The Heart Never Forgets

Chapter 6



" We've got the target! Release the explosives," Zechs ordered through the com.

" Roger," numerous other pilots answered.

Within seconds the bombs hurtled downwards, annihilating the unsuspecting enemy base, scarring the radius of landscape around it. The trees were reduced to scorched embers, birds took to the sky.

" I really don't like this kind of elimination," Noin sighed, whilst keeping her eyes glued to the scene taking place miles below her. " But I guess in this case at least, it's necessary for peace."

" It's inhumane if that's what you mean," Sally answered, knowing who she was really directing these words to. " But then so is sending thirty Preventers potentially to their deaths all for the purpose of some report."

Lady Une winced a little on hearing this. She was seated in the cockpit beside Zechs, who was monitoring the current situation. She didn't think Sally or Noin would ever forgive her for such ruthlessness.

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Below, on the island, Wufei and the other remaining Preventers had taken cover in the foliage around their camp. One of the Preventer crafts had landed to warn them of the explosions on the base and to keep themselves well away from the danger zone.

Wufei crouched low against a rock, covering his ears from the clamour of the bombs. Despite the situation, he felt a small smile creep over his lips at the thought of justice being served. Those people erecting the military base had obviously thought their secret was safe on such a remote place. They hadn't even expected or retaliated against this.

What happened next could not possibly have been estimated by the Preventers. Shards of broken glass and nails hurled across the camp. Tents were shredded as if they were no more than paper in the sudden explosion. The Preventers flung themselves to the ground once more, all to no avail.

" Damn!" somebody shouted in agony. "A...a nail bomb...!"

After the initial explosion, Wufei found himself lying in a ditch. He reached and touched his face, now a bloody mask. Nails and fragments had pierced his skin deeply. The pain was excruciating. He was bleeding badly, the grass around him was stained crimson.

" I...I can't die like this...." he murmured. " No...not like this...."

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Once it was clear the enemy was destroyed, the reinforcements, including Zechs, Sally, Noin and Une prepared to land the aircrafts near to where the Preventer camp had been. They also had fresh supplies and limited medical aid, but this was no match for the catastrophe that welcomed them.

The whole camp had been brought to it's knees. It was very difficult to decipher exactly where the mass of fallen tents and debris ended and where the casualties began.

Before anyone knew what was happening, Sally was frantically unbuckling her seat belt, her face distorted with woe.

" Sally, what are you doing? Zechs hasn't even landed the craft yet!" Noin made a desperate attempt to pull Sally back into her seat belt but it was a difficult task, her stomach being the size it was. Besides, her distraught companion was having none of it.

As soon as the planes were safely on the ground, the Preventers leapt out, ready for action.

Zechs, who was currently in charge of the operation began to give out orders. He took care to remain as composed as possible, so as not to worry the others too much.

" Right. What we need now is to divide our team," he instructed. " Half need to give immediate medical attention to any survivors we may have. The rest must shift rubble and make some sense of things here. It'll be very hard to help anyone with the terrain in this condition. Sally, you'd better- "

He stopped short. Sally was simply nowhere to be found. He turned to Noin.

" Find her," he ordered, a little more sharply than he'd intended to. " I'll go with Une and try and contact a mainland hospital. Someone inform me if there are any sightings of any undesirable characters near here."

" I seriously doubt it," Noin said grimly." I think they've done all the damage they wanted to do- for now anyway."

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Sally paced back and forth. All around her she could hear faint moaning and the sounds of equipment being carried to and fro, adding to the dismal scene of chaos. But where was Wufei? She scanned the ground again, hoping to catch a glimpse of his face.

" Sally- over here!"

Sally turned in the direction of that achingly familiar yet strange voice. Wufei.

She ran to him as fast as her pregnancy would allow her and peered over the edge of the shallow ditch. Her breath caught in her throat. That was not her Wufei. It couldn't be.

Sally could hardly make out his features for the coating of blood. He was laid limply, his eyes half-closed, his clothes tattered, his hands clutching his blood-stained chest. There was only one thing for it. Gently, Sally eased herself into the crevice until she was knelt at Wufei's side.

" Wufei, can you hear me?" Sally braced herself for the worst. She wasn't sure if he was still breathing. She hardly dared to find out.

" Yes."

" It's Sally."

" I know. I'd know that voice anywhere." It seemed an intense struggle just for Wufei to put his words together. He tried to reach his hand up to stroke her cheek but winced in pain.

" Shhh, try not to move. You'll only make it worse. It's just a lot of blood, the injuries aren't as bad as they look," Sally assured him.

" They.....they nail bombed the camp...we c..couldn't stop it...just d....didn't know," Wufei felt it seemed important to explain this, for some reason.

She pulled him closer to her, resting his weary head on her stomach. Sally had to mask a smile, despite the circumstances. In his delirious state, he didn't even notice the fact she was obviously carrying a baby. His baby.

As Sally began to dress his wounds, best she could, she felt him flinch.

" I'm sorry if I'm being too rough" she said, matter-of-factly. " It's just we need to do this quickly. You've lost a lot of blood already."

" N..no, it's just - I felt something kick me in the side of the head."

It was now or never. It just wasn't fair to keep him in the dark about his baby any longer. There was no definite guarantee he'd pull through this, although she was certain he would What if he died never knowing his child even existed?

" Wufei, that kicking, it's just the baby. I'm..I'm pregnant," she blurted out. " Eight and a half months, to be precise. You're gonna be a father."

" What?"

" I was meaning to tell you, that day you left. I..I just couldn't," Sally explained, feeling her eyes sting with tears. " I...just didn't want to burden you."

Sally sighed, expecting Wufei to be at least slightly angry at her for keeping him in the dark but instead a sombre look crossed his face; " I am so sorry, Sally."

" For what?" she asked, tying the bandage securely.

" For doing this to you...," he responded weakly. " If I hadn't..."

Sally put her finger gently to his lips; " Wufei, I don't believe in 'ifs'. This is the way it was meant to happen."

At that moment, his face lit up, as if he had discovered a new kind of perception. "Nataku...then it was meant to happen, wasn't it?"

Sally frowned slightly. " Your Gundam?"

" No...my Nataku," he explained in a calm tone. " This is the way things were supposed to be, right? Mieran had to go...so I could have you...and my child could exist."

" Wufei..."

"...and also so I could understand what real love is."

Sally smiled distantly and peeled away his shirt so she could assess the rest of his injuries. Wufei seemed drowsy now. It was probably half the effects of the painkillers she had just pumped into him. His eyelids drooped and rested against her stomach, wrapping his arms around it, comforted by the life inside.

" We'll get you over to the infirmary shortly," Sally told him. " With the others. You're going to survive. You were lucky Une allowed us to come out here. Even a day later could have been fatal."

Wufei wasn't aware of her voice, only murmured a little in his slumber. " Rest in peace, Nataku. Rest in peace."

Sally inhaled deeply and gazed up into the cloudless sky. " Wufei," she whispered to his sleeping form. " I think she heard you the first time...a long time ago."

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The camp was beginning to silence as the waxing moon cast a glow above the trees. The remaining, Preventers were those who were unharmed or those deemed fit to stay on the island until Une gave the orders to leave.

After scouring the area thoroughly, the bodies of two of the enemy had been uncovered among the scene of destruction. They had obviously been blazing with resentment over their defeat at the hands of Zechs and the others and so had sacrificed themselves in the nail bomb attack for the sake of giving the Preventers what they thought they deserved.

Their bodies were mangled with injuries that could not possibly have been as a result of the nail bomb alone. It was concluded that they had somehow escaped from their base alive, (despite their serious wounds) after the Preventers had bombed them out and found their way to the camp. The rest was history.

Right now, it was too late to return home and everybody was tired and in low morale. Tragically, a handful of the Preventer victims had died, unable to hold on until they could be taken to hospital. They were to be given hero's burials

Lady Une thought it best to wait until morning. The enemy had been defeated, their base destroyed.

Noin pitched the tent she and Sally were sharing a little further away from the rest of the camp down a small grassy embankment, as she for one hated to be in the view of the Preventer men when she wanted to change her clothing.

Sally really should have accompanied Wufei and other injured to the infirmary but she had refused, saying pregnancy was not an illness and she would not take the place on the craft of someone who's life depended on it. Noin admired her friend's hardy attitude.

" Goodnight, Fire," Sally whispered in the darkness of the tent. It was some kind of little ritual the two women held whenever they dormed together.

" Goodnight, Water," Noin replied with a little giggle. " Are you sure you don't want my pillow for your back? The ground is a little uncomfortable."

" Nah, I'm fine," Sally insisted. The truth was, her back ached like crazy. Whilst she had been concerned for the life of her beloved Wufei and the other victims, she had successfully ignored her swollen ankles and the spiteful pain pressing against her pelvis. Now it was all catching up with her as she tried to sleep.



End of Chapter 6