Now we start getting to the start of the core plot. Although this is a set of different stories all together, I think the title describes it pretty well. And I've almost completed the story. It's so awesome, I've got it made! Oh, and there are a very, very few hints as to the end of Sarah's Yin-Yang Theory, if you're reading that too. But nothing too bad.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing.
Orbs of Emerald
Chapter 8: Breaking Hearts
***
"You did what?!" Duo shouted upon hearing Wufei's full explanation. "How could you and Heero do such a thing, Jem could be dead out there right now and it'd be all your fault!"
"I realize that," the black-haired Chinese boy said quietly.
"Then why'd you do it?" Duo asked angrily. Nobody messed with the god of death and lived to tell the tale! Nobody!
"Duo, save the blame for later, we have to find them," Quatre said quietly. "Come on, we'll go out in the speedboat."
"I'll sweep the coast for them," Wufei said. "With the way the tide is, they should have washed up if worst came to worst."
"Right," Quatre nodded. "Come on, Duo. Let's go."
"Yeah, I'm coming," Duo snarled, still glaring daggers at Wufei. This was definitely not the way to get on the former Deathsythe pilot's good side.
***
"Wait a minute!" Heero yelled (AN-O_O. He yelled? Heero Yuy has laughed, yelled, smiled, and shown actual emotion so far. What other surprises await us?). "What happened to your wound?"
"My...omigosh!" I shouted and turned to stare at my legs and hips. I patted them down where my bandages were, feeling no pain whatsoever. My throat didn't hurt anymore, nor did my head or my chest. But how? "H-How...it...what..." I growled and slapped my forehead with the palm of my hand, then started unraveling my bandages (muttering incoherent shocked things, most of which even I couldn't make out), including the bamboo-stick-splint, finding very pale scars where the "teeth" of the "shark" had dug in my skin. I thumped my leg where the bamboo had aligned my broken leg.
It was completely healed.
"That is not natural," I shook my head, my eyes wide. "That is just not...even with my metabolism rate, it should have taken weeks to heal wounds of such magnitude! Why do I have such a healing capability of only myself?! Why? It doesn't make any sense!" I choked on my own sorrow in my confusion, staring at my hands and feet. Tears welled up in my eyes, my own bewilderment completely and utterly consuming me.
My body shuddered under itself as the sobs racked my body. "Why? Why?!" I screamed in the pure agony of the heart, not the physical pain one would expect. I had completely lost it now and there was no turning back. No backing down. I was an unstoppable force of nature, lost, confused, scared, among other things.
"Why?" I sobbed finally, my loud, ear-splitting cries finally dying into pitiful sobs. I had completely and utterly forgotten Heero was there. My knees came up to my chest and my head was buried in my thighs, upper arms shielding my face as they kept my knees in place.
"Jem...stop...please," Heero said quietly, his monotone dangerously low this time. There was feeling there, but it wasn't happy. It was more...angry. Why was he angry with me?
"No!" I shouted at him, jumping quickly to a standing position and facing him off. "I don't care what you say, Heero Yuy, I am not a Perfect Soldier like you and I never will be! I'm lost and scared like I've never been before!"
"Of course you're not a Perfect Soldier," he said, sounding slightly, ever so slightly, exasperated. "Of course you're scared."
"What would you know about being afraid?" I cried, my eyes dangerously alit and my teeth grit threateningly. I was a force to be reckoned with and it seemed Heero Yuy did not understand who was the more powerful here. "How can you understand my fear when you yourself have almost no connection to your own feelings?"
"Because..." he answered calmly. "I know fear. And I know it on the same level as you do. I'm just as scared as you are, Jem."
Well, that just shot me down and splattered me into the pavement right there. He had not only proved me wrong, but he'd revealed to me something I'd never quite considered the boy to have. A fear of something more.
"What do you mean?" I snarled, finally finding my voice. "How can you be scared? You're not lost! You know where you're going! You've got all your friends right over there, you've never tasted the fear of death because you were trained against it!"
"Just because I was trained not to show fear does not mean I don't feel it with any less sincerity than you do!" he shouted suddenly. He was angry. He was definitely angry. No. I take that back. Heero wasn't angry. He was positively furious. But why? He suddenly went quiet. "I don't have all my friends any more than you do."
"I never had any friends up till now," I growled. "I only had my brother and my father. My father hated me, and hated me with a passion that I can not describe nor explain to this day. My brother was the only person who ever has and ever will care about me. That is why I so willingly threw my life toward this stupid jest for peace when I know it will only be shattered all over again."
"You're wrong, Jem," Heero said, crossing his arms over his chest. "You're wrong."
"How am I wrong, Mr. Perfect Soldier?" I mocked, scowling.
"Because you've got four friends right here on this colony who care about you more than you'll ever know," he answered. "Quatre, Duo, me, Wufei, we all care about you. We always will."
"What?" my eyes went wide. He was admitting it? He was admitting that he cared about someone other than himself? Heck, he never even really cared about himself, come to think of it.
"You've changed us all," Heero said. "Brought out the best in us when we thought there was no good left."
"I made you talk," I shrugged, smiling sweetly. "And laugh. And smile. I'm glad I got something outta you." I sighed and sat down. "But I still don't understand. Why do my wounds heal so quickly?"
"That answer I do not hold," Heero stated. Great, back to the monotone. Well, it was great while it lasted...though I did miss the sound of his laughter. He was very good at it when caught perfectly off-guard. "Jem?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I tell you something?"
"Go on ahead."
As soon as he opened his mouth to speak, he was interrupted.
"Well, well, well, what have we here?"
***
"Sir!" shouted Lieutenant Nakami as he raced into the Admiral's chambers. "We believe we've found the location of the first Orb of Emerald, on the outskirts of one of Mars' colonies, sir."
"Very good," Admiral Kinde nodded. "Send Captain Rei in at once."
"Sir, yes, sir!"
"Rei, Nakami, it is time for our descent to the colony of Mars," Kinde stated importantly. "Are you prepared?"
"Sir!"
"Then let us proceed."
Once on the planet, Nakami, Rei, and Kinde marched toward the cave that was indicated on their charts. Once Kinde reached the point, he knew that this was the place in his dream.
"It should be underneath this rock," Kinde pointed to it. He and Nakami gathered an old piece of pipe and a rock. They used the rock as a fulcrum and lifted the rock, allowing Rei to gingerly grab the tiny green stone that was underneath.
"Wow..." Nakami said in awe. "Is this the Orb, Admiral?"
"It is," Kinde was just as surprised as his lieutenant. The Orb was beautiful, about the size of a baby's tiny fist. It fit easily into his hands, a shining perfection. It seemed very dull, however, where the black core of the Orb was. But for some reason, Kinde seemed to...he didn't know any other way to describe it...feel power radiating from the stone.
"The legendary Orb of Emerald, the legend that was lost in time. It is said that many myths of the past were actually true, but over time it becomes so ludicrous that people stop accepting it as the truth," Rei said, smiling. She knew this was so for a lot of legends and myths of their time, but she did not need to tell them that.
At least, not just yet.
"Legend or not, this is what we've been searching for," Kinde said firmly, placing the Orb within a small, neo-titanium chest he had had built just for this. "One down. One to go."
"One down," Rei whispered. "And one to hope." She hoped that when he found Jem, his memories which Dirken stole from him would return. She suddenly felt a wave of intense pain in her legs, head, and chest and the world around her went dark. However, due to the fact that she was a goddess, she could still think, even while unconscious.
She has been attacked. By what? The Orb that connects us so is crying as it slowly whittles away its strength. Rei began to slowly flow small amounts of healing powers toward Jem, knowing that she would die soon if she did not get out of the water. Sensing everything happening around the Orb, Rei knew that the pilot of the Gundam Wing Zero, Heero Yuy, the Perfect Soldier, was the only one near enough.
Time to toy with fate.
She reached out her senses. Yes, this would be the best idea. If Jem had someone else who loved her, then perhaps the Orb would be safe if Jem and Jon were not reunited soon. A friend sticks closer than a brother. The old texts flashed in her eyes. But a best friend is the brother God forgot to give us.
Rei wished she could have such a friend. Loneliness hit her as she now-bitterly watched Heero give the Orb's Keeper CPR. She wiped the feeling away. This was no time to feel jealous! The fates would decide her future, not herself!
But she controlled the fates, even if not all the time. And she did not know she had just given them a direct order.
***
"Duo!" I cried happily.
"Yeah, who'd you expect, the Grim Reaper?" he asked, laughing at his own joke. I smiled and punched his shoulder gently.
"You're no Grim Reaper, Mister-Coffee-Company," I said, grinning now. "It's good to see you!" I threw my arms around his neck and hugged his shoulders. "Were you out looking for me and Heero this whole time?""
"Yeah, you so I could rescue you and Heero so I could give him a knuckle sandwich for trying to kill you again," Duo said, growling the part about Heero and glaring at said person. If looks could kill, Heero would be ashes right now. Of course, if looks could kill, Duo would have been dead long, long ago from all of Heero's Death Glares.
"Duo, calm down," I chuckled, keeping him at bay by keeping a firm grip on his arm. "Heero wasn't trying to kill me again. He and Wufei found the tapes, like I thought back on the beach."
"He found the...uh-oh," he ducked behind me quickly and pointed at me, a scared voice talking now frantically. "It was her idea! She did it, not me!"
"Oh, shut up, Maxwell," Heero and I both said at once. We looked at each other while Duo looked back and forth between us.
"Okay, whatever just happened, I don't wanna know how," Duo shook his head once, his braid following suit. "Let's just go, Quatre's waiting for us in the boat."
"All right, then," I smiled brightly. "Let's go greet Quatre. Then I wanna try and swim back to shore."
"You're not afraid?" Heero asked. Stupid monotone.
"Of course I am," I said. "I face my fears when I can. Head-on, if I must."
"I'll help ya, if you-"
"I will assist her across," Heero interrupted.
"Thanks, both of you," I smiled. "Duo, why don't you go tell Quatre what's up, then follow us in the boat? That way, if we get tired or I start sinking, you can be right there. Hmm?" I winked jovially.
"Okay, whatever you say," Duo walked back toward a boat I could see just down the stretch of beach. He glanced back and smiled. Looks like Heero found a new girl after all. Lucky him, he always gets the pretty ones.
"Why did you wanna help me?" I asked as I slipped into the cold water again.
"I am the strongest swimmer," he replied, not really answering the question. "Watch me. Then try yourself." He slipped into the shallower water and reached out as if to take something in his hands, then pulled back hard, reaching out the same way with the other arm. As this happened, repeating in an endless cycle, his feet kicked as if in a ballet. Just watching him swim in the water like a little fish with such grace and ease made me want to try it.
I slipped into the water and tried to follow his movements. I moved forward slightly and smiled. I did it! But the instant I stopped moving, I sunk.
"Don't stop," he called back, raising his voice slightly.
"I sort of figured that out," I spat out some water and resumed my attempts. I started after him, mimicking his moves. I sucked in a deep breath and went beneath the water, doing the same as before now. It was much faster, but I couldn't hold my breath forever.
"Hey, Jem, you're doing it!" Duo shouted from the boat as I resurfaced. "Great job! Hey, Heero's not a bad teacher after all!"
"Yeah, I agree!" I shouted back, laughing as I turned around and mimicked the same moves backwards. Hey, this was kinda fun! "Thanks, Duo!" I returned to my previous ways and moved faster to catch up with Heero.
"Hey, Heero," I said as I swam up beside him, matching his strokes with mine. "Tell ya what. Why don't we race to the shore? Makes it a whole lot more fun."
"More challenging, you mean," Heero smirked. Wow, a smirk. This guy was actually using his face for something other than eating!
"Whatever," I rolled my eyes. "Well? Wanna?"
"Sure. Why not," he droned. "Ready?"
"Set..."
"GO!" we shouted in unison and were both off like a shot. Well, I'd shouted, anyway.
About ten minutes later....
"I win!" I shouted as I stood up on the beach, exhausted. I collapsed to the sand and laughed as Heero came up and sank to the ground beside me.
"You have bested me."
"Oh, don't be a sore loser, Heero," I said, punching him lightly in the arm. He made no facial expressions. "It was just a game."
"Game?"
"Yeah. Game. Do you know what a game is?" I was shocked, to say the least. Did these boys do nothing for fun?
"Not really." That surprised me even more. He sounded...there was no other way to describe it...Heero Yuy was being sheepish. And was that just the faintest hint of pink in his cheeks? Or was the whole thing my imagination?
"Okay, when we get back to the house, me and Duo are teaching you what a game is and how to really have fun," I said, my voice turning into the one I'd used on Jon many a time. I'm in charge, you're not. So there. "And Heero? You may not have all your friends. But you've got four of them right here."
***
"Fun lessons?" Duo cocked an eyebrow from me to Heero and back again. "You want me to help you teach him how to play?"
"Yeah," I nodded. "Basically. Oh, come on, Maxwell, the kid has no idea what a game is, for pete's sake! I mean, good grief! He probably doesn't even know how to laugh!"
"That would explain why Heero never smiles," Quatre said. "But why would you want to teach him how to play?"
"Look," I explained. "If we can get a hold of the kid inside, I'm sure we can make Heero Yuy a better person."
"Do you really think Yuy can do it?" Wufei asked, sitting in a corner. He was still sort of sulking over the failed "mission" he and Heero had set out to do. Well, the overkill in it anyway.
"I think so," I said, thinking to myself. "I really think so."
***