Wufei::irritably:: We can see that.
::ignores him:: Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. I haven't been slacking off though. I've been working really hard on my YST fic "Child of Saberstryke" as well as "Heart of Space, Dove of Peace" and I'm happy to say I'm making progress. But, rather than prolong you any further, here's another installation. My thanks go out to Lera, Kage Yuki, Silver Wing, Meio-chan, Wing, my buddy Amataru Arcus (Read her works, they're good for ya!), Ayanami Chan, 4ever1, Moonkitty Liafle, anon, Angel of Mischief, Izanami, ~*Ai*~ Wing, Classic Cowboy, Alana, Shadowfox, angel, Gryphon Turboclaw, Relena 3, Lea, Attitudeproblem 2, Jason M. Lee, Hellokitty 3000, Shi no Tenshi, *Saggitarius Girl*, Tomorrow, Heero Yuy, D-Scyther, and Karen! ::mucho hugz!!::
A note before I begin... the following chapter is mostly a flashback from chapter 7 (The Pain of Remembrance). Sorta like an in-between the scenes sorta thing. Just wanted to keep ya' informed. Enjoy!
Previously....
?"
"Well," Hilde replied. "I'm getting this information straight from the Dark Claw database."
"You hacked into their mainframe?" Quatre asked, clearly impressed.
Hilde nodded, still scanning the information. All of a sudden, a look of utter horror passed over her features.
Duo looked concerned. "What'sa matter, babe?" heasked.
"You guys aren't going to believe this…" Hilde murmured.
"Spit it out already." Wufei frowned, irritable.
Hilde's eyes were wide with shock. "It says here that Relena is responsible for Natasha Mayomato's death!"
Heart of Space, Dove of Peace
A Miss Chang Po Production
Chapter 16b
"Look to the past, Turn from the Future"
~* Flashback *~
The blasted things bested him at every turn. No matter where Heero went, confined within his subconscious mind, a memory would bombard him, filling his mind, heart, and soul with their nightmarish reality.
Of all those whose deaths he was responsible for, each person met their end differently. Some had met their fates without even knowing it had arrived, others watched with horror, awaiting the inevitable, while still others accepted their deaths without question. However, the fear had always been there.
'Why do I have to remember now…?' Heero would ask himself, his feverish mind racing while his body remained deathly cold. As he tossed and turned in the small bed within the confines of the small bomb shelter bedroom, his thoughts wandered back to his conversation with Zechs in the hallway…
"If it were merely a matter of protectingyour pride, I wouldn't care," Milliardo said, "but given the circumstances, why don't you try telling me what really happened?"
With that comment alone, Heero brought himself to tell him everything. He told him about the memories, the nightmares that roused him in the middle of the night screaming, feeling cold and empty. He told him how he had just dismissed them as a byproduct of delirium, but they had continued well into his recovery. He was even starting to experience them while he was awake! As he went on, Heero told Milliardo all about his conversations with Relena, and how he always felt there was something he needed to tell her, but could never bring himself to figure out what it was. He could not help but notice how Milliardo started to twitch when he said this, but he continued anyway. All of these things he told him without hesitation, but when he finished, he felt oddly ashamed.
Heero remembered how Milliardo walked away from him, towards a small table in the corner that held a basket full of artificial fruit. Taking a wax apple in his grip, he hurled it at an unsuspecting Heero with all his might. Almost as if he had possessed a sixth sense, Heero wheeled around, catching the false fruit in his iron grip, nearly crushing it in the process.
Milliardo chuckled with a sympathetic look on his face. "I can't tell you what you have to do, Heero," he told him. "However, I think you already know. What happened in the past happened for a reason, and no amount of guilt on your part is going to change it or make it go away." Heero lowered his head at this. "However, consider all that has happened as a gift. If you can see now how bad things were for you in the past, take this opportunity now to change it. Make things different." He turned away from him, almost as if he was then speaking to himself rather than Heero. "Atone for the sins of the past, to make way for your future."
"...To make way for my future…" Heero repeated, in a daze. He was still confused about himself, but he was determined to make sense of it. He was determined to make sense of his feelings as well – even if it killed him.
When he woke up in the bomb shelter, he found that he had been clutching his fists so tightly in his sleep that he had drawn blood. Sitting up, he stared at it in fascination.
'Monsters don't bleed…' he thought to himself. Another explosion shook the foundation, drawing him out of his thoughts. His memories drifted back to he and Relena's walk in the park, where he had collapsed with her calling out to him in worry. A nagging feeling overtook him. 'She needs me now.' he told himself. Forcing himself up, he walked over to the window that lead topside. Prying it open, he frowned to himself, the old 'omae o korosu' glare slowly returning.
"I'm coming for you, Relena."
~*~*~*~*~
Elsewhere, Relena could only grit her teeth and brace herself for impact as she saw the ground coming towards her at fast speeds. Naya's accusation had come at a shock, obviously, and when the pacifist vice minister denied it, her current position was the result.
Arch Angel plummeted like a rock, and it seemed no amount of maneuvering on Relena's part would pull her out of her descent. As she fell, she could see Naya on her view screen, grinning like a maniacal Cheshire cat. There was a wild look in the woman's eyes; one that suggested sanity was a thing long since forgotten to her.
Revenge did that to people, Relena supposed.
It all happened so fast. Arch Angel collided with the ground all too suddenly, its cockpit shaking violently. Relena's body lurched forward, her head colliding with the control panel in front of her. She let out a quick gasp of pain, fighting back Zero's light that threatened to overcome her senses. As she slipped away from consciousness, those few words still rung loudly in her ears: "You're responsible for the death of my sister!"
At this point, as the darkness flew in, Relena could only wonder.
~End of 16b
Author's Note -
Miss Chang Po - Hello, everyone! How'd you like this chapter so far? I was a little worried when I wasn't getting any reviews...
Wufei - ::frowns:: That's probably because they're all waiting for you to get off your lazy womanish behind and write up another chapter.
Miss Chang Po - ::glares at him:: Watch who you're talking to, buddy. ::Wufei steps back a little:: But anyway, I hope I didn't lose any readers! I'm really happy to see that everyone is enjoying my work. If you guys have any feed back or suggestions, any ideas you guys might have for future fics, please feel free to send'em my way! Tootles!