Bravest Eyes
Chapter 8: I Don't Need A Promise
Kattie
Disclaimer: Hark! Be there angels here? Alas, there is not! Only the sad thumping of Kattie's lonely heart- wanting, wanting. WANTING TO OWN GUNDAM WING as she, sadly, does not. sob sob
Note: Here's the second installment of my promise. With this chapter online, I am free from my debt! YAY! Don't worry, you should still get new chapter's within less than a week, just not every day.
Contest Note: The contest has again been reduced so that only the title of the anime and the song's title are needed. If you speak with me directly in either e-mail or IM I will give you free hints. There's also a hint in my song fanfiction "Forever Gone".
Another Note: I've decided tat "Bravest Eyes" will last about 12 chapters, which means, four more are coming. If I get 100 reviews all together, I will write a sequel. So review please!
Last Note: If you find it boring, please just skip over Mr. Winner's thoughts. They aren't really all that relevant but I thought it was interesting. ^^* heh heh… And what he's thinking are merely HIS THOUGHTS. They might be negative opinions of the other pilots or the Gundams but they are MERELY his thoughts, not Kattie's! So don't hurt me!!!! hides under bed
Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to Mina-chan's sick onee who will remain unnamed for personal reasons. Please pray for her if you have the time!
Winner Corporation Headquarters
Mr. Winner took another sip of his coffee. He hadn't been able to sleep at all since Quatre was taken and it was getting harder and harder to think. The coffee's caffeine helped him stay awake so he wouldn't fall behind in his work during this stressful time. It worked pretty well, but he was getting sick of the taste. He'd always preferred tea.
'Just like Quatre…' He thought.
Sighing, Mr. Winner tried to push the thoughts of Quatre out of his mind. He'd been battling the fatherly worry all day and was losing miserably. It had gotten so bad that he couldn't go for more than a few minutes before thinking of his son again.
It was even worse at work than it was at home. Sure, at home there were photographs of Quatre, and items that had once belonged to him, but at least at home he didn't receive sympathy letters.
They story had leaked to the media from the hotel the pilots had stayed at the night Quatre was abducted. After the police found the pool of blood, they took a sample, and soon learned it was Quatre's. As soon as the DNA labs had confirmed this, the press began writing their stories. It didn't help that they had records of these kidnappings in past articles.
As thoughtful as it might be to send letters of sympathy, Mr. Winner couldn't help growing angry at them. He was trying very hard not to think of his son, and it was impossible for him to do with them reminding him every few minutes. They also tended to have a negative tone, as if they were sure Quatre was going to die.
The worst notes came from people Mr. Winner knew only through business. They told him how sorry they were and asked if there was anything they could to help, when really they couldn't care less. In fact, they sometimes even wished Quatre's death so there might be the possibility of Mr. Winner selling the company through his own passing on. The insincerity was insulting and degrading.
Mr. Winner looked lovingly at the photograph of Quatre on his desk. He really missed his son. He missed him so much it literally hurt. There was nothing he wanted more than his son's safety, which was why he had so strongly encouraged Quatre not to be a pilot.
Quatre was kind and gentle. He seemed to love everything and everyone. He was a true empathy, feeling others' emotions. It seemed illogical to expect him to pilot a machine made for the sole purpose of killing. That was what he had told Quatre, when really, Mr. Winner had been most concerned with losing his son.
'I'm a terrible father.' Mr. Winner thought, with a sigh.
"Sir," Cindy peeked into the room, "You have visitors. They've come about Quatre."
"No more, Cindy," Mr. Winner put his head in his hands, "No more people telling me how sorry they are."
"Oh, no sir," Cindy replied, fidgeting with her sleeve, "It's Quatre's friends, sir. They other pilots."
Mr. Winner lifted his head and looked at Cindy. She seemed nervous about them being here. "Show them in."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
In the lobby
Duo sat in one of the luxurious lounge chairs reading a newspaper. "This is so weird! Apparently this lady had triplets and one of the babies was born a pig! They think this may have happened because she ate so much pork during pregnancy." Unfortunately, he was reading the tabloids.
The other pilots ignored this comment. Hiiro continued reading his own newspaper, which reported actual things that had happened, while Wufei continued glaring at the woman watching him from across the room.
Trowa stared at the clock, silently counting each second as it passed. He kept wondering what Quatre was going through at that exact moment. Was Quatre afraid? Was he hurting? The only thing Trowa knew was that Quatre was alone.
And Quatre hated to be alone.
"Mr. Winner will see you now." The secretary informed them, walking out of his office.
"Thank you." Duo replied with as much charm as he could muster up.
Cindy blushed and returned to her desk.
Slowly, the pilots stepped into Mr. Winner's office. It could hardly be called an office with its enormous size. File cabinets lined the walls, each different cabinet carefully labeled with the files it held. The only other thing in the room was Mr. Winner's desk and some chairs.
"Please, take a seat." Mr. Winner stood and motioned for them to sit. His eyes were red and puffy, showing that he had been crying recently. There were bags under his eyes from lack of sleep.
They had never seen Mr. Winner so stressed out.
"You've come about Quatre?" Mr. Winner questioned, double-checking the information he had received, like any good businessman would.
"Yes, sir," Trowa answered, sitting in one of the chairs, "We have some new information."
Wufei set the last letter on his desk. "Read it over again."
Mr. Winner sighed, and gave Wufei a tired expression. "I've read this letter over a thousand times, boys. There's nothing there that's worth noticing."
"Look at it with your eyes unfocused." Wufei explained, ignoring Mr. Winner's look.
As Mr. Winner did this, and read the new message, his eyes widened in horror. He removed his gaze from on the paper, to straight ahead. "Oh my God…" He said, quietly, falling back into his chair. "Those bastards want to kill him…"
"We request permission to take Quatre back from the 'Lost Hunter'." Hiiro told him, taking the letter back.
"Go ahead," Mr. Winner replied, rubbing his eyes in frustration, "Do whatever you want. Just make sure Quatre doesn't end up dead. That's all I ask."
"Yes, sir," Trowa said, looking back at the clock again, "Quatre will not die. I promise."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
On the "Lost Hunter"
When Quatre opened his eyes it was once again dark. There was some light coming from torches on the wall. He realized almost instantly that his hands and feet were left unbound. There was no reason to bind them, he had been put in a cage.
"A-are you okay, Quatre?" Suki's small voice asked.
Quatre tried to answer her, but found he couldn't speak. Instead, he coughed up more of the liquid that had been polluting his lungs. He couldn't understand what they had nearly drowned him in that could leave his body with such reactions. His eyes hurt and refused to stay focused long. It was getting harder to think.
"Quatre? Can you hear me?" Suki asked again. When again she got no reply she began crying. "Please don't die! Don't leave me alone! Quatre, don't leave me here by myself! Pleeeaase!"
"I'm here." Quatre's raspy voice called. Coughing a bit more he finally regained his normal voice. "Don't cry, Suki. I won't leave you."
"I thought you were dead! If you die I'll be really mad!" Suki yelled.
Quatre pulled his body to the bars, and looked over to Suki's cell. "Are you alright? They didn't hurt you too badly, did they?"
"Nope," Suki grinned at him, "I'm a street kid, it'll take more than a few kicks to get to me."
"You live on the streets?" Quatre asked, looking into her eyes through the bars.
"Yup! It's fun on the streets. You can go wherever you want and do whatever you want! Nobody can tell me what to do. Except those stupid police officers. Every time they catch me they try to put me into an orphanage. But I escape," Her smile grew bigger, "Because no cage can hold Suki!"
"Why don't you want to live in the orphanage?" Quatre questioned her. "They could get you a family."
"I already have all the family I need. I got my friends to be my sisters and brothers. The lady who has a whole bunch of bags can be my mom. And now, you're my daddy! See, I already have a family." Suki hugged Quatre through the bars.
Quatre didn't think he'd ever been more touched in all of his life. The young girl had known him for such a short time and was already willing to love him, even have him be her substitute father. He smiled down at her. "I'd be more than happy to have you as my daughter."
"Yay!" Suki exclaimed, hugging him tighter. "You can come live with us! And you can marry the bag lady."
Quatre could just hear Duo's reaction to this in his mind.
"Go, Quatre. Always the ladies man!" He would say.
With that thought, the homesickness swept over him. Not really homesickness, but the longing for his friends. Anywhere they were was home to him. He missed them bitterly and the loneliness was killing him. If it hadn't been for Suki he might have let himself remain unconscious through the experience
Seeing, Quatre's reaction, Suki sighed. "She's not THAT bad. She's pretty nice once you get to know her!"
"I'll bet she is." Quatre replied, forcing his smile to return
He looked around the prison to see its security quality. There were a few cameras scattered throughout the place, but it was still pretty lax. Anyone could escape. Well, anyone who'd ever piloted a Gundam.
"Suki, I think you need to go home soon," Quatre told her, holding her tiny hand in his own, "You should go see your family."
"Okay, we'll escape together." Suki said. Her expression folded into one of utter determination. "With our minds against there's, they won't stand a chance."
"Suki," Quatre replied, in a whisper, "I can't go with you. There's no way they'd let both of us escape. But I'll help you out, alright? I'll take you as far as I can and then you have to go. You have to get home, even if it is by yourself."
"No," Suki whined, "I won't leave my daddy behind! I can't let my daddy stay here with these mean people. Besides, it's not me they really want! They said they were going to kill you!"
Quatre's stomach sank. So they were planning on killing him. Any sense of peace he had held with knowing he'd be here a few weeks and then be let go was gone in an instant. "They were lying," Quatre lied, "They wouldn't kill me. I'm worth more to them alive."
"No no no!" Suki began crying again, clutching Quatre's shirt in her hands. "I won't let them kill you. I'm not going to leave you."
"Suki." Quatre said, sternly, "You have to leave. If you stay here it will be a lot worse. If you make it home, than it will be easier for me to bear what's coming. It'll be okay as long as you're safe."
There was a silence as Suki thought this over. Her sobs were still audible, being muffled by Quatre's shirt, in which she had buried her face moments before. For a few minutes, she continued crying. After what seemed like ages, she fell silent.
"Daddy," Suki whispered, keeping her gaze cast downward, "Will you tell me a story?"
"Of course I will. What story do you want to hear?" Quatre asked.
"Will you tell me a story with a happy ending?"
End of Chapter
End Note: No time to edit this one either, but I'm hoping it's okay anyways. hope hope hope Or at least not too terrible. Sorry for a semi- cliffhanger. Actually, I'm not sure. Does this count as a cliffhanger or not? Hm… well in case it does, please don't murder me. takes out lollipops I'll give you candy if you don't.
Please review this chapter! Reviews= Inspiration= less work on the ol' muse= more and better chapters!
Muse: twitching less now Feeling a bit better now. ^^
P.S. I don't know about you, but I was sitting here going "awww" writing the part with Suki deciding Quatre was her father. awww aww aww!! I want a daughter like that! (Hm… I'm sure my mother does too… I'll give her a hug when I see her. I love you mommy!)
Chapter 8: I Don't Need A Promise
Kattie
Disclaimer: Hark! Be there angels here? Alas, there is not! Only the sad thumping of Kattie's lonely heart- wanting, wanting. WANTING TO OWN GUNDAM WING as she, sadly, does not. sob sob
Note: Here's the second installment of my promise. With this chapter online, I am free from my debt! YAY! Don't worry, you should still get new chapter's within less than a week, just not every day.
Contest Note: The contest has again been reduced so that only the title of the anime and the song's title are needed. If you speak with me directly in either e-mail or IM I will give you free hints. There's also a hint in my song fanfiction "Forever Gone".
Another Note: I've decided tat "Bravest Eyes" will last about 12 chapters, which means, four more are coming. If I get 100 reviews all together, I will write a sequel. So review please!
Last Note: If you find it boring, please just skip over Mr. Winner's thoughts. They aren't really all that relevant but I thought it was interesting. ^^* heh heh… And what he's thinking are merely HIS THOUGHTS. They might be negative opinions of the other pilots or the Gundams but they are MERELY his thoughts, not Kattie's! So don't hurt me!!!! hides under bed
Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to Mina-chan's sick onee who will remain unnamed for personal reasons. Please pray for her if you have the time!
Winner Corporation Headquarters
Mr. Winner took another sip of his coffee. He hadn't been able to sleep at all since Quatre was taken and it was getting harder and harder to think. The coffee's caffeine helped him stay awake so he wouldn't fall behind in his work during this stressful time. It worked pretty well, but he was getting sick of the taste. He'd always preferred tea.
'Just like Quatre…' He thought.
Sighing, Mr. Winner tried to push the thoughts of Quatre out of his mind. He'd been battling the fatherly worry all day and was losing miserably. It had gotten so bad that he couldn't go for more than a few minutes before thinking of his son again.
It was even worse at work than it was at home. Sure, at home there were photographs of Quatre, and items that had once belonged to him, but at least at home he didn't receive sympathy letters.
They story had leaked to the media from the hotel the pilots had stayed at the night Quatre was abducted. After the police found the pool of blood, they took a sample, and soon learned it was Quatre's. As soon as the DNA labs had confirmed this, the press began writing their stories. It didn't help that they had records of these kidnappings in past articles.
As thoughtful as it might be to send letters of sympathy, Mr. Winner couldn't help growing angry at them. He was trying very hard not to think of his son, and it was impossible for him to do with them reminding him every few minutes. They also tended to have a negative tone, as if they were sure Quatre was going to die.
The worst notes came from people Mr. Winner knew only through business. They told him how sorry they were and asked if there was anything they could to help, when really they couldn't care less. In fact, they sometimes even wished Quatre's death so there might be the possibility of Mr. Winner selling the company through his own passing on. The insincerity was insulting and degrading.
Mr. Winner looked lovingly at the photograph of Quatre on his desk. He really missed his son. He missed him so much it literally hurt. There was nothing he wanted more than his son's safety, which was why he had so strongly encouraged Quatre not to be a pilot.
Quatre was kind and gentle. He seemed to love everything and everyone. He was a true empathy, feeling others' emotions. It seemed illogical to expect him to pilot a machine made for the sole purpose of killing. That was what he had told Quatre, when really, Mr. Winner had been most concerned with losing his son.
'I'm a terrible father.' Mr. Winner thought, with a sigh.
"Sir," Cindy peeked into the room, "You have visitors. They've come about Quatre."
"No more, Cindy," Mr. Winner put his head in his hands, "No more people telling me how sorry they are."
"Oh, no sir," Cindy replied, fidgeting with her sleeve, "It's Quatre's friends, sir. They other pilots."
Mr. Winner lifted his head and looked at Cindy. She seemed nervous about them being here. "Show them in."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
In the lobby
Duo sat in one of the luxurious lounge chairs reading a newspaper. "This is so weird! Apparently this lady had triplets and one of the babies was born a pig! They think this may have happened because she ate so much pork during pregnancy." Unfortunately, he was reading the tabloids.
The other pilots ignored this comment. Hiiro continued reading his own newspaper, which reported actual things that had happened, while Wufei continued glaring at the woman watching him from across the room.
Trowa stared at the clock, silently counting each second as it passed. He kept wondering what Quatre was going through at that exact moment. Was Quatre afraid? Was he hurting? The only thing Trowa knew was that Quatre was alone.
And Quatre hated to be alone.
"Mr. Winner will see you now." The secretary informed them, walking out of his office.
"Thank you." Duo replied with as much charm as he could muster up.
Cindy blushed and returned to her desk.
Slowly, the pilots stepped into Mr. Winner's office. It could hardly be called an office with its enormous size. File cabinets lined the walls, each different cabinet carefully labeled with the files it held. The only other thing in the room was Mr. Winner's desk and some chairs.
"Please, take a seat." Mr. Winner stood and motioned for them to sit. His eyes were red and puffy, showing that he had been crying recently. There were bags under his eyes from lack of sleep.
They had never seen Mr. Winner so stressed out.
"You've come about Quatre?" Mr. Winner questioned, double-checking the information he had received, like any good businessman would.
"Yes, sir," Trowa answered, sitting in one of the chairs, "We have some new information."
Wufei set the last letter on his desk. "Read it over again."
Mr. Winner sighed, and gave Wufei a tired expression. "I've read this letter over a thousand times, boys. There's nothing there that's worth noticing."
"Look at it with your eyes unfocused." Wufei explained, ignoring Mr. Winner's look.
As Mr. Winner did this, and read the new message, his eyes widened in horror. He removed his gaze from on the paper, to straight ahead. "Oh my God…" He said, quietly, falling back into his chair. "Those bastards want to kill him…"
"We request permission to take Quatre back from the 'Lost Hunter'." Hiiro told him, taking the letter back.
"Go ahead," Mr. Winner replied, rubbing his eyes in frustration, "Do whatever you want. Just make sure Quatre doesn't end up dead. That's all I ask."
"Yes, sir," Trowa said, looking back at the clock again, "Quatre will not die. I promise."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
On the "Lost Hunter"
When Quatre opened his eyes it was once again dark. There was some light coming from torches on the wall. He realized almost instantly that his hands and feet were left unbound. There was no reason to bind them, he had been put in a cage.
"A-are you okay, Quatre?" Suki's small voice asked.
Quatre tried to answer her, but found he couldn't speak. Instead, he coughed up more of the liquid that had been polluting his lungs. He couldn't understand what they had nearly drowned him in that could leave his body with such reactions. His eyes hurt and refused to stay focused long. It was getting harder to think.
"Quatre? Can you hear me?" Suki asked again. When again she got no reply she began crying. "Please don't die! Don't leave me alone! Quatre, don't leave me here by myself! Pleeeaase!"
"I'm here." Quatre's raspy voice called. Coughing a bit more he finally regained his normal voice. "Don't cry, Suki. I won't leave you."
"I thought you were dead! If you die I'll be really mad!" Suki yelled.
Quatre pulled his body to the bars, and looked over to Suki's cell. "Are you alright? They didn't hurt you too badly, did they?"
"Nope," Suki grinned at him, "I'm a street kid, it'll take more than a few kicks to get to me."
"You live on the streets?" Quatre asked, looking into her eyes through the bars.
"Yup! It's fun on the streets. You can go wherever you want and do whatever you want! Nobody can tell me what to do. Except those stupid police officers. Every time they catch me they try to put me into an orphanage. But I escape," Her smile grew bigger, "Because no cage can hold Suki!"
"Why don't you want to live in the orphanage?" Quatre questioned her. "They could get you a family."
"I already have all the family I need. I got my friends to be my sisters and brothers. The lady who has a whole bunch of bags can be my mom. And now, you're my daddy! See, I already have a family." Suki hugged Quatre through the bars.
Quatre didn't think he'd ever been more touched in all of his life. The young girl had known him for such a short time and was already willing to love him, even have him be her substitute father. He smiled down at her. "I'd be more than happy to have you as my daughter."
"Yay!" Suki exclaimed, hugging him tighter. "You can come live with us! And you can marry the bag lady."
Quatre could just hear Duo's reaction to this in his mind.
"Go, Quatre. Always the ladies man!" He would say.
With that thought, the homesickness swept over him. Not really homesickness, but the longing for his friends. Anywhere they were was home to him. He missed them bitterly and the loneliness was killing him. If it hadn't been for Suki he might have let himself remain unconscious through the experience
Seeing, Quatre's reaction, Suki sighed. "She's not THAT bad. She's pretty nice once you get to know her!"
"I'll bet she is." Quatre replied, forcing his smile to return
He looked around the prison to see its security quality. There were a few cameras scattered throughout the place, but it was still pretty lax. Anyone could escape. Well, anyone who'd ever piloted a Gundam.
"Suki, I think you need to go home soon," Quatre told her, holding her tiny hand in his own, "You should go see your family."
"Okay, we'll escape together." Suki said. Her expression folded into one of utter determination. "With our minds against there's, they won't stand a chance."
"Suki," Quatre replied, in a whisper, "I can't go with you. There's no way they'd let both of us escape. But I'll help you out, alright? I'll take you as far as I can and then you have to go. You have to get home, even if it is by yourself."
"No," Suki whined, "I won't leave my daddy behind! I can't let my daddy stay here with these mean people. Besides, it's not me they really want! They said they were going to kill you!"
Quatre's stomach sank. So they were planning on killing him. Any sense of peace he had held with knowing he'd be here a few weeks and then be let go was gone in an instant. "They were lying," Quatre lied, "They wouldn't kill me. I'm worth more to them alive."
"No no no!" Suki began crying again, clutching Quatre's shirt in her hands. "I won't let them kill you. I'm not going to leave you."
"Suki." Quatre said, sternly, "You have to leave. If you stay here it will be a lot worse. If you make it home, than it will be easier for me to bear what's coming. It'll be okay as long as you're safe."
There was a silence as Suki thought this over. Her sobs were still audible, being muffled by Quatre's shirt, in which she had buried her face moments before. For a few minutes, she continued crying. After what seemed like ages, she fell silent.
"Daddy," Suki whispered, keeping her gaze cast downward, "Will you tell me a story?"
"Of course I will. What story do you want to hear?" Quatre asked.
"Will you tell me a story with a happy ending?"
End of Chapter
End Note: No time to edit this one either, but I'm hoping it's okay anyways. hope hope hope Or at least not too terrible. Sorry for a semi- cliffhanger. Actually, I'm not sure. Does this count as a cliffhanger or not? Hm… well in case it does, please don't murder me. takes out lollipops I'll give you candy if you don't.
Please review this chapter! Reviews= Inspiration= less work on the ol' muse= more and better chapters!
Muse: twitching less now Feeling a bit better now. ^^
P.S. I don't know about you, but I was sitting here going "awww" writing the part with Suki deciding Quatre was her father. awww aww aww!! I want a daughter like that! (Hm… I'm sure my mother does too… I'll give her a hug when I see her. I love you mommy!)