Disclaimer: I do not own GW or anything affiliated with them, I do however,
own the plot.
~"~June 8, 195 AC~
~I remembered this time, before, I was too tired from talking to my brothers that I didn't have the energy to write anymore for a while. I've been sleeping most of the time. It was my brothers that called, I'm glad they're all right but Trowa hurt his arm. He says it is just bruised up and hurts a little, but he'll be okay and I believe him.
My fever is finally gone and Cathy says that I can use the quilt again, I was so cold. She let me use hers too and now I'm warm but my stomach still hurts a little bit. That's okay, Cathy lets me watch TV when I'm awake and sleep the rest of the time, I eat a little bit and drink a little bit, but not too much because when my stomach starts to feel sick, I stop so I don't throw up.
My brothers sent me more letters, they said that they hoped I was getting better and that I was getting my rest. They had to move again, but they weren't going to be too close by. They were going to space, they'd stay at Quatre's home for a while. Everyone would be safe and they could call almost all the time. They said that they were getting tired of fighting, most of the time, that's all they did and they got even more tired. They don't get a lot of sleep and when they try, it gets hard to. I feel sorry for them, cause I'm sleeping all the time and I don't have to fight. But they say they're glad for me and they're trying to stop the fighting really soon. I hope so. I said that when I got better, I would practice with Zita a whole lot and we'd make a show, then they had to come back and see it for the first time. They all said they would and now we just have to make one up. That's okay, Zita says she has an idea though."~
Heero laid his journal on his chest, stunned as to why Cathy had just burst through the door of her trailer and she was worried. Faith only jumped up from her bed on the floor and started barking madly. "What's wrong Sis?"
Cathy listened to his concerned question but turned the television on without reply, her heart racing. Scanning the few local channels she had, she found the news. It was the battle, only about a hundred miles or so from where they were. Her brother and his friends had triggered a battle that they weren't ready for, Trowa said that it was only supposed to be a small mission! It was a full scale battle with both the Alliance and OZ, the two seemingly teamed up to capture the four most-wanted pilots. There must be hundreds upon hundreds of soldiers surrounding them! "Oh no..."
Heero watched the television, he hated battle and fighting or even watching it, but he recognized those mobile suits anywhere. They were the gundams, his brothers! They weren't fighting really well and Quatre and his gundam seemed to be having a lot of trouble. So many other suits surrounded them, fighting and winning. "No, they're in trouble. That's my brothers. They need help!" Sitting up slowly, he was now deaf to his pain and he was terrified, his voice soft and pleading but with urgency. Feeling his emotions threaten to overflow, he watched the TV with unblinking eyes. He could feel the tears roll down from his eyes, but that didn't matter. If they lost, then they'd be captured like he was or they'd die. If they were captured, they might not get out and what happened to him could happen to them too! If they died, then the war would never end and they'd never come home! Looking away for a moment, he stared back with wide, sorrowful eyes into Cathy's. "I don't want them to leave me... they said they'd come back. They're going to hurt them Sis, they're going to hurt them like they hurt me..." Leaning into her embrace, he closed his eyes tightly, blocking out the visions of battle and the sounds, hoping that it was all just a nightmare. Opening his eyes again, he watched Duo and his gundam fall to the ground, but struggle to get up again. He knew that it wasn't a nightmare, it might be called a nightmare, but it was still reality. "Please don't let them die Cathy, I don't want them too. I don't want them to hurt like I did either." Groaning and whimpering softly, he felt the wave upon fresh wave of pain course over his body, he felt everything over again, the pain, the greedy hands, the weight on top of him and the other man inside of him. No! It wasn't supposed to happen like this! None of it was! He wasn't supposed to remember that or have to go through it again! Ever! No one else should either! Clutching at his sister's shirt, he tried but couldn't ignore or push past the pain.
Cathy closed her eyes and forced back her tears, holding Heero as he cried. "They're trying to fight a battle they won't win, not like this. Yet they don't have enough sense to escape for the time." Sighing deeply, Cathy shook her head and rubbed her new little brother's back in a soothing manner, then a thought sparked in her mind. Standing slowly, she looked at him a moment then laid him down. "Stay here a minute, I'll be right back." Running quickly back to her room, she shut the door and threw open the lid to her laptop. Clicking away at the keys in a hasty rush, she linked her computer with the frequency of Trowa's mobile suit. He'd showed her how and practically had her memorize it by heart.
Trying to slow his somewhat erratic breathing, Trowa fought on with every ounce of strength he had. When another joined their frequency, he was about to retort with a sharp tongue at who he thought was OZ or the Alliance telling them to surrender. "Now's *not* the best time to talk Cathy." Blocking another blow, he quickly took down a mobile suit that was keeping Wufei and Nataku a little too preoccupied and continued with the battle. OZ had picked the *best* time to go ahead and start a battle with the Alliance, making it all too convenient for the pilots who made a quick and sloppy escape and alerted both enemies.
Cathy looked on in fear but anger, speaking out hastily. "I'm not an idiot Trowa, you and the others and the entire battle are on the television. You can't expect with both sides after the four of you at one time and with that many soldiers to make it out alive and free. Get the four of you out of there right now! It's a mission gone wrong little brother, you have enough common sense for that."
"An unfinished mission."
"You know that you need to live if you're ever going to finish it or any other mission! If Heero were himself and in battle, the odds would be a little different and you know that, especially since he could probably take out half of the mobile suits with Zero's beam cannon. But you don't have them in battle anymore, either of them, and you have to remember that! Right now, he's scared to death out there of losing the four of you and so am I. Trowa!" Cathy watched the screen flicker, her brother taking a harsh blow. Jumping up and looking back out into the main area and at the television, she saw that he'd been thrown to the ground. Turning back to her room, she caught his soft groans as the screen gave her a slightly hazy picture. "Trowa, get up and get out of there or you'll all die! I know you'd rather battle till the last man standing is gone, but if finishing this mission means so much more to you, then finish it later! You told me you were coming back alive and safe as you did Heero, and you are going to fulfill that whether you like it or not! You and the others! Get out of there, there's no way you can win this battle alone Trowa. Not now, not with this many mobile suits and less room to move, not to mention that you're all holding back because there are innocents around! Get out of there and into space like you'd planned, then rest and give yourselves time to heal before heading straight into battle again."
Trowa heard his sister's words as he struggled to keep conscious and to get Heavyarms to his feet. Taking in a sharp breath, he was sure he'd just broken a few ribs and he could feel blood begin to trickle from an open wound on his forehead, he nodded. Quatre had taken a couple of gunshot wounds to the side as well and was struggling to stay alive, let alone fight. They couldn't survive like this, it'd be their last battle if they tried to keep going. Looking about, he found a gap in the circle that attacked them. "Duo, Quatre, Wufei, retreat back through the break in the line behind us. There aren't a lot of aerial suits left and the rest aren't made for longer aerial flights. We need to get out of here and now, we need to lose them or we'll never make it through this battle alive." Receiving a nod of affirmation from each of them, he fired at the oncoming soldiers as the others turned for escape. "Hurry up, they'll try and close us off. Destroy the suits that get in your way." Turning Heavyarms, it wasn't really an aerial suit either, he kicked off the ground and took off after the others, watching behind him as he dodged the shots that followed them. "Hurry up and be careful, they're trying to lock target so don't fly in a straight path." His orders were forced as he shook his head to dispel the light-headedness, yet it wasn't to much avail. Looking back at the monitor where Cathy waited gratefully, he smiled wearily. "If Heero's still watching, then this should put his mind at ease. Tell him we're sorry for scaring him, OZ tried to start a battle before we were done and we tried to escape, but they found out and sooner than we knew it, we were attacked from all sides. Everything's going to be all right, sorry for worrying you Sis. We're coming home, all of us, alive. I promised before and I swear it now. So don't worry." Taking another deep breath, he winced and kept flying, now out of the range of fire. Cathy gave him one last smile before closing the connection. "We can go ahead and hide in that valley over there, the trees will cover the gundams. Hang on a little while longer Quatre, then we'll take care of everything."
Quatre took in struggling gasps, forcing his gaze to focus. They'd have to hurry, he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep control of himself, let alone remain conscious. "Then.... we'd better... make it quick. I'm just barely... hanging onto consciousness guys..." Bring Sandrock back into its path and up from a small dive, he forced his eyes to remain open.
Heero watched the television, the battle still raging on but now they were just fighting with themselves, the soldiers. They each tried to capture the Gundam Pilots for themselves, but neither could stop their escape. Looking up to find a worn Cathy, he implored her. "Are they going to be okay?"
Cathy sat on the edge of the couch, taking him into her embrace once again and smiling. "Trowa was being a little stubborn, but he finally found a way out and the others and he escaped. They're going to be fine, I just talked to him. That's what I was doing, remember, he programmed my laptop to reach his gundam any time we needed to. He said he was sorry for scaring you, but none of that was supposed to happen. OZ tried to start a battle before they were done with their mission and during all the madness, someone found out they were there and they had no choice but to battle like that. It wasn't planned. They're going to be all right now, there's no need to worry little brother. They're all going to be just fine." Releasing him, she watched a grateful smile cross his lips and the worry start to diminish from his Prussian eyes. "You're still tired Heero, and trying to get well. Go ahead and lay down and go to sleep." Helping to lie him down, she smiled and tucked the blankets around him, watching his eyes look back into hers as he relaxed in the comfort and warmth of the blankets. Delicately, she brushed away his stray tears with her fingers. Brushing his bangs from his eyes, she watched them close as he began to slip exhaustedly into sleep. A few minutes after he'd fallen asleep, the young woman rose and stroked the long since quieted Faith before returning to her room, moving the laptop to her small desk where the still recuperating squirrel now lived and fell back onto her bed. Closing her eyes, she didn't bother to change as she fell tiredly to sleep herself, they didn't have another show, today.
~"~June 8, 195 AC~
~I remembered this time, before, I was too tired from talking to my brothers that I didn't have the energy to write anymore for a while. I've been sleeping most of the time. It was my brothers that called, I'm glad they're all right but Trowa hurt his arm. He says it is just bruised up and hurts a little, but he'll be okay and I believe him.
My fever is finally gone and Cathy says that I can use the quilt again, I was so cold. She let me use hers too and now I'm warm but my stomach still hurts a little bit. That's okay, Cathy lets me watch TV when I'm awake and sleep the rest of the time, I eat a little bit and drink a little bit, but not too much because when my stomach starts to feel sick, I stop so I don't throw up.
My brothers sent me more letters, they said that they hoped I was getting better and that I was getting my rest. They had to move again, but they weren't going to be too close by. They were going to space, they'd stay at Quatre's home for a while. Everyone would be safe and they could call almost all the time. They said that they were getting tired of fighting, most of the time, that's all they did and they got even more tired. They don't get a lot of sleep and when they try, it gets hard to. I feel sorry for them, cause I'm sleeping all the time and I don't have to fight. But they say they're glad for me and they're trying to stop the fighting really soon. I hope so. I said that when I got better, I would practice with Zita a whole lot and we'd make a show, then they had to come back and see it for the first time. They all said they would and now we just have to make one up. That's okay, Zita says she has an idea though."~
Heero laid his journal on his chest, stunned as to why Cathy had just burst through the door of her trailer and she was worried. Faith only jumped up from her bed on the floor and started barking madly. "What's wrong Sis?"
Cathy listened to his concerned question but turned the television on without reply, her heart racing. Scanning the few local channels she had, she found the news. It was the battle, only about a hundred miles or so from where they were. Her brother and his friends had triggered a battle that they weren't ready for, Trowa said that it was only supposed to be a small mission! It was a full scale battle with both the Alliance and OZ, the two seemingly teamed up to capture the four most-wanted pilots. There must be hundreds upon hundreds of soldiers surrounding them! "Oh no..."
Heero watched the television, he hated battle and fighting or even watching it, but he recognized those mobile suits anywhere. They were the gundams, his brothers! They weren't fighting really well and Quatre and his gundam seemed to be having a lot of trouble. So many other suits surrounded them, fighting and winning. "No, they're in trouble. That's my brothers. They need help!" Sitting up slowly, he was now deaf to his pain and he was terrified, his voice soft and pleading but with urgency. Feeling his emotions threaten to overflow, he watched the TV with unblinking eyes. He could feel the tears roll down from his eyes, but that didn't matter. If they lost, then they'd be captured like he was or they'd die. If they were captured, they might not get out and what happened to him could happen to them too! If they died, then the war would never end and they'd never come home! Looking away for a moment, he stared back with wide, sorrowful eyes into Cathy's. "I don't want them to leave me... they said they'd come back. They're going to hurt them Sis, they're going to hurt them like they hurt me..." Leaning into her embrace, he closed his eyes tightly, blocking out the visions of battle and the sounds, hoping that it was all just a nightmare. Opening his eyes again, he watched Duo and his gundam fall to the ground, but struggle to get up again. He knew that it wasn't a nightmare, it might be called a nightmare, but it was still reality. "Please don't let them die Cathy, I don't want them too. I don't want them to hurt like I did either." Groaning and whimpering softly, he felt the wave upon fresh wave of pain course over his body, he felt everything over again, the pain, the greedy hands, the weight on top of him and the other man inside of him. No! It wasn't supposed to happen like this! None of it was! He wasn't supposed to remember that or have to go through it again! Ever! No one else should either! Clutching at his sister's shirt, he tried but couldn't ignore or push past the pain.
Cathy closed her eyes and forced back her tears, holding Heero as he cried. "They're trying to fight a battle they won't win, not like this. Yet they don't have enough sense to escape for the time." Sighing deeply, Cathy shook her head and rubbed her new little brother's back in a soothing manner, then a thought sparked in her mind. Standing slowly, she looked at him a moment then laid him down. "Stay here a minute, I'll be right back." Running quickly back to her room, she shut the door and threw open the lid to her laptop. Clicking away at the keys in a hasty rush, she linked her computer with the frequency of Trowa's mobile suit. He'd showed her how and practically had her memorize it by heart.
Trying to slow his somewhat erratic breathing, Trowa fought on with every ounce of strength he had. When another joined their frequency, he was about to retort with a sharp tongue at who he thought was OZ or the Alliance telling them to surrender. "Now's *not* the best time to talk Cathy." Blocking another blow, he quickly took down a mobile suit that was keeping Wufei and Nataku a little too preoccupied and continued with the battle. OZ had picked the *best* time to go ahead and start a battle with the Alliance, making it all too convenient for the pilots who made a quick and sloppy escape and alerted both enemies.
Cathy looked on in fear but anger, speaking out hastily. "I'm not an idiot Trowa, you and the others and the entire battle are on the television. You can't expect with both sides after the four of you at one time and with that many soldiers to make it out alive and free. Get the four of you out of there right now! It's a mission gone wrong little brother, you have enough common sense for that."
"An unfinished mission."
"You know that you need to live if you're ever going to finish it or any other mission! If Heero were himself and in battle, the odds would be a little different and you know that, especially since he could probably take out half of the mobile suits with Zero's beam cannon. But you don't have them in battle anymore, either of them, and you have to remember that! Right now, he's scared to death out there of losing the four of you and so am I. Trowa!" Cathy watched the screen flicker, her brother taking a harsh blow. Jumping up and looking back out into the main area and at the television, she saw that he'd been thrown to the ground. Turning back to her room, she caught his soft groans as the screen gave her a slightly hazy picture. "Trowa, get up and get out of there or you'll all die! I know you'd rather battle till the last man standing is gone, but if finishing this mission means so much more to you, then finish it later! You told me you were coming back alive and safe as you did Heero, and you are going to fulfill that whether you like it or not! You and the others! Get out of there, there's no way you can win this battle alone Trowa. Not now, not with this many mobile suits and less room to move, not to mention that you're all holding back because there are innocents around! Get out of there and into space like you'd planned, then rest and give yourselves time to heal before heading straight into battle again."
Trowa heard his sister's words as he struggled to keep conscious and to get Heavyarms to his feet. Taking in a sharp breath, he was sure he'd just broken a few ribs and he could feel blood begin to trickle from an open wound on his forehead, he nodded. Quatre had taken a couple of gunshot wounds to the side as well and was struggling to stay alive, let alone fight. They couldn't survive like this, it'd be their last battle if they tried to keep going. Looking about, he found a gap in the circle that attacked them. "Duo, Quatre, Wufei, retreat back through the break in the line behind us. There aren't a lot of aerial suits left and the rest aren't made for longer aerial flights. We need to get out of here and now, we need to lose them or we'll never make it through this battle alive." Receiving a nod of affirmation from each of them, he fired at the oncoming soldiers as the others turned for escape. "Hurry up, they'll try and close us off. Destroy the suits that get in your way." Turning Heavyarms, it wasn't really an aerial suit either, he kicked off the ground and took off after the others, watching behind him as he dodged the shots that followed them. "Hurry up and be careful, they're trying to lock target so don't fly in a straight path." His orders were forced as he shook his head to dispel the light-headedness, yet it wasn't to much avail. Looking back at the monitor where Cathy waited gratefully, he smiled wearily. "If Heero's still watching, then this should put his mind at ease. Tell him we're sorry for scaring him, OZ tried to start a battle before we were done and we tried to escape, but they found out and sooner than we knew it, we were attacked from all sides. Everything's going to be all right, sorry for worrying you Sis. We're coming home, all of us, alive. I promised before and I swear it now. So don't worry." Taking another deep breath, he winced and kept flying, now out of the range of fire. Cathy gave him one last smile before closing the connection. "We can go ahead and hide in that valley over there, the trees will cover the gundams. Hang on a little while longer Quatre, then we'll take care of everything."
Quatre took in struggling gasps, forcing his gaze to focus. They'd have to hurry, he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep control of himself, let alone remain conscious. "Then.... we'd better... make it quick. I'm just barely... hanging onto consciousness guys..." Bring Sandrock back into its path and up from a small dive, he forced his eyes to remain open.
Heero watched the television, the battle still raging on but now they were just fighting with themselves, the soldiers. They each tried to capture the Gundam Pilots for themselves, but neither could stop their escape. Looking up to find a worn Cathy, he implored her. "Are they going to be okay?"
Cathy sat on the edge of the couch, taking him into her embrace once again and smiling. "Trowa was being a little stubborn, but he finally found a way out and the others and he escaped. They're going to be fine, I just talked to him. That's what I was doing, remember, he programmed my laptop to reach his gundam any time we needed to. He said he was sorry for scaring you, but none of that was supposed to happen. OZ tried to start a battle before they were done with their mission and during all the madness, someone found out they were there and they had no choice but to battle like that. It wasn't planned. They're going to be all right now, there's no need to worry little brother. They're all going to be just fine." Releasing him, she watched a grateful smile cross his lips and the worry start to diminish from his Prussian eyes. "You're still tired Heero, and trying to get well. Go ahead and lay down and go to sleep." Helping to lie him down, she smiled and tucked the blankets around him, watching his eyes look back into hers as he relaxed in the comfort and warmth of the blankets. Delicately, she brushed away his stray tears with her fingers. Brushing his bangs from his eyes, she watched them close as he began to slip exhaustedly into sleep. A few minutes after he'd fallen asleep, the young woman rose and stroked the long since quieted Faith before returning to her room, moving the laptop to her small desk where the still recuperating squirrel now lived and fell back onto her bed. Closing her eyes, she didn't bother to change as she fell tiredly to sleep herself, they didn't have another show, today.