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CHAPTER THREE: INNOCENT BLOOD
The bright blue skies and sandy gold shores of the Mediterranean ceased to exist. Instead, the entire landscape, from the sea to the mountains was only shades of grey. The beach extended far beyond sight, but was deserted, and inland laid only the shadows of the things that should have been.
"Where am I?" she whispered, the sound of the unyielding waves drowning out her voice. When her gaze shot upward, she realized the sky was slowly clouding over. "How did I get here?" Silence dawned upon the scenery, as it would a crowd when the host entered the stateroom, and the eerie quietness sent a chill up Une's spine. She stood still for a moment, gazing out onto the boundless greys of the ocean. It was so depressing, and indeed, these were the colours of her life, painted out for her to see.
A raven's piercing cry had her whirling around from the sea she was facing to the shadowy forests that lie where the beach ended. Darkness. Eternal, infinite, black. The worst of colours that painted the landscape of the life she had chosen to lead. It felt so familiar. "W-Who's there?" she called, and a shadow moved within the dense cluster of trees. Une stiffened. "S-Sally? Is that you?" No one answered. Nothing stirred. "Who's there?" Une cried again, and time froze around her.
"Travel no farther," said a low, haunting voice. Une's head shot from left to right, but the origin of the sound could not be pinpointed. It filled her ears from every direction. "Go back. Do not fight fate. Around you are the colours of your life..." The man's voice echoed across the sky like rolling thunder, almost like the voice of God. "Who are you?" Une asked, bewildered, but he continued without answering. "These are your colours. These will be your colours for as long as you exist here. There is nothing you can do to change that... So take heed, and do not go further than this..." She stood still, staring up into the sky. "What are you talking about?" "Long ago, you chose the path of your life. The choice was not good for you, but it was yours. You painted your life with the brushes of hate and anger, and the colours of remorseless sin. In your painting is the blood of the countless innocent. You have stained yourself with darkness, and it will follow you forever. You cannot change your path now..." Une looked around, and the scenery began to swirl, melting into a dark blur of colours, transforming into a blur of memories. She saw it all. Everything she had ever done. Her past with Oz, her past with Treize. She saw Relena's face as she wept over her father's dead body-the body of the man she herself had killed. And she saw Noventa, his angry shouts beating against her ears as he fell from the air shuttle, as she drew her gun and gave him passage to the next world. "MURDERER!" the furious voices screamed viciously against her ears. "MURDERER!" "TRAITOR!" "RANCOROUS CRIMINAL!" Angry accusations were thrown from almost every direction, and she could not bear it any longer. "You will never be able to change." "No!" Anna screamed. "No, you're wrong! I CAN change. I DID change!!" "Oh, have you? My dear child, open your eyes. You chose your life, and now you have to follow it. This is your fate. It is your destiny." The greys faded to black-the black of outer space. Before her lay a colony, the people's screams echoing as an MS prepared to fire at the structure. Her eyes widened and she tried to cry out, but nothing came. "YOU gave the order, but did you ever watch when others carried out your word?" A blinding light burst forth and the colony's outer shell ripped open, the vacuum of space rushing in, and then the colony itself ruptured, the lives- the countless innocent lives-dispersed amongst the stars. She had to turn away. "Do not take your eyes off the battlefield just yet, child..." Forcing herself to look up, she saw it. The Tallgeese II and Altron Gundam locked in mortal combat. "Treize," she whispered, as tears brimmed, blurring her vision. The blue and white mobile suit exploded in a ball of electric sparks, and Une screamed. "NO!" "Yes," replied the voice. "In the end, your path led you here. It lead you to heartbreak. To loss, to eternal darkness. And you cannot change this." The images faded, and once again, she was standing on the grey beach. But this would not be the end of her torment. It was just the beginning, and only the voice knew of it. "NO! Stop it!! I don't know who you are, and I don't care what you say! I HAVE changed! I HAVE moved on!! LEAVE ME ALONE!!!" Her own voice sounded alien to her, and, not knowing what else she could do, she turned and ran down the stretch of grey beach, not daring once to look back. "Take my warning child!" the voice shouted behind her. "If you try to change what is destined to be, you will never make it... It will be your death..." Everything seemed to fade as she ran, and suddenly, the ground changed. What was once sand became jagged gravel, and she stumbled, falling onto the sharp stones. "No blood," Une whispered as she pulled herself from the ground. "...A dream..." By now, the sky had completely clouded over, and it began to rain. But instead of bringing the cold, wet relief to her overheated skin, it brought more heat. The rain was warm, and, curious, Anna held her palms out to catch the tiny droplets. It took her a moment to realize it, but when she looked down at the liquid that soaked into her white gloves, her heart almost stopped dead. "Blood!" she cried, staring down at her hands. "Blood- the blood of the countless innocent..." She began to shake uncontrollably. Was this her punishment for her past sins? Would she have to suffer this for an eternity? Not suffer by shedding her own blood and tears, but suffer by having the blood and tears of the innocent, shed by her hateful sin, rain down upon her until all of it was spilled?
Thunder roared like a vengeful beast, and the blood rain fell faster, harder. But before any thought could completely process in her head, a sound, like an oncoming train, echoed through the heavy air. She looked up, and a light, a blinding white light, flashed for only a second, before disappearing behind the horizon.
"What's happening?!?" Then there was another sound, like an explosion, and before she could react, or even scream, a wall of water and sand knocked her to the ground. Gasping, she fought against the current that pulled her under, and dragged herself onto the beach, away from the now receding water. Drenched completely, her tears fell. It was still raining.
She sat exhausted on the sand, and burying her head in her hands, she sobbed silently, until something peculiar caught her eye. Just off the shore, tiny bubbles were rising to the surface of the water, slowing approaching the land. There, before her eyes, out of the grey water, rose a ghastly figure, not even wet from the pounding waves. It was a man, and she knew instantly who it was; that wavy dark hair, that stern façade, that pair of intense eyes. "Treize?" Her voice trembled as she called his name. But he did not answer. Behind him, from the murky depths, rose two other men and a woman. They did not carry smiles. Instead, in their dark, lifeless façades and narrowed eyes was written the sin of bloodlust. Hate. "Treize? What are you doing?" she cried, now truly afraid, as he stepped towards her. The others stopped in their tracks, as if watching intently. Staring into her fearful eyes, he drew his sword from its scabbard, and Anna began to back away. He still continued forward, death spelled across his lips as he raised his sword higher, to level with her throat.
Finally, Une turned and ran as fast as she possibly could, not daring to look back, for fear that Treize-or what had become of him-was chasing close behind. She did not need to look back to know he was there, she could just hear his footsteps, and his sword slashing the air so very close behind her. Why was he doing this?? she thought, angry and confused. Why?? Then, her foot caught on an upturned root, and she fell like a rag doll against a birch bark tree. Panting, she turned around, knowing for sure he was there. Indeed, he was there, lowering his sword to level with her chest- her heart, which was beating madly against her rib cage. If it had not been a dream, it would surely have hurt to breathe. "Treize..."
Evil, hateful laughter rang through the air. He drew his sword back, then, before Une could do anything at all, he lunged forward, and she screamed.
The young Preventer jolted awake on the plane, out of breath, her hair matted to her forehead with cold sweat. Knowing she was alone, she let her tears fall again, placing her head in her hands and sobbing, distraught from the memories of such a vivid, yet colourless dream. A nightmare. She began to shake again uncontrollably. "Why?" she asked herself aloud. It had been four years. She hadn't dreamt of Treize since-since Mariemaia came into her life... and even then, never had he tried to kill her. "What's happening to me?" she whispered, and for the first time since the Eve of Wars, she cried herself to sleep.
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AUTHOR'S NOTES:
I AM SOOOOOOOO SORRY!!! Yurushite kudasai!!! Wait, I think I already
apologized in advance for this whole psycho-dream thing. Just look at it as a
poor attempt at foreshadow, ok? Besides, it's a law of anime: The most
terrible, soul shaking scene HAS to, without exception, happen to the
ONE person LEAST capable of dealing with it. hehehe. In this
particular case: Lady Une. You have to admit it adds an oh-so-
unbelievable plot twist. #_#
CHAPTER THREE: INNOCENT BLOOD
The bright blue skies and sandy gold shores of the Mediterranean ceased to exist. Instead, the entire landscape, from the sea to the mountains was only shades of grey. The beach extended far beyond sight, but was deserted, and inland laid only the shadows of the things that should have been.
"Where am I?" she whispered, the sound of the unyielding waves drowning out her voice. When her gaze shot upward, she realized the sky was slowly clouding over. "How did I get here?" Silence dawned upon the scenery, as it would a crowd when the host entered the stateroom, and the eerie quietness sent a chill up Une's spine. She stood still for a moment, gazing out onto the boundless greys of the ocean. It was so depressing, and indeed, these were the colours of her life, painted out for her to see.
A raven's piercing cry had her whirling around from the sea she was facing to the shadowy forests that lie where the beach ended. Darkness. Eternal, infinite, black. The worst of colours that painted the landscape of the life she had chosen to lead. It felt so familiar. "W-Who's there?" she called, and a shadow moved within the dense cluster of trees. Une stiffened. "S-Sally? Is that you?" No one answered. Nothing stirred. "Who's there?" Une cried again, and time froze around her.
"Travel no farther," said a low, haunting voice. Une's head shot from left to right, but the origin of the sound could not be pinpointed. It filled her ears from every direction. "Go back. Do not fight fate. Around you are the colours of your life..." The man's voice echoed across the sky like rolling thunder, almost like the voice of God. "Who are you?" Une asked, bewildered, but he continued without answering. "These are your colours. These will be your colours for as long as you exist here. There is nothing you can do to change that... So take heed, and do not go further than this..." She stood still, staring up into the sky. "What are you talking about?" "Long ago, you chose the path of your life. The choice was not good for you, but it was yours. You painted your life with the brushes of hate and anger, and the colours of remorseless sin. In your painting is the blood of the countless innocent. You have stained yourself with darkness, and it will follow you forever. You cannot change your path now..." Une looked around, and the scenery began to swirl, melting into a dark blur of colours, transforming into a blur of memories. She saw it all. Everything she had ever done. Her past with Oz, her past with Treize. She saw Relena's face as she wept over her father's dead body-the body of the man she herself had killed. And she saw Noventa, his angry shouts beating against her ears as he fell from the air shuttle, as she drew her gun and gave him passage to the next world. "MURDERER!" the furious voices screamed viciously against her ears. "MURDERER!" "TRAITOR!" "RANCOROUS CRIMINAL!" Angry accusations were thrown from almost every direction, and she could not bear it any longer. "You will never be able to change." "No!" Anna screamed. "No, you're wrong! I CAN change. I DID change!!" "Oh, have you? My dear child, open your eyes. You chose your life, and now you have to follow it. This is your fate. It is your destiny." The greys faded to black-the black of outer space. Before her lay a colony, the people's screams echoing as an MS prepared to fire at the structure. Her eyes widened and she tried to cry out, but nothing came. "YOU gave the order, but did you ever watch when others carried out your word?" A blinding light burst forth and the colony's outer shell ripped open, the vacuum of space rushing in, and then the colony itself ruptured, the lives- the countless innocent lives-dispersed amongst the stars. She had to turn away. "Do not take your eyes off the battlefield just yet, child..." Forcing herself to look up, she saw it. The Tallgeese II and Altron Gundam locked in mortal combat. "Treize," she whispered, as tears brimmed, blurring her vision. The blue and white mobile suit exploded in a ball of electric sparks, and Une screamed. "NO!" "Yes," replied the voice. "In the end, your path led you here. It lead you to heartbreak. To loss, to eternal darkness. And you cannot change this." The images faded, and once again, she was standing on the grey beach. But this would not be the end of her torment. It was just the beginning, and only the voice knew of it. "NO! Stop it!! I don't know who you are, and I don't care what you say! I HAVE changed! I HAVE moved on!! LEAVE ME ALONE!!!" Her own voice sounded alien to her, and, not knowing what else she could do, she turned and ran down the stretch of grey beach, not daring once to look back. "Take my warning child!" the voice shouted behind her. "If you try to change what is destined to be, you will never make it... It will be your death..." Everything seemed to fade as she ran, and suddenly, the ground changed. What was once sand became jagged gravel, and she stumbled, falling onto the sharp stones. "No blood," Une whispered as she pulled herself from the ground. "...A dream..." By now, the sky had completely clouded over, and it began to rain. But instead of bringing the cold, wet relief to her overheated skin, it brought more heat. The rain was warm, and, curious, Anna held her palms out to catch the tiny droplets. It took her a moment to realize it, but when she looked down at the liquid that soaked into her white gloves, her heart almost stopped dead. "Blood!" she cried, staring down at her hands. "Blood- the blood of the countless innocent..." She began to shake uncontrollably. Was this her punishment for her past sins? Would she have to suffer this for an eternity? Not suffer by shedding her own blood and tears, but suffer by having the blood and tears of the innocent, shed by her hateful sin, rain down upon her until all of it was spilled?
Thunder roared like a vengeful beast, and the blood rain fell faster, harder. But before any thought could completely process in her head, a sound, like an oncoming train, echoed through the heavy air. She looked up, and a light, a blinding white light, flashed for only a second, before disappearing behind the horizon.
"What's happening?!?" Then there was another sound, like an explosion, and before she could react, or even scream, a wall of water and sand knocked her to the ground. Gasping, she fought against the current that pulled her under, and dragged herself onto the beach, away from the now receding water. Drenched completely, her tears fell. It was still raining.
She sat exhausted on the sand, and burying her head in her hands, she sobbed silently, until something peculiar caught her eye. Just off the shore, tiny bubbles were rising to the surface of the water, slowing approaching the land. There, before her eyes, out of the grey water, rose a ghastly figure, not even wet from the pounding waves. It was a man, and she knew instantly who it was; that wavy dark hair, that stern façade, that pair of intense eyes. "Treize?" Her voice trembled as she called his name. But he did not answer. Behind him, from the murky depths, rose two other men and a woman. They did not carry smiles. Instead, in their dark, lifeless façades and narrowed eyes was written the sin of bloodlust. Hate. "Treize? What are you doing?" she cried, now truly afraid, as he stepped towards her. The others stopped in their tracks, as if watching intently. Staring into her fearful eyes, he drew his sword from its scabbard, and Anna began to back away. He still continued forward, death spelled across his lips as he raised his sword higher, to level with her throat.
Finally, Une turned and ran as fast as she possibly could, not daring to look back, for fear that Treize-or what had become of him-was chasing close behind. She did not need to look back to know he was there, she could just hear his footsteps, and his sword slashing the air so very close behind her. Why was he doing this?? she thought, angry and confused. Why?? Then, her foot caught on an upturned root, and she fell like a rag doll against a birch bark tree. Panting, she turned around, knowing for sure he was there. Indeed, he was there, lowering his sword to level with her chest- her heart, which was beating madly against her rib cage. If it had not been a dream, it would surely have hurt to breathe. "Treize..."
Evil, hateful laughter rang through the air. He drew his sword back, then, before Une could do anything at all, he lunged forward, and she screamed.
The young Preventer jolted awake on the plane, out of breath, her hair matted to her forehead with cold sweat. Knowing she was alone, she let her tears fall again, placing her head in her hands and sobbing, distraught from the memories of such a vivid, yet colourless dream. A nightmare. She began to shake again uncontrollably. "Why?" she asked herself aloud. It had been four years. She hadn't dreamt of Treize since-since Mariemaia came into her life... and even then, never had he tried to kill her. "What's happening to me?" she whispered, and for the first time since the Eve of Wars, she cried herself to sleep.
*******************************************************************
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
I AM SOOOOOOOO SORRY!!! Yurushite kudasai!!! Wait, I think I already
apologized in advance for this whole psycho-dream thing. Just look at it as a
poor attempt at foreshadow, ok? Besides, it's a law of anime: The most
terrible, soul shaking scene HAS to, without exception, happen to the
ONE person LEAST capable of dealing with it. hehehe. In this
particular case: Lady Une. You have to admit it adds an oh-so-
unbelievable plot twist. #_#