Colors. It always seemed like colors were what I should always be wearing. If for no other reason than that it was normal. I worked for a publishing company in the heart of Portland, Oregon, and everyday I tried to make things better by parading around in colors, but the world around me always seemed to be in shades of grey. My name was Gwynnthiere Giliath, Pilot of Mecha Gundam 006, AquaWynd. I was an elite soldier, trained to obey my orders without a second thought and to carry them out or die. But now the war was over and I had nothing to do but wait around until the revolutionists killed me as well.
I couldn't say I didn't deserve it, with all the innocent lives I had taken for the good of the mission, and part of me yearned for it. In my mind I could hear their cries of pain and death, and I could hear many of them calling out for me to pay for my crimes. Going home to my empty apartment was always a bit frightening, for there the voices of the lost souls would really come to life and fill my mind with their horrid shrieks for vengeance. Never the less, I always managed to be home by myself. Not that I didn't try to fill the apartment with people, but my friends, the other five Gundam Pilots, were long gone.
Trowa and Quatre had already been taken from the mortal realm by the same revolutionists people thought had already been taken care of. I knew they weren't gone and somehow, the thought of seeing my Gundam again made me very happy. I never thought as I walked home that day that I would find in my home what I did. The only thoughts that had paraded around my mind were the normal ones of everyday life, but isn't that how the unexpected gets you? When you're thinking about the normal things?
I reached for my doorknob only to see it hanging half off the large oak door. Instinctively from years of training, my gun flew to my hand with less noise that a butterfly sunning itself. Slowly, I pushed the door open, wincing at the slight creak it made. I had been meaning to oil that. Nothing was disturbed. The rich silks that covered my apartment had barely been touched. The expensive silvers and such were undisturbed. I knew this was no mere robbery. As I moved beyond the door of the apartment, movement from the futon captured my attention. A young Chinese man, the same age as myself, sat gracefully upon the cushions of the futon. He had a small ponytail of black hair behind his head, but his piercing black eyes were what stopped me from pulling the trigger. Though his eyes were sunken and he looked emaciated, this was still, Pilot 005, Chang Wufei.
"W-Wufei?! You're alive?!" I could hardly contain my surprise or my excitement. He nodded slowly as if he could scarcely hold his head up.
"Yes, I am, Onna…" His voice was soft and a bit painful to hear. "With no thanks to you…" That stung. Wufei had been proclaimed dead and now he was blaming me for not looking for him. After all that we had shared, you would have thought he would understand. I moved to put the gun away but a strange smell made me pause.
"Wufei, who's here besides you?" He shook his head as a hand covered my mouth and nose.
"You've forgotten the most important part of your training. Watch your back." Darkness enveloped me and soon I ceased to know the world around me. All I knew was Wufei was alive…
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When I came to, I thought for a moment that I had been blinded, but it was merely a lack of light. My eyes quickly adjusted to it, searching the room for anyone else. The cramps in my arms and the hard wood against my back told me I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Wufei had betrayed me. The horrible thought pervaded my mind as I realized where I was. It was the lair of the White Tigers, the revolutionists, and my enemies. I felt as if a hefty weight lay upon my shoulders as Wufei walked through the door and I could barely meet his eyes. "Wufei………"
"Gwynnthiere, you know where you are, don't you?" Wufei's voice was still as frail as it had been before.
"Why? Why did you bring me here, Wufei?" I stared up into his deep black eyes. Those black eyes had haunted my life since he left.
"You betrayed me, Gwynnthiere. You left me to rot in a cold wasteland-"
"I thought you were dead!!" I could hardly believe my ears. "They wouldn't let me look for you…" Stars danced before my eyes and my ears rang from the blow I had received. I couldn't move, I couldn't feel any part of my body.
"The White Tigers have you now…Let's see what they choose to do with you…" Wufei turned and began to stalk out of the room. I felt my heart drop into my chest as I watched him leave.
"I-I do love you…that never stopped, even when I thought you were dead…" He paused a moment, staring at the door. As the seconds ticked by, I wondered what he could be thinking, but he quickly left, as if in a hurry to escape me. My head hung low and I began to sob, I couldn't help myself. It all seemed like some cosmic joke. Wufei was alive, but he blamed me for everything, and he apparently didn't love me. He always said it was a hazard to the mission anyway to feel for each other what we did. Part of me believed he was right, while another part of me believed he was just afraid. After his wife died he seemed a bit scared of women in particular. "Wufei…I never meant to hurt you…"
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They finally left me alone. The White Tigers had grilled me for information for hours, but thankfully my training wouldn't allow me to yield. I was beginning to wonder if this hole would be my crypt and if I would ever see Wufei again. Light barely penetrated this deep dark cell, and what little light there was came from a window over ten feet above my head. Resigned to my fate I almost longed for when they would come to question me. At least then I had someone to talk to. The rusted iron of the lock turned and my head shot up. They shouldn't have returned for a while. Wufei entered and my heart stopped. "W-Wufei…"
"Shut your mouth, Onna!" –she pulled a chair in front of mine and sat across from me. "If you just tell them, Gwynn, they'll let you go…"
"Wufei, you know I can't do that… We are Gundam pilots, not cowards!" He pulled back his hand, but didn't hit me for some reason.
"I do this for our own good…" He looked as if he really meant it.
"If that's true then you'll let me go. Please, Wufei, just let me go!" I couldn't help the panic in my voice, but I hoped he didn't notice it. Unfortunately, his black eyes told me more than he perhaps would have wanted them to. My heart fell and I stared down at my lap. "I'm going to die here, aren't I?"
"Yes." I couldn't help but sigh as I looked at him again. "I'm sorry, Gwynn…I never wanted this to happen…"
"You caused it, Wufei…You brought me here…"
"I thought you would see! This life is so much better than the one we led before! I wanted us to be together…" Tears fell down my face, but I didn't care anymore. Calloused fingertips touched my face and began to wipe away the tears. "Gods, Gwynn…I never meant to hurt you…"
"Wufei…Please, let me go…I can get out of here on my own…please!" I stared at him, wondering if he would really let me out. His hand dropped to my waist and fumbled with the ropes.
"Gwynn…They'll get you eventually…" I stood quickly, getting the feeling back in my legs.
"Yes, but then I'll have a chance…" I could see his pain at betraying his new comrades. Considering the dilemma I did the only thing I could do. I pulled back and punched his face as hard as I could manage. He fell to the floor with a sharp cry and looked at me with a mixture of love and confusion. I bent down close to him and smiled. "So your honor is preserved…"
"I love you, Gwynn, I always will."
"I love you too, Wufei." I dashed off into the corridors, weaving this way and that to avoid the prisoners and the rebellion leaders alike. But as I was leaving I saw an opportunity I couldn't pass up. The leader of the White Tigers was asleep on a large cot. Looking around carefully, before entering, I drew my dagger on the sleeping form. Disposing of the guards was by no means difficult and soon I found myself over my predator-turned-prey. He had killed so many of my friends and brainwashed my love! Remorse never entered my mind as I plunged the dagger deep into that void-filled heart. He didn't even scream, but his eyes leapt open and met mine as he died. I left quickly, leaving my dagger as a message to the rest. My Gundam was outside waiting for me, or more, was being trampled over by random White Tigers. Considering the security of my cell, the rest of the place was rather lax. The men were down before they could think and I was off into space. Space was my only comfort, really. It was the only place where I could be myself and not have to worry about anything else. The world seemed so small to have so many problems. I sighed and headed home with a heavy heart. What would they do to my Wufei? Perhaps he would leave, as his Chinese honor urges him to. I think part of him believed he deserved whatever they would have given to him, but when I returned home there he was once more, sitting on the futon with his head in his hands. "Wufei…"
"Gwynn, that was a very bold thing you did. I don't think they shall ever recover from that." His voice was solemn.
"Wufei…that's good…we can all live now…together?" The request was small, and it made my voice seem that much more delicate. Something I had never been.
"I…I don't know…Gwynn, how can you love me after all that I did?" My brow furrowed and I puzzled over this.
"What do you mean, Wufei?" I knelt before him and rested my head on his knee.
"After all the death and destruction, you still love me?" I smiled softly and let out a small laugh.
"Of course I do, Wufei. I always will…"I smiled up at him and blushed as I found his lips on mine. It was the sweetest thing I had ever felt, even though, as I did, I felt the sting of a bullet tear through my back. "W-Wufei?" His eyes were fading as well, and I fell into those black orbs. "I'll see you in eternity, my love…"