Chapter 10
AN: Just to give a heads up, the timing is a little weird in this chapter. The first P.O.V. and all others that begin with 'ten minutes earlier' all begin from the time that they leave the room in the previous chapter. Example: Quatre's P.O.V. starts as Quatre is leaving the room; Duo's begins as he is leaving the room, and so on.
Quatre P.O.V.
Quatre waited a moment for Treize to pass through the pyramid door. The door slid shut behind him, and Quatre suddenly felt very cut off from the others, as though the door were a split between dimensions, rather than rooms. But, he shook his head and looked over at Treize, who stood at the top of the stairs leading down to the left.
Treize looked over his shoulder at the boy. "We should get going now." He said quietly, not an order, but still firm.
Quatre nodded and followed the man as he led the way down the stairs. (At least we're not fighting. We can get along.) He smiled to himself. (Maybe Rei did know what she was doing when she told me to go with him.)
Treize stopped at the bottom of the steps and turned back to Quatre. He extended a hand. "Do you want to go first?"
Quatre hesitated. (Would he try to shoot me in the back?) Quatre smiled and nodded. (No. He has too much honor for that. If he wants to challenge me, he will do it to my face.)
Quatre walked in silence through the hallways, eyes scanning along the same torn, blue wallpaper they had met with when they had stepped out of the elevator. The same blank spaces of wall, faded as though a picture had hung there once. Quatre passed a side alley off the hall and glanced into it. (Empty...) Turning the corner at the end of the hall, Quatre glanced back to see Treize following behind, closely, but at his own leisure.
Three more corner turns and Quatre found the door Rei had told him about. They had already come across the alley with a pile of scrap metal, which they carefully avoided, and also sparked a conversation about the Ixupi with Treize.
"So it doesn't initially hurt, but you simply lose your energy?" Treize asked, finally understanding the Ixupi background.
Quatre nodded as he stopped in front of the door. "That's what Wufei said after the water one got him."
Treize looked up. "He let one of the things attack him?"
Quatre smiled half-heartedly. "It was when we were first dropped down here. We met Rei, and when she explained the situation we didn't actually believe her." He closed his eyes. "Though Wufei was the only one to put it into words." His smiled fell. "Though his words could have been a bit more polite..."
Treize nodded and blinked slowly. "So, is this the door?"
"Yes." Quatre nodded and turned the handle. The door creaked loudly on its hinges and swung open slowly. Quatre stepped incautiously. The familiar music seemed to drift from behind the open door, between it and the wall. A quick glance told him a pile of boards rested there.
Treize stopped in the doorframe. "What's that music?"
"That's the tune I told you about. Rei mentioned there would be a wood Ixupi in here. Just don't look behind the door. The thing can't attack you if it can't see you or if you can't see it." Quatre walked cautiously across the room, listening to the music dim slowly, and fade away.
Treize followed behind, also listening to the music die. On the other side of the room was another door, with a wooden panel on the wall beside it. Both stopped in front of it. Quatre looked at Treize who waved his hand, giving Quatre the honors. The boy smiled a thanks at the man and touched the panel.
It opened to reveal a series of squares, all similarly colored, but with different designs. All seemed to be a dark, redish-mud color with blotches of muddy purple here and there. The squares definitely seemed to be a picture, scattered into a puzzle.
"La Goya's 'The Great Battle'..." Treize muttered.
Quatre looked over at him. "You recognize this?"
Treize nodded with satisfaction. "Yes. Don't you? Well, it isn't one of his very well known paintings..."
"Then you know how it goes?" Quatre asked hopefully.
Treize nodded again. "It might take a while."
Quatre shrugged. "We have a while."
So, Treize began pulling and pushing around the pieces, rearranging them into what became a battle scene. Quatre smiled as the man stood back to admire the now-completed painting. "I guess we can go in now."
Quatre reached for the door handle, and paused. "Might be something in there." He warned and pulled out a gun. Treize followed suit and pressed up against the wall. Three gunshots later, both were in the room, Quatre at a very cheap-looking fortune telling machine, and Treize sitting on the boxes behind him.
In the small return tray on the machine, a penny dropped down with a clink. Quatre looked at it for a moment, before picking it up, and dropping it carefully into the given slot.
The plastic fortune teller, complete with a fake gold earring and bandana, held out her hand. A card was clipped between her fingers. Quatre took the small slip of cardboard and looked at it.
'Align War with Love and Mind Turn Thunder and Sea straight with Time Reach out your hand and touch a Star The End so near, and yet so far'
"Treize." Quatre said absently. The man stood up, ready to leave. "Look at this." Quatre handed him the card. "Do you recognize this poem?"
Treize read it through and shook his head. "No. Do you?"
Quatre also shook his head. "No. But Rei needs it, so we should be getting back. Did you find that jar?"
Treize held up the jar and nodded. "Are we ready to go?"
Duo P.O.V. (about ten minutes earlier)
Duo followed Zechs through the door silently, not wanting to push the older man into a gun fight that he knew should be reserved for Heero. Duo paused to close the door behind him and turned to get his first eyeful of the room. It was a small room, much smaller than the storage room, and was dimly lit by a large model of the sun centered in the room and surrounded by a small solar system. To the left of the system was a very small scale Stonehenge, itself lit by a buzzing electric light suspended from the low ceiling by a long cord. On the other side of the solar system was a metal space saucer, held off the floor by a metal platform. The saucer had a panel imbedded in it, which Zechs was already investigating.
Duo stepped up beside him silently and peered around Zechs' arm. (Okay. Just let him solve it. He probably knows what to do already.) Duo nodded to himself and continued to watch silently.
Zechs brushed his hand across the panel, and suppressed his frown when it didn't open. (There must be a trigger somewhere...) He tilted his head to glance under the saucer, and started back a step as it opened on its own.
"Hm." Duo mumbled from next to him and Zechs glared at the boy as he drew his hand away from a half-hidden button in the side. Duo grinned widely in an effort to hide his own uneasiness about the situation.
Zechs held his glare for a moment before turning back to the panel and opening the book he had forgotten was in his hands. Inside the panel were the names of three cities and three symbols next to each. Zechs frowned. (Wait. These cities have been demolished for at least a century. Why does this...exhibit bring them up now?) A quick look to the display panel to the side told him that each of these cities had been sites of 'extraterrestrial encounters' in the past. Zechs ran this over in his head before opening the book and flipping through it. He stopped abruptly on a page laid out in the same way as the panel, only with the symbols in different order. (I must have to put these things in this order.)
His eyes shifted to movement to his right. Duo was now moving around the room, realizing his supervision over Zechs was not needed or wanted. Duo stepped in front of the solar system model and held a hand out to Pluto. The planet shifted on its axis and orbited about three inches. Duo smirked at the possibility of something interesting to do. He batted the small planet left and right, watching it spin soundlessly. Duo flicked it hard to the left and watched it spin all the way around the sun.
A sliding noise brought his attention back to Zechs. The man had successfully arranged the symbols and now stepped away from the saucer, a jar top in hand. The planet continued spinning and softly tapped Zechs' shoulder, halting the small sphere in its orbit. Zechs brought his glare down on Duo. The boy laughed haltingly and moved away, around to the other side of the solar system. Duo's smile dropped as music drifted to his ears, the same tune he knew to listen for. A slight plan pulled itself together in his mind. "Zechs?" He asked innocently.
The older man continued to circle the system, not sure of what he would do when he caught the child playing on the other side. "What."
"Do you believe what Rei said about the spirits in the museum?"
Zechs rolled his eyes. "No. I do not."
Duo smiled broadly and stepped to the side. "Then come stand where I am."
Zechs clenched his fists, half-surprised to find himself so upset. "I don't take orders from children." He growled.
Duo held up his hands. "Hey, it's not an order. Just a request..." He dropped his hands to indicate the space next to him, in front of the Stonehenge.
Zechs stopped. (It's some sort of trap. It must be.)
As if reading his thoughts, Duo sighed. "I'm not going to shoot you or anything, I just want you to see something."
Zechs took another step hesitantly, eyes scanning for anything dangerous. He stopped in the space next to Duo. Zechs lifted his head as a faint music reached his ears. He turned around, looking for the source. "What did you do? What is that music?"
Duo shifted a step away and jerked his head towards the stones behind Zechs. "Just look over there."
Zechs turned and focused on the stones. The music grew louder and a sense of danger grew with it. Zechs felt himself root to the spot as the light above the stones buzzed with the electricity sparking over it. The sparks pulled together into a single, thick bolt. The thing seemed to have eyes that glared cruelly out at him as it swiped a glinting limb out at Zechs. The bolt passed through his chest, painlessly, but as the thing retreated back into its lampshade, Zechs felt the energy drain out of him, and he fell to one knee. He tilted his head up to Duo, who now stood smugly over him. "You knew...it was there." Zechs accused weakly.
Duo rolled his eyes. "Now will you believe?" A shadow moved behind Duo and Zechs' eyes shifted there. "Rei's been through this thing, and she is trying to get all of us out of here without anyone ending up dead." The shadow moved again, closer, and Zechs frowned. Duo sighed. "Come on, no need to stay down there forever. We've gotta keep moving." He held out a hand for Zechs.
Duo suddenly felt a draft creep up his back and he managed to twist around in time to shove the creature away and pull his gun out. But Zechs was faster than him, and shot the thing twice. The room stood silent for a moment, the music gone, and the shadows no longer moving on their own. Duo managed to nod a thanks to Zechs before they continued on their way.
The rest of the 'mission' went without event. They made their way down the stairs in the back of the room, crossed though a very cluttered room full of stuffed creatures, werewolves, Cyclops, and even a unicorn. There was a bronze snake in the next room, which both were careful to avoid. The coffin Rei had spoken of was set right in front of the door, and Zechs and Duo had to work together to force open the coffin. Despite Rei's warning, there was no creature inside, only a red-dyed skeleton that fell noisily to the floor as they opened the lid. Zechs made a mental note of the girl's miscalculation, but kept silent. Duo picked up the jar this time and they made their way back up to the storage room.
Relena P.O.V.
Relena look up at the sound of a door, but sighed as it was only Zechs and Duo. (Why is Heero taking so long? He wouldn't even think of doing anything with that girl, no. But she would try and take him in an instant. I can't just sit here, waiting for her to try something! But Heero thinks of her as an ally, and won't let me take her on.) Relena smiled to herself. (I may not exactly be a warrior, but I most certainly can fight better than some whore in a skirt. But how can I get Heero to listen to me?)
Zechs sat down on the box a few feet away from the opposite wall. Relena watched Duo saunter over, the jars in hand. Standing up, Relena took the jars silently, placed both in the bag, and brushed past Duo towards Zechs. She felt all eyes in the room watching her, but ignored them. She heard Trowa get back to work on the wires, twisting and connecting, and she held Zechs' eye contact as she approached him.
Relena forced her head to waver and she pulled her eyes to the floor. She stopped in front of the box, hesitated, and hopped up next to Zechs. Zechs looked over at her, awkwardly. "Yes?"
Relena looked down at the floor and bit her lip. "You know, since we're technically not enemies anymore, and you're technically my brother... I kind of just want your advice on something..." She trailed off, still looking at the ground and biting her lip.
Zechs, looked the girl, who obviously had something on her mind, and leaned over, bringing his eyes to her level. "Yes?" He asked again, gently.
"I, um, see, I've kind of known Heero for a while, and I kind of thought we were friends, you know, good friends." She kept her head down, still not meeting his eyes. "Well, I, um, thought we were really good friends, and I kind of, I guess, liked him." She hesitated, biting her lip.
"And?" Zechs prodded quietly. (Why is she telling me this?) He felt a smile tug at his lips. (She is still an adolescent girl. Maybe she really does just want someone to listen.)
"But now," Her voice lowered to a slight whisper. "That girl, Rei, with her stupid skirt and hair and..." Her voice trembled on the verge of either tears or rage. "She's doing everything to take him away. She gets his arms around her, stares at him, touches him, tries to kiss him... And she wears that skirt like she's some kind of..." Her hands tightened on the edge of the box. "I just can't compete with that."
Zechs felt another pang of pity for the girl. "I don't..." He searched for something to say.
Relena took a deep breath. "I'm not trying to dump anything on you. I, I just don't know what to do..."
"Have you tried talking to him?" He asked quietly.
Relena shook her head slowly and opened her eyes. "I can never get him alone. She always.." Relena hesitated. "She always picks the groups, and she always gets to be with Heero. I never get a chance..." She squeezed her eyes shut again.
Zechs held in a sigh. "I think I could help."
Relena looked up. "Help? You don't have to-"
"You need the help." Zechs shrugged. "Though I must admit this situation is...unique to me, you are, technically, my little sister, and I do feel compelled to help you."
Relena continued to shake her head. "No, you don't have to do anything, I just kind of, wanted somebody to listen to me."
Once again, the smile pulled at his lips. "I will help." The smile fell away. "But once we get out of here, you know Heero and I will still be enemies."
Relena nodded slowly. "I know." She smiled slightly. "Thank you." (Perfect.)
Rei P.O.V. (also about ten minutes earlier)
After Zechs and Duo left, Rei quickly explained what they would have to do, and the two boys listened patiently. "Understand?" She asked after she had finished.
Both nodded shortly, and Rei had the sudden feeling they were trying to keep their anger in check. Then, as if to confirm her feeling, Heero stepped forward. He leaned in and fixed her under his glare. Normally, Rei would have blushed at his close proximity, but his look seriously discouraged such thought. "They are the enemy. Once we get out of this place, I will treat them as such."
"But while in here, we will oblige by your rules." Wufei added, reluctantly.
Rei nodded. "And once you go home, I could care less how you handle your enemies. But like I said, inside a broken down, haunted museum is not the place for a war." She looked back and forth between the two. "Can we go now?"
They nodded again and Heero led the way towards the far door. Rei carefully avoided Relena's eyes as she passed. (Maybe I should let Relena be with Heero more often. She really seems to like him and maybe they kind of belong together. Who am I to try and butt in on that?) Even as the thought passed through her mind, she felt herself lying. (Why do I really want to be with him? Once we leave this place, I'll never see him again...)
Ooooo, yet another cliffy... Relena's got a plan, Quatre's got a card, and Rei may be giving up on her feelings!! Chaos!! Well, not quite, but I think it's interesting. Anyway, get ready for a long AN, I got a few things to say. 1. I don't know if there's a Goya painting named 'The Great Battle', but if there is, I don't know about it. I just chose some well known painter. 2. Major apologies for the weird timing. If you still don't get it, all of them are happening about the same time, except for Relena's P.O.V. Sorry for cutting Rei off again, but I going to try to keep my chapters to a 3,000 word count. I can't go back and open my chapter 8 on my computer and since that chapter was my biggest, I think its size might have something to do with it. 3. I'm not sure if I said it before, but here it is, Rei won't be using her powers here. She was going to towards the end of my original idea for this story, but this took a minor turn here, and she won't be using her powers. 4. You all are going to think I'm so blond, (I'm not, I've got light brown hair) but I don't spend literally any time chatting so all these 'lol' and 'btw' (yes I know what those two mean) are not really my in my vocabulary. So, here's my question. What does 'rnrn' mean?!!! I see it in every other review, but I don't have a clue what it means!! Can someone please fill this poor little lost girl in... 5. As always, review!
AN: Just to give a heads up, the timing is a little weird in this chapter. The first P.O.V. and all others that begin with 'ten minutes earlier' all begin from the time that they leave the room in the previous chapter. Example: Quatre's P.O.V. starts as Quatre is leaving the room; Duo's begins as he is leaving the room, and so on.
Quatre P.O.V.
Quatre waited a moment for Treize to pass through the pyramid door. The door slid shut behind him, and Quatre suddenly felt very cut off from the others, as though the door were a split between dimensions, rather than rooms. But, he shook his head and looked over at Treize, who stood at the top of the stairs leading down to the left.
Treize looked over his shoulder at the boy. "We should get going now." He said quietly, not an order, but still firm.
Quatre nodded and followed the man as he led the way down the stairs. (At least we're not fighting. We can get along.) He smiled to himself. (Maybe Rei did know what she was doing when she told me to go with him.)
Treize stopped at the bottom of the steps and turned back to Quatre. He extended a hand. "Do you want to go first?"
Quatre hesitated. (Would he try to shoot me in the back?) Quatre smiled and nodded. (No. He has too much honor for that. If he wants to challenge me, he will do it to my face.)
Quatre walked in silence through the hallways, eyes scanning along the same torn, blue wallpaper they had met with when they had stepped out of the elevator. The same blank spaces of wall, faded as though a picture had hung there once. Quatre passed a side alley off the hall and glanced into it. (Empty...) Turning the corner at the end of the hall, Quatre glanced back to see Treize following behind, closely, but at his own leisure.
Three more corner turns and Quatre found the door Rei had told him about. They had already come across the alley with a pile of scrap metal, which they carefully avoided, and also sparked a conversation about the Ixupi with Treize.
"So it doesn't initially hurt, but you simply lose your energy?" Treize asked, finally understanding the Ixupi background.
Quatre nodded as he stopped in front of the door. "That's what Wufei said after the water one got him."
Treize looked up. "He let one of the things attack him?"
Quatre smiled half-heartedly. "It was when we were first dropped down here. We met Rei, and when she explained the situation we didn't actually believe her." He closed his eyes. "Though Wufei was the only one to put it into words." His smiled fell. "Though his words could have been a bit more polite..."
Treize nodded and blinked slowly. "So, is this the door?"
"Yes." Quatre nodded and turned the handle. The door creaked loudly on its hinges and swung open slowly. Quatre stepped incautiously. The familiar music seemed to drift from behind the open door, between it and the wall. A quick glance told him a pile of boards rested there.
Treize stopped in the doorframe. "What's that music?"
"That's the tune I told you about. Rei mentioned there would be a wood Ixupi in here. Just don't look behind the door. The thing can't attack you if it can't see you or if you can't see it." Quatre walked cautiously across the room, listening to the music dim slowly, and fade away.
Treize followed behind, also listening to the music die. On the other side of the room was another door, with a wooden panel on the wall beside it. Both stopped in front of it. Quatre looked at Treize who waved his hand, giving Quatre the honors. The boy smiled a thanks at the man and touched the panel.
It opened to reveal a series of squares, all similarly colored, but with different designs. All seemed to be a dark, redish-mud color with blotches of muddy purple here and there. The squares definitely seemed to be a picture, scattered into a puzzle.
"La Goya's 'The Great Battle'..." Treize muttered.
Quatre looked over at him. "You recognize this?"
Treize nodded with satisfaction. "Yes. Don't you? Well, it isn't one of his very well known paintings..."
"Then you know how it goes?" Quatre asked hopefully.
Treize nodded again. "It might take a while."
Quatre shrugged. "We have a while."
So, Treize began pulling and pushing around the pieces, rearranging them into what became a battle scene. Quatre smiled as the man stood back to admire the now-completed painting. "I guess we can go in now."
Quatre reached for the door handle, and paused. "Might be something in there." He warned and pulled out a gun. Treize followed suit and pressed up against the wall. Three gunshots later, both were in the room, Quatre at a very cheap-looking fortune telling machine, and Treize sitting on the boxes behind him.
In the small return tray on the machine, a penny dropped down with a clink. Quatre looked at it for a moment, before picking it up, and dropping it carefully into the given slot.
The plastic fortune teller, complete with a fake gold earring and bandana, held out her hand. A card was clipped between her fingers. Quatre took the small slip of cardboard and looked at it.
'Align War with Love and Mind Turn Thunder and Sea straight with Time Reach out your hand and touch a Star The End so near, and yet so far'
"Treize." Quatre said absently. The man stood up, ready to leave. "Look at this." Quatre handed him the card. "Do you recognize this poem?"
Treize read it through and shook his head. "No. Do you?"
Quatre also shook his head. "No. But Rei needs it, so we should be getting back. Did you find that jar?"
Treize held up the jar and nodded. "Are we ready to go?"
Duo P.O.V. (about ten minutes earlier)
Duo followed Zechs through the door silently, not wanting to push the older man into a gun fight that he knew should be reserved for Heero. Duo paused to close the door behind him and turned to get his first eyeful of the room. It was a small room, much smaller than the storage room, and was dimly lit by a large model of the sun centered in the room and surrounded by a small solar system. To the left of the system was a very small scale Stonehenge, itself lit by a buzzing electric light suspended from the low ceiling by a long cord. On the other side of the solar system was a metal space saucer, held off the floor by a metal platform. The saucer had a panel imbedded in it, which Zechs was already investigating.
Duo stepped up beside him silently and peered around Zechs' arm. (Okay. Just let him solve it. He probably knows what to do already.) Duo nodded to himself and continued to watch silently.
Zechs brushed his hand across the panel, and suppressed his frown when it didn't open. (There must be a trigger somewhere...) He tilted his head to glance under the saucer, and started back a step as it opened on its own.
"Hm." Duo mumbled from next to him and Zechs glared at the boy as he drew his hand away from a half-hidden button in the side. Duo grinned widely in an effort to hide his own uneasiness about the situation.
Zechs held his glare for a moment before turning back to the panel and opening the book he had forgotten was in his hands. Inside the panel were the names of three cities and three symbols next to each. Zechs frowned. (Wait. These cities have been demolished for at least a century. Why does this...exhibit bring them up now?) A quick look to the display panel to the side told him that each of these cities had been sites of 'extraterrestrial encounters' in the past. Zechs ran this over in his head before opening the book and flipping through it. He stopped abruptly on a page laid out in the same way as the panel, only with the symbols in different order. (I must have to put these things in this order.)
His eyes shifted to movement to his right. Duo was now moving around the room, realizing his supervision over Zechs was not needed or wanted. Duo stepped in front of the solar system model and held a hand out to Pluto. The planet shifted on its axis and orbited about three inches. Duo smirked at the possibility of something interesting to do. He batted the small planet left and right, watching it spin soundlessly. Duo flicked it hard to the left and watched it spin all the way around the sun.
A sliding noise brought his attention back to Zechs. The man had successfully arranged the symbols and now stepped away from the saucer, a jar top in hand. The planet continued spinning and softly tapped Zechs' shoulder, halting the small sphere in its orbit. Zechs brought his glare down on Duo. The boy laughed haltingly and moved away, around to the other side of the solar system. Duo's smile dropped as music drifted to his ears, the same tune he knew to listen for. A slight plan pulled itself together in his mind. "Zechs?" He asked innocently.
The older man continued to circle the system, not sure of what he would do when he caught the child playing on the other side. "What."
"Do you believe what Rei said about the spirits in the museum?"
Zechs rolled his eyes. "No. I do not."
Duo smiled broadly and stepped to the side. "Then come stand where I am."
Zechs clenched his fists, half-surprised to find himself so upset. "I don't take orders from children." He growled.
Duo held up his hands. "Hey, it's not an order. Just a request..." He dropped his hands to indicate the space next to him, in front of the Stonehenge.
Zechs stopped. (It's some sort of trap. It must be.)
As if reading his thoughts, Duo sighed. "I'm not going to shoot you or anything, I just want you to see something."
Zechs took another step hesitantly, eyes scanning for anything dangerous. He stopped in the space next to Duo. Zechs lifted his head as a faint music reached his ears. He turned around, looking for the source. "What did you do? What is that music?"
Duo shifted a step away and jerked his head towards the stones behind Zechs. "Just look over there."
Zechs turned and focused on the stones. The music grew louder and a sense of danger grew with it. Zechs felt himself root to the spot as the light above the stones buzzed with the electricity sparking over it. The sparks pulled together into a single, thick bolt. The thing seemed to have eyes that glared cruelly out at him as it swiped a glinting limb out at Zechs. The bolt passed through his chest, painlessly, but as the thing retreated back into its lampshade, Zechs felt the energy drain out of him, and he fell to one knee. He tilted his head up to Duo, who now stood smugly over him. "You knew...it was there." Zechs accused weakly.
Duo rolled his eyes. "Now will you believe?" A shadow moved behind Duo and Zechs' eyes shifted there. "Rei's been through this thing, and she is trying to get all of us out of here without anyone ending up dead." The shadow moved again, closer, and Zechs frowned. Duo sighed. "Come on, no need to stay down there forever. We've gotta keep moving." He held out a hand for Zechs.
Duo suddenly felt a draft creep up his back and he managed to twist around in time to shove the creature away and pull his gun out. But Zechs was faster than him, and shot the thing twice. The room stood silent for a moment, the music gone, and the shadows no longer moving on their own. Duo managed to nod a thanks to Zechs before they continued on their way.
The rest of the 'mission' went without event. They made their way down the stairs in the back of the room, crossed though a very cluttered room full of stuffed creatures, werewolves, Cyclops, and even a unicorn. There was a bronze snake in the next room, which both were careful to avoid. The coffin Rei had spoken of was set right in front of the door, and Zechs and Duo had to work together to force open the coffin. Despite Rei's warning, there was no creature inside, only a red-dyed skeleton that fell noisily to the floor as they opened the lid. Zechs made a mental note of the girl's miscalculation, but kept silent. Duo picked up the jar this time and they made their way back up to the storage room.
Relena P.O.V.
Relena look up at the sound of a door, but sighed as it was only Zechs and Duo. (Why is Heero taking so long? He wouldn't even think of doing anything with that girl, no. But she would try and take him in an instant. I can't just sit here, waiting for her to try something! But Heero thinks of her as an ally, and won't let me take her on.) Relena smiled to herself. (I may not exactly be a warrior, but I most certainly can fight better than some whore in a skirt. But how can I get Heero to listen to me?)
Zechs sat down on the box a few feet away from the opposite wall. Relena watched Duo saunter over, the jars in hand. Standing up, Relena took the jars silently, placed both in the bag, and brushed past Duo towards Zechs. She felt all eyes in the room watching her, but ignored them. She heard Trowa get back to work on the wires, twisting and connecting, and she held Zechs' eye contact as she approached him.
Relena forced her head to waver and she pulled her eyes to the floor. She stopped in front of the box, hesitated, and hopped up next to Zechs. Zechs looked over at her, awkwardly. "Yes?"
Relena looked down at the floor and bit her lip. "You know, since we're technically not enemies anymore, and you're technically my brother... I kind of just want your advice on something..." She trailed off, still looking at the ground and biting her lip.
Zechs, looked the girl, who obviously had something on her mind, and leaned over, bringing his eyes to her level. "Yes?" He asked again, gently.
"I, um, see, I've kind of known Heero for a while, and I kind of thought we were friends, you know, good friends." She kept her head down, still not meeting his eyes. "Well, I, um, thought we were really good friends, and I kind of, I guess, liked him." She hesitated, biting her lip.
"And?" Zechs prodded quietly. (Why is she telling me this?) He felt a smile tug at his lips. (She is still an adolescent girl. Maybe she really does just want someone to listen.)
"But now," Her voice lowered to a slight whisper. "That girl, Rei, with her stupid skirt and hair and..." Her voice trembled on the verge of either tears or rage. "She's doing everything to take him away. She gets his arms around her, stares at him, touches him, tries to kiss him... And she wears that skirt like she's some kind of..." Her hands tightened on the edge of the box. "I just can't compete with that."
Zechs felt another pang of pity for the girl. "I don't..." He searched for something to say.
Relena took a deep breath. "I'm not trying to dump anything on you. I, I just don't know what to do..."
"Have you tried talking to him?" He asked quietly.
Relena shook her head slowly and opened her eyes. "I can never get him alone. She always.." Relena hesitated. "She always picks the groups, and she always gets to be with Heero. I never get a chance..." She squeezed her eyes shut again.
Zechs held in a sigh. "I think I could help."
Relena looked up. "Help? You don't have to-"
"You need the help." Zechs shrugged. "Though I must admit this situation is...unique to me, you are, technically, my little sister, and I do feel compelled to help you."
Relena continued to shake her head. "No, you don't have to do anything, I just kind of, wanted somebody to listen to me."
Once again, the smile pulled at his lips. "I will help." The smile fell away. "But once we get out of here, you know Heero and I will still be enemies."
Relena nodded slowly. "I know." She smiled slightly. "Thank you." (Perfect.)
Rei P.O.V. (also about ten minutes earlier)
After Zechs and Duo left, Rei quickly explained what they would have to do, and the two boys listened patiently. "Understand?" She asked after she had finished.
Both nodded shortly, and Rei had the sudden feeling they were trying to keep their anger in check. Then, as if to confirm her feeling, Heero stepped forward. He leaned in and fixed her under his glare. Normally, Rei would have blushed at his close proximity, but his look seriously discouraged such thought. "They are the enemy. Once we get out of this place, I will treat them as such."
"But while in here, we will oblige by your rules." Wufei added, reluctantly.
Rei nodded. "And once you go home, I could care less how you handle your enemies. But like I said, inside a broken down, haunted museum is not the place for a war." She looked back and forth between the two. "Can we go now?"
They nodded again and Heero led the way towards the far door. Rei carefully avoided Relena's eyes as she passed. (Maybe I should let Relena be with Heero more often. She really seems to like him and maybe they kind of belong together. Who am I to try and butt in on that?) Even as the thought passed through her mind, she felt herself lying. (Why do I really want to be with him? Once we leave this place, I'll never see him again...)
Ooooo, yet another cliffy... Relena's got a plan, Quatre's got a card, and Rei may be giving up on her feelings!! Chaos!! Well, not quite, but I think it's interesting. Anyway, get ready for a long AN, I got a few things to say. 1. I don't know if there's a Goya painting named 'The Great Battle', but if there is, I don't know about it. I just chose some well known painter. 2. Major apologies for the weird timing. If you still don't get it, all of them are happening about the same time, except for Relena's P.O.V. Sorry for cutting Rei off again, but I going to try to keep my chapters to a 3,000 word count. I can't go back and open my chapter 8 on my computer and since that chapter was my biggest, I think its size might have something to do with it. 3. I'm not sure if I said it before, but here it is, Rei won't be using her powers here. She was going to towards the end of my original idea for this story, but this took a minor turn here, and she won't be using her powers. 4. You all are going to think I'm so blond, (I'm not, I've got light brown hair) but I don't spend literally any time chatting so all these 'lol' and 'btw' (yes I know what those two mean) are not really my in my vocabulary. So, here's my question. What does 'rnrn' mean?!!! I see it in every other review, but I don't have a clue what it means!! Can someone please fill this poor little lost girl in... 5. As always, review!