Only Time

By: Zarabeth McGregor

Chapter: 19

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.

                  Okay, I'm typing this chapter here in a hurry and from memory, because I can't find my little black and white composition notebook…*glares suspicious at…well, the person knows who they are*

Yah! Monday was 'Mud Day' at school, in other words we can wear whatever we want, so my friends and I (except Demon Angel Fyre; she playing she's sane) dressed up as schoolgirls! You know, Avril Lavigne style: the plaid skirt, tie, knee-high socks and pigtails…although I must agree with my mom now when she asks why I would want to dress in a uniform when I already wear one everyday. Got some compliments from some peeps in the street, though…so I feel good…

I also noticed something…for most of my upcoming fics, I have Duo as one of the two main characters…that's not right, yo…Heero's supposed to be the main character…what does this mean?

Q and A or C:

Oldestof3: Ah…her life is just so complicated, no? Sigh…hmm…well, if you say it's the first one, well…*shrugs*

Crystal Dragon: Oh, sorry, no exceptions…though it's quite tempting…

Autumn Ice: Really? I think it was my shortest chapter for a while…I think…

Ladymiaka11: *bows* Why, thank you!

Valysis: I haven't forgotten you! Don't worry; expect another review from me soon! Sorry! It's going to take another interesting twist this chapter…thank you for the…vote of praise. It helps to boost the ego, though my cuz swears it doesn't need anymore boosting…As for the other guys, nah, they're going to appear in the other stories.

Mercury Ice Storm: I have you stumped! Yah! *Jumps around the room*. Yeah, anyway, have you updated yet? Still voting on couples you say…that makes me feel much better!

Kaiya: Yes, you! I have a 'busing ('an abusing'…does that make sense?) to give you! You posted up…*goes to check* TWO new fics, one of them being Sailor Moon/Gundam Wing, and you didn't tell me?! I happened to find out when I went to check your quote for this month! You're rude!

*Chuckles* yeah, I'll read them, don't worry…just wanted to…discuss it with you first…yeah*Laughs*

Solus Nox: Yeah, I gots to see my baby! *Squeezes imaginary Eminem plushie; clear throat* yeah, anyway, I love the song…uh… 'Lose Yourself in the Music', I think it is…I love to hear Eminem talk, sing, rap…I don't care, as long as there is something coming out of his mouth, I'm in heaven…*sighs contently*

Silver-Star: Aw shucks… oh, well, I'll behave myself…I never hit on another girl's man…no matter how cute he is *winks; blows kiss* Hello, Li, what's up? And don't worry, I haven't forgotten y'all. Can't believe you finished the fic so soon, but anyway…

WikeD tEnShI: *laughs* Glad to see someone's enjoying themselves!

Minimerc: Yes, he does…he really does…I mean, his tone of voice is so…monotonous and flat and Heero's gifted enough to make it sound terrifying…

Kate: Aye, confused is right…in fact, I think she's about ready to kill me now…

Callisto Star: Oh, how will she react? You know, it could go either way…*shrugs*

Kid: Oh, glad to here that! Question: did you receive an email from me? I'm not sure if I got the addy right…I've never been good with numbers…

Wicked Lady: *meekly* Uh…but I don't like Heero/Serena that much…*chuckles* evil and twisted, you say…hurting your head…is this encouragement to continue?

Megami*Silence: *grins shyly* HI HONEY!!!! *glomps Megami* Of course I missed you, though I had History and POB to keep me company…did I mention that 'Complicated' and 'Dilemma' happen to be two of my favorite songs? Cheese, you say…

Myst Lady ML-chan: Okay, here's another suggestion…you can go check out her Zodiac sign (Scorpio) at this site: http://Astrology.com. It's really reliable, so…*shrugs*

Arella Hallo: *sheepish grin* uh…it showed us that Relena wasn't completely left in the lurch? I mean those who care about Relena (There are people who care about Relena, right?) are certainly relieved. *grins again*

Jessica: *giggles* Ah…well, it's gets more complicated…I think…

Princess Mercury: It's quite interesting, ain't it?

Meio-chan: *sighs* Yeah, yeah, you knew…*sniffs; pouts* Yeah, I'm tossing ideas for the Setsuna story around my head…Gundam Wing/Sailor Moon or Sailor Moon/DBZ…

~*~

                  No, I didn't suddenly figure out the answers to all my questions within the next few hours. I didn't have some clairvoyant vision while I was asleep, nor did an angel come down and point out the 'obvious'. And I definitely didn't get a cell phone call from Duo explaining everything what Heero told him.

                  However, I did realize the deep, forgive my language, shit I was in. See, Heero's Duo's best friend. Duo is my boyfriend. Heero is my not-secret-anymore admirer. How is Duo going to take it when he realizes that his best friend is trying to make a move on his girl? Okay, I'm new to this relationship thing, but I sure as hell know he wouldn't exactly laugh over it with Heero.

For God's Sake, why? You see, I knew it was too good to be true when I hooked up with Duo so easily. There just had to be some…sort of stress behind of it. His best friend of all people! The other scouts never had this to contend with! And it's not even to say I could go to them and get their advice. No, I was on my own. Dealing with my first relationship, which is more complicated than most. Why the hell did I agree to go along with this? I could've stayed in Tokyo…no scrap that…my own dimension, study to become a doctor like a good little girl, and forget that guys existed. But nooooooooo, I just had to go play Wild Child and agree to…ARGH!!!

Okay Ami…breathe…that's right…breathe. Okay, I'll calmly and rationally

continue now.

We landed on the colony a few hours after Relena made her little revelation. It was just the beginning of the evening when we arrived. I guess the muted light brought out the beauty of the colony. It had a raw, surreal quality, like a tropical island, untouched by industrialization. Trees upon trees covered the area around the spaceport so thickly; I found it hard to believe that there were towns and cities beyond it. We were escorted to an almost antique car that I guess was worth alot of money back in its day. The chauffeur opened the back door of the car and led us in. The interior was well preserved but by no means new.

The drive to the palace took about twenty minutes, plenty of time to survey the colony on our way there. The first thing I noted was the buildings. There were many, many buildings; large and small, several stories tall, some fewer than three stories, elaborately designed and simply built. But they all had one thing in common: they were all in various states of disrepair and most of them seemed to be abandoned. I frowned at this. It was quite peculiar, all of these buildings, which seemed to be fairly new, were so neglected.

By the time we arrived at our destination, the only light visible came from electric lamps and streetlights. We drove up the long driveway to the grand palace. Well, it wasn't so grand, because it desperately needed some repair. Paint was chipping, windows were broken or else boarded up and the grounds were overrun with weeds and floral trees allowed to grow wild. The car came to an abrupt stop in front of the palace's grand staircase. The chauffeur opened our door and helped the both of us out. A footman who had positioned himself at the door escorted us up the stairs.

It was beautiful in a surreal way. Torches lit the whole way along the stairs, casting large, distorted shadows over us. At the top of the stairs stood a man I hadn't noticed before. His posture was regal and defined, his tall body erect and somewhat stiff. As we approached him, he came into much clearer view.

He looked young, about somewhere in his mid thirties. His skin was dark, showing his Hispanic roots clearly. He had a handsome, angular face with bright green eyes and wavy black hair. He looked even more impressive when I realized he was dressed in some sort of dress military attire. He smiled graciously at us.

"Good evening, ladies," he said, and bowed deeply. Relena gave a simple curtsey and I felt obliged to follow suit.

"Good evening, President Muńez," she greeted with a smile. Once again, I followed suit. He gave another dazzling smile.

"It's a pleasure to have you beautiful young ladies with us this evening. Thank you kindly, Ms Vice Foreign Minister, for agreeing to come at my request. I know I inconvenienced you greatly, what with your busy schedule," he continued politely, his accent making his speech all the more hypnotic. Relena waved a careless hand.

"Forget about it; it's my duty," she replied. We were walking into the main entrance of the palace.  Inside wasn't much different from the outside, as it was sparsely furnished and just as desolate.

During our walk through the palace, we made small talk, chatting about insignificant details and happenings around the world. President Munez and Relena seemed to have something in common, as they were avid fans of World Cup Football. They did dispute over which team was better: Brazil or Germany. I hung in the back, as I detested all sports.

This gave me a chance to look around. The first thing I noticed was that there were several guards around the palace. They were either standing at what I assumed to be their posts or passed us as we walk down the halls. I found this strange, because there seemed to be an over abundance of them. I questioned the president about this.

"Ah, but of course," he said charmingly, flashing another smile. "With dignitaries such as yourselves here, we need to be at the height of our security." I frowned at this.

"Then why so many guards?" I asked again. "They're so many; too many, if you want to know the truth." I got a distinctly bad feeling about this. I could understand his concern, but the way he stationed his guards it looked like they were ready for an ambush. Relena met my eyes with an unreadable look. President Munez's dark eyes leveled on me.

"I wouldn't want to have you blood on my hands, now would I?" he replied calmly, silkily. Something about that statement, whether it was his tone of voice or the words, I can't tell, but it set me on edge. I could feel the hair on the back of my neck raise slowly. I maintained my gaze on his eyes and he maintained his on mine.

There was definitely something that unnerved me about this man.

"Uh, President Munez, don't you think that Brazil's performance in the last World Cup was spectacular, though they didn't win?" Relena asked lightly, drawing us out of our intense staring contest. Immediately, his entire countenance brightened; he was back to the perfect gentleman. He turned to Relena graciously.

"The bare fact that they didn't win tells you something, Ms Peacecraft-Darlian," he said teasingly and Relena laughed in response.

"The bare fact Germany didn't even place tells you something, President Munez," Relena said with a playful raise of her brows. We started to walk again, but I still felt quite uncomfortable. And it wasn't paranoia.

~*~

Much later that night, after we had dined with the President and his Council, we were shown to our rooms. They were in a separate wing, facing each other. Our rooms were tastefully designed in what I assumed to be Caribbean interior decorations. Presently Relena and I were in my room. I sat on the bed in my oversized nightshirt, brushing out my hair. Relena sat on the large wicker chair facing me. Her hair was already brushed out and it shone in the light of the tropical Tiffany lamp next to her. She was dressed in a sort of creamy camisole dress that barely covered her knees. I noticed she was eyeing me with that same expression that came across her face earlier that evening. I immediately felt guilty. I sighed and put the brush down on the bedside table.

"I sorry for my outburst this evening. I really don't know what…" I started, but Relena put up a hand to stop me.

"It is strange, if they were concerned about our safety, we would've had guards riding with us. Not to mention a police escort," she said in a dreamy way. She pulled up her knees to her chin. "It's strange."

"And all those buildings. It's eerie because they can't be more than ten years old," I added.

"Well, long before the Eve Wars, about…" she shrugged. "Twelve years ago, there was something of a coup d'etat here, where President Munez's father took over." I frowned.

"But why didn't he restore them?" I asked. Relena shrugged again.

"I don't know, but I did some more research and it has been suggested that he didn't care for such. However, this information came from the Alliance, and we both know that I don't trust them," Relena said with a sigh.

"Hmm," I mused. "Maybe they couldn't get the financing." Relena nodded.

"Exactly. I never mentioned it before, but the Alliance cut all ties with the colony after that coup. That's another reason why the Alliance refused the grant the colony permission for this hotel project," Relena got up and went to the opened window. The curtains billowed around her as a warm, gentle breeze blew in. "Another reason I came here was to gather substantial information and evidence so the Alliance would no longer have a reason to deny the people of this colony. The last thing they'd want to do is to admit that they're putting the lives of colonial citizens at risk just because of some juvenile hatred." 

"Uh, Relena," I chuckled uncertainly before I continued. "Wouldn't this be a waste of time? I mean, the Alliance members seem unprepared to, no dis intended, listen to a naïve teenager?" I said, paraphrasing what she said they told her. At this Relena laughed lustily. She shook her head, her highlights dancing in her hair as it blew in the wind.

"Call me stubborn," she said with a shrug. "Call me determined." She shrugged again and went from the window. She stopped in front of me, a slight smile playing on her face. I recall thinking how beautiful she looked.

"When we go out tomorrow on our tour, take all the notes you can. Whether you think them insignificant, it doesn't matter," she advised my softly. Then in a spontaneous bout of activity, she stretched her arms above her head and yawned long and leisurely.

"Well, I'm tired," she said, suppressing another. She sauntered over to the door. "Good night, Ames," she said and yawned. I fought to suppress my own yawn.

"Night, Relena," I replied. She nodded slightly at me, and then went out, closing the door quietly behind her.

However, long after Relena left, I still hadn't fallen asleep. I still couldn't shake the feeling of dread that haunted me. I so didn't trust President Munez. I stayed up for a long time, thinking about this. There was something about his charming nature. Was it false? No, that wasn't it. It was more unsettling than insincere.

It was his last words to me that sent chills down my spine. Our blood on his hands. Why did he use those particular choice of words? Couldn't he have said something more…normal? Then Relena's words. It's true; they would've had guards with us on our way here if they wanted to protect us so desperately. So why did they have an whole battalion, it looked like, in this one palace? Did they expect an attack from some powerful force? If they did, who was it and why?

I ran so many theories through my head that it finally made me sleepy. I found myself drifting off into a dreamlike state. My eyes were half closed, and my body was calling for me to give into the sleep. But I realized something: I didn't want to fall asleep. Was it because I didn't feel safe?

However, before I could over think that question, something else shook what drossiness there was in me. Shook it out swiftly and violently.

A scream. A piercing, bloodcurdling, spine-chilling scream. I sat up immediately on my bed, cold sweat that sprung out of nowhere rolling down my body in torrents.

And then, if I thought my body was at the peak of expressing my fear, I was mistaken. My blood ran cold as the scream died as abruptly as it started. Realization and recognition.

That was Relena.

Oooooooh! Cliffie!