Chapter 34
"I'm going to kill him."
"Heero!"
"I'm going to kill him."
"Heero, stop that!"
"I'm going to kill him."
Relena glared at her stubborn husband. "You can't blame Yuri. He had every reason to-"
"I'm still going to kill him," Heero said flatly. "He had no right, no reason, no
legitimate case to cause you pain."
"Heero...I am responsible for the destruction of his FAMILY! And to think, he is
the grandson of my mother's sister...I never knew it was him!"
"Relena, you are not responsible for every single person in this universe. You
can't be. The American Revolution began thanks to one gun shot. World War I began
because one man was killed. The Cold War-"
"Heero, I get the point. But Yuri is my family, Heero! I have betrayed my own..."
and Relena's eyes grew bright again.
Finally, Duo cleared his throat.
"Look, Ojousan, I KNOW you're upset. You have every reason to be. Yuri had every
reason to throw that at you and YES Heero, I see that look! But what I'm saying is that
okay, it's done, he's done, you're done, now let's MOVE ON. Heero does have a point: you
can't be responsible for everyone, not even your own family. But it's okay to feel bad
too. You face what's happened, you figure out how to try to prevent it next time, and then
you go back to this war we're in and figure out how to kick some N-R ass, 'cause it's all
their fault anyway!"
"For once, I agree with him," Wufei muttered to Meilai, who tried not to laugh.
"Thank you Duo," Lady Une said firmly, ending the discussion. "Now as I was
saying...Quatre? Are you feeling well?"
Quatre's face had gone pale. "It's nothing..." he said slowly. Lady Une nodded
uncertainly, but went back to her lecture. In the meanwhile, however, Quatre and Dorothy
exchanged glances.
quatre. what is wrong?
pain...i feel pain, dorothy. people are suffering...but i don't know where.
...i feel something too. but it's different. quatre! could it be...?!
i...i think so. just as we expected, he's an empath, just like me.
...i see. so then, his abilities finally manifest themselves. can you feel his
emotions?
i feel pain, panic, confusion. he's coming...he's here!
The door was thrown open, and there stood seven panting, exhausted, and frightened
teenagers. Everyone in the room stood up. "What has happened?" Wufei demanded.
"Mariemaia-san...everyone in the cafeteria...Everyone's sick! They all started
throwing up blood! Mariemaia-san's still in there trying to help everyone; What is
going on Dad? Mom? Does anyone know?!" Clare gasped, terrified. "I...I'm scared!" she
finally blurted out.
Lady Une nodded grimly. "I expected them to infiltrate us somehow. Fine. Reiming, get
the medical staff. Clare, you go with her. Wufei, send out an announcement that the
cafeteria is now under quarantine. Everyone else comes with me."
a few hours later...
"Have you found the source?" Zechs demanded.
Quatre looked up and nodded. "The hotdogs. Stupid of us, really. The logs read that they
shipment took a brief stop before entering one of the tunnels. It was a 'shipping check'
supposedly. Thing is, we never HAVE shipping checks. The only good thing that happened
was that apparently, the 'officials' had attempted to switch places with our agents, but
they were denied. Anyway, now we know to close off that entrance."
"Good. And the afflicted agents?"
"Poisoned. Lucky for us, no one died. Some may be discharged honorably though;
their organs may be scarred for life."
"...Mariemaia-chan?"
At this, Quatre sighed. "See for yourself...Third floor, second door on the left. Entry
restricted."
a few minutes later...
Mariemaia's eyes fluttered, then slowly opened. "Where...am I?"
"Mariemaia-chan!"
"...Reiming-san?"
Reiming smiled with relief. "Oh good...you're awake. We were afraid you wouldn't make
it." Then she frowned. "What were you thinking?!" she said angrily. "I was told that
you wouldn't allow yourself to be treated!"
"I needed to help my fellow Preventers' first."
"But Mariemaia! You nearly died! And your reproduc-" and Reiming suddenly shut
her mouth.
Too late. Mariemaia tried sitting up and nearly fell over. "What about my reproductive
system?!" she demanded. Then she paled. "Oh no...Reiming, what about my baby?!"
outside...
"BABY?!"
Lady Une stared at Jake, who was sobbing. Looking up at his mother-in-law, he said
miserably, "She...was three months pregnant. We wanted it to be a surprise. But now, if
her reproductive organs have been permanently scarred, then that means..." and he broke
down in tears again. "Our...baby..." he choked out. "Our baby...is gone."
"Lady Une!"
"Preventer Wind," Lady Une whispered, her voice shaking. She stood up. "Pardon
me, sir," she murmured, running out before anyone could see her tears. "My poor
daughter...My dear grandchild...lost."
Zechs frowned at his commander's retreating form, then turned to the sobbing form of
Jake. "Preventer Storm," he said gently, "What has happened?"
"We...lost...baby..." he whispered, head in his hands. Then he jumped up.
"DAMN THEM!!! DAMN THEM ALL TO HELL!" he screamed, throwing himself at the wall.
"STORM! Show self-control!" Zechs roared, grabbing the younger man in a bear hug.
As Jake struggled against his grip, Zechs said, "I understand your grief, Preventer
Storm. But you must be strong enough to conquer this obstacle. There will be future-"
"No...Marie's reproductive organs are permanently damaged. We...will never have
our children..." Jake whispered, calming down.
Zechs was stunned. "My condolences," he stammered, shocked. Inside, however, he raged and
seethed at the fate that Mariemaia would be forced to endure for the rest of her life.
Why, God, WHY?! Why punish these two young people? he thought angrily. When he finally
managed to regain some control of his voice, he asked, "May I...go see her?"
inside...
Mariemaia had not stopped crying ever since Reiming had broke the news of her miscarriage
to her. "Why why why WHY?!" she cried, her head on Reiming's shoulder as the older
woman attempted to comfort her. Wiping her eyes, Mariemaia said, "I wanted to have this
child so badly. What did my baby do? My baby didn't deserve this! If this is
punishment for the sins I have committed in my past, why did my baby have to take it? Why
was my baby punished, Reiming?! WHY?!?!" she screamed in grief.
"Mariemaia..." Reiming whispered, stroking her hair as Mariemaia broke into fresh
sobs, then looked up as Zechs entered the room. Zechs opened his mouth to speak, but
Reiming jerked her head in a negative. He nodded, and quietly stepped back out.
Meanwhile, Mariemaia's sorrow gave way to anger, just as her husband had done. "I'll
kill them," she whispered fiercely, a dangerous glint in her eye. "They can watch me: For
taking my child's life, I will send every single one of the mother-fucking bastards to
HELL! WATCH OUT, NEO-ROMMEFELLER! I'll...I..." and she tipped over.
Reiming looked sadly at her friend, syringe in hand. "Sorry," she whispered. "But you
can't act like that right now...It's not healthy. You'll get your revenge, I promise you
that. But for now...you need your rest."
Straightening out her skirt, Reiming stood up and walked to the threshold, where Zechs
was waiting. "Sedative," she explained, when she saw his questioning look. Zechs nodded.
"Meeting," he told her. "With Lady Une and the top Preventers. We'll make those
bastards pay."
Reiming nodded, a cold and vicious look in her eye. "What they did to Mariemaia and the
others was unforgivable. They'll pay...dearly."
"I'm going to kill him."
"Heero!"
"I'm going to kill him."
"Heero, stop that!"
"I'm going to kill him."
Relena glared at her stubborn husband. "You can't blame Yuri. He had every reason to-"
"I'm still going to kill him," Heero said flatly. "He had no right, no reason, no
legitimate case to cause you pain."
"Heero...I am responsible for the destruction of his FAMILY! And to think, he is
the grandson of my mother's sister...I never knew it was him!"
"Relena, you are not responsible for every single person in this universe. You
can't be. The American Revolution began thanks to one gun shot. World War I began
because one man was killed. The Cold War-"
"Heero, I get the point. But Yuri is my family, Heero! I have betrayed my own..."
and Relena's eyes grew bright again.
Finally, Duo cleared his throat.
"Look, Ojousan, I KNOW you're upset. You have every reason to be. Yuri had every
reason to throw that at you and YES Heero, I see that look! But what I'm saying is that
okay, it's done, he's done, you're done, now let's MOVE ON. Heero does have a point: you
can't be responsible for everyone, not even your own family. But it's okay to feel bad
too. You face what's happened, you figure out how to try to prevent it next time, and then
you go back to this war we're in and figure out how to kick some N-R ass, 'cause it's all
their fault anyway!"
"For once, I agree with him," Wufei muttered to Meilai, who tried not to laugh.
"Thank you Duo," Lady Une said firmly, ending the discussion. "Now as I was
saying...Quatre? Are you feeling well?"
Quatre's face had gone pale. "It's nothing..." he said slowly. Lady Une nodded
uncertainly, but went back to her lecture. In the meanwhile, however, Quatre and Dorothy
exchanged glances.
quatre. what is wrong?
pain...i feel pain, dorothy. people are suffering...but i don't know where.
...i feel something too. but it's different. quatre! could it be...?!
i...i think so. just as we expected, he's an empath, just like me.
...i see. so then, his abilities finally manifest themselves. can you feel his
emotions?
i feel pain, panic, confusion. he's coming...he's here!
The door was thrown open, and there stood seven panting, exhausted, and frightened
teenagers. Everyone in the room stood up. "What has happened?" Wufei demanded.
"Mariemaia-san...everyone in the cafeteria...Everyone's sick! They all started
throwing up blood! Mariemaia-san's still in there trying to help everyone; What is
going on Dad? Mom? Does anyone know?!" Clare gasped, terrified. "I...I'm scared!" she
finally blurted out.
Lady Une nodded grimly. "I expected them to infiltrate us somehow. Fine. Reiming, get
the medical staff. Clare, you go with her. Wufei, send out an announcement that the
cafeteria is now under quarantine. Everyone else comes with me."
a few hours later...
"Have you found the source?" Zechs demanded.
Quatre looked up and nodded. "The hotdogs. Stupid of us, really. The logs read that they
shipment took a brief stop before entering one of the tunnels. It was a 'shipping check'
supposedly. Thing is, we never HAVE shipping checks. The only good thing that happened
was that apparently, the 'officials' had attempted to switch places with our agents, but
they were denied. Anyway, now we know to close off that entrance."
"Good. And the afflicted agents?"
"Poisoned. Lucky for us, no one died. Some may be discharged honorably though;
their organs may be scarred for life."
"...Mariemaia-chan?"
At this, Quatre sighed. "See for yourself...Third floor, second door on the left. Entry
restricted."
a few minutes later...
Mariemaia's eyes fluttered, then slowly opened. "Where...am I?"
"Mariemaia-chan!"
"...Reiming-san?"
Reiming smiled with relief. "Oh good...you're awake. We were afraid you wouldn't make
it." Then she frowned. "What were you thinking?!" she said angrily. "I was told that
you wouldn't allow yourself to be treated!"
"I needed to help my fellow Preventers' first."
"But Mariemaia! You nearly died! And your reproduc-" and Reiming suddenly shut
her mouth.
Too late. Mariemaia tried sitting up and nearly fell over. "What about my reproductive
system?!" she demanded. Then she paled. "Oh no...Reiming, what about my baby?!"
outside...
"BABY?!"
Lady Une stared at Jake, who was sobbing. Looking up at his mother-in-law, he said
miserably, "She...was three months pregnant. We wanted it to be a surprise. But now, if
her reproductive organs have been permanently scarred, then that means..." and he broke
down in tears again. "Our...baby..." he choked out. "Our baby...is gone."
"Lady Une!"
"Preventer Wind," Lady Une whispered, her voice shaking. She stood up. "Pardon
me, sir," she murmured, running out before anyone could see her tears. "My poor
daughter...My dear grandchild...lost."
Zechs frowned at his commander's retreating form, then turned to the sobbing form of
Jake. "Preventer Storm," he said gently, "What has happened?"
"We...lost...baby..." he whispered, head in his hands. Then he jumped up.
"DAMN THEM!!! DAMN THEM ALL TO HELL!" he screamed, throwing himself at the wall.
"STORM! Show self-control!" Zechs roared, grabbing the younger man in a bear hug.
As Jake struggled against his grip, Zechs said, "I understand your grief, Preventer
Storm. But you must be strong enough to conquer this obstacle. There will be future-"
"No...Marie's reproductive organs are permanently damaged. We...will never have
our children..." Jake whispered, calming down.
Zechs was stunned. "My condolences," he stammered, shocked. Inside, however, he raged and
seethed at the fate that Mariemaia would be forced to endure for the rest of her life.
Why, God, WHY?! Why punish these two young people? he thought angrily. When he finally
managed to regain some control of his voice, he asked, "May I...go see her?"
inside...
Mariemaia had not stopped crying ever since Reiming had broke the news of her miscarriage
to her. "Why why why WHY?!" she cried, her head on Reiming's shoulder as the older
woman attempted to comfort her. Wiping her eyes, Mariemaia said, "I wanted to have this
child so badly. What did my baby do? My baby didn't deserve this! If this is
punishment for the sins I have committed in my past, why did my baby have to take it? Why
was my baby punished, Reiming?! WHY?!?!" she screamed in grief.
"Mariemaia..." Reiming whispered, stroking her hair as Mariemaia broke into fresh
sobs, then looked up as Zechs entered the room. Zechs opened his mouth to speak, but
Reiming jerked her head in a negative. He nodded, and quietly stepped back out.
Meanwhile, Mariemaia's sorrow gave way to anger, just as her husband had done. "I'll
kill them," she whispered fiercely, a dangerous glint in her eye. "They can watch me: For
taking my child's life, I will send every single one of the mother-fucking bastards to
HELL! WATCH OUT, NEO-ROMMEFELLER! I'll...I..." and she tipped over.
Reiming looked sadly at her friend, syringe in hand. "Sorry," she whispered. "But you
can't act like that right now...It's not healthy. You'll get your revenge, I promise you
that. But for now...you need your rest."
Straightening out her skirt, Reiming stood up and walked to the threshold, where Zechs
was waiting. "Sedative," she explained, when she saw his questioning look. Zechs nodded.
"Meeting," he told her. "With Lady Une and the top Preventers. We'll make those
bastards pay."
Reiming nodded, a cold and vicious look in her eye. "What they did to Mariemaia and the
others was unforgivable. They'll pay...dearly."
