Yui: WELCOME TO CHAPPIE 3!!! Now you can enjoy watching chaos come over the world of the pilots~!!
M-chan: Why do you enjoy making the characters suffer?
Y: ME? Oh, hehe, yeah. Because it's fun. And they're hot. And chaos is fascinating.
Q: That's so cruel!!
C-chan: BWAAHAAHAHAHAAAAA!!!! CRAZY BISHI-FANS GALORE!! OH FEIFEI, WHERE AAAARE YOU!?!
F: AAAAAH!!!! runs but C-chan tackles him and he can't escape
H: Hopefully they leave my pants alone this time…
D: Oh, don't be so sure…winks
Washu: oooh what is THIS? looks intently at Heero's butt
H: AAAAH ! I'm being harassed!!!
D: Leave him! He's MINE!!
W: Don't flatter yourself soldier boy all I'm interested in is your pants.
spandex start glowing, everyone jumps, Heero smirked
H: Thanks, Daisy. winks
Q: May I remind you that all of this has very dirty implications?
H: Yeah but in reality it's all clean.
W: YEAH! It's all just science!
Q: Ah~
Yui: Before all this gets out of hand—
D: Why do you always DO that?
Trowa: because she has nothing to say.
Y: HEY! I do TOO! I'm the one telling the story here!
DG: Are you SURE it's not one of the voices in your head?
Y: Yeah those usually only come when I'm dreaming.
DG: And you're aware that it's 12:50 at night?
Y: Yes…
DG: And that all this may well be a dream?
Washu: FIND ME THE DIFFERENCE: DREAM OR REALITY?
CHAPTER THREE: PLEASE COME HOME TO ME, FOLLOWING MEMORIES
Where are you going, where?! Why are you running away from me? See my tears; they are shed for you, my love, my self! You are repelled from each other—from me, from me! Don't you feel me—feel my tears! Feel my tears!
A tall, burly guard stood above Noin, who had fallen to the ground. He shone a flashlight into her eyes, blinding her; all she could discern was the man's bulky silhouette. The silhouette and the hand holding the gun. Pointed right at her face. The cold, stone floor below her trapped her, there was nowhere she could run.
"Do you have authorization to be here?" he bellowed. His voice was loud but raspy. Noin put her arm above her eyes in an attempt to block the glaring beam of white light.
"Don't move and answer my question."
Noin remained silent and motionless. No use trying to escape a gun so close.
"Thought so." The man, although Noin could not see, sounded like he was smirking. He kicked her hard in the side. Then he harshly grabbed her right arm and hauled her up into a standing position. He was not as tall as Noin had thought; he was only about her height. The guard stepped behind her and grasped both of her arms, tying them together behind her at the wrists tightly using a roughly textured rope. She could feel his warm breath on her neck, and involuntarily, she shivered. Still behind her, the guard pushed her forward. Noin remained in her initial standing position. Then she heard the clicking of a gun and felt the metal pressed to her temple. Complying, she followed the guard's directions and began walking through what seemed like an endless maze of stone hallways.
"So, what are you doing here?" the guard asked her after a few minutes. He seemed genuinely interested. But Noin said nothing. Pressing the gun harder to Noin's head, the guard asked again,
"What are you doing here?" This time in a far more callous manner.
"I was breaking in." Noin's voice cracked. She cleared her throat. Impatiently, the man gesticulated with his free hand.
"Why?"
"I wanted to."
The man stopped. Roughly, he forced her to turn around so that she faced him. His face was inches in front of hers; she could smell his rancid breath; it smelled like alcohol.
"I'm not takin' any bullshit from you. I'm doin' you a favor by not shooting you in the first place. Now, do as I say or don't, but I am sure you understand the consequences." The man had an ugly grin on his face. His stubbly beard was beaded with sweat. Noin could see all this because he had forgotten to shine the flashlight into her eyes.
"Who are you here to see? Nobody comes here because they want to."
"Fred Miner. I'm here to see Fred."
The man shook her violently.
"I know all the damn prisoners in this jail, and if you play smart with me one more time, you're dead meat." He stared her in the eyes.
"Who are you here to see?"
"Zechs Merquise." Noin cast her gaze to the ground in defeat. The guard stopped dead.
"You know about him, huh. Very interesting indeed."
They continued walking in silence. The only sounds that were audible were the sounds of their footsteps and breathing. The air grew continuously mustier as they walked deeper and deeper into the fortress. After about twenty minutes, he stopped. There was a heavy, wooden door with a small, barred window, through which light was shining. There was a plate on the door that read, "HEADQUARTERS".
The guard entered a code into a coder, and the door swung open. The lighting of the room was glaringly white; it came from multiple incandescent light bulbs hanging from the ceiling throughout the room. The air was dusty, as were the ground, the walls, the ceiling, and the furniture. There were three desks littered with papers, a telephone, pens, beer cans, and laptops. At one of these desks sat a heavy man with scraggly, long, light brown hair tied back in a low ponytail and overcast, dark eyes. His face was red, and it looked as if it were always about to explode. As they entered, he looked up. His glance was cruel.
"Who do we have here?" His voice was high-pitched and sickening.
"Found her breaking in, trying to find Zechs Merquise." The guard that had brought Noin here harshly thrust her forward towards the occupied desk. Though she could not see it, she still felt the gun pointed at her back. Arms raised, she stood in front of the large man who was now leaning back in his chair and examining her. After a lengthy moment of silence, he spoke.
"What did you want from Merquise?" he asked in that voice of his that almost sounded like that of a woman.
"I wanted to free him." Noin remained expressionless. The men, however, burst into echoing, phony laughter.
"Oy so you wanted to save the princess. Or rather, the prince," the man at the desk remarked, snorting. Saliva dripped down his chin.
"Tell me, why go to the trouble?"
"I am allied with him." Again, demeaning, ignorant laughter. The man at the desk took a sip from the beer can in front of him. He sighed contentedly.
"Oh yeeees. Of course. The prince and princess are on the same side. They love each other and they are on the same side, and they rescue each other, and—" agitatedly gesticulating, the man at the desk became louder and louder, finally standing. He seemed not intimidating but pathetic, even when he pulled out a gun and pointed it at Noin. His expression was gleeful, as if he had been bored all his life and now was his moment of passion and ecstasy. He was panting.
"Heh, heh, well, this fairy tale will not end up that way. Heh heh you're so naïve. Well, I'll teach you otherwise." Intentionally pushing his jaw forward, the fat man at the desk fixed the gun on Noin.
"Boss. The authority's not gonna like this." The man behind Noin remarked cautiously. The man was still panting, almost jumping, his face turning redder than Noin would have thought humanly possible, slowly lowered his gun, seeing that his subordinate still was pointing his at her. Noin never donned an expression.
"Right." The man at the desk was calming down, sitting back down at his desk. He took another gulp of beer.
"Put her in a cell."
"Understood."
The man behind Noin turned her around to again face the door. He pushed her out and the door slammed shut behind them.
"I'm Peter," he told her. "What's your name?"
Noin did not answer. Peter insistently pushed the gun against the back of her head.
"Noin."
"That your first name?"
"Lucrezia." Knowing that the guard could at any time search her and find her identification, she did not lie about her name.
"Lucrezia." Peter repeated. Then, abruptly, he stopped and faced what had appeared to be stone wall. It was hardly discernable in this lighting; there basically was none, but Peter still seemed to have no problem finding his way around. A hatch opened in the wall. Peter thrust Noin inside, following her. The heavy door slammed behind them.
"Now, Lucrezia, now, I can get to know you a whole lot better."
He grabbed her by the arms and pinned her against the hard, cold, black stone wall. The gun was again pointed at her temple.
"Y'know, we don't get many pretty girls like you here…"
Peter grabbed Noin's black shirt and tore it down the front. She closed her eyes, praying silently for death. Death. It was easy. She moved her leg in attempt to kick Peter.
"I said don't move," he snarled. She struggled harder. Her arms pushed against him, trying to force him away from her, but he was too strong. The gun was instantly between her eyes.
Can't die yet. Noin felt blood trickle down her arm. It was red, she could imagine it, as it was too dark to see. Red, just like that day when Zechs was captured. Not finished. I'm not finished here.
Noin went limp again.
"That's more like it," Peter growled.
Then, the door behind him opened. A bright, bright beam of a flashlight caught them in a corner of a very small, cramped cell with no windows or openings whatsoever besides the door. Peter turned to see what had happened. He could not; the glare was too bright, and for the moment of negligence, he paid. Noin kicked him as hard as she could between the legs, and he crumpled to the ground in a heap, moaning. Very quickly she was handcuffed by other guards in tidy uniforms that seemed to be of a higher rank than Peter. Some of the guards picked him up and dragged him out the door, followed by the guards that held Noin. There were about seven guards in total. The four that handled her gripped her so strongly that there was no possibility of resistance.
"What is going on?" Noin asked in a tired voice.
"We're going to test you," one of the guards told her. They walked in silence for about ten minutes and then reached another heavy door, this one labeled "TESTING". The door opened and Noin was thrown inside, nobody followed, and the door was locked behind her. She was alone. Alone in a "room" of wide, open space, green, fruit trees, tables and tables of a delicious buffet, and a sweet spring breeze.
Heero stopped. His suit fell to its knees and toppled over, tumbling down and hitting the ground. The hatch opened and Heero fell out of it, into burning light, limply dropping to the ground. Hardly breathing. Beads of cold sweat on him. The thunder became unbearably loud and drowned out the sirens of the advancing, flashing police cars.
Gathering the unconscious Heero in his arms, Duo disappeared into a wet side street that still existed because the buildings around it were not as heavily damaged. Thanks to Duo's inconceivable skills of dark stealth, the police found no traces of a criminal. They took fingerprints and found Heero, but his apartment was vacant when they searched. Duo's skills created a dead end for the police. Nobody realized that he ended up hiding out in a forgotten, underground hideout from the war.
It was dark, murky, and stuffy, and Heero lay unconscious on the moist ground, and Duo next to him. Duo had tied up the wounds that Heero had inflicted upon himself, the abrasions on the arms and cuts all over, from the violence of the mobile suit. The blood had already crusted over. Duo could not sleep; he was constantly bending over Heero's still form, not able to see much thanks to the lack of lighting. Questions over questions circulated in his mind, and he could not understand what would drive the usually stoic Heero Yuy to an action of such a grave magnitude.
Hee-chan… why did you do that? Why didn't you tell me? What are you hiding from me…is it my fault? What if I…what if I somehow made him this way…Guilt tightened his chest and he stretched on the ground, then turning sideways to face Heero.
"Is it because I won't stop talking to you? Is it because I named your laptop?" he whispered. "I don't understand…" he added miserably.
"Didn't you always say to do what you feel?" Duo turned sideways, glancing confusedly at Heero.
"I didn't, did I? Is that it?" he breathed. Then turned back around and stared at the ceiling that was clouded in shadows. He inhaled deeply of the dusty, moist air.
"But how'd you know? How'd you know I was holding back?"
Duo looked to the side and at the black outline of Heero's body. The Japanese boy's silence answered,
"Because I am the perfect soldier."
"That explains it all, doesn't it…" Duo's voice echoed in the small room.
"You can even talk to me when you aren't talking. You can do everything. Why Hee-chan, why are you so perfect? I had training, you had training. What things beside combat did those guys teach you??"
"Everything."
Yea, Hee-chan. You're everything. And I'm nothing. So make me something!
Heero felt something. He felt his consciousness. He felt that he was breathing. He felt that there was more to him than his consciousness. He realized his physical existence.
I am Heero.
His eyes moved beneath his eyelids, but otherwise he remained still.
I fight enemies.
About to open his eyes, he halted.
Do not reveal myself. Around me. Someone's here. I hear breathing. I feel warmth.
At that moment, Duo stirred and faced Heero.
Don't move.
Duo reached out his hand next to Heero and sighed.
"Make me something."
Make me something. Make me something. Is he talking to me? He is something, He is close. He is there.
"Why…why are you there?" Heero uttered.
No! Do not reveal yourself.
Duo's eyes flew open.
"Heero!"
"Why are you there?"
What are you doing?
"I love you. Hee-chan, that's why."
"Why?"
"Because you are different."
"Different?"
"Yea. You stand out."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
He is tricking me.
Heero could hear the pounding of the rain on the wooden trap door above them.
Knocking on the door towards tomorrow.
He is confusing me.
Heero turned away, feeling suddenly very cold and sensing a void inside him that was creating freezing waves of pain that shot throughout his body.
Duo stared questioningly. This time he received no answer but that Heero was in pain.
"Where does it hurt, Heero?"
Heero grunted something indistinctly.
"What?"
Heero was silent. Duo grew more confused.
"Heero?"
Heero did not speak. He just lay still, listening, to all the voices, and to Duo. Though Duo did not speak, Heero still listened. He heard his breath become even as the American boy drifted into sleep. He also heard the sounds of him shifting positions ever so subtly from time to time. He still heard the rain.
Heero turned away from Duo, groaning in pain. He shut his eyes and cleared his mind. It actually seemed to be working for once; his thoughts were thinning, thinning, transparent. He even forgot his awareness.
For hours, Heero and Duo lay side by side asleep, neither at peace but neither tense. Then, Duo awoke. When he opened his eyes, he could see Heero's outline next to him, black and hardly visible. He moved closer to the shape, uncertainly.
Heero.
Duo could feel Heero's warmth so close to him, but he was afraid to move closer to him. He had never before been hesitant of such an action, but now he was afraid to even breathe strangely.
What could Heero be thinking? How would anything I do affect his thinking? What if I…
Duo's thoughts trailed off.
I'm tired of reasoning my feelings.
Feeling extremely uncertain, Duo put his hand on Heero's shoulder.
If he wakes up and kills me for this, at least I will know what would have happened if I touch him.. Wait. It will have happened. It has happened. What is going to happen? What if—
As soon as Duo had moved close to Heero, Heero's consciousness had jumped back from the delicately balanced verge on which it had hung.
What is it?
Duo.
What is he doing?
I don't know..
Unknown. Dangerous. Eliminate.
Heero's reflex began a move to remove Duo from his shoulder. However, before the reflex reached his muscles, he stopped. There simply was no threat. He could feel Duo's hand on his shoulder, and it was not hostile but comforting. This feeling, it was almost pleasant. Maybe he~
What the hell am I thinking? This is not reality. I am getting caught in a fantasy. Get out.
I don't want to. There's nothing better to do.
You're going to get caught. It will alter you.
The simple fact that you're you and not me means that we're altered.
Where are you going?
To another world.
What are you?
You. A fading reality. I will continue to search.
Heero ignored the strange voice; it was not truly a voice. It was subtle feelings of everything around him and inside him combined that he translated into words after it reached him.
Put your arms around me, put your arms around me…
Heero silently begged Duo.
Why don't I do it myself?
The usually so independent Heero was asking, not understanding anymore, any organization and overview of himself gone forever.
Because it'll change the image that Duo has of me.
Heero still did not move. He remained almost deathly still.
What's the image?
He breathed in deeply.
Stoic. Unfeeling. Strong.
He continued breathing.
How do I know?It's my image of Duo's image of me.
So it's not Duo's image.
I'm still afraid.
Quatre was lying on his four-post bed and silk sheets in his extravagant bedroom filled with antiques reading Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Quatre was smiling to himself, gazing out the window from time to time. Everything was so peaceful! So orderly, so ordinary. The birds chirping outside was exactly the right volume not to be imposing but at the same time be audible without ear straint. The wind blowing occasionally into the room was sweetly fragrant and warm. The shadows of the moving trees made the surroundings seem very much natural and alive. Such a contrast to the dark scenes that he was reading of. However, Quatre could not help but empathize with the characters going through such harsh ordeals.
Just like the war we fought. We killed enemies, helped allies, and grew close in the process. He sighed. Now the war was over, the pain and excitement and sorrow and love. Well, it had been until Trowa came back. Ever since then, he had been constantly happy. Quatre smiled again, remembering his maid's strange look when she had found him dancing around the room with an invisible partner, humming tunes from another time, Beethoven and Bach. He had been in a trance, immersed in intimate fantasies about a certain clown. Only in his thoughts, he was no longer a clown, no longer there for an audience, but he was there only for himself and Quatre.
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in!" Quatre called cheerfully. The door opened and Trowa stepped inside the room and shut the door behind him softly.
"Hi, Quatre," he greeted his friend. Quatre lowered the book and smiled at Trowa.
"Trowa!" he exclaimed excitedly.
"My, you're awfully cheerful for reading such a
gloomy book," Trowa commented, eyebrows raised and the side of his mouth turned
upward slightly.
"But it's beautiful,
Trowa! Even so long ago when this book was written, people were the same, and
they felt the same, and the world fundamentally never changed! The caring that
these characters show each other, it's, it's…" Quatre was becoming highly
animated while he described to Trowa his feelings, and he sat up and
gesticulated fervently, waving his arms around. Trowa laughed.
"Fascinating?"
"Yes! And just the fact that these characters had hope all throughout the story, and if one of them lost it, another would encourage it, it's so beautiful, Trowa!" Quatre shut his eyes and smiled once more. Trowa chuckled.
"I can tell you're enjoying it. We never had time to read during the war or do anything of the sort. We also didn't have time to think much about how we feel," he stated thoughtfully.
Quatre laid the book down and studied Trowa's expression. It was not evident, but he could detect the faintest glow in the other boy's eyes. Suddenly, Trowa reached out and placed his hand on Quatre's shoulder. Quatre drew a breath in sharply. The light was behind Trowa making it look like it was radiating from him.
He looks so alive!
"Quatre, I—"
"Me too, Trowa!" Quatre blurted out, smiling. His face was awkwardly red. Trowa stopped and studied the blonde's face. Then he grinned. Unexpectedly, he gripped him on the upper arms tightly and dragged him close. Then he loosened the grip and brushed back Quatre's bangs. Quatre reached around and embraced his love, pulling him down on the bed.
"Trowa…" he whispered.
Just then, the door flew open.
"Quatre, we found—" Dorothy was standing in the doorway, waving tickets of some sort around, wearing an orange dress. Now she was frozen. She slowly nodded. Trowa hastily climbed off the bed, adjusting his shirt. Quatre sat up, startled, causing Lord of the Rings to fall off the bed with a thump. They were both blushing deeply. Trowa was clearing his throat furiously. Quatre shuffled his feet uncomfortably. Dorothy had a blank expression, but then she quickly grinned.
"Well, well," she commented. She looked from Quatre to Trowa. "Sorry for interrupting," she uttered. Then she turned around quickly and slammed the door. Quatre sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the ground. Trowa looked out the window.
"We didn't do anything wrong, did we, Trowa?" Quatre asked, clearing his throat.
"No," Trowa answered.
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!" A wail broke out from downstairs that not even the most terrified OZ soldier could have rivaled. The nasal, high-pitched voice of Wario was clearly distinguishable. Quatre jumped up.
"Uh-ooh. Better go check on her," Quatre quickly suggested. He then hurriedly left the room, bounding down the stairs. Wario was lying face down on the carpet, banging on the floor with hands and feet. Quatre picked her up.
"What's wrong, honey?" he asked worriedly.
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!" she continued. Quatre smelled a nasty odor from the toddler's diaper.
"Oh. I get it," he said as he carried Wario off to the baby room. As he changed the diaper, he could not help but think about what had just happened, no matter how hard he tried. It was what he had always wanted, wasn't it? Wasn't this what happened in every one of his fantasies? Then why did he feel so guilty? He felt as if he had wronged somebody, himself, but could not think of a reason why.
I guess there's a point where all reason breaks down.
Suddenly, he burst out laughing. He set the now clean-diapered child on the ground and ran to the door and out of the mansion, still cackling. He passed Rashid as he ran, and he asked, "Quatre? Are you all right?"
"Yeah, Rashid, love is destructive! Ahahahaahaaaa!!!" Quatre apparently found this statement so incredibly funny that he could not deal with it. He fell staggered, almost falling to the ground laughing. Dorothy appeared behind Rashid and looked at Quatre as though he were insane.
Even as Quatre was laughing, he felt himself growing heavier and heavier with each gasp of air.
I'm going so fast!
Quatre no longer understood what his brain was talking about. Everything that usually spoke to him in such empathic harmony: the trees, grass, house, people, were now sending him messages that his brain could no longer interpret.
What do you mean?
Oh no! I'm—no you're you! Goodbye, me!
I'm so fast but time is so slow and I'm so weak and I'm too heavy!
You
are!
Good-by!
Quatre sank to the ground, no longer able to support himself properly. He was still laughing. It sounded hoarse now, but it still sounded as if he were in a deep state of hilarity. As he sunk into unconsciousness, he murmured among fading giggles, "Welcome home."
When he awoke, he stared at an unfamiliar ceiling. A hospital. The door opened immediately and a woman entered the room. She looked sympathetic; she was wearing a denim skirt and a blouse, and her black hair tied back was orderly. She wore a bright smile.
"Quatre Winner?" she asked in a polite but soothing voice.
"Yes. That is my name," Quatre stated matter-of-factly.
"Hi. I am Dr. Laera. How are you feeling?"
"My head is empty. I feel very light. I have no idea what happened," Quatre said quickly.
"You were laughing, and you were falling."
"How did you know?"
"Mr. Barton told me."
"Trowa?"
Dr. Laera stopped. She sat down on a chair and placed her hands in her lap.
"That's his first name? Are you his friend?" she asked.
"Of course!" Quatre told her. He closed his eyes. Seeing the darkness flood in as the remnants of the light's energy faded, he noticed just how blindingly bright the room was.
"Now, what do you remember? Do you remember how you felt, what made you feel that way?" Quatre paused for a few seconds. He remembered the incident all too clearly.
"Well, it was very odd. I was changing Wario's diaper and feeling really guilty—" Why was he telling her this? He hardly knew the woman!
"Yes?" she prompted. Quatre pressed his lips shut. But then, why not tell people? He had not done anything wrong.
"I'm here to help," Dr. Laera gently stated. It did not matter. He wanted to tell somebody. It had always helped to talk.
"—because Trowa and I had been… talking about private matters, and Dorothy came in and overheard us, but I don't know what's wrong; we certainly weren't talking about her, and…oh, maybe that's not even why I felt guilty! There was something in me the second she entered, though, and it was heavy. It sounds like everything I've ever heard about depression, but I did not feel sad. Well, when I was changing the diapers, I thought of this phrase that I had read somewhere about breaking, and I don't know how but everything I received from the outside told me that my love was like that, and then…" Quatre stopped, out of breath because he had been talking so quickly. Dr. Laera took her chance.
"What do you mean, everything you received from the outside?" she interjected.
"Well, everything that I feel or think is the result of the influences of my spirit and body and the outside combined. That's what my older sister Irea told me when I was very young, and I have found it to be true. Trowa said that I am especially empathic and sensitive to my surroundings," he told her. The doctor nodded.
"Go on."
"Then I thought that the phrase sounded so ridiculous, 'Love is destructive' or something like that; it's contrary to anything I've ever believed, yet it was so convincing then! It just made no sense anymore after the instant when I thought of it, and somehow the heaviness inside me turned out to be funny as well. When I laughed I didn't feel the heaviness as much but more the absurdity. I ran outside and Rashid was there and Dorothy came, and I was so heavy, and somehow it felt like I was going really, really fast, only I couldn't see anything moving, you know, when you go fast you see your surroundings move fast, but I saw nothing of the sort. I just felt like I was moving so fast, falling down. And every moment took so long! It was almost like a premonition of falling just a few moments later, but it was so real then that it was what made me fall, but if what made me fall was a premonition of something that couldn't have happened without the premonition, it would be like a circle, and—" Quatre closed his eyes. As he recalled the events, they became muddled again. But Dr. Laera just nodded. Then she looked at him expectantly.
"Well, everything was telling me things that I didn't understand, and then they disappeared, but right before I fainted new ones came and they stayed, because I didn't think against them." He was done. As he drifted back out of consciousness, he just saw Dr. Laera writing something in a notebook.
When he woke again, he saw yet another unfamiliar ceiling. It looked like a cloudless, blue sky. And when he looked around, he saw trees and grass and smelled fragrant wind, and there were tables of food laid out for him, and it looked as though everything he would ever need was there. He sat up and trudged toward the table because he felt suddenly very hungry, not knowing how long he had slept. The food was delicious.
This time Wu fei followed her. As she took the katana and entered the woods, he hid in the trees' shadows and watched. Meilan gracefully dashed along the ground, which was littered with red, orange, yellow, and brown, dry leaves. Occasionally, she skipped a step, and it looked like a fairy's leap. Wu fei wondered how she acquired that strength. She was the only woman he had ever seen who was strong.
Finally, she came to a clearing in the forest. There was bright green grass and colorful, soft flowers, and sunlight streaming through the thinned leaves. At the center was a great tree, branches shooting in all the directions that he knew, multiplying and becoming thinner until they reached the end. And leaves on these ends, countless ones. They were dark green and had a silver tint. The light was beautiful. Meilan was standing in front of the tree, looking up and up into its branches, hands folded together as if in prayer. Then she turned, eyes shut, and raised the katana. She smiled in his direction. She leaped up and landed two feet to the left, and took a precise step diagonally, and leapt again. She turned deftly and swung the katana around her, in rhythm to her steps. She moved increasingly faster, her black hair following her and the sword obeying her every command. Her expression was serene, and contented.
Wu fei drew his sword. Meilan instantly reacted by slightly changing her beat, and moving towards him. He grinned. Then she moved back again. Wu fei charged, and his blow was easily deflected by the natural movement of Meilan's katana. His sword flew out of his hand and landed a few yards behind him. He bowed. Meilan stopped moving and bowed as well.
'Meilan—'
'No. I am Nataku.'
It was an hour before sunrise. The sky was dark and swallowed any color that would normally be perceptible. The lake was the only sound, running down the even field, falling so fast that it could not rise, and the cold kept it bound to the bed of the lake. Its trickle seemed incredibly loud, since it was the only audible sound; any remaining unknown echo was too powerful or too weak to be perceived by a mere mortal. Wu fei was lying back down on the cold, damp Earth, absolutely still but for jagged, uneven breaths, and soaked. He too was falling.
Find me-ind-me-ind-me-e!!
His eyes flew open and as he adjusted to his
surrounding, this remained his only movement. Then he jumped up and wildly
looked about him; how had he ended up here? He remembered nothing. Only a lake.
And that was right here. But he could feel clearly a gap in his memory, and it
was driving him insane. Each time he thought he remembered something, or saw
something reminiscent of a certain forgotten feeling or air, it escaped his
mind and he was left with an empty frustration. He stood there almost
motionlessly, trying so hard to visualize his forgotten memories, until the
horizon revealed the first red tint on the eastern sky. He then ran along the side
of the river, because he remembered everything before last night, including
where Sally's house was.
When he arrived there, he saw a car parked in front of the house that he had never seen before. It was black and sleek, very expensive-looking. There was a bumper sticker on the back that read, 'Overcome the fantasy of the individual.' It was written on a logo like a red sun. Wu Fei raised his eyebrow.
What kind of onna would be so weak as to feel the need to display such feeble ideals publicly?
Then he looked into the window, cautiously.
Someone as weak as that may be inclined to perform an injustice.
He saw Lady Une standing sideways facing Sally.
"I have succeeded in fabricating a mission," Lady Une was telling Sally. She sighed. "He's such a resourceful man. It's only because he is driven by such convincing motives. He is so passionate— it's the spirit that I have not witnessed since the end of the war."
Sally had her hands in her pockets. She shifted her weight from her left to her right foot.
"You're saying that the world will die if we don't do what he says?" she asked, sounding very skeptical. Une gesticulated wildly. Strange, normally she had seemed to Wu Fei as such a composed onna.
"Sally, if his sister succeeds in her plan, we will be enslaved in a meaningless world of complacency, waiting for the inevitable doom that is its side effect!"
"And there's no reasoning with her?"
"She is obsessed with her world! She refuses to let go, almost as if she is trying very hard to overlook something. And she is so heavily guarded that nobody will ever get at her. Never. Unless we have someone like preventers giving him aid."
"What do you plan to do?" Sally sounded more convinced now, but still unsure of herself.
"Eliminate all obstacles," Une stated gravely. Sally gasped.
"You don't mean assas—" Une quickly shushed her.
"We're not alone. We're never alone. Her spies are everywhere." Urgently, she wrote something on a slip of paper and handed it to Sally. Then she hurried out of the room, ran to the black car, and drove away down the driveway.
Relena Peacecraft paced the classroom, ruler at hand, wearing a long, pink skirt and an old-fashioned blouse, her long, light brown hair trailing behind her, bobbing with each stride. She lifted her blue eyes to gaze at the ceiling, unfazed by the glaring light that she was staring at…
That's the top.
Relena was in a reverie of moral philosophy.
It's where peace will be found. Once we can ascend from this hell of repetitive fighting and hatred, we will reach the ceiling.
She smiled a genuinely affected smile.
"Class, let me share with you all the wonderful thing that I just thought of—"
An official dressed in an olive-green uniform and an expressionless face entered the room.
"Mrs. Peacecraft."
"Yes, Stephen?" she addressed the official by name, still smiling.
"Uuhh…" shifting uncomfortably, hinting at surprise, he replied, "Mrs. Peacecraft—"
"Please call me Relena," she suggested, her smile growing even brighter.
"Uh, Mrs., uh, Relena…ehrm." He straightened. "They've found him." He turned to leave.
"Heero?" she breathed, her eyebrows raised and turned up, and eyes shiny, tears being forced through them.
"No. Pax. Your son. He had run away." The official turned and quickly opened the door.
"Oh…well, send him here, please." Relena forced a smile.
"Yes, ma'am." He briskly paced out the door.
"Please call me Relena!" she called after him.
The echoes of the footsteps of the official's feet rapidly hitting the hallway's floor were still audible. Relena turned back to her class.
He must have been in quite a hurry…"Now, when you feel the inclination to fight, you must think of nature, close your eyes and imagine nature, the giant trees, the wind, and sunshine, and remember the peace. Then, feeling calm and renewed, rationally work out the problem that made you want to fight," Relena lectured with exaggerated expression. One of the generals sitting in the back row raised his hand.
"What about the other part of nature?" he asked.
"What other part?" Relena looked genuinely puzzled.
"The part where the cats eat the mice and the wolves fight their rivals for wives," he replied. Relena sighed.
"That is precisely the part of nature that we are trying to improve. God gave us the power to make efforts, and that is what our mission is," she told him, using Heero's word.
"Well, what if we are fighting for whatever the mission means that you were saying?" the general persisted.
"Peace can never be achieved by war!" Relena cried, lifting her hands to the ceiling.
"What about love? What if those wolves are fighting for a female wolf?" the general asked.
"Then
they can make a compromise," Relena replied.
"What, the female wolf is
shared? What if she doesn't want to be shared?" the general grew agitated.
"Some sacrifices need to be made. That is what this school stands for. We even have a physical section where we teach you this, I am sure you know all about. If everyone got what they wanted…"
"But that's what we want! What is the point if we can't try to get what we want? What if we want peace and love? Does that mean that the peace and love will only be partial and never complete? We will never fully know both at the same time? It is horrible, like that terribly confusing uncertainty principle that I heard of sometime, and it has been haunting me ever since!" the general began to show signs of tears. One of the new students in the first row gave him a strange look.
"Why are you crying?" he asked dubiously.
"Because all my life… All my life! I have been searching for fulfillment. In the war I wanted peace and love. I still want peace and love. But Teacher Relena says we can't have it!"
Relena walked to the general and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
"It's all right. It is very understandable that one feel frustrated about the obstacles of nature. They just recur, over and over again! History, you know, is an endless waltz. But we can recreate this nature if we try! If we use a peaceful effort to get what we want—"
"Well, what if our enemies don't appreciate a peaceful effort?"
"Then we show them the wonderfulness of peace and love!"
"How?"
"We set an example! Remember during the war, when I was about to disarm the world? The colonies wanted peace! Earth wanted peace! We just had to eliminate the misunderstandings!"
"White Fang did not want peace."
"I am sure deep down they did."
"How do you know?"
"Because deep down we're all the same—humans! And we have hearts."
"But what if after that we are different?"
"It is true that our mistakes may misguide us. That is why those of us who are right must show the ones mistaken the truth."
"How do you know you're right?"
"Because I'm Relena Peacecraft."
"We need a quality preventer. These terrorists seem to be a threat. They apparently have multiple bases spread over the colonies, and we need someone to confirm this. Who is our best stealth-asset?" Lady Une asked in a business-like tone, sitting at her desk, talking to a subordinate.
"Well, he is not a preventer but he fought in the war. Duo Maxwell. It says here, 'Master of stealth'," he stated.
"Ah, can you locate him?" Une asked. The subordinate smiled.
"Already done."
"Can you contact him?"
"We certainly will try.
STORM.
It was so close this time.
What happened now?
The distraction.
Can we locate it?
Don't be stupid.
Then, do you have him?
Him?
Unmmm… I overheard.
There is another problem.
What?
Eartria's guardians. They are planning a new ally. They have planted the seed in him already.
Then it is too late. We can only fight.
And there is something else.
Forces are coming. They are upset.
We can only hope to fight those stronger than us if we control those weaker than us.
What's going on!!! The story's about to really start rolling… ooh this is so much FUN! Just WAIT till you know what's causing all this! MUAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!! smiles sweetly Please review, all right? Thankees!