*****
First: * I don't know how many more chapters I can post, :S. This might be the last chapter for all I know!!! So I've decided I'll post both endings. I'm not quite sure myself how it will work, but I can have a somewhat happy ending and a really sad one. =D Enjoy. *
Second: * Uh... Oh yeah, the disclaimer. =) I don't own Gundam Wing. I never have, and I never will. (SNIFF.) *
Third: * Of course, dedications! Huzzah! Hehe, I had Cappuccino before I wrote this. ^_~ Nini, veronica, Blossy, miyu, shi-shi, Airurando, Seiji Takayama, Little-shinigami, Shining Emerald, Symee-Sama, Lorimlowe2, selene947, and Seak5!!! Woo hoo!! ^_^;;; *
Fourth: * You choose. Read the happy ending, sad ending, or both. Pick at random. =D *
Fifth: * Random Randomness and Redundant Redundancy. *
Umi: "THERE WERE SO TYPOS!!"
Fuu: * Wincing slightly. * "Only two, only two!!"
Umi: * She pulls out the duct tape. * "Why I oughtta..."
Fuu: "Eeep! Umi- I have to write the rest of the story!"
Umi: "Oh, right." * She puts the duct tape down and Fuu makes a break for it. * "Wait a sec... you don't need to be able to talk to write! HEY, COME BACK HERE!" * She starts chasing Fuu. *
Fuu: "Oy! I forgot- this is the sad ending. =( Bad, sadness. Umi won't like me for this one. Although, it is twice as long!"
Umi: "DIE, DIE, YOU'RE ALREADY DEAD!"
Fuu: "AAAAAAAAAAH!!!"
~soulwithwings ((Monday's chapter up on Sunday! =D))
*****
The two of them had been taken into hospital later that day, when Quatre, who was visiting, discovered them passed out and bloodstained on the floor. Duo and Hilde had even been put in the same room; Quatre thought maybe they'd recover better that way. Unfortunately, Quatre could not stay. He was scheduled to leave the next morning. He left a letter by Duo's bedside.
Duo,
I hope you are feeling better. They removed the bullet from your arm, they didn't ask questions. They can't confirm to me yet if Hilde is alive, and if she is, whether she will make it. I'm sorry I had to put you in such a rickety establishment, but I didn't want anyone to be suspicious, considering you are a gund- (The word was scratched out.) Pardon, a pilot. I'm sorry again that I couldn't stay longer. Hopefully by the time you wake up, Trowa or Wufei will be able to drop by. Stay in good health, my friend.
-Quatre
Duo squinted in the hazy after-morning light. It felt early, much too early to be awake. He didn't understand Quatre's letter. He didn't remember anything after saving Hilde. 'Wait,' he thought. 'Now I remember. I passed out...' Suddenly his eyes widened. 'Oh no! Hilde!' He swung his legs over the side of the bed, shaking. Hastily, he made his way to the other side of the room, there, lay Hilde. "You look awful..." He moaned. "Hilde, Oh god, I'm so sorry..." He walked over to her, his eyes looking as though they had lost all hope. He took her hand gently. There was no pulse. Duo's face paled, the bandage was still there. He should have realized there was something wrong when he looked down at her, she was still wearing that bloodstained shirt, still wearing the same pained expression as she had been when she had been shot... "No... No, this can't be happening, it just can't be..."
'Hilde......' A figure stirred. 'Are you there, Hilde? Will you come to me Hilde?' The figure stood up.
"Where are you?" Hilde squinted. The darkness around her was almost too much, she couldn't even see her hand when it was in front of her face.
'I'm here, Hilde. Come to me.'
"Where am I? Where's..." Suddenly, Hilde couldn't remember any names. Not even her own. "I'm Hilde?" She inquired.
'Yes...' The voice answered. 'Come now.'
"What about everyone I left behind?"
'Can you remember any names?'
"No. Not a one. Only faces, shadowy faces at that. Who are you, anyway?"
'I am the God of Death. The Shinigami.'
"Shinigami? Why does that ring a bell?"
'There was one, once, who used my name, but that was a long, long time ago. I had almost forgotten.'
"How long ago? How many years?"
'Many. Too many to count.' Hilde paused.
"You're Death. Do you miss the living once they're gone?"
'Of course,' The voice entered her head. 'I always do.' Hilde walked up to the figure. A long dark braid fell down it's back.
"Duo!" She said in surprise. Death regarded her strangely.
'What was that?' The name disappeared as soon as it had come, and all recollection and memory with it.
"N- nothing," Hilde stammered. The thought echoed in her head. 'Nothing.' She took death's hand, and he lead her through a valley. It was cold, and she began to feel very uneasy. The trees around her were bare, and skeletons lay scattered on the ground.
'You're afraid,' Death's voice shattered the stony silence. Hilde could only manage a nod. Death's mouth curled into a smile. 'Don't worry. Dying isn't as bad as it's made up to be.'
"How can you be so sure?" Death shot her a look.
'I guide the dead, remember that. I know everything there is to know about the afterlife.' Hilde was still not convinced.
Duo shook with pain. 'How could I have let this happen? Oh God, Hilde...' Duo ripped off his crucifix. "Now I truly am soulless." Duo sat on the edge of the bed, with his broken chain dangling from one finger. It fell to the floor, and the silver shattered, flying this way and that. Duo looked down sorrowfully.
"I wish I had never become the Shinigami. I wish I were dead." He dragged his feet all the way back to his bed, and lay down in it. He found the knife that had brought for his breakfast, and picked it up. Duo frowned.
"Tell me where we're going." Hilde looked up at Shinigami. He looked so much like someone she knew, or rather, used to know. She couldn't quite place the face, but she recognized it, she knew it was there, and she felt comforted by it.
'We are going to the land of the dead.' Hilde's ears became used to the whispering of the wind. She did not shiver when Death said that, showed no apprehension to what the man by her side had uttered, showed no emotion. She simply understood. She stepped into a white space, and all thoughts and emotions disappeared completely, sealing her fate, or perhaps; her destiny.
Duo looked at the knife, placing it over his heart.
'This is too drastic, even for you,' He heard his mind say. "No. Not without Hilde. I can't live this way." The voice quietened, but only briefly. 'No!' It boomed. 'She wouldn't have wanted in this way.' Duo's brow furrowed. "Get out, demon. I have no time for your fabrications!" Duo took in a deep breath. He pulled the knife about a foot from his heart, this was the end. A hand reached up and grabbed the knife from him. Duo looked up in tears.
"I can't allow you to make that mistake." A boy stood there, his blue eyes blazing fiercely, almost cold in their superior attitude.
"Give me the knife, Heero!" Duo reached for the knife, and Heero moved it away. Duo's hand grabbed empty space, pure air. Heero lay a hand on Duo's shoulder, as if in reassurance.
"It's going to be okay," He whispered. "I promise you, it's going to be okay."
First: * I don't know how many more chapters I can post, :S. This might be the last chapter for all I know!!! So I've decided I'll post both endings. I'm not quite sure myself how it will work, but I can have a somewhat happy ending and a really sad one. =D Enjoy. *
Second: * Uh... Oh yeah, the disclaimer. =) I don't own Gundam Wing. I never have, and I never will. (SNIFF.) *
Third: * Of course, dedications! Huzzah! Hehe, I had Cappuccino before I wrote this. ^_~ Nini, veronica, Blossy, miyu, shi-shi, Airurando, Seiji Takayama, Little-shinigami, Shining Emerald, Symee-Sama, Lorimlowe2, selene947, and Seak5!!! Woo hoo!! ^_^;;; *
Fourth: * You choose. Read the happy ending, sad ending, or both. Pick at random. =D *
Fifth: * Random Randomness and Redundant Redundancy. *
Umi: "THERE WERE SO TYPOS!!"
Fuu: * Wincing slightly. * "Only two, only two!!"
Umi: * She pulls out the duct tape. * "Why I oughtta..."
Fuu: "Eeep! Umi- I have to write the rest of the story!"
Umi: "Oh, right." * She puts the duct tape down and Fuu makes a break for it. * "Wait a sec... you don't need to be able to talk to write! HEY, COME BACK HERE!" * She starts chasing Fuu. *
Fuu: "Oy! I forgot- this is the sad ending. =( Bad, sadness. Umi won't like me for this one. Although, it is twice as long!"
Umi: "DIE, DIE, YOU'RE ALREADY DEAD!"
Fuu: "AAAAAAAAAAH!!!"
~soulwithwings ((Monday's chapter up on Sunday! =D))
*****
The two of them had been taken into hospital later that day, when Quatre, who was visiting, discovered them passed out and bloodstained on the floor. Duo and Hilde had even been put in the same room; Quatre thought maybe they'd recover better that way. Unfortunately, Quatre could not stay. He was scheduled to leave the next morning. He left a letter by Duo's bedside.
Duo,
I hope you are feeling better. They removed the bullet from your arm, they didn't ask questions. They can't confirm to me yet if Hilde is alive, and if she is, whether she will make it. I'm sorry I had to put you in such a rickety establishment, but I didn't want anyone to be suspicious, considering you are a gund- (The word was scratched out.) Pardon, a pilot. I'm sorry again that I couldn't stay longer. Hopefully by the time you wake up, Trowa or Wufei will be able to drop by. Stay in good health, my friend.
-Quatre
Duo squinted in the hazy after-morning light. It felt early, much too early to be awake. He didn't understand Quatre's letter. He didn't remember anything after saving Hilde. 'Wait,' he thought. 'Now I remember. I passed out...' Suddenly his eyes widened. 'Oh no! Hilde!' He swung his legs over the side of the bed, shaking. Hastily, he made his way to the other side of the room, there, lay Hilde. "You look awful..." He moaned. "Hilde, Oh god, I'm so sorry..." He walked over to her, his eyes looking as though they had lost all hope. He took her hand gently. There was no pulse. Duo's face paled, the bandage was still there. He should have realized there was something wrong when he looked down at her, she was still wearing that bloodstained shirt, still wearing the same pained expression as she had been when she had been shot... "No... No, this can't be happening, it just can't be..."
'Hilde......' A figure stirred. 'Are you there, Hilde? Will you come to me Hilde?' The figure stood up.
"Where are you?" Hilde squinted. The darkness around her was almost too much, she couldn't even see her hand when it was in front of her face.
'I'm here, Hilde. Come to me.'
"Where am I? Where's..." Suddenly, Hilde couldn't remember any names. Not even her own. "I'm Hilde?" She inquired.
'Yes...' The voice answered. 'Come now.'
"What about everyone I left behind?"
'Can you remember any names?'
"No. Not a one. Only faces, shadowy faces at that. Who are you, anyway?"
'I am the God of Death. The Shinigami.'
"Shinigami? Why does that ring a bell?"
'There was one, once, who used my name, but that was a long, long time ago. I had almost forgotten.'
"How long ago? How many years?"
'Many. Too many to count.' Hilde paused.
"You're Death. Do you miss the living once they're gone?"
'Of course,' The voice entered her head. 'I always do.' Hilde walked up to the figure. A long dark braid fell down it's back.
"Duo!" She said in surprise. Death regarded her strangely.
'What was that?' The name disappeared as soon as it had come, and all recollection and memory with it.
"N- nothing," Hilde stammered. The thought echoed in her head. 'Nothing.' She took death's hand, and he lead her through a valley. It was cold, and she began to feel very uneasy. The trees around her were bare, and skeletons lay scattered on the ground.
'You're afraid,' Death's voice shattered the stony silence. Hilde could only manage a nod. Death's mouth curled into a smile. 'Don't worry. Dying isn't as bad as it's made up to be.'
"How can you be so sure?" Death shot her a look.
'I guide the dead, remember that. I know everything there is to know about the afterlife.' Hilde was still not convinced.
Duo shook with pain. 'How could I have let this happen? Oh God, Hilde...' Duo ripped off his crucifix. "Now I truly am soulless." Duo sat on the edge of the bed, with his broken chain dangling from one finger. It fell to the floor, and the silver shattered, flying this way and that. Duo looked down sorrowfully.
"I wish I had never become the Shinigami. I wish I were dead." He dragged his feet all the way back to his bed, and lay down in it. He found the knife that had brought for his breakfast, and picked it up. Duo frowned.
"Tell me where we're going." Hilde looked up at Shinigami. He looked so much like someone she knew, or rather, used to know. She couldn't quite place the face, but she recognized it, she knew it was there, and she felt comforted by it.
'We are going to the land of the dead.' Hilde's ears became used to the whispering of the wind. She did not shiver when Death said that, showed no apprehension to what the man by her side had uttered, showed no emotion. She simply understood. She stepped into a white space, and all thoughts and emotions disappeared completely, sealing her fate, or perhaps; her destiny.
Duo looked at the knife, placing it over his heart.
'This is too drastic, even for you,' He heard his mind say. "No. Not without Hilde. I can't live this way." The voice quietened, but only briefly. 'No!' It boomed. 'She wouldn't have wanted in this way.' Duo's brow furrowed. "Get out, demon. I have no time for your fabrications!" Duo took in a deep breath. He pulled the knife about a foot from his heart, this was the end. A hand reached up and grabbed the knife from him. Duo looked up in tears.
"I can't allow you to make that mistake." A boy stood there, his blue eyes blazing fiercely, almost cold in their superior attitude.
"Give me the knife, Heero!" Duo reached for the knife, and Heero moved it away. Duo's hand grabbed empty space, pure air. Heero lay a hand on Duo's shoulder, as if in reassurance.
"It's going to be okay," He whispered. "I promise you, it's going to be okay."