Here's the second chapter. Enjoy! ^^
*The Strength of A Full Stomach*
~*Force of the Future*~
Location: L1 Colony
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Nothing appeared on the screen.
Tap. Tap.
Nothing happened.
Heero Yuy slammed his fist on the table in fustration, jolting backwards quickly and resting his back too fast on the back of the chair for the legs gave out on him and he fell quickly to the floor as he had with his nasty fustration.
He groaned, allowing himself to lie down for a couple of minutes. Wired with coffee and an unnerving suspicion, he wasn't able to sleep. In fact, he couldn't even remember the last time he did fall asleep, which made it a lot easier on him.
He rolled over and got back up to his feet, his other hand grabbing the seat to pull it back up. On the way, he felt his back crack somewhere on his lower back. His hand was immediately examining his back. He winced; when was the last time he actually had a good work out?
Heero propped himself back onto the chair, facing his ignorant computer with a blank thought. Ever since the end of Mariameia's reign of terror, Heero was reverted to a simple computer analyst working for the Preventers, just to back-log files and ensure that no one was doing anything nasty...something secretly nasty. No one had ever asked for anything major because he was looked down upon as a lowly youngster who was given a rear end.
"Oh, look, there's that ex-Gundam kid, the one that caused all that havoc!"
"Hey, there's the brat that tried destroying Oz..."
"Ain't so tough now, huh, little punk?"
Heero shook away the ghosts and focused on the computer. But his mind was wandering off into something he had no clue what it was about but he knew he couldn't work in such a condition. He got to his feet; since he was the only one working over the night, he decided to give himself a little break and wander off outside. If his mind can do that, couldn't his body do as well?
He walked out of the complex, and into the light-filled streets of the colony, where rarely anyone was walking at this time of night. He suddenly had a pang of regret for leaving Earth; at least he knew the actual difference between night and day. Here, it was like being in the sun twenty four seven.
He passed by a fountain, where, strange enough, one person sat, someone in a navy blue trench reading the newspaper a day too old. He ignored the person and sat at the other end of the fountain, contemplating, which was something he rarely did.
He wondered how Relena was...he wondered how the other ex-pilots were. He wondered how it was like on Earth now, without the presense of guns or leos or any sort of militaristic presense or possession. It's like a dream, he realized shakily. Throughout human history, we have dreamed about a world without war, without violence, and once that he had achieved that ultimate goal, it feels like one hell of a dream...
"It does, dosen't it?"
Heero turned to see only that one person. Who said that?
"One moment, you're living in a war-torn world, and the next, you're living in a peaceful paradise," the voice continued, sounding strangely familiar. "It does sound like a dream. It does feel like a dream. But believe it or not, it is a reality. A real one too. It takes time to accept, but in time, all will understand."
Now Heero was irritated and stomped up to that one person dressed in blue, perplexed and visibly annoyed. He had no sleep, he had no luck and he sure as hell didn't have a single patient cell in his body for all the crap he was dealing with lately. "Excuse me, are you talking?" he asked, rather demanding and hoaresly from the sound of his voice.
"Hello, Heero." The person pulled down the newspaper from their face to reveal a woman under a blue bonnet with long, blonde hair and striking blue eyes...
"R-Relena?"
"Why, Heero," she said, standing up to even the height as Heero tried through his raw exhaustion to hide the sensations that was running through his brain at the moment. He was looking at a tall, strangely fit and relaxed woman, different from the one he had encountered over and over before in the past. "I must say that's the first time you've stammered my name like that." She studied him closely. "Oh my God---Heero! When was the last time you fell asleep?"
He brushed his hair back uneasily. "I-I don't know, two days ago?"
Relena dropped her jaw. "Heero!" she croaked, something from her throat. "I don't believe it. I think you should go rest before I speak to you. We can have breakfast tomorrow and we can discuss it then---"
He shook his head. "Negative on that," he replied. "I'm working night shift."
"It ain't gonna help you track down those terrorists if you're all tired and raccoon-eyed," she countered sharply against Heero's stubborness. By now, she knew the way he thought and the way he acted, even after all those years. "It will make you lose focus and more careless. Heero, I seriously think that you should rest before you kill yourself."
Heero considered this for a brief moment. He was extremely touched at Relena's concern, something he hadn't experienced in a long time. He was also tempted at her offer of rest, relaxation, to close his eyes from reality and slip into some solace...He nodded. "All right, Relena. I will go rest in my apartment."
She nodded, pleased. "Good."
"Tell me one thing," he said before she could officially be relieved.
She looked up at him. "Yes?"
"Why are you here? I haven't heard from you in years."
Should I tell him now? she wondered, debating on the issue. Then again, he was weary and tired and needed some rest. "It's something realitvely important," she told him softly. "I don't think I would want worry yourself about it by telling you now. Go rest---we'll talk in the morning." She turned around and started walking away.
Despite the weariness Heero was feeling, it did not stop his reflexes for he grabbed her arm fiercely, making her turn around in surprise. Before she could breathe a word, he demanded, "Tell me now otherwise I will worry until dawn tomorrow."
She sighed heavily; she had no choice. Goodness knows what he would do to get it out of her..."Preventer Noin asked me to regroup the former Gundam pilots," she blurted out. "There's a major situation that I think you were already briefed on regarding the terrorists..."
"Affirmative, I was briefed," he replied. "But there are some things you should know...can we talk someplace...private?"
She nodded, understanding that the information that he was going to pass was confidental. She looked around; despite the innocent look of the square, there might be some hidden cameras or some hidden microphones hidden somewhere. Living with such paranoia was starting to resurrect from the past.
"Yes. Come with me."
Location: L2 Colony
"Mmm...Duo Maxwell...what have you done this time?" Hilde asked seductively as she tasted some of his cuisine. Behind the counter, in the kitchen, was Duo, stir-frying something in a big wok with a spatula. He looked up to see Hilde moaning with pleasure from the food. "This is exquisite! Where did you learn to make this?"
Duo winked. "Ssh," he told her conspiratorially. "Secret recipe."
She smiled at him. "All right, then, be that way."
Then, the door rang.
Hilde got up from the table. "I'll get that," she called and before Duo could remark, Hilde had made her way through the living room to the front door, swaying gracefully like a candle in the wind. She turned the knob of the door and opened it, to reveal two men and one woman in Preventers uniform. Hilde swallowed hard. "M-May I help you?"
The woman stepped forward, a head shorter than Hilde with wide eyes and cropped auburn hair worn down. She looked rather bulky to be in the uniform. "Yes, ma'am," she said promptly, right to the point. "We're looking for a Duo Maxwell...he is said to live here."
Now Hilde was scared; was he in trouble?"Yes...may I ask why?"
"He has been asked to come with us to Earth," she replied swiftly, "under the orders of Preventer Noin and Foreign Minister Dorlian. He is to come with us at once." She finished it with a little foot shuffle.
Duo walked over to the door casually, smelling like the food he just conjured up. "Hilde, who are these people? Hilde?" he asked, looking at Hilde, who looked back with some fear in her eyes. "Hilde...what's wrong?" When he caught sight of the Preventers, he knew at once.
"Mr. Maxwell," the auburn-haired Preventer said, "I am Preventer Erin Atropos from the division sent from Earth. I am under orders directly from Preventer Noin and Foreign Minister Dorlian to accompany you to Earth."
"Why?" Duo demanded, suddenly on the defensive.
Atropos blinked at his sudden demand. "Preventer Noin asks for an audience."
Duo sighed. "I'll be right over." He then slammed the door on the Preventers and looked at Hilde, who was now trembling and babbling about where was he going and whether he was in trouble. He grabbed her arms firmly. "Listen to me, Hilde, I'm going to go check this out. I'm smelling trouble, and I don't like the stench. You just hang on, all right?"
She nodded mutely.
In a few moments, Duo returned with a rucksack slung on his back and walking casually to the door. "Mind you, Hilde," he warned, "I would like some leftovers from my cuisine tonight, alright?"
She smilled slightly, relieved for a slight moment. "Alright."
"Aishiteru."
"Aishiteru, Duo-kun."
Before she knew it, he was gone with the Preventers. Where he was going and what he was going to do, she did not know.
~End of Chapter
*The Strength of A Full Stomach*
~*Force of the Future*~
Location: L1 Colony
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Nothing appeared on the screen.
Tap. Tap.
Nothing happened.
Heero Yuy slammed his fist on the table in fustration, jolting backwards quickly and resting his back too fast on the back of the chair for the legs gave out on him and he fell quickly to the floor as he had with his nasty fustration.
He groaned, allowing himself to lie down for a couple of minutes. Wired with coffee and an unnerving suspicion, he wasn't able to sleep. In fact, he couldn't even remember the last time he did fall asleep, which made it a lot easier on him.
He rolled over and got back up to his feet, his other hand grabbing the seat to pull it back up. On the way, he felt his back crack somewhere on his lower back. His hand was immediately examining his back. He winced; when was the last time he actually had a good work out?
Heero propped himself back onto the chair, facing his ignorant computer with a blank thought. Ever since the end of Mariameia's reign of terror, Heero was reverted to a simple computer analyst working for the Preventers, just to back-log files and ensure that no one was doing anything nasty...something secretly nasty. No one had ever asked for anything major because he was looked down upon as a lowly youngster who was given a rear end.
"Oh, look, there's that ex-Gundam kid, the one that caused all that havoc!"
"Hey, there's the brat that tried destroying Oz..."
"Ain't so tough now, huh, little punk?"
Heero shook away the ghosts and focused on the computer. But his mind was wandering off into something he had no clue what it was about but he knew he couldn't work in such a condition. He got to his feet; since he was the only one working over the night, he decided to give himself a little break and wander off outside. If his mind can do that, couldn't his body do as well?
He walked out of the complex, and into the light-filled streets of the colony, where rarely anyone was walking at this time of night. He suddenly had a pang of regret for leaving Earth; at least he knew the actual difference between night and day. Here, it was like being in the sun twenty four seven.
He passed by a fountain, where, strange enough, one person sat, someone in a navy blue trench reading the newspaper a day too old. He ignored the person and sat at the other end of the fountain, contemplating, which was something he rarely did.
He wondered how Relena was...he wondered how the other ex-pilots were. He wondered how it was like on Earth now, without the presense of guns or leos or any sort of militaristic presense or possession. It's like a dream, he realized shakily. Throughout human history, we have dreamed about a world without war, without violence, and once that he had achieved that ultimate goal, it feels like one hell of a dream...
"It does, dosen't it?"
Heero turned to see only that one person. Who said that?
"One moment, you're living in a war-torn world, and the next, you're living in a peaceful paradise," the voice continued, sounding strangely familiar. "It does sound like a dream. It does feel like a dream. But believe it or not, it is a reality. A real one too. It takes time to accept, but in time, all will understand."
Now Heero was irritated and stomped up to that one person dressed in blue, perplexed and visibly annoyed. He had no sleep, he had no luck and he sure as hell didn't have a single patient cell in his body for all the crap he was dealing with lately. "Excuse me, are you talking?" he asked, rather demanding and hoaresly from the sound of his voice.
"Hello, Heero." The person pulled down the newspaper from their face to reveal a woman under a blue bonnet with long, blonde hair and striking blue eyes...
"R-Relena?"
"Why, Heero," she said, standing up to even the height as Heero tried through his raw exhaustion to hide the sensations that was running through his brain at the moment. He was looking at a tall, strangely fit and relaxed woman, different from the one he had encountered over and over before in the past. "I must say that's the first time you've stammered my name like that." She studied him closely. "Oh my God---Heero! When was the last time you fell asleep?"
He brushed his hair back uneasily. "I-I don't know, two days ago?"
Relena dropped her jaw. "Heero!" she croaked, something from her throat. "I don't believe it. I think you should go rest before I speak to you. We can have breakfast tomorrow and we can discuss it then---"
He shook his head. "Negative on that," he replied. "I'm working night shift."
"It ain't gonna help you track down those terrorists if you're all tired and raccoon-eyed," she countered sharply against Heero's stubborness. By now, she knew the way he thought and the way he acted, even after all those years. "It will make you lose focus and more careless. Heero, I seriously think that you should rest before you kill yourself."
Heero considered this for a brief moment. He was extremely touched at Relena's concern, something he hadn't experienced in a long time. He was also tempted at her offer of rest, relaxation, to close his eyes from reality and slip into some solace...He nodded. "All right, Relena. I will go rest in my apartment."
She nodded, pleased. "Good."
"Tell me one thing," he said before she could officially be relieved.
She looked up at him. "Yes?"
"Why are you here? I haven't heard from you in years."
Should I tell him now? she wondered, debating on the issue. Then again, he was weary and tired and needed some rest. "It's something realitvely important," she told him softly. "I don't think I would want worry yourself about it by telling you now. Go rest---we'll talk in the morning." She turned around and started walking away.
Despite the weariness Heero was feeling, it did not stop his reflexes for he grabbed her arm fiercely, making her turn around in surprise. Before she could breathe a word, he demanded, "Tell me now otherwise I will worry until dawn tomorrow."
She sighed heavily; she had no choice. Goodness knows what he would do to get it out of her..."Preventer Noin asked me to regroup the former Gundam pilots," she blurted out. "There's a major situation that I think you were already briefed on regarding the terrorists..."
"Affirmative, I was briefed," he replied. "But there are some things you should know...can we talk someplace...private?"
She nodded, understanding that the information that he was going to pass was confidental. She looked around; despite the innocent look of the square, there might be some hidden cameras or some hidden microphones hidden somewhere. Living with such paranoia was starting to resurrect from the past.
"Yes. Come with me."
Location: L2 Colony
"Mmm...Duo Maxwell...what have you done this time?" Hilde asked seductively as she tasted some of his cuisine. Behind the counter, in the kitchen, was Duo, stir-frying something in a big wok with a spatula. He looked up to see Hilde moaning with pleasure from the food. "This is exquisite! Where did you learn to make this?"
Duo winked. "Ssh," he told her conspiratorially. "Secret recipe."
She smiled at him. "All right, then, be that way."
Then, the door rang.
Hilde got up from the table. "I'll get that," she called and before Duo could remark, Hilde had made her way through the living room to the front door, swaying gracefully like a candle in the wind. She turned the knob of the door and opened it, to reveal two men and one woman in Preventers uniform. Hilde swallowed hard. "M-May I help you?"
The woman stepped forward, a head shorter than Hilde with wide eyes and cropped auburn hair worn down. She looked rather bulky to be in the uniform. "Yes, ma'am," she said promptly, right to the point. "We're looking for a Duo Maxwell...he is said to live here."
Now Hilde was scared; was he in trouble?"Yes...may I ask why?"
"He has been asked to come with us to Earth," she replied swiftly, "under the orders of Preventer Noin and Foreign Minister Dorlian. He is to come with us at once." She finished it with a little foot shuffle.
Duo walked over to the door casually, smelling like the food he just conjured up. "Hilde, who are these people? Hilde?" he asked, looking at Hilde, who looked back with some fear in her eyes. "Hilde...what's wrong?" When he caught sight of the Preventers, he knew at once.
"Mr. Maxwell," the auburn-haired Preventer said, "I am Preventer Erin Atropos from the division sent from Earth. I am under orders directly from Preventer Noin and Foreign Minister Dorlian to accompany you to Earth."
"Why?" Duo demanded, suddenly on the defensive.
Atropos blinked at his sudden demand. "Preventer Noin asks for an audience."
Duo sighed. "I'll be right over." He then slammed the door on the Preventers and looked at Hilde, who was now trembling and babbling about where was he going and whether he was in trouble. He grabbed her arms firmly. "Listen to me, Hilde, I'm going to go check this out. I'm smelling trouble, and I don't like the stench. You just hang on, all right?"
She nodded mutely.
In a few moments, Duo returned with a rucksack slung on his back and walking casually to the door. "Mind you, Hilde," he warned, "I would like some leftovers from my cuisine tonight, alright?"
She smilled slightly, relieved for a slight moment. "Alright."
"Aishiteru."
"Aishiteru, Duo-kun."
Before she knew it, he was gone with the Preventers. Where he was going and what he was going to do, she did not know.
~End of Chapter