I am sooooo touched that people are reviewing my story! A special thanxs
to Chibi Totoro Sophie who is my bestest buddy and other half! Also, many
thanks to those who reviewed my story! Once again, I must state that I
don't own Candidate Goddess or Gundam Wing but this story is mine!
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Duo Maxwell was sleeping noisily in his bed in the empty medical room when the lights were suddenly turned on. Duo yelped from the intense light, awake, and trying to shield his eyes, "AHH!!! I'm blind, I'm blind! I can't see."
When he discovered no one was laughing, he peeked through one of his eyes and saw Major Sally Po setting up a bunch of equipment by the bed next to his in a rush, "Sally, what's going on?" He asked, sitting upright in his bed.
Suddenly, Heero flew through the doors at an immense sped carrying Relena in his arms, momentarily followed by a young boy of ten, "Relena! Heero what happened to her?!" Duo exclaimed.
Heero didn't have time to explain; he laid Relena down on the bed and Sally immediately rolled up one of her sleeves and poked a monitor in her. Duo noticed the heart monitor was reading blank and Sally was rubbing together two chargers. She pressed them against Relena's chest and hit a button, they sent an electrical current through her body, causing it to jump. The line remained the same, "Still no pulse." Sally mumbled, rubbing them again and repeating the process over.
Heero turned away, not bearing to watch such a delicate creature like Relena being thumped around like a rag doll. Duo saw the pained look in his friend's eyes and sent him an unknowing sympathetic look. The boy who had entered with them looked simply mortified by the process and he too, looked away.
It seemed like hours, which was only minutes, before the monitor began beeping steadily. Heero turned around to see that Relena's chest was rising and falling on her own but just barely. Sally sighed in relief as she put the two machines away. She turned back to Relena and drew a blanket over her legs to keep the girl warm. Finally, she spoke, "Now that she's stabilized, could you please share with us what happened."
Duo nodded, "Yeah, I'd like to know too."
Heero took in a shaky breath, "She was testing the ZERO system she created, but I suppose it was too much for her body to handle."
Sally nodded, "Sounds right. Anyway, I'm going to run a few tests on Relena to see if she's ok but I need you, Duo, to leave. Just for tonight though; if you want, you can wait in the waiting room."
The two teens nodded and Heero assisted Duo in leaving the room, "We need to go." Heero told Hayama. Numbly, the boy nodded and left to the waiting room. As he left, Heero spared one last glimpse at Relena.
*~*~*~*~*
Heero gently set Duo down on one of the waiting room sofas and sat down near him in a chair. Hayama sat a fair distance away from them and Duo noticed, "Hey kid, come here." Hayama complied and sat nearer to the two, "Good enough. So, to kill a bit of time, who are you?"
"I'm candidate number 55 for Gundam." He said simply.
"Eh? Got a name?" Duo asked.
"Hayama, sir, Yuska Hayama." He introduced.
"Well Hayama, I'm Duo Maxwell, pilot of Deathsyche, but you probably knew that. So what are you doing here, shouldn't you be in your quarters?" Hayama explained his situation of how he discovered what was going on and what happened, "Well, you certainly got into a little heap of trouble." Duo winked at the boy, "Don't worry, I always did."
Hayama smiled, happy to know that Duo was a friendly person. He looked over at Heero who had his arms crossed and his head bowed, giving him the appearance of a sleeper, but he was actually contemplating the situation. About ten minutes later, they heard footsteps and all looked up to see a small group of people which included Quatre, Trowa, Wufei, Lady Une and Hilde. Hilde quickly ran over to Duo, "How are you feeling Duo?" She asked, then, "Is Relena alright?"
"We received a call from Sally telling us to come down here since Relena was hurt." Quatre added.
They all sat down as Duo filled in the story for Heero and Hayama. When he was done, Lady Une spoke up, "I called Milliardo and Noin, they are on their way and should be here shortly."
Wufei noticed Hayama sitting in the corner, "Hayama, what are you doing here?" He asked, or more like demanded.
"I let him come." Heero spoke up. Everyone turned to him and let the boy stay, knowing an order from Heero goes.
There was an uncomfortable silence between them all as they stared at the door leading into the Med. Lab. After a half an hour of silence and nervous tension, the group heard a set of loud, thundering footsteps and a gentler pair but equally as fast-paced. Then, from around the corner appeared none other than Milliardo Peacecraft and his fiancee, Lucretzia Noin, "Where is she!?" He bellowed.
Lady Une whipped herself up and faced him, "Now, now, calm down."
Milliardo glared down at her, "How can I calm down when my baby sister is hurt?!?"
"Mr. Milliardo, please. Sally is doing all she can, but at the moment Relena is ok." Hilde stated calmly.
He gazed at the Noin look-a-like and nodded his head before plopping down on a hard chair. Noin sat next to him, placing her hands over his, "We left as soon as we heard." She explained.
"Let's hope things are going well in there." Quatre piped up, attempting to be cheerful, but failed miserably.
A few of them glanced up at the clock above the door and discovered it was only 7:30 PM. Suddenly, the door opened and Sally stepped out. Before anyone could jump up to ask questions, she held up her hand, "I'm sorry that you were all called down here at this time, but I have good news and bad news about Relena's condition."
"Go on." Trowa urged.
Sally sighed, "The bad news is that she's in a coma." Everyone's face fell or twisted into sorrow, "The good news is that I've limited the time to how long she'll be in the coma." They all stared at her expectantly, "She should wake up at exactly midnight tonight," A few sighs of relief were about to be released when she added. "The bad news to that is if she doesn't wake up then, she could be in the coma for years, maybe the rest of her life."
The whole group looked at each other with the same look of worry etched into their face, all nodding before Milliardo spoke, "Then it's settled, we wait until midnight, together." Hayama blinked, 'I missed something here.' The whole sequence of a silent agreement went unnoticed by him, but he had a feeling that these people would go through thick and thin together.
And so, they sat through the long night, tired and nervous. Everyone continually drifted in and out of sleep, except Heero and Milliardo. When he was allowed, Heero was in Relena's room, at her side, in an instant. Milliardo had taken turns being in the room and outside, watching the others. Long ago, he had accepted the fact that Heero would die for his little sister just like him.
It was around 10:00 when Quatre volunteered to get coffee for them all, "I'm going to go get some coffee, hopefully it'll keep us awake."
Hayama had stood up, "I'll go with you." He offered.
"That would be great." Quatre smiled tiredly.
Milliardo looked at the boy intently, "Who are you?" He demanded, not realizing him earlier.
Hayama saluted, "Candidate number 55 for Gundam, sir."
Noin, who had awoken, seemed as if something clicked, "You're the one who Relena…" She trailed off.
He smiled, "Yes Ma'am."
The others looked at the boy curiously, "What, what did Relena say about him?" Milliardo asked.
"Come on, Hayama, let's go get those drinks." Quatre chuckled. Hayama quickly followed, leaving the group looking to Noin for answers which she wouldn't tell. Quatre, for one, was happy that the mood was lightening despite the situation. They made their way to the cafeteria and along the way, Quatre spoke up, "So what happened?"
"Excuse me, sir?" Hayama asked.
"What was Noin talking about back there?" Hayama relayed the story which he had told before to Quatre and in the end, he was laughing heartily, "I would not have wanted to be you in that situation. Lord knows what Heero might have done to one of us."
"Sir permission to speak freely?" He asked curiously.
"You can speak freely around me any time, go on." Quatre encouraged.
"What's going on between the Commodore and Miss Relena?" He blurted in the most simplest way he could.
Quatre sighed, "It's kind of a hard question to answer. See, even we don't know what's going on for sure. Back during the war, Heero would continuously save Miss Relena but always threatened to kill her. The thing about it was he could never actually kill her. Now he's always around her when he's got the chance and this shows that he cares but to what extent, we're clueless."
The whole time, Hayama had listened intently, trying to solve the puzzle. By now, they had reached the cafeteria and were filling up nine cups of coffee, "So you're saying the Commodore likes Miss Relena and vice versa?" Hayama asked.
"Putting it simply? Yes." Quatre replied. They started back for the Med. Lab but along the way were asked the condition of Relena constantly.
"Wow, word travels fast around here, doesn't it?" Hayama wondered aloud.
Quatre nodded, "Yeah. Miss Relena is a wonderful person and a plays a bigger part than most people realize. Before she stepped down from her position as queen, she created and funded this base. Supplying all the parts needed to recreate the Gundam and sponsor the program which you're participating in. Everyone really likes her and all the people we've passed will no doubt be up until they know the final word of Relena's condition."
They continued on their way through the base in silence when Hayama heard a noise, "Pssst, Hayama." It whispered. He looked around and in the shadows were Kenichi, Asko and Gares.
"What are you doing here?" Hayama asked, dumbfounded. Quatre stopped and turned around.
"Not so loud." Gares hissed, but when he saw Quatre staring directly at them, he sighed and walked out, "You got us caught." He whined.
Hayama raised an eyebrow, "Why are you out here, shouldn't you be sleeping?"
"Well when you never came back, we went looking for you. Trying to hide from the soldiers as well." Gares explained.
Kenichi looked at Quatre, "Sir, what's going on? Everyone's up so late and seemingly worried."
"Why don't you come with us, seeing you won't sleep until your friend is back." He suggested and the boys agreed. Along the way, Hayama filled them in about Relena's state.
When they returned, Quatre handed out the coffee to the grateful people, "Thanks Quatre, now what are the candidates doing here?" Lady Une asked accusingly.
He laughed nervously, "They felt the urge to find their friend who hadn't returned."
Noin smiled at them, "It's ok, they can stay. I suppose they'll be able to keep Hayama company."
Hayama stared at her, "How did you know my name, ma'am?" He asked.
"Candidate number 55, Yuska Hayama." She stated like a computer.
All of the adults stared at the boys and Asko tugged at his collar nervously, "This is worse than being caught by the Commodore and Miss Relena." He stated to Kenichi who stood next to him.
Immediately, they all leapt at the kids, excluding Noin and Quatre, "What happened?! What is the big secret!" Milliardo demanded.
"Well we were searching…" Gares began the tale. Quatre chuckled to himself and walked into the Med. Lab with a cup of coffee. As the door swished shut, he faintly heard Milliardo on the others side, "WHAT?!?!?!??!?"
Inside, Heero was sitting in a chair beside Relena's bed, holding her hand affectionately. He was staring down at her sleeping face with a gentle look in his eyes. Quatre hated to pull him away from the moment but he did anyway, "Here, I brought you some coffee." He said softly as he set it down on the table next to Heero.
"Thanks," Heero mumbled. Quatre nodded in return and was about to exit when Heero spoke again, "What do I do, Quatre?" This shocked the sandy haired pilot. His friend was speaking with a desperate passion and worry.
"What do you mean?" Quatre asked and walked back to Heero.
"What do I do if she never wakes up. I never told her…how I felt." He choked back all and any signs of tears.
Quatre laid a hand on Heero's shoulder, "Don't start thinking like that yet. She won't leave because she has too much to care for." With that, Quatre exited the room to leave Heero alone with his thoughts.
The stoic pilot resumed looking down at Relena's face, 'Please let Quatre be right.'
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If you're confused about Milliardo and Noin's arrival, I can explain. They were on earth completing some diplomatic stuff and when Lady Une called, they left for the space station. Explain much? If not, e-mail me or somethin'.
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Duo Maxwell was sleeping noisily in his bed in the empty medical room when the lights were suddenly turned on. Duo yelped from the intense light, awake, and trying to shield his eyes, "AHH!!! I'm blind, I'm blind! I can't see."
When he discovered no one was laughing, he peeked through one of his eyes and saw Major Sally Po setting up a bunch of equipment by the bed next to his in a rush, "Sally, what's going on?" He asked, sitting upright in his bed.
Suddenly, Heero flew through the doors at an immense sped carrying Relena in his arms, momentarily followed by a young boy of ten, "Relena! Heero what happened to her?!" Duo exclaimed.
Heero didn't have time to explain; he laid Relena down on the bed and Sally immediately rolled up one of her sleeves and poked a monitor in her. Duo noticed the heart monitor was reading blank and Sally was rubbing together two chargers. She pressed them against Relena's chest and hit a button, they sent an electrical current through her body, causing it to jump. The line remained the same, "Still no pulse." Sally mumbled, rubbing them again and repeating the process over.
Heero turned away, not bearing to watch such a delicate creature like Relena being thumped around like a rag doll. Duo saw the pained look in his friend's eyes and sent him an unknowing sympathetic look. The boy who had entered with them looked simply mortified by the process and he too, looked away.
It seemed like hours, which was only minutes, before the monitor began beeping steadily. Heero turned around to see that Relena's chest was rising and falling on her own but just barely. Sally sighed in relief as she put the two machines away. She turned back to Relena and drew a blanket over her legs to keep the girl warm. Finally, she spoke, "Now that she's stabilized, could you please share with us what happened."
Duo nodded, "Yeah, I'd like to know too."
Heero took in a shaky breath, "She was testing the ZERO system she created, but I suppose it was too much for her body to handle."
Sally nodded, "Sounds right. Anyway, I'm going to run a few tests on Relena to see if she's ok but I need you, Duo, to leave. Just for tonight though; if you want, you can wait in the waiting room."
The two teens nodded and Heero assisted Duo in leaving the room, "We need to go." Heero told Hayama. Numbly, the boy nodded and left to the waiting room. As he left, Heero spared one last glimpse at Relena.
*~*~*~*~*
Heero gently set Duo down on one of the waiting room sofas and sat down near him in a chair. Hayama sat a fair distance away from them and Duo noticed, "Hey kid, come here." Hayama complied and sat nearer to the two, "Good enough. So, to kill a bit of time, who are you?"
"I'm candidate number 55 for Gundam." He said simply.
"Eh? Got a name?" Duo asked.
"Hayama, sir, Yuska Hayama." He introduced.
"Well Hayama, I'm Duo Maxwell, pilot of Deathsyche, but you probably knew that. So what are you doing here, shouldn't you be in your quarters?" Hayama explained his situation of how he discovered what was going on and what happened, "Well, you certainly got into a little heap of trouble." Duo winked at the boy, "Don't worry, I always did."
Hayama smiled, happy to know that Duo was a friendly person. He looked over at Heero who had his arms crossed and his head bowed, giving him the appearance of a sleeper, but he was actually contemplating the situation. About ten minutes later, they heard footsteps and all looked up to see a small group of people which included Quatre, Trowa, Wufei, Lady Une and Hilde. Hilde quickly ran over to Duo, "How are you feeling Duo?" She asked, then, "Is Relena alright?"
"We received a call from Sally telling us to come down here since Relena was hurt." Quatre added.
They all sat down as Duo filled in the story for Heero and Hayama. When he was done, Lady Une spoke up, "I called Milliardo and Noin, they are on their way and should be here shortly."
Wufei noticed Hayama sitting in the corner, "Hayama, what are you doing here?" He asked, or more like demanded.
"I let him come." Heero spoke up. Everyone turned to him and let the boy stay, knowing an order from Heero goes.
There was an uncomfortable silence between them all as they stared at the door leading into the Med. Lab. After a half an hour of silence and nervous tension, the group heard a set of loud, thundering footsteps and a gentler pair but equally as fast-paced. Then, from around the corner appeared none other than Milliardo Peacecraft and his fiancee, Lucretzia Noin, "Where is she!?" He bellowed.
Lady Une whipped herself up and faced him, "Now, now, calm down."
Milliardo glared down at her, "How can I calm down when my baby sister is hurt?!?"
"Mr. Milliardo, please. Sally is doing all she can, but at the moment Relena is ok." Hilde stated calmly.
He gazed at the Noin look-a-like and nodded his head before plopping down on a hard chair. Noin sat next to him, placing her hands over his, "We left as soon as we heard." She explained.
"Let's hope things are going well in there." Quatre piped up, attempting to be cheerful, but failed miserably.
A few of them glanced up at the clock above the door and discovered it was only 7:30 PM. Suddenly, the door opened and Sally stepped out. Before anyone could jump up to ask questions, she held up her hand, "I'm sorry that you were all called down here at this time, but I have good news and bad news about Relena's condition."
"Go on." Trowa urged.
Sally sighed, "The bad news is that she's in a coma." Everyone's face fell or twisted into sorrow, "The good news is that I've limited the time to how long she'll be in the coma." They all stared at her expectantly, "She should wake up at exactly midnight tonight," A few sighs of relief were about to be released when she added. "The bad news to that is if she doesn't wake up then, she could be in the coma for years, maybe the rest of her life."
The whole group looked at each other with the same look of worry etched into their face, all nodding before Milliardo spoke, "Then it's settled, we wait until midnight, together." Hayama blinked, 'I missed something here.' The whole sequence of a silent agreement went unnoticed by him, but he had a feeling that these people would go through thick and thin together.
And so, they sat through the long night, tired and nervous. Everyone continually drifted in and out of sleep, except Heero and Milliardo. When he was allowed, Heero was in Relena's room, at her side, in an instant. Milliardo had taken turns being in the room and outside, watching the others. Long ago, he had accepted the fact that Heero would die for his little sister just like him.
It was around 10:00 when Quatre volunteered to get coffee for them all, "I'm going to go get some coffee, hopefully it'll keep us awake."
Hayama had stood up, "I'll go with you." He offered.
"That would be great." Quatre smiled tiredly.
Milliardo looked at the boy intently, "Who are you?" He demanded, not realizing him earlier.
Hayama saluted, "Candidate number 55 for Gundam, sir."
Noin, who had awoken, seemed as if something clicked, "You're the one who Relena…" She trailed off.
He smiled, "Yes Ma'am."
The others looked at the boy curiously, "What, what did Relena say about him?" Milliardo asked.
"Come on, Hayama, let's go get those drinks." Quatre chuckled. Hayama quickly followed, leaving the group looking to Noin for answers which she wouldn't tell. Quatre, for one, was happy that the mood was lightening despite the situation. They made their way to the cafeteria and along the way, Quatre spoke up, "So what happened?"
"Excuse me, sir?" Hayama asked.
"What was Noin talking about back there?" Hayama relayed the story which he had told before to Quatre and in the end, he was laughing heartily, "I would not have wanted to be you in that situation. Lord knows what Heero might have done to one of us."
"Sir permission to speak freely?" He asked curiously.
"You can speak freely around me any time, go on." Quatre encouraged.
"What's going on between the Commodore and Miss Relena?" He blurted in the most simplest way he could.
Quatre sighed, "It's kind of a hard question to answer. See, even we don't know what's going on for sure. Back during the war, Heero would continuously save Miss Relena but always threatened to kill her. The thing about it was he could never actually kill her. Now he's always around her when he's got the chance and this shows that he cares but to what extent, we're clueless."
The whole time, Hayama had listened intently, trying to solve the puzzle. By now, they had reached the cafeteria and were filling up nine cups of coffee, "So you're saying the Commodore likes Miss Relena and vice versa?" Hayama asked.
"Putting it simply? Yes." Quatre replied. They started back for the Med. Lab but along the way were asked the condition of Relena constantly.
"Wow, word travels fast around here, doesn't it?" Hayama wondered aloud.
Quatre nodded, "Yeah. Miss Relena is a wonderful person and a plays a bigger part than most people realize. Before she stepped down from her position as queen, she created and funded this base. Supplying all the parts needed to recreate the Gundam and sponsor the program which you're participating in. Everyone really likes her and all the people we've passed will no doubt be up until they know the final word of Relena's condition."
They continued on their way through the base in silence when Hayama heard a noise, "Pssst, Hayama." It whispered. He looked around and in the shadows were Kenichi, Asko and Gares.
"What are you doing here?" Hayama asked, dumbfounded. Quatre stopped and turned around.
"Not so loud." Gares hissed, but when he saw Quatre staring directly at them, he sighed and walked out, "You got us caught." He whined.
Hayama raised an eyebrow, "Why are you out here, shouldn't you be sleeping?"
"Well when you never came back, we went looking for you. Trying to hide from the soldiers as well." Gares explained.
Kenichi looked at Quatre, "Sir, what's going on? Everyone's up so late and seemingly worried."
"Why don't you come with us, seeing you won't sleep until your friend is back." He suggested and the boys agreed. Along the way, Hayama filled them in about Relena's state.
When they returned, Quatre handed out the coffee to the grateful people, "Thanks Quatre, now what are the candidates doing here?" Lady Une asked accusingly.
He laughed nervously, "They felt the urge to find their friend who hadn't returned."
Noin smiled at them, "It's ok, they can stay. I suppose they'll be able to keep Hayama company."
Hayama stared at her, "How did you know my name, ma'am?" He asked.
"Candidate number 55, Yuska Hayama." She stated like a computer.
All of the adults stared at the boys and Asko tugged at his collar nervously, "This is worse than being caught by the Commodore and Miss Relena." He stated to Kenichi who stood next to him.
Immediately, they all leapt at the kids, excluding Noin and Quatre, "What happened?! What is the big secret!" Milliardo demanded.
"Well we were searching…" Gares began the tale. Quatre chuckled to himself and walked into the Med. Lab with a cup of coffee. As the door swished shut, he faintly heard Milliardo on the others side, "WHAT?!?!?!??!?"
Inside, Heero was sitting in a chair beside Relena's bed, holding her hand affectionately. He was staring down at her sleeping face with a gentle look in his eyes. Quatre hated to pull him away from the moment but he did anyway, "Here, I brought you some coffee." He said softly as he set it down on the table next to Heero.
"Thanks," Heero mumbled. Quatre nodded in return and was about to exit when Heero spoke again, "What do I do, Quatre?" This shocked the sandy haired pilot. His friend was speaking with a desperate passion and worry.
"What do you mean?" Quatre asked and walked back to Heero.
"What do I do if she never wakes up. I never told her…how I felt." He choked back all and any signs of tears.
Quatre laid a hand on Heero's shoulder, "Don't start thinking like that yet. She won't leave because she has too much to care for." With that, Quatre exited the room to leave Heero alone with his thoughts.
The stoic pilot resumed looking down at Relena's face, 'Please let Quatre be right.'
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If you're confused about Milliardo and Noin's arrival, I can explain. They were on earth completing some diplomatic stuff and when Lady Une called, they left for the space station. Explain much? If not, e-mail me or somethin'.