Disclaimer: I don't own GW, and I'm getting nothing but a kick and a head ache from this, so there is no need to SUE. Seems like that is what everyone is turning to nowadays. . .
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Wings of Last Impression
Part Nine
"Sally! I'm relieved that you and Wufei are here!" Bruno Tsaku said, extending a hand out to her.
She took his hand but found herself in his embrace, resting her head momentarily on his shoulder. A loud "Ahem" could be heard and Sally looked up into Bruno's face. He smiled fondly at her and then released Sally. Wufei grumbled about something but wasn't audible.
"Glad to be here, Bruno. Now what's this thing that you've found?" Bruno's eyes lightened at the mention of his discovery, and he took her hand again. He began to lead her away, and Sally looked back to Wufei.
"Wufei, come on!" Sally said as Bruno took her further away.
Wufei stared stonily into thin air, where Sally had used to be. He sighed and decided to "follow them in case those bakas and that onna get into trouble." A few minutes of a hot hike and a break later, they came upon a clearing in front of a temple. There were already a few men stationed at what seemed like an opening at the very bottom of the temple. Bruno greeted the others and took a torch for himself and Sally as they entered the temple.
"Wow, is this thing real?" Sally asked, touching the walls.
"You'll see soon enough," Bruno said with a troubled smile.
Wufei entered the temple with a torch, looking about him. He snorted disgustedly as he saw Sally and Bruno, who was still holding Sally's hand, make a turn. This shouldn't bother me so much, Wufei thought. Whoever said it was bothering me?! His ego came into play and he followed behind them. More minutes passed by as they finally came to a stop. Before them was a very huge and empty room. Adorned on the walls were torches and relics. There standing in the middle of the room was a 17-meter high statue, Sally observed to herself.
"Unveil the terror!" Bruno said.
Much to her surprise, and Wufei's surprise who reached them as Bruno dictated the order, stood a gleaming. . .
"A new type of mobile suit?" Sally asked herself.
Wufei's eyes grew wide at what his eyes saw. It couldn't be. . . they must be here for war, he thought. Bruno shook his head and contacted someone on his vid talkie. Wufei paced around the machine slowly, surely, skillfully.
Sally watched this ceremony of pilot and machine, taking a note that Wufei was graceful as a cat the way he moved. Like his presence was going to disturb this image, this machine's ability, if he didn't circle it the way that thing deserved. He tapped lightly at the leg, listening to its music chime and echo throughout the room. He felt a giddy chill enrapture his soul, as if something long gone ago had just woken up.
The machine stood tall and proud, a large blue cape cascading from its shoulder. It had a shield attached to its left arm, and as he observed closer, noticed a beam saber protruding from its back. He walked quietly to the right side, surprised to see no hand of any kind. Instead of a hand, there was a barrel of sort attached to it, six holes shining. Wufei thought twice about peering inside those holes, and his better judgment won.
He stuck a finger in the closest hole and felt around. Wufei drew his finger out as he brushed it against something sharp. Wufei stuck his bloody finger in his mouth, easing the pain. He took his torch and held it up, a bright gleaming metallic metal shining in his eyes.
"What is this machine's weapons? To what purpose does it serve to be placed on Earth?" Wufei asked out loud.
"We've been trying to figure that out ever since we found this place. The weird thing is," Bruno said, holding his breath a bit, "is that this temple isn't real. It's as if this thing had set it up, to hide it from everyone and only accessible by the person who sent it. This is a surprising mixture of iron, steel, titanium, and gundanium," Bruno said.
"WHAT?! Gundanium? How could that be? I thought all mines processing that metal had been suspended of further operation!" Wufei nearly shouted, his mind working overtime to process any information that would help unravel some strings from this ball of mystery.
"To my knowledge and what Lady Une has told me, there should be four more."
"This sounds eerily familiar, Wufei," Sally said.
"It does, but where's the pilot at, huh?" Wufei retorted.
"We don't know if it's operated by man or controlled by man from outside," Bruno said. "Much help that is," Wufei said.
Bruno didn't want to start anything with this headstrong and stubborn man, so he said nothing. Sally wondered too, about this, but kept it in her mind.
"We could try and destroy this machine," Sally said thoughtfully.
"With what?" Wufei asked irritably.
"The explosives we always have on board our shuttle!"
"We don't have that kind of time for that! Should have thought ahead about bringing things like that! Whoever sent it here could come for it at any given time. And we won't be prepared!" Wufei sputtered.
"Oh, so now what! Are you blaming me for not taking it along with us? What about you, huh? Have you ever thought about that yourself?!"
Sally shouted at him, loosing control. Bruno looked back and forth at the two, a sweat bead appearing on his forehead.
"We can keep any intruders away for some time, we have enough ammo for that," Bruno said, "You guys can head back to your shuttle and get whatever necessary thing to blow the machine sky high for all I care," Bruno said, silencing the arguing couple.
Wufei contemplated for a second, knowing that this was the best plan offered at the moment. Sally looked intently at Wufei, then back at Bruno.
"Alright," Wufei muttered, "let's go now."
"Okay," Sally said.
Bruno walked them out and into the sun. Sally reversed the directions on the track device. Bruno went up to her and gave her a hug, kissing her cheek ever so slightly. No one saw Wufei's eyes bug out, for he was standing behind the tree, trying to avoid everyone else. Sally broke away and surprise was etched in her eyes.
"I'll be waiting, Sally. No matter how long it takes you," Bruno said, and with a final wave, he joined his comrades out in the field, near the fake temple. Wufei closed his eyes as Sally came near, and flinched as she softly tugged at his shirt.
"We must go now, Wufei, and get this thing over with," Sally said, charging ahead. Wufei got an uneasy feeling of the events coming ahead of them.
~~~~~
The words tumbled from her mouth, the crowd roaring in anticipation. An invisible tear made its way down her visage, which everyone readily accepted as a tear of joy. She silently stood by, watching her own body from the distance. It was time to move on, without Heero's help. A woman squealed with pure delight, her mind racing and reeling at the upcoming events. She had to admit she couldn't have come up with a better timing than this.
"Come on, Odin, let us leave this forsaken place and go back to our little paradise," she whispered as she drew Heero away from the crowd.
Something snapped inside of Heero's mind, and as he clutched his head and thrashed about in agony mentally, his past came flashing back to him, little by little. He saw in his mind, reserved in the far depths of his memory, a girl wearing a white dress, being led by a puppy. "Mary, Mary," Heero said silently to himself.
Reiya stared at him in almost horror, but maintained her cool composure. She led Heero quickly off the platform and into their private shuttle. Reiya gave out sharp commands to head back to the Lunar cluster as soon as possible. Heero sat opposite of her, hands in his lap and his eyes, always boring into hers in the most unfashionable way. Reiya often found herself staring at Heero, both out of habit and secret admiration. It killed her to wish to know what the perfect soldier was thinking of at the moment, what his past life was like before she picked him up. Reiya gave out a little laugh, happy to at least know that she has taken Heero from Relena.
'There are those memories again. . . Are they for real, or are they just a part of Reiya's doing?' Heero thought.
He closed his eyes and saw Relena, for the very first time. He opened his eyes and adjusted them on the seats. Those seats looked exactly like the ones that were on Relena's shuttle. Sneaking on the shuttle, Heero hid the little honey terror and made his way to a spot she knew she would sit. He placed the teddy bear there, with a note.
He heard light footsteps, and knew it was Relena. He turned his head down and greeted her. He could feel her eyes bore into his back, as if out of recognition or other. Continuing on his way, Heero didn't stop until he was sure he felt her eyes on him again. Turning around, there was Relena, holding the envelope. She gave him a last smile as she tore it in two. Amusement crept over his face as he nodded in acknowledgement her silent message.
Longer memories of his life flashed through his mind, and exhaled sharply as the final pieces slid into place. Reiya gave him a sharp look, but dismissed it as the pilot of the shuttle began to prepare them for the landing. After docking and checking their bags, Reiya and Heero headed towards her estate, the sole heir of the Barton Foundation.
"It's good to see you once more, Mr. Lowe," the butler said as he opened the door.
Heero nodded and walked up the spiraling staircases, letting his hand caress the smooth mahogany banister. He entered a familiar room, lit only by a flickering candle. Heero blew it out, took out his laptop, and turned it on. The green light lingered on his face, making his fingers type away melodically at the keys. He found himself hacking into The Barton Foundation, moving and reading files from one location to another. He found himself smirking as he typed in the code he perfected at the age of seven.
'No one will be able to trace it back to me,' he thought as he leaned back in his chair. He almost expected Duo to creep up on him and try to find his gun. Heero sat straight up as he read the file's name: Operation Meteor: Lunar Stardust. Heero scanned the information, his forehead crinkling with a small flame of worry. Sending mail to Lady Une about this information under an unknown name, he closed the laptop and sat on the edge of the bed.
He remembered how Reiya Barton had found him. It was only a few days after Relena's 23rd birthday. Watching, seeing, and tasting her, he observed from the shadows a new person. His feet led him astray, away from reason. He argued and ran from whatever haunted him, hoping to leave them behind with reality. The next thing he knew, he was on the ground, unable to move and felt a fierce fire run through his veins. Heero readily gave up to the clutches of Death.
The next day, Heero found himself not staring into the Devil's face, but into the face of the woman who saved him. Relena's face hovered above him, giving him a genuine smile. He slipped into unconsciousness as the fire raged within him. A few more days passed by, and he felt well enough to open his eyes. A shadow stirred in the corner, catching his eyes. He turned his head towards the noise, only a grim line on his face as the woman walked to him. He has never seen her before in his life.
Heero struggled to remember what had happened last night. The woman said that he'd been out for a few days, and that he should thank her for saving him. Heero only snarled as he reached about for. . . for what? He didn't remember, he didn't know if this was out of habit or out of instinct. He knew that he was irritated that she interfered. The woman laughed, telling him that his gun had been removed before he was brought into the room.
Heero found himself on a cold, metal table, with many people around him, prodding and poking him. He often heard them say "perfect specimen" to each other. For the early part of that year, all he could remember was the bright lights, slipping in and out of reality. Reiya befriended Heero, telling him that he should do this, do that. After all, he owed it to her. Reiya had called him Odin, a strange name that was unfamiliar on his tongue as he tasted his own name.
But Heero had to take her words for himself; he didn't remember who he was. He didn't know all that he left behind, all that lied ahead for him. Now he had a new future, going to salvage yards for scraps of titanium and gundanium, mostly gundanium. Those days held nothing but searching and training, Reiya claiming that she was only trying to improve his lifestyle. But the thing that Heero had retained from his old lifestyle was the depth of his stare and his instincts, which only sharpened at times like these.
~~~~~
"Almost there, almost there. Just a bit more to go," Sally said to herself.
Wufei snorted in front of her as he trudged along, voicing out Sally's rally in his mind. He didn't mind the hike; it was good exercise. But the heat was the thing that suffocated his lungs. Back on the colony, the temperature was controlled and suited to the human bodies. No extreme coldness or hotness; here, Mother Nature ran amuck. Wufei accepted that fact but only to a certain degree.
Sally squealed when the white shuttle came into view. Pushing past Wufei, Sally punched in the access code on the door. With a little knick-knack sound, the shuttle door opened and cool air rushed past the fatigued couple. Wufei came behind Sally and dropped everything to the floor, heading towards the cooler. Sally beat him already to the cooler, drawing out the last two water bottles. Wufei cursed slightly under his breath, and Sally laughed as she threw a bottle to Wufei. He caught it with an "oomph" as Sally went to the cockpit.
The vidscreen flickered on and Lady Une's face appeared.
"Sally?"
"Yes, ma'am?!" Sally said, almost falling over at the unexpected call.
"What is the status on your mission so far? Where's Wufei?" Lady Une asked with anxiousness in her voice.
If Wufei were injured, she wouldn't be able to spare another Preventor for quite some time.Sally, noticing her tone of voice, slightly parted the curtains. Wufei was stripped to his waist, pouring half of the bottled water on top of his head and drinking the other half. Sally gulped and quietly closed the curtain. She turned around with a slight blush on her face.
"He's, ah, cooling down right now. Rough hike we had before us, you know," Sally said, sitting in the pilot's chair.
"Right, well, is there anything major you would like to tell me?"
"We found a new MS," Wufei intercepted.
Sally turned around, donning a slight frown that Wufei had put his shirt back on. Wufei went on to explain the findings of the MS, and Lady's Une forehead wrinkled with concern.
"Could you two hold on for a moment?" Lady Une asked before she switched screens.
"Do you think you'd be able to pilot that thing if you were able to?" Sally asked Wufei.
"Of course, I could. Piloting any mobile suit is my specialty," Wufei said haughtily.
Before Sally could give him the proper reply, the screen flickered again, but this time, the screen was split in two. On the left side was Lady Une, and on the right side was Howard.
"Howard!" Sally cried out.
"If it isn't the lovely Sally Po herself," Howard said with a little chuckle.
"What gives?" Sally asked.
"Lady Une informed me of the new MS you guys saw earlier today. Now, if I can have the details again, please, and I'll run this information through my computer and try to establish something solid with it," Howard said.
Wufei grew agitated that their time was being cut. In a quick breath, Wufei condensed the description, and Howard nodded and "mm-hmm" throughout the whole explanation. After all was told, everyone looked expectantly at Howard.
"What do you want me to say?" Howard asked wryly after a few seconds.
Everyone by then face faulted.
"Just kidding!" Howard said, giving them a peace sign. "Actually, I think I'll stop by and see that suit myself!"
"What? Aren't you out in space or somewhere else far away from here?"
"So now what? You don't want this old man to visit you people anymore?" Howard asked in mocking sadness.
"No, Howard, by all means, do come. But we have some friends waiting for our return to uh. . . blow up the mobile suit before it falls into the wrong hands, see," Sally said.
"No problem! I'll be there in a few, don't blow that suit up, and keep your shirts on!
"With that, Howard signed off. Sally blushed a bit at the earlier encounter, and Wufei just scowled in her direction.
"I leave it all to you guys," Lady Une said, "Good luck and good bye." Sally sat there for a moment, thinking to herself. Wufei turned on his heels and cleared his throat.
"Let's get all the ammo we can stuff in our packs and get crackin'!" Sally said, marching past Wufei and into the Gundanium box that held all the necessary equipment to blow the world up.
Ten minutes passed and Sally and Wufei were fit to fight a squad of mobile dolls, not that they really wanted to in this weather. Wufei was about to go ahead but Sally grabbed the end of his shirt. Wufei almost stumbled back into Sally's arms as his eyes went wide.
"Why did you do that?!" Wufei asked irritably.
"Waiting for Howard, remember?" Sally asked with an innocent smile on her face.
Wufei growled under his breath and sat in the corner of the shuttle. He closed his eyes, hoping to calm himself down before venturing out and doing something stupid. Sally turned her back on him, staring out into the jungle, humming a childhood lullaby. Sally dialed Bruno's code and his face appeared on the screen.
"Bruno! How are you guys holding up?" Sally asked.
"We're doing fine, nothing to worry about!" Bruno said with a smile.
"Just wondering though; when are you guys gonna come back?""We'll be back in a few minutes, I'm not sure how long though. We're to wait for an old friend who would help us with the mobile suit's functions. I'm estimating at least an hour for his arrival. Would you guys be okay until then?"
"Sure, do whatever you need to do," Bruno said, "I'll see you later. Gotta check with my other men. Bye, Sally."
"Bye, Bruno," Sally said. "I hope Howard doesn't take his sweet time to get here. I've got a bad feeling about something."
"Says you and who else?" Wufei said, cracking one eye open.
"Me and my woman's intuition, that's who," Sally retorted.
Wufei snorted and continued to meditate. That's how they stayed for the rest of the day, Wufei meditating and Sally with her eyes searching for the figure of Howard. Sally began to grow impatient as the time ticked by, worried by the possibility of an invasion where Bruno was. She was about to turn around and tell Lady Une that she couldn't wait any longer when the bushes in the distance began to crackle with noise.
~~~~~
