Warnings: Mild language, violence, and angst
AN: Okay, now it's time to really get started on
the Trapped Soul saga. I'm not entirely sure if this series is gonna match up
to Zero Soul since it won't include all the Gundam Wing characters (almost all
of them) and will involve more of Relena and my original characters instead.
You have been warned.
Chapter 1: Bloodstained Visions
"Let go of me!" Relena screamed when two soldiers took hold of both her arms. The young girl winced in pain as she felt their firm grip on her wrist and lower arm. She struggled against them despite the fact that she weighed half of much as they did and was a good foot shorter as well.
"Miss Darlian," came General Whitenburg's condescending voice, "this will go much more smoothly if you would just cooperate. We really don't want any harm to come to you and if you keep this up, we are very sure that it might."
"What makes you think that I have any intentions of making this easy for you?!" she shot back furiously. "I'm going to do all I can to make this difficult!" Once more, the girl tired to break free from her captors' grip, failing miserably as she did so. //Dammit! They're too strong for me.//
As Relena continued to fight, Whitenburg carefully made his way inside until he was directly in front of her. He moved to cup her delicate face in a calloused hand: hands made hard by years of battle and piloting mobile suits. Bringing his face close to hers, the General whispered in a low and dangerous voice. "I don't think that it's wise to keep on resisting us; you might get killed."
The young diplomat glared at him with unbridled defiance and gave a response of her own. "I'd rather die than help you bring this world into another era of war."
Whitenburg couldn't help but smirk at that comment, giving off a low laugh as well. "What," he began rather amused, "good do you think you'll be to this world and its people if you're dead? Even if you do die, we'll still continue with this project. The only real difference is that we will no longer have you to deal with and get in our way."
Those words made Relena draw back and fall silent. She averted her gaze from his and resigned herself to stare at the cold, metallic floor. The older man saw her expression and smiled over his little victory. "Yes, Miss Darlian, this world depends greatly on you. Despite your young age, or maybe it's because of it, you've become a symbol of peace to them." He cocked an eyebrow when she didn't respond to his statement but continued anyways, "I think that it's rather sad to have let something like that fester so. It's become so bad, the people will almost undoubtedly go to war without you around to police them. They've all become so dependent on you that your death will most likely bring about chaos."
".... If I die," Relena finally spoke up, the spark of fight still in her eyes, "I will become a martyr to peace and the people will mend their ways."
"Really now?" The man was quite amused with that last statement.
"Yes," she replied, "everyone needs his or her martyrs.... so, as I see it, I'd do more good dead than I would alive."
To her annoyance, the man only chuckled and shook his head. "How will they know whether or not you're dead if they can't find your body?"
Her mind was completely frozen over with shock and fear. "!" A pain pierced her arm and her head shot up to see one of the soldiers holding a needle and syringe. A terrifying heat surged through her veins and a wave of dizziness threatened to engulf her as the girl fought with all her remaining strength to prevent from succumbing to whatever drug she was injected with. //He... he was only... distracting me....// Within a few seconds her eyelids slid shut and her head lolled forward, unconscious.
"It really didn't have to be this way, Miss Darlian, but you left us no other options," he stated, taking a finger and tracing it lightly across her jaw line; a hurt-filled look gracing his defined facial features. //We really had no intentions of seeing you come to harm...// "Take her to the lab," the General commanded the soldiers.
"Yes, sir!" they shouted, giving a salute before slipping out of the cell door with Relena's slumped body in tow.
The General followed close behind them and the small group made their way towards an elevator located at the end on the corridor. As they walked, many of the working OZ soldiers stopped to look at the captive girl. Their expressions were unreadable and they lost interest as soon as the group reached the elevator. Once inside, Whitenburg took out a small plastic card from the breast pocket of his uniform and slipped it into a slot underneath the button panel. He proceeded to press a button with the letter 'B' on it, and the compartment began to move down. The General was taking the Vice Foreign Minister to a secret area of the underground Siberian base restricted to all those who didn't own a key card.
//Operation ZERO... schliesslich... it's finally going to begin.// The man mused as they went even further underground. Operation ZERO was a project that was highly classified, even amongst the OZ organization. Only a few OZ personnel actually knew of the project, and they consisted of Treize Khushrenada, Duke Dermail, and a General by the name of Stevens who died in the Eve Wars, Dereks, and himself. All of them had very high expectations of the Tamashii units and the new breed of soldiers they would churn out. What made it even more appealing was the fact that the project's success would mean unlimited use of the ZERO system; however, that was before they discovered that the mind-warping program was able to bypass certain functions of the Tamashii units.
That part of the Operation was deemed a failure but after endless months of additional research, they'd been able to come up with some kind of explanation and a way to deal with the complications. Of course, that explanation narrowed down their field of choices for pilots who would engage the ZERO system. In order to master the ZERO system, one had to have a will and determination that rivaled the need to breathe and survive. Although the soldiers they had were quite dedicated to serving OZ, they just didn't have it in them to give everything they had. True soldiers such as those were rare these days... heck, throughout history, one would only be able to name a handful.
They were taking a chance with this girl; everyone had their arguments and reasons not to have her as their test pilot. Despite it all, Whitenburg had remained unfazed and stood firmly by with his decision. Once that happened there was little anyone could do to change his mind. His quiet nature and unyielding attitude was what gave the others an impression of silent strength and courage, but also a coldness that matched the depths of space. Few knew of his compassionate side, yet, that was before that fateful day at New Edwards when the peace loving faction of the Alliance was murdered. A time before Whitenburg lost the one thing in his life that actually meant a damn. It almost seemed like a lifetime ago, but that memory would always remain fresh in his mind.
Pivoting his head a bit over his shoulder, the man gazed at the unconscious form of the girl. His face betrayed nothing as he examined the Vice Foreign Minister. //You're strong... just like she was, so I know this will work.// After about a minute or so, the General turned his attention back onto the lights that indicated the floors, setting all other thoughts and emotions aside.
From the second level walkway, he had watched the General depart into the elevator with a stone mask that would have made even Heero Yuy proud; however, after they were inside and out of sight, the stony exterior became one of disgust and loathing. "Fools!" he spat out under his breath as he turned on his heels and stalked off towards his personal chambers. //They're all idiots if they think they can turn that little girl into their so-called 'Perfekt Soldat'. Last I heard, that title was reserved for that former Gundam pilot of WingZERO. Just because they have his training archives doesn't mean the end result will be the same.//
With his hands clasped behind his back, he strode along the metal platform, nodding his head to the lower officers that greeted and saluted him. //For heaven's sake, she can't even operate the most basic of mobile suits! What in the world would make them think that she stands a chance of piloting the successor to Epyon? Damn Julian for his misguided view about this entire situation!... She's just a child... how can anyone turn a child into a cold-blooded, killing machine without feeling any remorse?... Why should I even care? The girl means nothing to me; she's only an obstacle that stands between me and history.//
"We're risking too much," he sighed, making his way down the stairs into the corridor. "He's so blinded by loss that he doesn't even realize why he really chose her as the test pilot... Humph, weak, pathetic, wretched girl... once you fail to become one with the ZERO system then I'll be the one to become its master." //They should have chosen me from the very beginning, and then we would have been spared the added loss in skilled soldiers. How many of our- MY men never came back from that mission? ELEVEN!!! Gottverdammt!! Eleven of my men are now missing, possibly dead, and for what? A pacifist!.... Humph, no use getting mad now.... stupid fools...// Resigning into silence, he completed the remainder of his journey without any more thoughts of Whitenburg or the Vice Foreign Minister.
The room was a mixture of whites and grays, quite spacious with lots of machines that did who knew what. Four men in white lab coats were currently residing in the lab, each hunched over at a specific station. The youngest, a man with dark brown skin, was seated in front of a computer, typing away at a new program with a mug of coffee to his right. Across the room was another man with black hair and a beard, checking the machines as he wrote on forms secured to his clipboard. A few feet from him was a man with graying brown hair who was overlooking a few documents and activating many of the machines as he did so. The last and eldest of the four, a man with white hair and beard, stood at the examination table, something similar to the one Heero Yuy was strapped to while in the Alliance hospital.
All their heads quickly snapped into attention as the metal door of the lab beeped and slid open. Whitenburg was the first to enter, followed be the two soldiers carrying the test subject. The OZ commander said nothing, only giving a flick of his wrist, telling the soldiers to move their prisoner to the examination table. They did so without question and in a matter of minutes, they had the girl securely fastened to it.
"Dismissed," the General commanded. They acknowledged the order and gave a salute before leaving the room. "You had better be ready," he stated to the doctors, fixing them a dangerous look.
"Indeed we are," replied the eldest doctor, gesturing to the machines that had been painstakingly set up during the past five hours.
"So, what's first on the agenda?" Whitenburg queried as he threaded a path to where the examination table lay. "Will the Tamashii units be planted on her tonight?"
"I'm afraid not," the old man replied as he stared into the girl's face, "We need to see how her mind deals with the programming first. Any complications that she might have now could manifest itself into something bigger and more troublesome later on. There is always the possibility that her mind could reject the personality we've created and the same goes for her body and the extra chemicals that will be generated."
"You remember the failures that we had in the past, don't you, General?" asked the man with graying brown hair. "Not everyone can handle the effects of the Tamashii units."
"I remember," the other man confirmed, "but this girl is different from them all."
"How so?" questioned the dark skinned doctor.
Whitenburg turned to the other man and gave him a knowing smile. "Unlike the other subjects we've had, she," he motioned his head to the unconscious form, "is used to dealing with large amounts of mental stress."
"I hope you're correct on that one," the eldest doctor remarked as he began to hook electrodes and wires onto Relena's head. "But what will you do if this should fail?"
"Simple," Whitenburg began as he strode over to the doctor, "we'll just have to capture someone who has already mastered the ZERO system."
"Y-you don't mean-" the bearded doctor stuttered.
"Either Heero Yuy or Zechs Merquise," the OZ officer finished, "but, unlike Miss Darlian, they won't be as easy to obtain. Zechs Merquise, or should I say the current prince of the Sank Kingdom, Milliard Peacecraft, was a former Specials officer and Gundam pilot. He's more than capable of defending himself and that's not even accounting for the added protection the Preventers give him."
"What about that former Gundam pilot, Heero Yuy?" the white-haired doctor mused.
"Where do you think we should start looking?" Whitenburg asked in a humored tone. "According to all our data, Heero Yuy has disappeared off the face of the Earth and is no where to be found on the colonies. Don't you think that we have been trying to locate him? We're not even sure if he's still alive or not."
"Then would that mean that you'll be going after Miss Darlian's brother?" the old doctor questioned.
To this the General chuckled, a frightening laugh that sent chills down the doctors' spines. "We won't need to; she's all we'll require for Operation ZERO to succeed."
"Maybe," the old man whispered as he finished attaching the last electrodes onto Relena's temples. "Start the program now," he ordered the doctor with the black beard.
"Yes, sir."
The girl's eyes slowly fluttered opened; the first thing that came to her field of vision was a blood red sky littered with clouds. As far as the eye could see, it was nothing but that damning red. The girl gasped at the crimson scene but discovered that her voice had abandoned her. In fear, she shouted into the air and to her astonishment, nothing came out. Over and over again she tried to call out to the open land only to hear the rustling of wind through half withered trees. There was a look of horror plastered on her face as she shifted her gaze to the ground: a battlefield with countless numbers of bodies strewn everywhere. They appeared to be human, soldiers and civilians, yet many were too mangled to actually identify as such. From their bodies flowed a river of blood: bright, fluid, and never ending. Her eyes widened and she gaped at the sight, bringing her hands to her mouth to suppress the urge to vomit. Recovering after a few minutes of trying to regain her composure, a dull pain inside her mind caused her to cringe and Relena fell to her knees. //Where... where am I? What is this place?... Heero? Heero! Where are you?! Heero?! Milliard?! Noin?! Duo?! Anyone?!.... Help....//
The sky exploded with artillery and the girl brought her hands up to cover her head and shield herself from the debris that landed. Soon afterwards, the sound of gunfire and bombs filled the area and Relena quickly got to her feet. She was alone, defenseless, confused, scared, and desperate, so she did the only thing that came to mind; she ran. Across the shell-ridden dirt, the girl ran, her heart pounding forcefully against her chest as the girl began to heave in large amounts of air. The frightened young woman had no destination in mind; she only knew that she had to get away; away from the noise, the explosion, the unseen enemies that she knew lurked nearby.
Her vision soon blurred as hot tears streamed down her cheeks and her lungs burned with the need for more oxygen. //This is no time to be crying... no time to be weak...// After running for an undeterminable amount of time her legs soon ached from the pressure of pounding against the hard earth. //Can't stop... can't stop running... mustn't stop running... they'll catch me if I do...// Ignoring the pain that threatened to consume her whole, she trekked on with an endurance that came only with fear. It seemed as if she would keep on running forever across the darkening land..."!"
*Thud*
Having been careless with where she was going, Relena hadn't noticed how rough the terrain had become and tripped over a large stone. Immediately she felt a concentrated stinging in her right ankle as well as minor tinges on the palms of her hands from where she braced herself on the ground. Gritting her teeth she tried to pay it no heed but found that she couldn't, gripping the injury in a vise-like hold to try and numb out the pain. While all her thoughts now centered on her likely sprained ankle, a dark shadow appeared and loomed over her huddled form. Aquamarine eyes grew wide as she acknowledged the ominous figure. Taking much caution, less she be killed on the spot, the young diplomat slowly turned her body around to face the new threat.
//Wha-// The sun was right behind the tall, slender form, making it seem like nothing more than an apparition caused by stress and severe heat. She brought up an arm to shield her vision as her eyes squinted to try and make out the form, her injury forgotten. //Who?... Heero?!// The sudden notion that the figure could be Heero quickly brought her to her feet; however, her ankle was too weak to support her. The girl lost her footing and tumbled backwards but not before the shadow darted out a hand and caught her own, pulling her forward in one swift motion.
"!" Relena slammed into the figure's chest and her fingers clung onto the material of its shirt, her eyes shut from the collision. Opening them reluctantly, her heart was on edge as she anticipated her savior's identity. Gently pushing herself away to take in the full image her mind froze and her heart constricted. //Wha-what's going on?...//
The savior who she had previously guessed as Heero Yuy was a girl with waist length, honey blonde hair and deep crimson eyes; it was herself and yet it was not. The image was clad in an OZ uniform and had a presence about her that reminded the young diplomat of Heero when she had first met him. Gripped with shock and confusion, the Vice Foreign Minister could do nothing except to stare at her mask-like face, her cold exterior, and her empty, ruby orbs. //What is this? Who is this? Me?... It-it can't be...// An eerie silence descended upon the battlefield and, at that moment, nothing else seemed to exist with the exception of the mesmerizing, blood red gaze.
In that instant, the usually calm and dignified diplomat had reverted into a child; lost, confused, and frightened with the outside world. All forms of comprehension had been lost and Relena began to back away from the imposing doppelganger. In an attempt to retreat, the girl spun around and made ready to take off when a hand shot out and held her stationary. Relena tried to pry herself free but its grip was too strong and she suddenly found herself being pulled forward until her face was mere centimeters from the other. "We are one... and in the end we are zero," it said in a voice void of all known human emotion, pulling her closer until their foreheads touched and even further still until they seemingly merged.
//Let go off me!!// Her psyche screamed with ferocity but it was left unheard, then they were a single being, an entity composed of everything and nothing all in one. Her surroundings disappeared completely, replaced with never ending white noise. When her sight was restored, she was holding a gun and aiming it at a target directly in her path. Once the illumination dimmed, the being identified her target as a blonde youth with a starry, blued-eyed gaze.
*BANG*
The trigger was pulled and as soon as the bullet made contact with the boy, the image ripped itself into shreds. However, she wasn't done; the next image that appeared was that of a young Asian man, somewhat taller than the previous, with the darkest obsidian orbs.
*BANG*
Like the one before him, he was gone with nothing more than the flick of a finger. After the Asian boy, was the image of a rather tall youth, somewhat thin for his age, with the look of a dead man.
*BANG*
And he was gone as well, but this time his form was replaced with that of a girl; however, upon closer inspection, its broad shoulders and lack of hips, betrayed its true gender. He had a cocky grin on his boyish face, but that didn't save him from his fate.
*BANG*
Everything became white noise once more and the creature thought it was all over. Before that thought could take root in its mind, the lights were abruptly turned off as if someone had suddenly pulled a lever, cutting off all power. Her new enemy: a Japanese youth with Prussian blue eyes and spiky, dark brown hair. Like a mirror reflection, he also held a gun and had it locked on her.
"Omae o korosu," they both stated emotionlessly, and then the triggers were pulled.
"AAAHHHHH!!!!!" Relena's head jerked off the examination table; her body would have followed if her wrists and ankles had not strapped down. "Huff huff huff huff huff huff..." Her breathing was quick and there was a light sheen of sweat covering her forehead. Sea green eyes darted to the left and right in anxiety until they locked their sights onto a tall figure with jet-black hair and icy blue eyes standing close by.
"Hmmm, I didn't think the drug would wear off in such a short expanse of time," the eldest doctor remarked. "Did you give her the right amount, sir?" he asked peering in the direction of the man who hovered above the awakened girl.
"Of course I did," Whitenburg answered in a dangerous tone. "It was probably her own doing; she's not one to be underestimated... What are the results of the test? Will her mind and body accept the Tamashii units?"
"Well," began the brown-skinned doctor, "except for a slight fluctuation of her heart rate and brainwaves in the earlier stages, there doesn't seem to be any complications whatsoever. Her brain seems to have accepted the program and the program seems to have accepted her."
"Excellent," the other man replied, lifting his hand to brush away some strands of hair that clung to the girl's wet forehead. "Did you hear that?" he whispered to her in a gentle voice, "She has already chosen you."
-to be continued-
AN: The strange dream that Relena experienced was not the Tamashii program in itself, they were just scenes and images she saw while the program was running. The actual program was just to see how many of her thoughts and memories would conflict with the 'Rei' personality and OZ soldier instincts.
German words:
Gottverdammt= God dammit
Perfekt Soldat= Perfect Soldier
schliesslich= at last
Okay, that's one chapter down... some odd chapters
more to go. I would like to say something first before I continue on... Ahem...
"I AM STILL A STUDENT!" I'm sorry if it's taking a while to put out
the chapters to all my fics but you must understand that I don't have the luxury
of writing whenever I please anymore. Right now I'm juggling my schoolwork,
extracurricular activities, the Red Cross, my family, friends, enemies, art,
this, my own anime project, plus my tedious hunt for scholarships to pay for
my college tuition. There's just too much to juggle around and I'm not a very
good juggler; seriously, I can't even juggle two beanbags. All I ask of you
is to please be patient, okay? Oh, one more thing, if you're wondering, this
is not the experience that Relena recalled in the prisoner's cell in chapter
4 of Zero Soul.