Disclaimer: Characters do not belong to me.
Author's Notes: Thanks for all the sweet feedback!! I always appreciate it;)
****
Your Wildest Dreams
by Kristen Elizabeth
****
"Heero…Heero!"
Everything was a blur of overexposed colors; he couldn't seem to focus on anything except the shrill voice ringing in his ear.
"He's coming around! Told Wufei he wasn't dead!" As his vision cleared just a bit, he could see wide violet eyes staring down at him. "Damn, I'm glad I'm always right!"
There was pain, a lot of pain, and his breaths were short and shallow. But, Heero realized as he concentrated on Duo Maxwell's face, he wasn't dead just yet. Surely nothing he had done in his life could have bad enough to send him to this sort of hell.
Heero tried to swallow, but his throat was so swollen that he nearly choked. Coughing wildly, he shook his head back and forth. He seemed to be lying on the folded-down seat of some kind of car, but he had no idea how he'd gotten there or from where Duo had appeared. The last thing he remembered was Relena crying…telling him that he couldn't die.
"Hey, woah! Quatre, help me hold him down." Together, they managed to keep Heero from launching himself up. "Heero, calm down. We're, like, a minute away from the hospital. You're going to be okay if you just keep still. Quatre thinks you've got a lot of poison in your system and you've lost a lot of blood, too. So, for once, just chill out." Duo's smile was broad. "You can lie there and think about what sort of thank-you gift you're going to get me for all of this."
Heero continued to shake his head, despite the fact that his two old comrades each had a tight hold on his arms and legs as the car bumped through Victoria Falls. "Relena…gotta get to…Relena."
Duo's smile fell. "Relena? She's still…um…alive?"
He struggled to turn the blurred memories into words. "He's…got her. Tried to kill…the plane crash…" Heero sucked in as much breath as he could. "Taking her…to the…falls."
"Someone has Relena, and is taking her to the falls to kill her?" Quatre asked. Heero nodded. The blond man reached into for the portable communicator that connected their car to the one just behind them. "Wufei, come in."
The Chinese man's face appeared on the screen. "What is it?"
Quatre repeated the information Heero had just given them, slightly annoyed at how surprised Wufei seemed to be upon hearing that Heero was still alive. "We've got to find her before…" He trailed off.
"Acknowledged," Wufei replied. He exchanged a few words with the guide driving their car. "We're on our way." He paused. "Tell Heero that we'll do our best. To bring her back."
"I will. Quatre, out."
Heero looked up at the non-descript ceiling above him. It was the first time in days that he'd been out of the elements, but he would have traded it all…the air conditioning, the shelter from the sun, the soft cushion underneath his head…to have Relena back in his arms.
****
"You're probably a very nice girl, Minister Peacecraft." The man shook his head sadly. "You're well-bred, well-mannered under other circumstances, pretty when you're cleaned up a bit; you probably would have made someone real happy someday."
Relena gritted her teeth. They stood on the very edge of the falls, where the river spilled hundreds of feet to the rocks below. The roar of the rushing water all around them wasn't enough to drown out the condescension in his words. "Kindly refrain from speaking about me as you might a horse."
"You see, if you had only just kept your ambitions small, we wouldn't be here!" He waved his free arm, indicating the steep drop of the falls just behind them. "You wouldn't have to die! And maybe your bodyguard wouldn't be dead, either. So much death and destruction, just because you had to play politics out of your league. Like a man would. But you're not a man. You're just a woman. Not even that. A girl. A little girl."
She gave him a cool look, but said nothing, refusing to even dignify his misogyny with a reply.
"Now, I'd like to get this over with quick. You've forced me to stay on this god-forsaken continent for much longer than I ever intended to be here." He took a step away from the edge and pointed Heero's gun straight at her chest. "It'll be over quick. You might not even feel the rocks tear you apart. And hopefully you'll be dead before the crocodiles find your body."
Relena lifted her chin. "For an assassin, you're surprisingly concerned about my comfort level."
"I am not a killer," the man snapped.
"Then what are you?" She tilted her head to one side, studying him. "Who are you?" When he said nothing, she smiled. "Just as I suspected. You're nobody. Just one of so many faceless people desperately trying to make the world turn on their terms." His eyes narrowed. "If you had any real power, you wouldn't consider me a threat. And you wouldn't feel the need to eliminate me."
He shook his head. "Whatever you're trying to do…you're only succeeding in making me enjoy this."
Her eyes were on the gun in his hand. Heero's gun. She'd been in this position before, with Heero himself on the other end of the weapon. What had saved her then? She couldn't remember. Funny since she never thought she'd forget a single moment spent with Heero. But now she could only remember his face. And her heart ached with the realization that she'd never see it again.
"Then why don't you just go ahead and do it?" Relena suggested. "Kill me, get it over with." Her throat closed up. "I don't care anymore."
"An excellent attitude." He curled his finger around the trigger. "Now, I'd rather not have to put a bullet in you just in case someone does find something left of you. So, if you don't mind…could you just jump?"
Relena looked over her shoulder. The foam and spray of the water against the jagged rocks made her heart leap into her throat. What would Heero do were he in this situation?
"Oh, come on already," the man said with obvious impatience. "It's not like you really have much to live for."
*I want you to live through this, Relena. And not just because it's my job.*
His words, the ones that had gotten her through the terror of the plane crash, came to her so clearly that it was almost like he was standing next to her, saying them. Relena's knees were shaky, but all of a sudden she was anything but scared. She was going to live. She was going to get through this for him. Wherever he was, she wanted him to be proud of her. To be proud of himself for giving her whatever strength she possessed.
"You're only delaying the inevitable." He cocked the gun, an unnecessary dramatic gesture Relena couldn't help but note. "Jump."
She was going to get through it…but she was going to need help.
And then, without any warning, help appeared.
Over the man's shoulder, she could see a handful of men making their way through the thick brush and around the even thicker trees. She tried to keep her face as blank as possible; she even took a step closer to the edge of the rocks as not to alert her captor that anything was going on.
It was hard to make out her rescuer's faces and not look at them, so Relena merely took a breath and shook back her tangled hair. "If I die, all *you'll* succeed in doing is turning me into a martyr."
"We…I mean, I'll take my chances."
She licked her dry lip. So, it wasn't just a crazy man working alone. There were more people out there who wanted her dead. She let her gaze flicker over the man's shoulder again and it took everything she had to keep still when she recognized Trowa Barton as the person sneaking up on them. She'd only met the man a few times at social functions he attended with Quatre Winner, but right then, he was her best friend in the world.
"So be it." Relena took another tiny step backwards.
Like one of the wild animals, she'd seen on her adventure with Heero, Trowa pounced on the man, grabbing around the neck with one arm and squeezing just hard enough to cut off his air supply. She was sure that he had anticipated that the man would drop the gun and she could run to safety. It was a good plan. A solid plan.
But it didn't play out that way. Instead of letting go of the weapon as someone got him into a choke-hold from behind, the man's finger instinctively closed around the trigger.
Relena felt the bullet rip into her shoulder and her first thought was that she'd always thought getting shot would hurt more. She looked down at the wound, noted the blossom of crimson over her already torn and stained clothes like she might note a hangnail on her thumb. She was grateful, she realized with some amazement. It could have been much worse.
"Minister Peacecraft!!" someone shouted. She blinked and tried to see who it was; Trowa was wrestling her shooter to the ground. "Get away from the edge!!"
The edge. Get away from it? Relena wanted to laugh. She couldn't even keep her knees from giving out underneath her, much less command them to actually work. Smiling ruefully, she dropped to the rocks on which she stood. Water from the river wet her face; it was almost refreshing.
Her body was swaying now, and all she wanted was to just let go and fall backwards. It *was* the end of the road. And with any luck, Heero would be waiting for her there.
****
To Be Continued
Author's Notes: Thanks for all the sweet feedback!! I always appreciate it;)
****
Your Wildest Dreams
by Kristen Elizabeth
****
"Heero…Heero!"
Everything was a blur of overexposed colors; he couldn't seem to focus on anything except the shrill voice ringing in his ear.
"He's coming around! Told Wufei he wasn't dead!" As his vision cleared just a bit, he could see wide violet eyes staring down at him. "Damn, I'm glad I'm always right!"
There was pain, a lot of pain, and his breaths were short and shallow. But, Heero realized as he concentrated on Duo Maxwell's face, he wasn't dead just yet. Surely nothing he had done in his life could have bad enough to send him to this sort of hell.
Heero tried to swallow, but his throat was so swollen that he nearly choked. Coughing wildly, he shook his head back and forth. He seemed to be lying on the folded-down seat of some kind of car, but he had no idea how he'd gotten there or from where Duo had appeared. The last thing he remembered was Relena crying…telling him that he couldn't die.
"Hey, woah! Quatre, help me hold him down." Together, they managed to keep Heero from launching himself up. "Heero, calm down. We're, like, a minute away from the hospital. You're going to be okay if you just keep still. Quatre thinks you've got a lot of poison in your system and you've lost a lot of blood, too. So, for once, just chill out." Duo's smile was broad. "You can lie there and think about what sort of thank-you gift you're going to get me for all of this."
Heero continued to shake his head, despite the fact that his two old comrades each had a tight hold on his arms and legs as the car bumped through Victoria Falls. "Relena…gotta get to…Relena."
Duo's smile fell. "Relena? She's still…um…alive?"
He struggled to turn the blurred memories into words. "He's…got her. Tried to kill…the plane crash…" Heero sucked in as much breath as he could. "Taking her…to the…falls."
"Someone has Relena, and is taking her to the falls to kill her?" Quatre asked. Heero nodded. The blond man reached into for the portable communicator that connected their car to the one just behind them. "Wufei, come in."
The Chinese man's face appeared on the screen. "What is it?"
Quatre repeated the information Heero had just given them, slightly annoyed at how surprised Wufei seemed to be upon hearing that Heero was still alive. "We've got to find her before…" He trailed off.
"Acknowledged," Wufei replied. He exchanged a few words with the guide driving their car. "We're on our way." He paused. "Tell Heero that we'll do our best. To bring her back."
"I will. Quatre, out."
Heero looked up at the non-descript ceiling above him. It was the first time in days that he'd been out of the elements, but he would have traded it all…the air conditioning, the shelter from the sun, the soft cushion underneath his head…to have Relena back in his arms.
****
"You're probably a very nice girl, Minister Peacecraft." The man shook his head sadly. "You're well-bred, well-mannered under other circumstances, pretty when you're cleaned up a bit; you probably would have made someone real happy someday."
Relena gritted her teeth. They stood on the very edge of the falls, where the river spilled hundreds of feet to the rocks below. The roar of the rushing water all around them wasn't enough to drown out the condescension in his words. "Kindly refrain from speaking about me as you might a horse."
"You see, if you had only just kept your ambitions small, we wouldn't be here!" He waved his free arm, indicating the steep drop of the falls just behind them. "You wouldn't have to die! And maybe your bodyguard wouldn't be dead, either. So much death and destruction, just because you had to play politics out of your league. Like a man would. But you're not a man. You're just a woman. Not even that. A girl. A little girl."
She gave him a cool look, but said nothing, refusing to even dignify his misogyny with a reply.
"Now, I'd like to get this over with quick. You've forced me to stay on this god-forsaken continent for much longer than I ever intended to be here." He took a step away from the edge and pointed Heero's gun straight at her chest. "It'll be over quick. You might not even feel the rocks tear you apart. And hopefully you'll be dead before the crocodiles find your body."
Relena lifted her chin. "For an assassin, you're surprisingly concerned about my comfort level."
"I am not a killer," the man snapped.
"Then what are you?" She tilted her head to one side, studying him. "Who are you?" When he said nothing, she smiled. "Just as I suspected. You're nobody. Just one of so many faceless people desperately trying to make the world turn on their terms." His eyes narrowed. "If you had any real power, you wouldn't consider me a threat. And you wouldn't feel the need to eliminate me."
He shook his head. "Whatever you're trying to do…you're only succeeding in making me enjoy this."
Her eyes were on the gun in his hand. Heero's gun. She'd been in this position before, with Heero himself on the other end of the weapon. What had saved her then? She couldn't remember. Funny since she never thought she'd forget a single moment spent with Heero. But now she could only remember his face. And her heart ached with the realization that she'd never see it again.
"Then why don't you just go ahead and do it?" Relena suggested. "Kill me, get it over with." Her throat closed up. "I don't care anymore."
"An excellent attitude." He curled his finger around the trigger. "Now, I'd rather not have to put a bullet in you just in case someone does find something left of you. So, if you don't mind…could you just jump?"
Relena looked over her shoulder. The foam and spray of the water against the jagged rocks made her heart leap into her throat. What would Heero do were he in this situation?
"Oh, come on already," the man said with obvious impatience. "It's not like you really have much to live for."
*I want you to live through this, Relena. And not just because it's my job.*
His words, the ones that had gotten her through the terror of the plane crash, came to her so clearly that it was almost like he was standing next to her, saying them. Relena's knees were shaky, but all of a sudden she was anything but scared. She was going to live. She was going to get through this for him. Wherever he was, she wanted him to be proud of her. To be proud of himself for giving her whatever strength she possessed.
"You're only delaying the inevitable." He cocked the gun, an unnecessary dramatic gesture Relena couldn't help but note. "Jump."
She was going to get through it…but she was going to need help.
And then, without any warning, help appeared.
Over the man's shoulder, she could see a handful of men making their way through the thick brush and around the even thicker trees. She tried to keep her face as blank as possible; she even took a step closer to the edge of the rocks as not to alert her captor that anything was going on.
It was hard to make out her rescuer's faces and not look at them, so Relena merely took a breath and shook back her tangled hair. "If I die, all *you'll* succeed in doing is turning me into a martyr."
"We…I mean, I'll take my chances."
She licked her dry lip. So, it wasn't just a crazy man working alone. There were more people out there who wanted her dead. She let her gaze flicker over the man's shoulder again and it took everything she had to keep still when she recognized Trowa Barton as the person sneaking up on them. She'd only met the man a few times at social functions he attended with Quatre Winner, but right then, he was her best friend in the world.
"So be it." Relena took another tiny step backwards.
Like one of the wild animals, she'd seen on her adventure with Heero, Trowa pounced on the man, grabbing around the neck with one arm and squeezing just hard enough to cut off his air supply. She was sure that he had anticipated that the man would drop the gun and she could run to safety. It was a good plan. A solid plan.
But it didn't play out that way. Instead of letting go of the weapon as someone got him into a choke-hold from behind, the man's finger instinctively closed around the trigger.
Relena felt the bullet rip into her shoulder and her first thought was that she'd always thought getting shot would hurt more. She looked down at the wound, noted the blossom of crimson over her already torn and stained clothes like she might note a hangnail on her thumb. She was grateful, she realized with some amazement. It could have been much worse.
"Minister Peacecraft!!" someone shouted. She blinked and tried to see who it was; Trowa was wrestling her shooter to the ground. "Get away from the edge!!"
The edge. Get away from it? Relena wanted to laugh. She couldn't even keep her knees from giving out underneath her, much less command them to actually work. Smiling ruefully, she dropped to the rocks on which she stood. Water from the river wet her face; it was almost refreshing.
Her body was swaying now, and all she wanted was to just let go and fall backwards. It *was* the end of the road. And with any luck, Heero would be waiting for her there.
****
To Be Continued