Warnings: Mild language and violence
AN: This is a side story to the "Zero Soul"
series that focuses on Relena's (Rei's actually) experience during the nine
months she was held in OZ and of her thoughts as she was undertaking her missions.
Along with that, it will shed more light on what happened to Heero while he
was a prisoner of OZ. This series is a bit darker than Zero Soul and both Heero
and Relena are beaten at one point or another. If you don't think you can handle
that fact then please do not read this. "Trapped Soul" takes place
at the beginning of Relena's captivity up to the part before the final confrontation
takes place. You don't have to read this in order to understand "Zero Soul,"
but you have to read "Zero Soul" in order to understand this.
By: veGie kun
He had left her side not more than a few seconds earlier and already she was feeling pain. The girl didn't want him to leave, but rather stay by her and make her feel safe. It was selfish, she knew that, but she was so tired of being left behind. Always the one to stay put while the others left for battle... the one who was of no use to anyone in a fight. She cursed her weakness and her inability to help the boy who held her heart. Without warning, a strong hand grabbed hers and she was pulled off the ground with a sudden jerk. Those same hands then lifted her off the ground, holding her by the waist, and then took off in a mad dash.
The girl heard gunshots in the background, and her mind froze over with fear. She tried to pivot her head so she could see if anything had happened to him, if he had been the mark for those bullets, but a second body, running behind her and her captor blocked her view. The only thing she could do was cry out. "HEERO! HELP!" Before she knew it a hand clamped tightly over her mouth, and she was refrained from any further verbal communication. Dark eyes glared at her with a warning and she could do nothing but comply.
"Relena!"
He screamed for her; he was alive, and she wanted to call to him but knew it was impossible. //HEERO!!!//
*KABOOM*
Her eyes widened in horror as she saw the blast of light make her shadow more defined. Her eyes squeezed shut as she fought back the tears that were quickly escaping her lids. //Gods... HEERO!!! Please... please let him be okay.// She opened her eyes again, but they were rendered ineffective by the thin barrier of wetness that clouded over them. The blur she was seeing soon turned to a haze and her mind suddenly turned black, succumbing to the oblivion. She was exhausted and the stress of the past week had finally caught up to her body as well as her mind.
"Hn."
Her mind was groggy, and her body ached with soreness. The ground under her shook, and she was jolted from her prone position. She tried as hard as she could to open her eyes, but the weariness was still in her, despite her efforts to shake it away. It was still difficult to get re-adjusted and her mind fought desperately to hold onto consciousness. That was when the girl noticed that her hands were bound in front of her. Fear. An alarm sounded in her head, and the emotion washed over her body like never before. Anxiety. She quickly moved her head to the right and left to get an idea of where she was. Her surroundings were dark, but it wasn't too dark for her to identify that she was in the back of a van. The vehicle wasn't that large, just a typical van, but then again, she had no idea of where it was headed. Aquamarine eyes darted to the front and she was able to see the heads of two men who were sitting behind the driver and passenger's seat, respectively. Her eyes scanned the area once more, but they lowered to the van's floor a few seconds later. Defeat.
"Just enjoy the ride, Miss Darlian. It won't be much longer until we reach the rendezvous point," the man behind the passenger seat remarked as he turned his head to face her.
"I demand that you let me go immediately! If you don't then you can bet that they will stop at nothing until they find me!" she defiantly shouted at them, her eyes held both anger and fear.
"You mean those ex-Gundam pilots?" the man queried. "Ha ha ha ha! I'd like to see them try! What can they do without their Gundams?"
"They'll find me!" she protested with all her heart, but doubt was present in that statement. //I know they'll find me. Relena, you have to be strong... for them... and for Heero. You have to believe in them, you have to show them that you have faith in their abilities...//
It must have been at least two hours before the van came to a sudden halt in an unknown location. The back doors opened and one of the men reached in and grabbed at her bound hands. The girl tried to inch back but the man was faster and took hold of her hands before she could move any further. With a violent tug, he dragged her outside of the van, causing her to slip and fall onto the ground with a thud. He quickly reached down and grabbed hold of her again, bringing her to her feet. That was when she saw the plane in the middle of the clearing. A sharp object pressed itself into her back and she cringed from the small pain.
"Try anything stupid and you'll find a bullet right through your stomach, Miss Darlian."
She gave a tired sigh and allowed herself to be led onto the plane. To them her face was that of a dignified politician, one that showed no hints of fear for whatever situation she was in; however, the slight quivering of her bottom lip gave that all away. Fortunately, for her, the soldiers didn't notice and she was led to a seat near the cockpit. A hard hand pressed her down into the seat, and the man took the one next to her, gun still pointed at her.
The plane ride took place without much disturbance and Relena was beginning to doubt if her brother and friends were going to find her. She didn't want to lose hope, but when she assessed the situation, escape seemed unlikely. Relena occasionally looked down to her bound hands, testing them to see how tight they were. The man who was guarding her would smirk every time she did this, knowing she would never be able to break free of them. Other than that, the entire trip took place in silence.
"What do you plan to do with me!?" Relena demanded as a soldier shoved her into a dark cell. "If you're going to kill me then I suggest you do it now."
"My, my, my, such spirit and determination," came a condescending voice. Relena looked to the shadow behind the soldier and gazed upon ice-cold blue eyes.
"What do you plan to do with me?" she asked more firmly. "If you think that you can use me to get what you want from the Earth Sphere Unified Nation, then you are sadly mistaken; they would never give in to such demands. And quite frankly I would rather kill myself before I let that happen."
"Oh, we're not going to use you as a bargaining chip, but we do plan to use you for something," the man replied with a sinister gleam in his eyes. Suddenly, another soldier appeared from behind and proceeded towards the man.
"General Whitenburg, sir!" the soldier saluted. "The doctors are ready to begin."
"Good," came the cold reply as he continued to eye Relena in the cell.
-to be continued-
So, does it sound interesting so far? This prologue
is based on chapter 3 of Zero Soul, so if you what to know what happened to
Heero, read that section. Well, you don't have to read this in order to understand
Zero Soul, but do read that story before you read this one. Like I said before,
this fic deals more with what happened to Relena, so you won't see a lot of
the other characters in it, gomen nasai. Along with that it might take from
a week to two weeks, or even more for these chapters to come out; my homework
load has just doubled. Send your comments or questions or I might just give
up on this project. Ja ne