Through Time
Chapter 4: Realizations and Confrontations
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing! I don't get why everybody has to put this! Do we even need to? I mean it's not like we all say we created gundam wing. **sigh** -_-
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A few weeks had passed since the gundam pilots relocated themselves into the compound. Introductions were quite stiff between Yuka, Nani and the other pilots. The girls could tell straight off that they were all work and no play. Things went smoothly enough as the men moved into the north wing of the compound where the living area was. Heero and the others adapted to their new gundams the very first day of training. Of course, this was to be expected of them. If the Cobra was indeed planning to attack on schedule they needed to be prepared, all of them did.
There were, however, a few complications. As the girls were giving them the very first tour of the compound and show of their new gundams there had been the expected questioning.
"Are those mobile suits operational?"
Yuka found herself looking at the pilot, Heero Yuy, and found a sudden lump forming in her throat. Damn! They had rehearsed this, she could do this. Just tell them what we practiced, her mind screamed.
"Those two are our gundams. The one in the center is a prototype that runs automatically." Nani cheerfully came to her rescue just in the nick of time.
Thanks to Nani's quick thinking, Heero kept pace with the others and only acknowledged their explanation with a, "Hn."
Then there had been the other problem, Aya. It was extremely difficult to know when and where she was going to be at different times. The girls also discovered that the gundam pilots adapt quickly. The five of them soon knew their way around almost better than Yuka and Nani by the next few days.
For instance the pilot known as Trowa Barton was casually strolling down the south wing halls heading to the cafeteria one very early Friday morning. Little did he know, Aya was eating an early breakfast. As soon as this information found them, Yuka and Nani made a mad dash and intercepted the pilot just in time.
"Where…are…you……..going?" Yuka clung to her speeding heart.
"To the cafeteria."
"Well…..you see..the..uh..ummm."
"The kitchen doesn't open until 7:00 am on Fridays." Yuka stared at Nani. Yep, she was a quick thinker that girl.
Luckily Trowa Barton believed the excuse and walked away with a small, "Oh."
Things were certainly starting to get complicated. And you know how the old saying goes; all good things must soon come to an end. Well, keeping Aya away from them was a good thing right? Nani and Yuka weren't certain, but life at the compound was certainly going to change.
*
"Hiyah!" Aya sent another drilling kick into the practice dummy.
Yuka sat on the floor of the training room fanning herself with a wet towel. The air conditioning was broken yet again. It always seemed to happen, especially in the training room. Yuka glared at Nani slurping away on her ice cream cone. Nani stuck her tongue out and then licked her ice cream rather noisily.
"Aya, exactly how long are we going to keep this up?"
"What do you mean?" Aya sent a punch followed by a high kick toward the dummy.
"Hiding you, what else? Besides what exactly are we hiding you from?"
When Aya showed no sign of responding Yuka stood up and walked to the dummy holding it in place for her. This was a little trick Yuka had learned over the long months. You stick around by helping Aya train and ask her questions while she's concentrating. This way Yuka was bound to get some answers.
"So what are we hiding you from," she pressed.
A hard punch, "People."
"The pilots?" No response, she tried again.
"Are they guys?"
"Yes"
"Gundam pilots?"
"Yes."
"Why are we hiding you?"
"I killed someone they knew." Realizing what she said she threw a hard kick at the dummy intentionally throwing Yuka into the nearby wall.
Nani's ice cream fell from her cone as her eyes widened. Yuka struggled to her feet and wiped at a drop of blood that came from the corner of her mouth.
Aya's eyes flashed a bright red that matched the color of her stone necklace. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Yuka. "Don't do that to me again!" it was said with the most utter seriousness and calm control. But Yuka could tell that her eyes showed the anger she wanted to express.
"Dammit, Aya! We're your allies, friends even! How the hell are we supposed to protect you when we don't know what to protect you from!"
A sudden despair took hold of Aya's facial expression and her eyes softened. Nani let the breath she was holding go. When Aya got upset, that meant someone might get hurt. Thank God Yuka had said the right thing.
Aya's eyes turned back to their normal shade of blue and wrapped her arms around herself. She turned her gaze away from Yuka not being able to meet the girls gaze. Yuka took this time to close the distance between them and embrace her firmly. Aya stiffened under the show of affection.
"God Aya, I may not be able to understand, but I can try."
"I'm sorry." Aya still did not respond to the warm embrace that the taller woman was offering, but she did let her head rest against Yuka's shoulder.
"Who did you…kill..." The word hung in the air as Aya stiffened and closed her eyes. This shouldn't be bothering her, but it was.
"Before the professor took me in and before I lost my memories…. I don't remember killing her, but he was there."
Yuka stepped back and looked Aya firmly in the eyes. "Who did you kill?"
"Relena Peacecraft."
Nani walked over to them and placed a hand on Aya's shoulder. Yuka and Nani both knew what this meant. Aya was responsible for the death of a major politician. They had been trained to kill when necessary. Only Relena Darlian wasn't just any ones target. Relena Darlian's DNA had been used to prevent Aya from dying long ago. For a long time now they knew that the Cobra had searched for Ms. Darlian for their own purposes. If the leader of the Cobra knew that Aya had killed this woman, Aya's life could be in danger.
"I'm so sorry, Aya."
But Aya gave no impression that she cared, or at least she tried to. After all, how could she feel remorse when she couldn't feel at all. Aya just wanted to be left alone, so that she could just follow the orders that were given to her. Why couldn't the world just follow one order, one mission, one master….her master.
**
"Dammit, Aya! We're your friends! How the hell are we supposed to protect you when we don't know what to protect you from!"
Duo nearly dropped his towel when he heard Yuka yelling. He glanced at Wufei next to him and motioned for them to listen by the door. Wufei nodded and they both placed themselves by the door listening intently. They knew something was going on, and they were going to find out.
The woman they recognized as Yuka said something softly. There was a slight pause before a small apology came from a soft voice. A voice that sounded very familiar. There were a few more exchanges between the two, but they were too quiet to be understood. Wufei and Duo pressed their ears closer to the door as the conversation continued.
"Who did you kill?" This voice they recognized as Yuka.
They waited anxiously for the response of this unknown person.
"Relena Peacecraft."
Shocked, Duo's wide eyes met that of an angered Wufei's.
Poor Lena, thought Duo. We tried so hard to find her after she disappeared, and now that we've found her killer…I 'll make sure he burns in hell! God Heero, why couldn't you have been there for her?
Lost in his thoughts, Duo was pulled roughly around the corner by Wufei. Wufei narrowed his eyes at Duo and pointed to the door. Three women walked out of the gym/training room. Yuka and Nani walked out first and Duo was ready to jump on the third, the one who had murdered her. What they saw next they weren't prepared for.
A woman with long honey blond hair and blue eyes gracefully followed the other two. It was as if they were staring at a ghost. Walking past them was a woman that they thought was lost to the world forever.
Relena Darlian.
***
Heero lay still on his bed thinking about the last few days since they arrived at the secret base located in Australia. He had arrived at the base with the other gundam pilots and the other creators of the previous gundams. Now they trained, harder than ever. Their schedule consisted of waking up early in the morning and beginning warm-ups before they trained with their gundams. Following their practiced flights with their gundams they continued to work on their training, physically and mentally. Little time was left; they could all feel the tension in the air. The war was beginning and Heero planned to fight it. If not for the people who wished for peace, or for the little girl and her dog that still haunted his mind, it was for the people who had fought for peace in the past. It was for the memory of a woman who had given her heart and soul to the people. Heero was going to make sure that nothing like this would ever happen again, he was going to fight for her.
He grew tired of all the meaningless battles. At least he knew he wasn't going to be fighting alone. Heero had always fought alone; it was simply how it had always been. He was trained to fight alone, to put the mission first, but this time he was going to be fighting with the others. Not only did he find comfort in that but he found himself surprised he felt that way. Heero had comrades, allies, and maybe even friends. His thoughts were straying from the matter at hand and he tried to focus again on the current problem, Cobra.
The Cobra was rumored to be incredibly strong and with very advanced technology. Heero knew little about his enemy, except the fact that they didn't use people to pilot their mobile suits. Where the Cobra had obtained the materials to create these mobile dolls so perfectly and in such a small amount of time confused him. Since mobile suits had been destroyed long ago, mobile suits in this day and time were hard to come by. Not that there weren't any. Miliardo Peacecraft, Relena's brother, who had taken the liberty to show himself to the world and take Relena's place, had started to build a small army and encouraged other organizations to do so and join an alliance. This he believed was an important step to victory. People now not only wanted peace, but they also wanted to fight for it.
His thoughts strayed again to his new gundam, the Platinum Wing Zero; he wondered how it would fair against the enemy's mobile suits. It was a strong suit, much like the others. Their gundams all seemed to resemble their previous ones with similar weapons and controls with a few modifications.
It was starting to get late, he could tell from the lack of noise coming outside in the halls. His mind, still fully awake, came to focus on another subject of interest, the new women gundam pilots. They were good; he'd give them that much. Although they weren't as experienced as he was in battle, they still carried much skill. He could sense their strengths and their weaknesses by watching them fight and fighting against them.
He glanced at the clock beside his bed. It was getting later, and Duo and Wufei weren't back yet. Duo and Heero shared a room while Trowa, Wufei and Quatre shared the other. Hilde, Duo's friend was able to share a room with the doctor Clare. Duo and Wufei had gone for a small work out in the evening and they still hadn't returned. Heero wasn't worried, he never was. These days he still didn't show a lot of concern. He then found himself thinking again of the two gundam pilots Yuka and Nani, and then of the three gundams, 06, 07, and the prototype, 08. When he had asked about 08, the pilot called Yuka had begun to get nervous, he could see it. Yet he wasn't concerned about it, he knew something was going on, and it was only a matter of time before he would get to the bottom of it.
His mind was starting to become dull and restless as each thought brought more and more drowsiness to his mind. But he couldn't sleep. Heero knew it was still late. He figured that if Wufei was training with Duo and his own mind was still perfectly capable of work, he might as well use it. Heero rose from his bed and headed for the gym. He could always clear his mind and truly focus when he was training. Perhaps sleep would be able to find him sooner.
****
Duo and Wufei gazed at the wall inside the room that Quatre, Wufei and Trowa all shared. They had recently told the others what they had discovered earlier. They hadn't yet told Heero, but Duo felt that Heero should have been the first to know. Duo and Wufei agreed to wait to tell Heero later after they discussed it with the others. Trowa and Quatre were just as surprised as them, although Trowa seemed to take the news rather calmly and with serious thought. Not only had they told them that this girl had admitted to killing Relena Darlian, but she also looked exactly like her. They were all silent for the moment letting the information that they had just received process.
"What are we going tell Heero?" asked Quatre.
"Nothing yet." Said Duo. " I mean what are we going to tell him? That we think we found Relena's killer, but she just happens to look like her?"
"Before we even consider this we should rethink our alliance with these people." Trowa stared at them crossing his arms. They all became silent once again, absorbed in their own thoughts.
"He's right. We don't know what their intentions are. If this woman is an impostor and is in fact the one who murdered Relena Peacecraft, they wouldn't be keeping her a secret in this compound." Wufei stood and crossed the room.
"Yeah, but what can we do?" Duo pressed the subject further.
"We can't do anything right now except wait and possibly confront them about it. But we shouldn't do anything rash." Quatre supported his head with his hands deep in thought.
"But we should try to find out what's going on without them noticing, if that's possible." Trowa added.
"That's a good idea," encouraged Quatre.
"What are we going to tell Heero though?" asked Duo.
There was a slight pause before anyone spoke. Wufei was the first to speak, "Heero is a soldier, he will be able to handle this."
*****
Aya lay in bed awake unable to claim sleep. She was told to sleep right after she had received her medication from the professor. Trying to obey him she lay on her bed for hours with her eyes closed trying to wind down the thoughts presenting themselves in her mind. Every time Aya was at the edge of sleep she would start to dream of a barren land covered in blood. This did not bother her, or at least part of her. There seemed to be two people in her dream, each of them looking like a reflection of the other.
One of her images seemed to cry for the blood that had been spilt but the other girl seemed to overpower this one. It appeared each of them knew who was stronger because the gentle one began to run and as she began to run, it wasn't just a gentle reflection of Aya, it was Aya. Aya began to run as fast as her legs could carry her, but she was no match for the empty face that followed. Soon she began to slow and tried desperately to move her exhausted legs and urge them to keep moving. Aya collapsed a pathetic heap on the ground and before her stood herself. Suddenly they were talking and then she was horrified to see the offered hand extend to her. Aya screamed with all her might. She wanted to somehow find herself away from this place and back home. Wherever home was. Her dreams always ended there, because that was when she woke up screaming. Tonight, she had only seen a few glimpses of this dream before she had awakened.
Deciding she was not going to be able to obey the professor, Aya proceeded to the gym and training facilities. Perhaps there she would be able to clear her mind.
Getting up she realized it was nearly two in the morning. Although it was late there would be some mechanics still working vigorously on their gundams, striving for perfection. Perfection was what the professor wanted, perfect was what he had created her to be. Aya put on some flexible attire to move around in. As she was about to leave Aya noticed that Nani wasn't sleeping, nor was she in her bed. Shrugging she decided to leave Nani be. Not wasting another thought, she proceeded to the gym.
******
It seemed to be working. Exerting her energy by throwing punches and kicks helped calm her mind. When she was fighting she didn't have to think, the movements came on their own like instincts.
Sweat was starting to run down her creased brows as she threw punch after punch letting herself become absorbed into the dance she was performing. Aya swung herself around and then threw a hard back kick nearly breaking the practice dummy. Next Aya tested herself on a small obstacle course. She jumped and then reached for the suspending rope and swung herself across the room. She landed gracefully on the floor and started to run throwing attacks in various directions. Aya kicked, jumped, dodged, and destroyed on coming objects. Aya wiped the sweat from her face with a towel and sat for a moment. Exchanging the towel for a knife, she began to practice attacking her enemy once again.
While slicing her knife through the air she heard the door open behind her and felt a pair of eyes on her back. In mid attack Aya turned and threw her knife to the side of where she knew the intruders head would be and quickly pulled out her gun that never left her side. Aya aimed for the heart, but didn't fire. Her intention was to unearth fear, not to kill. She recognized him as one of the gundam pilots, gundam pilot 01.
Heero Yuy did not move an inch when the knife had been thrown to the side of his head, cutting at some of his dark unruly hair. He still did not move even when the gun moved to aim at his heart. His eyes opened wide as he realized just who was holding the gun at his heart.
The woman he saw before him had to be a ghost, it just had to be. It couldn't be her. She was dead. Or at least he thought she was dead. He saw her deep blue eyes narrow as her lips parted.
"You shouldn't be here." She demanded.
His own cold glare now matched hers. Heero knew this couldn't be her, this expression couldn't be hers. Yet he still found that he so desperately wanted this woman to be her.
"Relena." He whispered, and Heero saw the anger in her beautiful blue eyes.
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Lady Sanshi
