Wufei: Dear Buddha, perserve us. ::earns an angry glare from the author::
Sorry I was away so long! Either my computer was being an a- a big butt or FF.net was down... I dunno.. ::shrugs:: Anway, I'm finally finished all my classes until September, which means I've got plenty of time to post and write so you guys can keep reading to your hearts' content. Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing...? Do I own them? Of course not! Don't be foolish, whatever gave you that idea?
Heart of Space, Dove of Peace
At first, it was nothing he felt he needed to be concerned with. Sometimes it would be a a slight stinging, or a tight constricting feeling in his chest, a dull ache at most. Then, suddenly it became a searing pain. Heero Yuy, who had once withstood the detonation of a gundanium mobile suit now felt as though his heart were being torn apart.
He had been walking down the hallway towards the dining hall when the pain seized him. Clutching a fistful of his shirt, he lost his balance, slamming into the wall. Sliding down to the floor, he breathed heavily, shutting his eyes in hopes of blocking out the images that had brought on this pain.
~*~*~*~*~*~
A large metallic monster was the only way that Heero could think to describe it. The same one from all of his nightmares, stood amongst the remains of a demolished city. Fire swere everywhere, along with the rotten stench of death. Bodies of innocent people were strewn everywhere like worthless dolls. It made Heero sick to his stomach.
As he took in all of the destruction his eyes caught something familiar in the distance. Amongst the deceased was a small stuffed bear. Heero forced himself to his feet and walked over to the stuffed animal, taking it in his arms.
~..Excuse me..~
~..That's all right…~
~..Heero!…Next time, give it tome in person…~
Holding the bear made his mind flash back to the little girl and her dead dog. Gasping, he dropped the bear to the ground. It bounced and rolled until it reached the body of a young woman. Heero couldn'tbelieve his eyes – it was the same woman from his dreams.
"Masaka!" Heero cried out, hefting her cold corpse into his arms. "You can't be… you can't be…" His eyes widened when he actually saw her. The same honey-blonde hair and angelic, round-shaped face. "Re…Re…" he couldn't force himself to speak her name. If he did, then he would have to believe that she was gone. Heero couldn't take anymore.
Behind him, he could hear the loud movement of a large object. Heero looked up angrily to see the metal monstrosity looming over him. He set his angel back down on the ground gently, setting the bear next to her again. He then got up to his feet, walking towards the metal giant –unconsciously giving it his patented 'omae o korosu' glare.
"Why?" he said in a low whisper. Then again, in a louder voice, "Why?! Why'd you have to take her?" There was no response. "You killed them all!"
The beast's green eyes seemed to glow even brighter. Then suddenly, a hatch in its chest opened up, revealing a person inside.
"Nani?" Heero gaped.
The figure, the pilot of the metallic beast, lowered the cockpit to the ground, where the pilot jumped out with little or no effort. About the same height and build, the pilot walked over to Heero and removed his helmet, revealing a mirror image of the Perfect Soldier, Gundam Pilot 01 – Heero Yuy.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"What the…"
"…ro… ero…eero.. Heero!"
Heeroopened his eyes, quickly taking in his surroundings. He was still on the floor, leaning against the wall clutching his chest. The pain was gone again.
"Heero."
Heerolooked up to see Milliardo staring down at him. "Zechs…" Milliardo blinked at this, he hadn't called him Zechs since the accident. However, Heero did not seem phased as he spoke again, "Milliardo.. what are you…"
"I was heading to breakfast when I saw you laying here on the floor." Milliardo answered his unfinished question. "What happened?"
Heero got up slowly, steadying himself with the help of the wall. "I…lost my balance." He lied. "I'm okay."
"If it were merely a matter of protecting your pride, I wouldn't care," Milliardo said, "but given the circumstances, why don't you try telling me what really happened?"
Heero looked the older man in the eye. Something deep within the younger man felt that he should brush him off and walk away rather than tell him the truth. However, a feeling deeper than the first reminded him that this man was Relena's brother, and that he was just concerned because he knew she would be concerned. Heero didn't want Relena to worry about him. Seeing her upset hurt him. Heero told him everything.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Heero found himself standing in a large grassy field. The breeze blew gently, making the once Perfect Soldier feel completely at ease. He closed his eyes and opened them again to see a young woman standing a few feet away.
"It's you…" he gasped, running up to her. "You're…you're alive!" However, once he reached her, their surroundings warped into a smoking, barren wasteland. Heero looked around in disbelief. "What…"
"This is a result of war." She answered, her voice full of sadness. "Wars don't just kill people, Heero. They take away life itself."
Heero could hear the screams of the innocent people – men, women, and children alike – who had lost their lives. "That thing…" he whispered. "No, I… I was the one who did this… wasn't I?" She remained silent. "I saw the pilot… it was me." Heero shook his head. "That girl and her dog… all of those people… I didn't have to kill them. It's all my fault!!" Tears slowly made their way down his face.
A gentle hand brushed the tear away. "It's not your fault, Heero," her soft voice replied.
Heero looked up to see her kneeling in front of him. With a sad smile, she repeated herself, "It's not your fault, Heero. There isn't anything you could have done." She lowered her head. "If anyone is to blame for this massacre, it's me."
"You?" Heero asked in disbelief.
She nodded and stood up, turning away from him, looking at what was left of the small town. "I used to believe that people could achieve peace by setting aside their weapons to learn to talk out their differences." she said. "Now I see that by taking away their weapons, you only make the urge to fight even stronger."
"How's that?" Heero asked, not really understanding why she was telling him all this.
"I wanted to create a world where there was no such thing as war," she went on. "A place where people could live and coexist in peace with each other."
"A Utopia?" Heero asked.
"As close as mankind could get to a utopia anyway," she mused. "But, such a thing will never exist. I've fought for so long, it's really been a waste of my time."
"Trying to help people isn't a waste of time." Heero replied. "You shouldn't give up so easily. You have to keep fighting anyway you can to achieve your goal." She turned her head away. Heero grabbed her by her shoulders. "I know it's hard, but you've got to keep fighting."
Heero could see a dozen emotions whirling around in her eyes. "Heero, I--" Her voice trailed off as something behind them caused her eyes to widen with terror. "HEERO!"
Heero whipped his hand around to see the metal beast standing in front of them. "Not again…" He placed himself in between the woman and the shadow.
"HEERO!" she screamed. "HEEEEROOOOO!!"
"Heero…Heero. Hoi! Heero!"
Heero'seyes snapped open. "Huh?"
Duo stared at Heero in wonder. "Welcome back to Earth, Buddy boy." he grinned. "Uh… you gonna eat that?"
"Duo," Hilde frowned. "Leave Heero's food alone. You already had yours." Duo began to sulk.
"Here,Duo," Relena smiled, offering her plate. "You can have mine if you want to."
Duo's pouting face turned into a wide grin. "Arigato, Ojousan!" he beamed.
"Careful, Relena," Quatre smiled, "you keep feeding him from the table like that and you'll spoil him."
"Heeyyy," Duo stuck out his tongue at the blonde Arabian. "In any case, you sure ya' don't want it, 'jousan?" heasked. "Or are you tryin' to keep up that girlish figure of yours?"
"Duo…" Hilde and Relena replied in unison, the latter of the two turning bright pink. Heero gave Duo an unnoticed frown.
Throughout the duration of breakfast, the pilots and their company continued to chat amongst each other. Occasionally, Duo would crack a joke or two – playful, but at the expense of either Milliardo or Wufei (much to their displeasure).
No matter how hard Relena tried, she could not contain her laughter. "He is right though, Onii-sama," she giggled. "Your face does puff up when you get angry and embarrassed."
Milliardo huffed. "I do not puff up when I'mangry." he replied indignantly. "And Icertainly do not get red when I'm embarrassed!"
"See?" Duo chuckled. "He's doing it right now."
Noin stifled her giggling. "They are right, Zechs," she smiled, poking his cheeks lightly. "You are puffing up a bit."
Milliardo growled.
"Baka American." Wufei grumbled.
"You're just mad because you can't take a joke." Sally grinned.
"Onna!" Wufei snapped. "I can take anything you or that rat tailed baka try to dish out!"
"Oh?" Sally asked dubiously. She batted her eyelashes at her partner, knowing that would rile him up. "This coming from the one who wanted to have Duo flogged for spilling disappearing ink on his Preventer's uniform." Duo wheeled his head around to look at Wufei, giving him a 'you wanted to have me flogged?' look on his face.
"Are you kidding?" Wufei snapped back. "Do you have any idea how expensive to get my uniforms professionally cleaned? That mess left a spot that wouldn't come out for days!"
Sally blinked. "It was disappearing ink! How could you tell?"
Quatre smiled. "They make a cute couple, don't you think, Trowa?" he mused, turning to the silent one of the group.
(AN: I agree with Q-chan on that one. (Q-chan.. that's socute!) ::Wufei makes a gagging face:: Don't Wufei and Sally make a cool couple! 5x13..?? Bleechh… that's just gross… But anyway, that's my opinion. However, I was thinking about writing a 5xSP sometime in the future. What do you guys think? But before you send me input on that, send me some ideas for 'Boys Meet Girls'!!! I've gone past begging, I'm groveling!! But, back to the story. ^_^)
Trowa smirked. Now it was Wufei's turn to puff up and turn red.
Heero, who had been silent the entire time, looked around the room at his company. Loud-mouthed Duo, short-tempered Milliardo and Wufei, gentle Quatre (AN: Q-chan!) and stoic Trowa – these people all held a place in his memory. However, they were all locked back within the recesses of his mind and no matter how hard he tried, Heero just could not bring them back to the surface. Kami, how he wanted to remember! He ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh.
A light hand rested itself on Heero's shoulder. "Are you all right, Heero?" the voice belonged to Quatre.
"I'm fine." Heero answered in his monotonous tone of voice.
"You sure, Heero?" Noin asked. "If there's something wrong, don't be afraid to tell us."
"Nothing's wrong." Heero replied, briefly making eye contact with Milliardo. The ex-Lightning Count simply nodded his head. Heero paused for a moment. "It's just that all Duo's chattering is starting to give me a migraine."
"I couldn't agree more." Wufei and Milliardo replied in unison.
Duo's jaw dropped to the floor and didn't stop dropping until it hit the basement. "I…I…think I've just been busted on by HeeroYuy…?!?!"
"Well," Sally chuckled. "I suppose there's a first time for everything." Everyone at the table started to laugh. Even Wufei allowed himself a small chuckle.
Relena gave Heero a concerned look, but he assured her that he was fine with a slight nod and a small smile that only she could see.
~End of Chapter 7~
Author's Notes:
Miss Chang Po: Shew! Got another chapter out! Boy am I beat!
Wufei: Don't be weak.
Miss Chang Po: Weak? I just spent 3/4's of my summer in class! I've got every right to be beat!
Wufei: Is that why you slept in 'til 11?
Miss Chang Po: ::grins proudly:: I can sleep later than that if I want to.
Wufei: Lazy onnako. (girl)
Miss Chang Po: I'm not lazy... i'm just motivationally challenged at times. ::grins at Wufei's displeasure::