AN: OMG!!!!!! *bows repeatedly* GOMEN NASAI GOMEN NASAI GOMEN NASSSSAAAAAAIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!! Forgive the almighty humble Heero's Girl for taking so long!!!! I've had the greatest case of writer's block, and I'm finally FREE!!!!!! *laughs hysterically* Well, I know the wait was long and all, but I believe this chapter will be WORTH IT!!!!
P.S.: I will no longer say that I will get chapters out soon, for such comments are to be null and void (as you can plainly see).
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Chapter 12: Relena smiled, "How have you been?" "We're at war now. How do you think I've been?"
The red light of the setting sun caused the tall white building to look as if it had been stained with blood. And so it would be, before the night was through. Hampshire's men were going to have hell to pay once the gundam pilots were through with them.
Heero, Blaze, and Duo crept along the outside wall towards the back. Trowa and Quatre were going to sneak in through the left entrance, and break into the security room, to keep the guards from sounding the alarm for intruders. Meanwhile, Wufei was busy setting up explosives on the south-east corner of the building, which would attract the attention of nearly all of Hampshire's men, save for the ones in the banquet hall where the pacifists were being held hostage.
Blaze suppressed the blush that threatened to rise to her cheeks and greet the day. Heero held her hand, keeping her close to his side. It was only for Heero's caution of her safety, but it still took away some of her concentration, as she willed her hand not to go sweaty while he held it firmly in his grasp. She kept glancing back at Duo, and Duo kept making silent remarks to her with his violet eyes and mischievous grin. 'I hope he's not plotting anything that will forever throw me into the pit of humiliation….' Blaze thought to herself with a worried frown.
The sound of their footsteps merged with the sound of the rattling leaves, stirred alive by the breeze. Blaze tucked back a loose strand of light brown hair that had freed itself from her ponytail. Duo did the same with his braid.
Around the corner they heard the whispers of hushed voices. Men were talking. Two… no, three of them. Guards, watching the back door. The two pilots and pilot-in-training stayed hidden behind the corner. There was no reason to make their presence known. Wufei would take the guards' attention soon enough…
Wufei stepped over the two guards he had knocked out, and pulled their limp bodies behind a nearby bush. He quickly began to set up his equipment, eager to get to the fun part. He always did enjoy things that exploded with a satisfying 'boom'. He strapped the explosive to the wall of the building, and turned on the electric device. Once Wufei was hiding within the branches of one of the taller trees from a much farther distance, a smirk played on his sly Asian features. With a press of the button a large fiery explosion punctuated a large hole in the south-east corner of the large building. Chunks of stone flew away, showering the entire area within a 60 foot radius. A large gaping hole became visible through the cloud of dust, and once that settled, the interior of the first and second floor were visible of the three story edifice. Wufei dusted off his hands proudly.
The explosion rocked the entire foundation, startling everything within range. Men ran towards the action, eager to see the cause, and catch who threatened their mission.
Relena and the other Arabic pacifists heard the rumble and felt the entire foundation shake. The glass balls on the chandelier clattered loudly, as a few objects around the large banquet hall fell, while small bits of debris fell from the columns and ceiling from the shock. People fell to the floor, others clutched the walls or a nearby chair or table.
"What in heaven's name was that?!" shouted the man who held them hostage. His thick black eyebrows creased with anger and confusion.
"W-we don't know, Captain Bannan, sir!! Someone must have bombed the building!!" said a nearby guard.
"Idiots! Don't they know we hold the Arabic pacifists and the Vice Foreign Minister Dorlian herself??" raged the blue clad officer. "Why weren't the alarms sounded for an intrusion?? What are those guards in the surveillance room doing?? Sleeping?!"
Quatre and Trowa sat back amiably as they watched the camera to the banquet hall as if it were and entertaining movie. "There goes Wufei…" Quatre said with a smile.
"I bet he enjoyed himself…" Trowa remarked.
Behind them two men lay unconscious on the floor, but the two pilots paid no heed to them.
Wufei watched as a large number of ESUN soldiers (also to be known as previous Preventers) flocked to the source of the explosion. Not that it was hard to miss, since there was a very big hole in a very big building. The shouts of the men rose across the small clearing and to the tree where Wufei hid in the shadows.
"Where's the intruder?? Who did this??"
"Why aren't the alarms sounded??"
"Four of you go to the surveillance room!! Check on our men!! You five go and guard our prisoners. The rest of you spread out and find who did this!!"
At that moment Wufei leaped out of the tree, and drew forth his katana. He stepped out of the shelter of the leaves and into the clear view of the soldiers. "You wouldn't be happening to look for me, would you?"
The leader, a man with blonde hair slicked back and small glasses, pointed at him. "It was you?!"
"What do you think, you weakling?!" Wufei shouted, taunting him with his smirk.
"Gggrrr…. How DARE YOU!!!! After him, men!!!!" The blonde leader sprung at him, and Wufei leaped back gracefully. A line of 15 men, leader included, sprang after him, forgetting their previous orders. Wufei retreated back into the shelter of the trees where he could truly fight each weak fighter.
As Wufei ran, he threw over his shoulder, "You're all pathetic!!!"
Nothing like giving them a little motivation…
Once the guards had left their post, Heero, Blaze, and Duo snuck into the building. As they walked along the silent hall, Blaze shook her hand loose to hold her gun in both hands. Heero glanced back at her, but let her be. It with benefit them both if he wasn't so protective. The light of the elegant lamps with their frosted glass shades pointing upwards gave the building a nice touch. The silence and absence of people made it eerie and foreboding.
Heero and Duo had memorized the blueprints, so they knew where they were going, whereas Blaze was left to confusion by all of the turns that they took. At first she attempted to keep track in case of emergencies, but gave up after the seventh turn they took.
The hostages sat in silence, as did the guards in the banquet hall. Finally, Captain Bannan spoke up, brandishing a very large, very intimidating gun. "That's it!! All of you are to sign this document this second if you value your lives!!"
The hostages looked helplessly at one another, with the exception of Relena and Abdel Malcolm, Quatre's business representative of the Winner Foundation. Relena was use to this sort of thing, whereas Malcolm had to stand his ground, being the Arab leader that he was. His strength and trustworthiness is what convinced Quatre to give him his responsibility. Now as Quatre and Trowa watched, the blonde boy was glad that he had made the right choice.
A few of the hostages stood up to approach the document that sat on the table, ready to give up peace for their own lives.
"Make haste!" The Captain shouted, his face red with anger.
More hostages stood up, and Relena balked at this. "Stop it!" she shouted. "How can you all be so selfish and cowardly? What are you fighting for?! You have dedicated your lives to Pacifism, yet you are so eager to throw it away! Don't you understand? This is what Hampshire wants!!"
"SHUT UP!!!!" shouted Captain Bannan, his coal-black eyes burning holes into her. He drew back his large hand and back-handed the small woman clean across the jaw. Relena fell to the ground in shock, her left cheek numb with pain. Malcolm helped her to her feet.
The three infiltrators entered into a large room with doors on all sides, and went across to the opposite end and exited, appearing in the large banquet hall. In the middle of the large room were the Pacifists, cowering together, while Hampshire's men surrounded them like wolves around sheep, waiting for the kill.
Bannan spun around at the sound of their entrance, and pointed his weapon shakily in the air. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't see them in the shadows, and the columns were adequate hiding places. He clenched his jaw, and motioned with his head that three guards go over and bring the intruders out. The guards obeyed, went towards the three that hid from them, and then were promptly knocked out.
Heero was the first to come out with his gun raised, aimed directly at the leader. Bannan did not waiver his weapon, and the other guards, two of them, brandished their weapons at the Heero. Then Duo came out, his gun raised as well, Heero's defense. The two advanced slowly, arms steady.
Bannan grabbed Relena, with the gun pointed to her head. "Stand back, or else I'll shoot!"
Heero and Duo obeyed, but did not lower their guns. 'Where the hell is Blaze??' Heero thought wildly. The two guards advanced on the two gundam pilots, and the scene was at a stand-off.
Heero paid no heed to the guards that were in his way. They were Duo's job. He kept his gun trained on the man's forehead, and knew Bannan couldn't do any harm if Heero pulled the trigger. He wouldn't have enough time to react. He wouldn't shoot Relena.
But there was a chance that the captain would pull the trigger before Heero did, and it was a chance that Heero and Duo couldn't take. 'Damn it!! Where is Blaze?!' Heero thought angrily. Once they got out of this, he was going to give her the lecture of her life!
Bannan dug the end of the barrel into Relena's temple and shouted, "Put your weapons down or this Pacifist bitch dies!!" Wow, did this guy have a temper…
Heero and Duo started to lower their guns, as the guards stepped forward to take them into custody.
Before Heero and Duo gave up their weapons, a grunt came from Bannan and he fell to the ground, letting go of the Vice Foreign Minister. His heavy gun landed on the marble-tiled floor, echoing loudly far into the high corners of the banquet hall. Silence fell like a blanket, as Blaze stood behind him, gun in hand. She had struck him clean across the crown, knocking the large leader into the world of the unconscious. She made eye contact with Heero, and beamed at her success.
Heero and Duo immediately brought their weapons up to the guards, and the two men immediately dropped their weapons, hands in the air in surrender. As the two young pilots kept their guns in the back of their enemies, one of them said, "You're not getting away with this!!"
"Yeah, whatever…" Duo replied, and he and Heero knocked out the two soldiers simultaneously.
The two young men turned around to face the hostages, and a few of them stepped back slightly. Relena did the opposite. She took a step forward, a warm smile on her face.
"Well, well," Duo commented. "Fancy meeting YOU here!"
"yes," Relena nodded. She looked at Heero. "It seems like we are back to old times."
Heero was quick and to the point. "Assuming that no one is hurt, we have to leave here, now."
As if on cue, Quatre and Trowa walked in. Trowa nodded his greetings, and Quatre warmly said hello to Relena, who returned the polite gesture.
"Sally is on her way with the transportation." Trowa informed.
"It'll be nice to see her again…" Quatre said.
Duo crossed his arms and smirked. "Wufei better get here, or else he'll miss his 'woman'." Blaze snickered at that.
"I heard that Maxwell!!" Wufei shouted as he stomped towards them from where the three had originally entered. He brandished his katana, typically, but Duo merely rolled his eyes at him.
"We need to leave now that we're all here." Heero ordered.
They organized the Pacifists, and left the building. Heero, Blaze, and Duo were in front, while the rest tailed the back, making sure everyone was together. Relena was also near the front group, glad to be with her friends again, and glad to be near Heero.
"How did I do?" Blaze asked Heero as they walked out.
"You helped us win. How do you think you did?" Heero replied stoically as he gave her a side-long glance.
Blaze smiled at him appreciatively.
Sally came around with a large military hauling truck, and gave a loud honk. She waved out of her window and shouted, "Hey, you guys!! Long time no see!!" She parked the vehicle. "Load up quickly. It won't take long for someone to come here after what Wufei did…"
"Hmph…" Wufei huffed as he walked by her.
Sally grinned. "Nice to see you too, Wufei!" She laughed to herself at the boy's stubborn antics.
Trowa and Duo helped people into the truck, while Blaze helped them get comfortable; Heero talked to Sally, as Quatre and Wufei sat in the widely spaced front seat.
"Yo, Peanut!" Duo called. "We're all ready back here, lets get movin'!"
Sally looked back at him, then at Heero with a raised eyebrow. 'Peanut??' she mouthed. Heero shrugged his indifference, and walked to the back where he hopped in.
Once he was seated and the vehicle started moving, bumping along the road, Relena scooted towards him, and sat next to him. "Hello, Heero."
"Hello." Heero replied as he looked out the back, watching the road disappear.
"It's been a long time since I've seen you." Relena smiled. "How have you been?"
"We're at war now. How do you think I've been?" Heero replied, looking at her.
Relena looked away. "That's not what I meant…"
"I've been fine." Heero replied, and fell so easily into his personal silence. Then Relena spoke up again.
"What's going to happen now?" Relena asked.
"We're going to send these people back to their families." Heero replied.
"What about me? I can't return to ESUN…" Relena frowned.
"We'll figure something out." Heero said.
Silence fell again for a few minutes, until Relena whispered. "I've missed you…"
Heero hid his surprise at her boldness, and merely looked at her, then back at the road and passing scenery. He glanced at Blaze who sat across from him, on the other side. She averted her eyes quickly to the fringed corner of the rusty blanket she was sitting on, fidgeting with it. He kept staring at her, and he finally got what he expected: she looked up at him, and they made eye contact. She looked away quickly then, and Heero returned his gaze back to the escaping landscape.
Over a course of two days, all of the Pacifists had been sent back home, except for Relena, who had no place to go as of yet. She still had yet to talk to Heero like she wanted, but she found that he was quite often with that girl named Blaze, the one who had saved her. She asked Quatre about it, and he explained to her that Heero was still training her to be a Gundam pilot. That was a relief to her.
Relena sat quietly drinking her tea that Quatre made for her, when Blaze came in to announce that she was going to go for a walk.
"Do any of you want to come with me?" she offered as she brushed her hair up into a ponytail. She looked at Relena, her eyes inviting her to come along.
Quatre shook his head. "I can't. I have some work to do… hacking more precisely…" The blonde Arabian rubbed at his temples with annoyance.
Relena shook her head. "No thank you. I'm quite comfortable where I am."
Blaze waved her hands at them dismissively. "Ah, you people!! Well I'll be back in a few then."
Once she left, an idea struck Relena. Since Blaze was leaving, that left Heero all alone. Just the opportunity that she needed! She stood up, careful not to seem so anxious.
She was about to leave Quatre's presence, when he said, "'Quite comfortable' I believe were the terms you used… going somewhere?" Quatre grinned over his overly high-tech laptop (much better than Heero's *gasp*).
"Please excuse me, Quatre." Relena curtsied slightly. "I'll be back."
Heero was deeply submerged in his hacking, and growled in irritation when a timid knock came. Only one person knocked like that. He stood up, regretfully stopping his work, and answered the door. "Hello Relena."
"Hello Heero…" Relena smiled, though she looked at her feet. "May I come in?"
"What do you want?" Heero asked.
"To talk. Please?" Relena looked up at him. Heero looked at her doubtfully. He had the urge to tell her to buzz off so he could finish his work, but whatever it was looked serious enough to take 5 minutes of his time. But only 5 minutes. He stepped aside and let her enter into his and Blaze's room. She nodded her appreciation.
"What do you have to tell me?" Heero asked impatiently, as Relena walked to the open window that looked out on the street.
Relena took a couple of breaths to calm her racing heart. It worked to no avail. She gulped down her fear. How was she going to tell him? Suddenly the thousand dollar question came to mind. "Why haven't you killed me yet?" she asked him.
Heero raised an eyebrow. This again?? How long ago was that?? "Because…" was his lame answer. "Things change, missions change." Heero finished.
She turned and looked at him, her blue eyes pleading with his. They were nice, but they weren't the same blue as Blaze's, Heero realized that. "Do you care about me?" she blurted out quickly.
Heero looked down at her, puzzled. Did he? He must have, because he didn't kill her. Just like he hadn't killed any of his other friends like he thought he was going to. "Yes…" he said, unsure of his answer.
Relena's face lit up, and her eyes sparkled. She took a step towards him. "Heero, I've been wanting to tell you…."
Heero, who was not very good at emotional perception in others (let alone himself), was finally starting to realize what she had meant by her question. Once that magical click of insight hit him, and he realized that he had made a big mistake, she finished her sentence.
"…I love you…" She was close to him now! So close… was she going to…?
Heero's mind went about from thought to thought erratically. He could smell Relena's perfume. It was different from Blaze's usual scent, and it was foreign to him. 'Blaze! Oh shit. Oh no. Big mistake, Yuy. Note to self: Girl says "care" and they mean "like".' Heero berated himself on the inside, while on the outside he merely stared at her with lively eyes, lit by the confusion and panic inside him.
Then Relena threw her arms around him and kissed him. Heero was shocked. Speechless (also because Relena was currently stealing his mouth), and appalled by what just happened. This… this wasn't right! She wasn't suppose to do THIS…she was Relena!! The piece did not fit the puzzle in Heero's brain.
Then the door opened…
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Heero's Girl: Oh my!! Why, what's THIS doing here??? Could it be…. A CLIFFHANGER??? DUN DUN DUUUUNNNN……….!!!!!
Duo: What?! What kind of an ending is that?!?!
Wufei: She just said it was a cliffhanger you idiot!!
Duo: Oh go piss up a tree, Wu-FFIIEE
Wufei: .!!!!!!!!
Heero's Girl: Yeah, whatever…. -_-;; What will happen?
Duo: Well you see, there's going to be- *whack*
Heero's Girl: *clutching whacking stick* SHUT. UP!!! I AM BUILDING SUSPENSE!!! STOP FOILING EVERYTHING!!!!
Duo: Eep…
Heero's Girl: *ahem* as I was saying: What will happen? Who is going to come through the door?? Will this all determine the fate of my authoress career?? Of course it will!!!! So REVIEW if you want the next chapter!!!! SAME BAT TIME, SAME BAT WEBSITE!!!!
G-boyz: O.o??
Heero: Batman has nothing to do with this!!
Heero's Girl: Silence Stoic Sex God!!!
Heero: *blush*
Heero's Girl: There shall always be space for the totally awesome tights-wearing Creature of the Night!!! Or a.k.a. the Superhero Formerly Known As Batman, or now as the Bat that goes by the current Symbol (which can be found in the cloudy night sky of your local Gotham!!)
Heero: She's insane.
Heero's Girl: Oh, go milk a cow Mighty Spandex!!
Heero: O.o??
Heero's Girl: REVIEW!!!!!!!
Heero: Quickly!!! I'M STUCK KISSING RELENA!!! THE SOONER THE BETTER, PEOPLE!!!!!
Quatre: Apparently even 'heroes' need to be saved! *laughs at his own joke*
Everyone else: X.X
Trowa: Now would be a good time to end this stupid thing…
Heero's Girl: Way ahead of you… *snap*
FIN (for now) *setting goes black*
Heero's Girl: *tip toes out into the darkness* *looks at you* *whispers* hey! You!! What're you doing here?? Hurry up and go review!!! This thing is done! See?? *points to the FIN* Go! The future is in YOUR hands!!! *runs away with her arms up in the air, making a buzzing sound* (all who know Freakazoid should recognize this… hehe)