(REVISED EDITION)

Chapter 25, Let Me Hold You: Remember all that was...(All that is, is all that was)

He woke feeling somewhat, how to say this, enlightened. The bright hospital lights were dimmed in a kindly gesture so that he wasn't blinded when he woke up and the rain outside pattering against the windowpanes almost lulled him back into his much-needed sleep.

Under his eyes, the dark circles that had shown his deprived sleep from worrying and stress were slowly fading as the memories his mind protected him from. He was able to rest easily now, knowing that whatever he had searched out to do had be completed. A mission perhaps, or something more. Missions were becoming meaningless to him, something that made someone important in his life wanted that. Someone important, yet not important enough for him to remember, why was that so!

His head hurt probably due to too much thinking in his injured state, which wasn't a good idea. The human mind is dangerous thing to toy with, Zero told him this through each battle he fought.

The recent event's had obviously taken is toll on him.

'Wait, what events?' He thought, wondering how he was so beaten up like this. He probably got hurt on a mission, but then...His eyes snapped open from the slight trance he was in when he realized he must have been in a hospital.

Hospitals meant them finding out about his secret. Hospitals meant...

"How are you feeling?" A sweet honey-like voice came to his ears, killing his train of thought, which he was in fact almost happy for.

'Well, that is a stupid question, how do you think—' His thoughts were broken off as he looked to his side and saw a familiar face, somehow he remembered her. "Are you part of the"

"I'm part of the rebellion group. Or was, better yet. The war is over." She said, gingerly touching his bandaged arm.

He was almost covered in bandages, his chest area being succumbed to the worst of the explosions. He couldn't remember anything, vaguely at the least. The images all swirled and blurred in his mind.

"Who are you?" Heero questioned cautiously.

"I'm Miyyuuki." She simply said, looking at him, hoping he would remember her possibly though the chances were slim.

"You were from the Rebellion's leaders groups." His mind seemed to allow this bit of information to pass through his barriers. "You were the organizers daughter."

Heero had his hands resting on his head. He didn't know what was real and what wasn't. His dreams were so vivid; they scared him almost. Was it a warning or premonition of some sort?

Miyyuuki walked into the room with a smile on her face. "Are you feeling any better?" She asked him sweetly, a bowl of cream of crab soup on a tray that she carried with crackers. Soup was best for his stomach, first you had to give him something small and easy for his stomach to handle.

Heero didn't respond, but heard the hum of machines. The hum wasn't there before. His eyes narrowed and he jumped out of bed, the feeling of pain long forgotten. "Get behind me!" He shouted, dragging her to a corner and shielded her with his body when the door was barged down and people rushed into the room; guns ready.

"Heero!" Duo shouted with happiness, leave it to the perfect soldier to once again make a deal with death himself.

Heero glared at the intruders, not budging away from the scared form of Miyyuuki in the corner. Her eyes widened with recognition. "Hey! Your that guy!" She shouted from behind Heero.

Heero glanced in her direction, his eyes cold at the people in the room, which shocked them. "You know them?" He questioned, skeptical of this.

"Know not," She received a glare promising death to her but she showed no fear. "I am an acquaintance."

"What do you want?" Heero asked with a cold glare. No one would mess with Miyyuuki, he would make sure of that. 'This seems so wrong,' His mind argued. 'You are suppose to protect someone else!'

'Who?' He questioned; knowing the answer would be silence.

'...' He knew it. Sighing mentally, he pushed the inner argument away.

"What do you mean 'What do you want!' We are here to take you back!" Duo said with exasperation, a growing dread filling his gut.

"Back where? I'm not going anywhere with you people." He said, venom noticeable in his voice and the glare's effect lasting for an eternity it seemed. His eyes showed something else. He had no clue who they were.

"Heero, don't you remember us?" Quatre asked, lowering his gun.

Heero remained silent and Quatre took this as a 'no, I don't remember you'.

"H-how can you not remember us!" Duo shouted, angry at the small fact. He had forgotten before, hadn't he!

After all they had been through... How could he even think such a thing!

Two aqua eyes started to fill with tears as she walked into the room, Heero turned to look at her, in full view. His eyes were wide. How did she look so...familiar? Like she had an important part in his life? Was she the one he was supposed to protect?

Tears filled her eyes as she looked at him, taking in his features. He seemed so much colder than before. Had he lost all he had gained with this new...problem? Relena wouldn't even think such a thing. Heero was still Heero, her Heero. Whether or not he was the perfect machine or someone else.

"Can you not remember the first time we met? On the beach?" She breathed out, the moment was in her heart forever.

"Beach?" Duo could have sworn he though he heard some insecurity in his voice, as if he was hiding from something.

"He's a soldier! I had better get help!" Relena said aloud, though obviously no other person was about. The sun was slowly setting, painting the sky a blood red and deep orange color as the sinking sun seemed to wink at her idea.

She was back at his side again, the ambulance she requested coming quickly. She knew they would come faster; soldiers were very important in the war.

She removed the helmet, shocked at how young the boy was. He was only about her age! "He's still just a kid!" She breathed.

His eyes flashed open, he stared at her before stumbling to his feet. He quickly hid his face behind his hand, glaring at her with shock and...he was scared it seemed. Scared that he had...

"Did you see?" He questioned.

"See what?" Relena asked dumbly. Soldiers were capable of anything, it was best to act stupid. She had a vague idea with the whole hand over face thing that he meant his face.

Weren't soldiers suppose to show their faces. What was he? An assassin or something.

"You shouldn't move around to much, the ambulance is almost here." She said.

A frantic look seemed to cross his features but was hid by his emotionless prussain eyes. The doctor's got out of the vehicle.

"They're down there!" A doctor with glasses and an almost buzz cut of brunet hair shouted, indicating for all of the paramedics to rush down there.

The soldier hit a button and slammed his fists together, Relena looking startled as an explosion came from his suit. A confused look came over his face but he quickly ran to the stairs.

"Hey!" A doctor managed to say. "Who are you!" He got knocked out, same for the other three.

He ran up the stars, hit the glass, gripped the top rail of the ambulance and hurled himself into the glass window, making it shatter as he knocked the other person who was driving right out the door.

He hit the gas, his hand on the shift bar as he slammed the accelerator, the sirens still on so he wouldn't have to deal with traffic. He took off onto the bridge.

Heero stared at Relena. "Who are you?" He said with a sharp coldness, almost instantly regretting saying it so harshly to her. Something inside him stirred: something he felt that seemed somehow familiar.

"My name is Relena Darlain, what's yours?" She used her famous self-introductory. She placed her hand out, waiting for him to respond.

He said nothing at all, just stared at her hand. An eyebrow raised higher than the other, 'What's she getting at?' He questioned himself.

Duo looked at Heero. Hopefully Relena was getting somewhere with him.

Miyyuuki looked at Heero tearfully. She couldn't keep him locked away forever. It was better if he did remember...

She sighed heavily, defeated. Relena and him seemed to always get tied together at some odd course of events. They always seemed to look after one another. Heero in the shadows, Relena...well...Miyyuuki smiled inwardly. 'Well, Miss Relena, she's working for world peace. Something people should learn to live with.'

"What are you smiling about?" Duo glared daggers at her. 'This is all her fault, if only she told us in the first place instead of trying to isolate him from anything that would remind him of his past. Anything could trigger a memory, and she would and could keep him away from everything.

She sighed again and Heero glanced at her, not taking his eyes off of the intruders. "I'm going to go and make some tea, why don't you and Miss Relena have a chat or two." She smiled before wiggling out of Heero's protective stance and she saw him relax a bit.

She felt a saddened smile fall upon her lips, hiding it quickly with a dismissing thought to put her mind on the task at hand.

Relena stared at Heero. 'He hasn't forgotten, it's just hidden from him.' She thoughts, looking at him intently.

"What?" He asked, noticing her gaze at him intently.

"Oh, nothing." She smiled. He loved that smile. He was so close, he could feel it! "Do you remember the time that I had a birthday party?"

"Birthday party?" He asked, knowing this was the last memory he would need before it would all come out.

"I-I hope that you can make it to my party." She said happily, her "friends" behind her clapping with this said. They were like people in need of a leader. Why did people always look up to her like that in such a young age?

Heero looked at the invite with no emotion on his face. He took it up to her eye-level where she was still smiling and he ripped it in half.

She gasped, looking as the wind carried off the invitation into the air. "B-But why?" She asked, tears forming in her eyes.

He got up from leaning on the stone balcony wall and walked past her, placing his hand under her eye to catch her tear. They fell off his hand in a single swift movement.

He stopped for a second, his cold and heartless eyes turning into a mocking smile as he told her three words harshly.

"I'll kill you." Then he walked off, leaving the young girl all alone in the howling wind with that said.

His cold cobalt eyes didn't seem so cold anymore to Relena as she got up to go and sit next to him, Miyyuuki next to him.

Emotions passed through his eyes and they seemed unfocused, like he was reliving all the memories he had forgotten.

What she hadn't expected was him falling forward, not into her but towards the floor.

His mind, which had kept the memories from him, was too much for him; sending him reeling into darkness, the newly rediscovered memories filling his clear-headed brain.

"This is good," Duo said happily. "It seems he remembers now."

"Let's go before Miyyuuki gets back, she'll probably take him away from you again." Trowa said to Relena, who nodded at this. She wasn't taking a chance, this time at least.

"Heero," Relena whispered to her love that was now on a bed in the Sanc Kingdom. The others were elsewhere and she was rubbing a wetted towel across his forehead, letting him be a little colder on the summer day.

His eyes snapped open. "R-Relena!" He jerked into an upright position before he felt her gentle hand on his chest, forcing him lightly but sternly back down to the mattress.

She laid down on his chest partially, her head resting on his heart. "I'm so sorry. I should have been there for you."

Tears formed in her eyes. "I should have been the one to find you, not her."

He got up, forcing her to remove her from that position. She looked so sad. He pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her into a hug, which made her smile and let some more tears fall. "I'm the one who should be sorry." He whispered quietly.

"Oh, Heero..." Relena whispered with tears of ahppiness. They were one step closer.

"Relena." Heero said devoid of emotion, but some comfort shown in it. "don't cry." He wiped away her tears.

"You wipe my tears away too many times." She whispered, snuggling closer to him.

"Hopefully it will be the last," He told her quietly, not rejecting her hug, which she returned.

Somehow he felt at peace. The emotions that had once been his cage, making him withdraw further into himself didn't seem to matter anymore. Everything that had happened had shown that he could somehow manage to build over the past.

He remembered the chilling words that she spoke to him as he was bound and thrown onto the floor by her feet.

"If you are Wind, then I am Fire. You stop wars, and I start them. This fire won't go down without a fight." She whispered into his ear, trying to kiss him but only getting him to struggle underneath her grasp.

She hissed at his resistance.

He glared back, "I am no wind." He managed to throw out of his mouth. 'Zechs is wind.' His mind told him. "And you are no fire." He retorted back to her with a glare. Even though he was weak, he was still threatening.

She grinned and bent down again, "Then," She choked out to him through torn anger and rage. "I guess we are both nothing!" She hit him, hard in the ribcage and took this moment to steal a kiss from his lips.

A kiss he hoped Relena would take and not this...posing wench.

Over the past and closer to each other.

Relena gazed at Heero and he to her. She saw the uneasiness gone from them now. It was a step closer to healing him. Whatever that woman did to him, she wouldn't let happen again. He had called her an angel of peace, so she would shield him in her wings.

She felt herself lost in those eyes of his, and he was seemingly drugged and intoxicated by her amazing beauty. Their lips came closer together, eyes closed to enjoy the moment.

OWARI