swayed; his vision blurred and useless to him for the smoke stun his eyes with floating ashes and a dry heat. "If I can get to the front door, I'll be fine," his thoughts coached him on as he tried to walk down the hallway, trying to stay away from the flames as much as possible. With sluggish footsteps, he continued to walk, the gray smoke entering his lungs and collapsing him to the floor once again in a violent fit of coughs. Peering through the smoke while his eyes began to water, he slowly rose to his feet once more as the ceiling around him began to catch aflame and fall. Sweltering heat hung in the air around him, making it nearly impossible to breathe. "....*coughs* D-Duo!....*more coughing and choked breaths* " Calling out, he looked past the corner into the living room, finding the door frame completely collapsed and it was nothing more than a giant wall of flames that danced with a spell-bounding movement, coaxing one to their doom.
Sirens wailed outside, frightened and curious neighbors looking on from the street. One particular neighbor, Mr. Chen, was the first to notice the flames and called the fire station, but he had seen both Duo and Hilde leave and hadn't known that Heero was in the house at all.
The flames raged from the roof, the house now beyond saving. And still, curious and worried spectators watched the house, deaf to the cries of the youth, drowned by the raging flames.
Taking in a deep breath of smoky air, Heero staggered into the kitchen his eyes lighting up at seeing the back door still clear and standing. Stopping but a few paces from the door, he waited for another dizzy spell to pass over him as he tried to steady himself. His sight of the world around him was beginning to turn to a black blur, fading into the shadows.
He wasn't aware of the roof burning away over his head, the wooden frame weakening and cracking, the entire ceiling threatening to cave in.
Hearing a loud snap, Heero looked up, only having time to raise his arms above his head to protect himself as the ceiling collapsed on top of him, a heavy wooden beam hitting him and knocking the young man unconscious.
From beneath the smoking pile of wood and tile, a hand fell on the tile of the kitchen floor, grasping out one last time for help before falling limp under the pile smoldering wood.
~*~
Duo drove down main street, looking quizzically in the distance at a gray cloud that was rising over the houses, something lighting up the night sky. "What on Earth is going on?" Duo pointed it out to Hilde and the others, just moments before he had to pull over to let two fire trucks and an ambulance pass them by.
"I don't know." Thinking for a minute, she watched the fire and medical vehicles turn off onto Morgan Street. "Duo, those are heading down toward our house!"
Duo's eyes widened in fear and urgency. "Oh Shnaps!" Flooring it, he sped down the street, turning off onto Morgan Street to find their house dancing in the midst of feverish flames. Reaching the end of the first block and the beginning of theirs, he immediately stopped the car, bolting out the door and sprinting down the street. Pushing past the onlookers, he scanned the area, not finding Heero at all. Running up to a firefighter and whirling him about, Duo questioned with little patience. "Has anyone come out of this house? Did my brother come out?"
"No one came out of the house, kid. Was anyone in there? Did you look everywhere for your brother? He probably got out."
"God, Heero's still in there! He was sleeping, and he's not here!" Pushing away from the firefighter, he stared with fearful and disbelieving eyes toward the house. "Oh God, no. No!" He felt Hilde and the others near him, Hilde could be heard trying to choke back sobs. There was no way anyone could have gotten out the front door, not now or any other time. Blinking back an onslaught of tears that depicted extreme grief, his eyes widened even more in realization. Heero still had a chance and the back door might still be clear. Without hesitation, he placed his left hand on Hilde's arm and then tore off for the back door.
Meanwhile, a trapped youth lay beneath a lumbering pile of wood and tile, each breath losing more and more oxygen as black smoke took its place. Each inhale was forced and his every heartbeat grew softer as time progressed. Time was running out and taking with it, his life.
~End Chapter 9~
-Lady Stardancer
Author's Note:
Hey all, I know, I know, post soon and you're probably ticked about me leaving it here. Again, SORRY! But it finally came, that's an up. My best friend's been helping me and high school can keep one VERY busy. ~giggles nervously~ Look for Chapter 10, I'd give you insight on the next chapter's title, but I haven't thought of it yet. ~smiles and hugs~ Please