AN Sorry for the late update on this one. I know I promised to be on time, but I'm not feeling very well. In fact, I've got a terrible cold and I'm horribly PMS-ing so be grateful you got an update at all. Okay, I don't mean that, the grateful part that is, because I'm not too satisfied with how this chapter turned out to be. I hope you'll forgive my poor head, because it feels like it's stuffed with wool and I'm having trouble thinking straight. Hope you'll enjoy this chapter and Happy Newyear. Next update will be in the new year.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Under Pressure
Chapter 17
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Relena pushed the disgusting porridge aside and reached for the applesauce. She didn't
understand why she wasn't allowed to eat normally. This was the fifth day and she was still on
fluids and she longed for an ordinary sandwich. The applesauce was quite nice though. A bit too
sweet for her taste.
As she spooned it into her mouth, she thought about everything that had happened. From
what her brother had told, and what he had shied away from, she had gathered bits and pieces
that more or less fit together. She thought she knew what happened. She just wanted to know where
Sally and Wufei were. If they had come with Heero, why hadn't they been the ones to fly her to
Preventer's HQ? Why had Heero had to traipse through the woods with her for days before they
were picked up, by Duo and Trowa? It didn't make any sense.
Something had happened to Sally and Wufei, but every time she tried to ask Milliardo,
he'd steer the conversation away from that topic.
Relena did know for certain she was publically announced dead. For the time being her
brother had taken on part of her job, until a new vice-foreign minister had been appointed. She
grinned as she thought how her little break some odd weeks ago had given him some practice.
She was brought out of her reverie by a knock on the door. The knock was immediately
followed by the opening of the door and Duo sticking his head around it.
"Hey, Duo. Come in! I didn't know you were here."
Duo closed the door behind him and threw her his usual grin. "How are you feeling,
princess?"
She smiled back. "Great! Except that the food's not too great. I get baby food."
"Oh, poor you. You want me to have a word with the kitchens?"
"Nah," she waved her hand. "I'll just complain about it myself. But I hadn't expected
you to be here. I had thought you were with Hilde."
His face darkened. "Yeah, you're not the only one. I had an argument with Heero. He
said pretty much the same."
"Oh." He did? That was rather unusual for Heero. Such consideration she would have
expected from Quatre, or maybe Trowa. That silent man knew a lot more about emotions than he
let on. "Duo, can I ask you something?"
"Sure. What is it?"
"I want to know what happened to Wufei and Sally."
Duo looked away, but didn't say anything.
"Come on, Duo. I'm not stupid you know. I know something is wrong. Why won't anyone tell
me? Please, Duo, I want to know!"
It remained silent in the room for a moment. "Alright," Duo sighed. "According to Heero,
Wufei and Sally, and the plane they had came on, were gone when he came out of the palace with
you. The group sent for the assassination attempt was bigger than expected and Heero had no
choice but to flee in the woods. On the other side he contacted me and we picked him, and you, up."
"So they were taken," Relena stated softly. She had considered it a possibility, but she
had hoped for a different reason. A top secret under-cover spy mission, would be her favorite.
But she knew that was a child's fantasy.
Duo nodded. "That's the only explanation we could come up with, though we don't have
any real evidence. I just hope the doc and justice boy are okay. Sally is smart enough, but
Wufei would have a hard time keeping his temper in check. He's gonna drive his captors crazy."
That brought a smile on her face. She was somewhat familiar with Wufei's hotheadedness.
And she knew it was often directed at Duo. She smiled again at that. Duo had a knack for getting
under Wufei's skin.
"Can you find them?" she asked anxiously.
"We think so. I don't think finding them will be that much of a problem. It's the
bailing them out that's difficult. We have no idea how these bases are organized, or in what
state Wufei and Sally are, so we have no idea what to do."
Relena nodded understandingly. She did notice however that Duo said difficult, not
impossible. She didn't think anything was impossible for the 'Gundam Wing boys'. She hoped
the two friends held captive were alright.
~~~~~~
Sally leaned against the wall of her stark cell. She was very bruised and very tired,
but she couldn't sleep. She hoped Wufei was alright. That pricked up ass had shot him in the
leg. If that wound wasn't looked after it would get infected. He might even lose his leg.
She winced at the thought. Her strong Wufei missing a leg was not something she could
bare. She stared at the wall in front of her. It was a dull grey, a dull grey all around her.
There wasn't even something like a bed, not even a blanket. She shivered slightly, but refused
to give in.
Wufei had been so strong. He hadn't even winced when the bullet hit his knee. She
couldn't let him down. He was one of the pilots. If that came out, then what he was going
through now, would be heaven compared to the treatment installed for him then. So she wouldn't
talk, she wouldn't budge or break, she would just take what was coming at her, no matter how
ruff things got.
That was why she didn't respond when the door opened. The result was a firm kick in
the ribs. She didn't budge. She just got to her feet and turned to her guard. "Lead the way,"
she smiled.
The man roughly pushed her to the door. "Ladies first," he smirked.
She was led through similar corridors, but in a different direction. Suddenly she stood
in front of a pair of metal double doors. She couldn't quite believe it, but this base had to
have more than one floor. The door revealed an elevator and she went at least two stories up.
The corridor she was led through afterwards was similar to the one on her 'home'-level.
Again the dull grey and the hard floor. She walked as straight as she could, unwilling to even
flinch at the pain the simple movement was causing her.
The guard in front of her rushed ahead a little to open a door on the left. The others
around her steered her to it. Reluctantly she let them.
The man waiting in the room was the same who had interrogated her first. The man who
had said she could call him commander. And who had hit her in the face. This couldn't be good.
~~~~~~
Relena leaned back in her pillows. She had been awake for six days now, but unfortunately
the doctors had not allowed her to get out of bed. They had investigated the extent of the
damage done to her spinal cord. She could still wiggle her toes and flex her legs, so she
supposed it couldn't be that bad. Yet the doctors didn't want to take any risks. So she
obediently did her little exercises and gulped down the food presented to her.
But she was bored. Even when her body was failing her, her mind wanted to be challenged.
She had read several books already, but she mainly wanted to know what was going on in the world
and how she could help Milliardo.
Of course, whenever she brought that up, he always said he didn't need it. But his
duties now were far more extensive than what he had done during her short leave some weeks
ago. She wanted to help him. She knew he needed her. He might be too stubborn to be waltzed
over by those hawks of a politicians, but he didn't have the expertise to hold it out in the
long run.
He needed her help. It was as simple as that. Unfortunately, stubbornness seemed to run
in the family, because he refused to admit it, insisting she needed to recover first. But the
doctors said she was doing fine, much better than expected, considering she had been injured
in an explosion and then carried around for over a day, without appropriate medical attention.
One of the 'white coats' had even gone so far, as to say Heero had been foolish and irresponsible.
The nerve of the man. Heero had been very careful and certainly had not added to her injuries.
He wasn't capable of such a thing.
She sighed and reached for the magazine on the bedside table. It had been brought to
her by one of the nurses on her request. If she couldn't coax Milliardo into telling her what
was going on, than she had to find out on her own. So far, she hadn't gotten her hands on any
newspapers yet, which she really preferred since they were far more up-to-date than the weekly
magazines, but luck would have it that this particular issue was published three days after the
incident. Most of it was dedicated to her supposed death and speculation on who had done it.
Fortunately, there was also a piece on Milliardo and how he was coping as interim foreign minister.
This magazine was rather objective about it all, which satisfied Relena, because it
would give her a good view on all the happenings. It seemed Milliardo was mainly keeping every
delegate calm and asking th people to do the same thing. Further more, he had no inclination to
truly take over the job and put himself up for the elections. He stated he didn't even plan to
stay on for the remaining time until then. He did, however, slightly pressure the people into
admitting that the Covenant would be important to prevent such actions in the future.
Relena tapped her lips in thought at that. Over the past few days, she had begun to
doubt her plans to establish an Earthen Senate. It might make the Colonies feel threatened.
Of course, during her time of political activities she would ascertain the Covenant wouldn't
turn into a second Alliance, yet the founders of said Alliance had done exactly the same. Who
could guarantee the future leaders of the world wouldn't make the same mistakes?
She would have to talk to Milliardo at that. If there was going to be a multinational
political organization, it would have to include the Colonies. But the Colonies were so hesitant
right now. They were afraid of opening their borders and joining in some kind of overlapping
system, because they feared they would loose control over their own government. After being
oppressed and cut off from the rest of humanity, it was difficult to regain trust in people
not of the same colony.
A knock on the door brought her out of her musings. Knowing it was no-one of the medical
staff, they would waltz in if she was naked for goodness sakes, she raised her voice. "Come in!"
It was Heero. He had certainly taken his time to check on her, after dropping her off.
Duo had even said something along the lines of the man refusing to give her over to the medical
staff for fear of another attempt to take her life.
Idiot. A sweet idiot, but an idiot. Relena had to stop herself from smiling at the
thought of Heero being sweet, or an idiot for that matter. He just didn't look like the type.
Though he was sure making an effort now. He actually looked uncertain. She had never seen him
look like that. Ever.
"Hey, Heero. Nice to see you. How have you been?"
"Okay," was his curt answer.
Well, that was a good start of a conversation. Maybe she should just cut to the chase.
"Duo said you blame yourself for what happened."
Heero didn't respond. He simply stared past her at the wall, his face unreadable.
"If you continue with that, I'll have no choice but to resort to violence. And as that
would greatly dent my reputation as a peace advocate, I would appreciate it if you stop this
nonsense."
She hadn't really payed attention to the effect her words had on him, but when she
looked up, it was impossible to miss the shocked expression on his face.
"Good," she smiled. "Now that, that is solved, let's get down to more serious business.
I want to know exactly what is going on." She knew she was playing dirty now. Heero probably
knew Milliardo didn't want her to know anything until she was completely recovered, but at the
same time he felt guilty for what happened and wanted to set things right by doing what she
asked him to.
"What do you want to know?"
Everything would be a good start, but she realized Heero couldn't know everything,
certainly not on the political field. "How is the search for Sally and Wufei coming along?"
she asked instead.
Heero shook his head. "So far we came up with nothing. We're still looking."
Silence fell.
Relena wished it were tangible so she could strangle it. When she finally had a chance
to talk to the stubborn idiot who had saved her life, all she could do was ask menial questions
which she could have answered herself. If Sally and Wufei had been found, she would have been
informed, if only by Duo jumping up and down out of joy.
She never thought talking to Heero would be so difficult.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
AN I know the ending is terrible, not a cliffie, but terrible, but I'm out of inspiration. In fact,
I'm out of ratoional thoughts'. Feel free to feel sorry for me and express your sympathy in a review.
Till next year. Now where are my tissues?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Under Pressure
Chapter 17
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Relena pushed the disgusting porridge aside and reached for the applesauce. She didn't
understand why she wasn't allowed to eat normally. This was the fifth day and she was still on
fluids and she longed for an ordinary sandwich. The applesauce was quite nice though. A bit too
sweet for her taste.
As she spooned it into her mouth, she thought about everything that had happened. From
what her brother had told, and what he had shied away from, she had gathered bits and pieces
that more or less fit together. She thought she knew what happened. She just wanted to know where
Sally and Wufei were. If they had come with Heero, why hadn't they been the ones to fly her to
Preventer's HQ? Why had Heero had to traipse through the woods with her for days before they
were picked up, by Duo and Trowa? It didn't make any sense.
Something had happened to Sally and Wufei, but every time she tried to ask Milliardo,
he'd steer the conversation away from that topic.
Relena did know for certain she was publically announced dead. For the time being her
brother had taken on part of her job, until a new vice-foreign minister had been appointed. She
grinned as she thought how her little break some odd weeks ago had given him some practice.
She was brought out of her reverie by a knock on the door. The knock was immediately
followed by the opening of the door and Duo sticking his head around it.
"Hey, Duo. Come in! I didn't know you were here."
Duo closed the door behind him and threw her his usual grin. "How are you feeling,
princess?"
She smiled back. "Great! Except that the food's not too great. I get baby food."
"Oh, poor you. You want me to have a word with the kitchens?"
"Nah," she waved her hand. "I'll just complain about it myself. But I hadn't expected
you to be here. I had thought you were with Hilde."
His face darkened. "Yeah, you're not the only one. I had an argument with Heero. He
said pretty much the same."
"Oh." He did? That was rather unusual for Heero. Such consideration she would have
expected from Quatre, or maybe Trowa. That silent man knew a lot more about emotions than he
let on. "Duo, can I ask you something?"
"Sure. What is it?"
"I want to know what happened to Wufei and Sally."
Duo looked away, but didn't say anything.
"Come on, Duo. I'm not stupid you know. I know something is wrong. Why won't anyone tell
me? Please, Duo, I want to know!"
It remained silent in the room for a moment. "Alright," Duo sighed. "According to Heero,
Wufei and Sally, and the plane they had came on, were gone when he came out of the palace with
you. The group sent for the assassination attempt was bigger than expected and Heero had no
choice but to flee in the woods. On the other side he contacted me and we picked him, and you, up."
"So they were taken," Relena stated softly. She had considered it a possibility, but she
had hoped for a different reason. A top secret under-cover spy mission, would be her favorite.
But she knew that was a child's fantasy.
Duo nodded. "That's the only explanation we could come up with, though we don't have
any real evidence. I just hope the doc and justice boy are okay. Sally is smart enough, but
Wufei would have a hard time keeping his temper in check. He's gonna drive his captors crazy."
That brought a smile on her face. She was somewhat familiar with Wufei's hotheadedness.
And she knew it was often directed at Duo. She smiled again at that. Duo had a knack for getting
under Wufei's skin.
"Can you find them?" she asked anxiously.
"We think so. I don't think finding them will be that much of a problem. It's the
bailing them out that's difficult. We have no idea how these bases are organized, or in what
state Wufei and Sally are, so we have no idea what to do."
Relena nodded understandingly. She did notice however that Duo said difficult, not
impossible. She didn't think anything was impossible for the 'Gundam Wing boys'. She hoped
the two friends held captive were alright.
~~~~~~
Sally leaned against the wall of her stark cell. She was very bruised and very tired,
but she couldn't sleep. She hoped Wufei was alright. That pricked up ass had shot him in the
leg. If that wound wasn't looked after it would get infected. He might even lose his leg.
She winced at the thought. Her strong Wufei missing a leg was not something she could
bare. She stared at the wall in front of her. It was a dull grey, a dull grey all around her.
There wasn't even something like a bed, not even a blanket. She shivered slightly, but refused
to give in.
Wufei had been so strong. He hadn't even winced when the bullet hit his knee. She
couldn't let him down. He was one of the pilots. If that came out, then what he was going
through now, would be heaven compared to the treatment installed for him then. So she wouldn't
talk, she wouldn't budge or break, she would just take what was coming at her, no matter how
ruff things got.
That was why she didn't respond when the door opened. The result was a firm kick in
the ribs. She didn't budge. She just got to her feet and turned to her guard. "Lead the way,"
she smiled.
The man roughly pushed her to the door. "Ladies first," he smirked.
She was led through similar corridors, but in a different direction. Suddenly she stood
in front of a pair of metal double doors. She couldn't quite believe it, but this base had to
have more than one floor. The door revealed an elevator and she went at least two stories up.
The corridor she was led through afterwards was similar to the one on her 'home'-level.
Again the dull grey and the hard floor. She walked as straight as she could, unwilling to even
flinch at the pain the simple movement was causing her.
The guard in front of her rushed ahead a little to open a door on the left. The others
around her steered her to it. Reluctantly she let them.
The man waiting in the room was the same who had interrogated her first. The man who
had said she could call him commander. And who had hit her in the face. This couldn't be good.
~~~~~~
Relena leaned back in her pillows. She had been awake for six days now, but unfortunately
the doctors had not allowed her to get out of bed. They had investigated the extent of the
damage done to her spinal cord. She could still wiggle her toes and flex her legs, so she
supposed it couldn't be that bad. Yet the doctors didn't want to take any risks. So she
obediently did her little exercises and gulped down the food presented to her.
But she was bored. Even when her body was failing her, her mind wanted to be challenged.
She had read several books already, but she mainly wanted to know what was going on in the world
and how she could help Milliardo.
Of course, whenever she brought that up, he always said he didn't need it. But his
duties now were far more extensive than what he had done during her short leave some weeks
ago. She wanted to help him. She knew he needed her. He might be too stubborn to be waltzed
over by those hawks of a politicians, but he didn't have the expertise to hold it out in the
long run.
He needed her help. It was as simple as that. Unfortunately, stubbornness seemed to run
in the family, because he refused to admit it, insisting she needed to recover first. But the
doctors said she was doing fine, much better than expected, considering she had been injured
in an explosion and then carried around for over a day, without appropriate medical attention.
One of the 'white coats' had even gone so far, as to say Heero had been foolish and irresponsible.
The nerve of the man. Heero had been very careful and certainly had not added to her injuries.
He wasn't capable of such a thing.
She sighed and reached for the magazine on the bedside table. It had been brought to
her by one of the nurses on her request. If she couldn't coax Milliardo into telling her what
was going on, than she had to find out on her own. So far, she hadn't gotten her hands on any
newspapers yet, which she really preferred since they were far more up-to-date than the weekly
magazines, but luck would have it that this particular issue was published three days after the
incident. Most of it was dedicated to her supposed death and speculation on who had done it.
Fortunately, there was also a piece on Milliardo and how he was coping as interim foreign minister.
This magazine was rather objective about it all, which satisfied Relena, because it
would give her a good view on all the happenings. It seemed Milliardo was mainly keeping every
delegate calm and asking th people to do the same thing. Further more, he had no inclination to
truly take over the job and put himself up for the elections. He stated he didn't even plan to
stay on for the remaining time until then. He did, however, slightly pressure the people into
admitting that the Covenant would be important to prevent such actions in the future.
Relena tapped her lips in thought at that. Over the past few days, she had begun to
doubt her plans to establish an Earthen Senate. It might make the Colonies feel threatened.
Of course, during her time of political activities she would ascertain the Covenant wouldn't
turn into a second Alliance, yet the founders of said Alliance had done exactly the same. Who
could guarantee the future leaders of the world wouldn't make the same mistakes?
She would have to talk to Milliardo at that. If there was going to be a multinational
political organization, it would have to include the Colonies. But the Colonies were so hesitant
right now. They were afraid of opening their borders and joining in some kind of overlapping
system, because they feared they would loose control over their own government. After being
oppressed and cut off from the rest of humanity, it was difficult to regain trust in people
not of the same colony.
A knock on the door brought her out of her musings. Knowing it was no-one of the medical
staff, they would waltz in if she was naked for goodness sakes, she raised her voice. "Come in!"
It was Heero. He had certainly taken his time to check on her, after dropping her off.
Duo had even said something along the lines of the man refusing to give her over to the medical
staff for fear of another attempt to take her life.
Idiot. A sweet idiot, but an idiot. Relena had to stop herself from smiling at the
thought of Heero being sweet, or an idiot for that matter. He just didn't look like the type.
Though he was sure making an effort now. He actually looked uncertain. She had never seen him
look like that. Ever.
"Hey, Heero. Nice to see you. How have you been?"
"Okay," was his curt answer.
Well, that was a good start of a conversation. Maybe she should just cut to the chase.
"Duo said you blame yourself for what happened."
Heero didn't respond. He simply stared past her at the wall, his face unreadable.
"If you continue with that, I'll have no choice but to resort to violence. And as that
would greatly dent my reputation as a peace advocate, I would appreciate it if you stop this
nonsense."
She hadn't really payed attention to the effect her words had on him, but when she
looked up, it was impossible to miss the shocked expression on his face.
"Good," she smiled. "Now that, that is solved, let's get down to more serious business.
I want to know exactly what is going on." She knew she was playing dirty now. Heero probably
knew Milliardo didn't want her to know anything until she was completely recovered, but at the
same time he felt guilty for what happened and wanted to set things right by doing what she
asked him to.
"What do you want to know?"
Everything would be a good start, but she realized Heero couldn't know everything,
certainly not on the political field. "How is the search for Sally and Wufei coming along?"
she asked instead.
Heero shook his head. "So far we came up with nothing. We're still looking."
Silence fell.
Relena wished it were tangible so she could strangle it. When she finally had a chance
to talk to the stubborn idiot who had saved her life, all she could do was ask menial questions
which she could have answered herself. If Sally and Wufei had been found, she would have been
informed, if only by Duo jumping up and down out of joy.
She never thought talking to Heero would be so difficult.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
AN I know the ending is terrible, not a cliffie, but terrible, but I'm out of inspiration. In fact,
I'm out of ratoional thoughts'. Feel free to feel sorry for me and express your sympathy in a review.
Till next year. Now where are my tissues?