Chapter 19
"So, what do we do with her?" Duo's question was met with silence, and he sighed as he dropped heavily into a chair.
Wufei glanced at him, but didn't bother to respond to the question. His eyes drifted along the floor beside him and up the stairs on the other side of the doorway. (All this blood. All of it is on my hands. Why did I so quickly resort to using a gun on that door? If I had only-) He quickly turned his head away from the crimson trail, which was now beginning to dry into a dull brown path. (If. No point in thinking like that. But still.) He resisted a frown. (If I had gotten through Treize, we could have stopped that crazy woman from hurting herself even more, and we would have answers now, instead of waiting for her to wake up!) Anger flared up momentarily, then subsided. Wufei felt his head dip slightly in shame. (But I was too weak to do what was needed. Why didn't I kill him?)
(He would have killed me.)Treize thought, almost bitterly. (This is not the place for rivalries.) His eyes went to the bloodstained bullet now rolling back and forth in Heero's palm. (And this is certainly not the time.)
The blanket of warmth that had covered Rei, slowly slid away, leaving her feeling vaguely vulnerable. Groaning softly, she lifted a suddenly heavy hand to her forehead. Something hard stuck to her skin, and crumbled when she carefully closed the hand. Rei's eyes fluttered open and she took in a breath at the sight of reddish-brown stains across her hand and forearm. The memory of what happened hit her, and Rei shot up, looking around. Everyone was sitting or standing around the middle of the auditorium, and Rei noticed she had been moved from the spot where she fell, to a less bloody patch of floor. Heero sat nearby, one hand fisted, staring at her.
"What are you?" He asked simply, voice steady.
The feeling drained out of Rei's face as the question sunk in. (What happened, wait!) Her eyes snapped to her leg, where the searing pain that had clutched her earlier was now gone. "What happened?" She asked quietly, reaching out to touch her leg. "There's no wound. What. Happened." She asked, this time forcefully.
They seemed to be taken back by her question, and no one responded. Rei quickly ran down her Mars abilities, but could not recall any time she had been able to heal herself.
"We would be asking you the same thing." An annoyingly familiar voice replied from a few rows back. Relena sat up straight, her head appearing above the seats.
Rei's irritation rose. "Well, in case you didn't notice, I happened to be unconscious for the past..."
"Ten minutes." Zechs supplied from a seat.
"Thank you. Ten minutes, and I think I missed this." Rei waved her hand at her leg, indicating the absence of her wound.
"You, your body, pushed out the bullet." Heero explained quietly. He opened his hand and tossed Rei the bullet. She caught it awkwardly and brought it up to her face.
(Impossible.)
"Let me guess." Relena stood up and crossed her arms. "You don't know what happened."
"No, I-"
Rei's breath was suddenly snatched from her, and she pitched forward. Opening and closing her mouth, she tried to pull in a breath, but her lungs wouldn't comply. "Wha-" She managed to force out, but the rest of the word was a strangled groan. Her vision blurred and she could feel the darkness laughing inside of her. (Hmm. What to do now? Suffocation, no breathing, don't give a...) Rei swallowed hard, but felt no air come with the mouthful. Struggling to fill her lungs, the voice continued to laugh in her head.
'Darkness' Rei mouthed and tears filled her eyes as blood pounded through her ears. Through the blurry screen, Rei could make out Heero's form above her, looking down with concern, and suspicion. 'Help' she tried to force out, but a black mist filled her sight, and she could feel her power being pulled from her chest. The mist pulsed in her eyes and she tried again to pull in a breath. Faintly, Rei could feel the darkness reaching out, extending, and pulling at the person closest to her. 'No!' Yanking up energy, Rei shoved Heero away from her, sending him into a nearby chair. Spots worked behind her eyes, but Rei heaved herself to her feet. Extending both hands, palms up, she threw power around the group, and heat flew into her own face. Turning as quickly as she could, Rei stumbled along the aisle, still trying to ignore the burning in her chest and eyes. She ran into something hard, and wrapped her hands around it, the stage railing. She could feel the floor swaying beneath her, but clutched harder to the railing. Her power now beat in her chest, sending jolts with every heartbeat. Heat boiled her skin and feeling her peak, Rei grit her teeth and jerked up even more power. Pain shook in her head, and her feet threatened to fall out from under her. The burning in her chest pulsed harder. Her power pushed against its barrier, and finally released.
Heat flew around her body and through her hair. The darkness shivered and broke away from her, spiraling up in the air above her, and cool air suddenly filled her lungs. A shattering howl rocked through the auditorium, and the shadow was gone. The air was rough and cold , and Rei coughed heavily. "I have to get away from here..." She whispered hoarsely, one hand against her sore throat. She looked to her left, towards the center of the auditorium, and saw the others, all of them, standing together in the aisle. If it weren't for the shimmering wall of heat surrounding them, Rei would have wondered what they were doing.
Walking unsteadily, one hand on the seats she passed, Rei walked up to the wall of power. She raised her voice to make sure she was heard above the crackling heat. "This will keep you safe from anything that might come around. I'm sorry, but I won't let you get hurt because of me." She shifted her gaze and locked stares with the shifting, shimmering Heero on the other side. He moved closer to the edge and glared back. Suddenly feeling guilty, Rei blushed and turned away. "I have to." She said, not quite loud enough. Slowly, she backed away, and ran around the auditorium, around the bubble prison, and out the doors.
I know, I know, too short and too late. But school just started, so give me a break here! Anyway, I would like to give a BIG thank you to everyone who reviewed, I finally broke 200!! This is so exciting... Well, I hope this chapter wasn't too weird, I've been out of it for a while.. But I did make a couple revisions on my last chapter, so I hope it isn't so awkward now. Well, give me a review, let me know how it is!
"So, what do we do with her?" Duo's question was met with silence, and he sighed as he dropped heavily into a chair.
Wufei glanced at him, but didn't bother to respond to the question. His eyes drifted along the floor beside him and up the stairs on the other side of the doorway. (All this blood. All of it is on my hands. Why did I so quickly resort to using a gun on that door? If I had only-) He quickly turned his head away from the crimson trail, which was now beginning to dry into a dull brown path. (If. No point in thinking like that. But still.) He resisted a frown. (If I had gotten through Treize, we could have stopped that crazy woman from hurting herself even more, and we would have answers now, instead of waiting for her to wake up!) Anger flared up momentarily, then subsided. Wufei felt his head dip slightly in shame. (But I was too weak to do what was needed. Why didn't I kill him?)
(He would have killed me.)Treize thought, almost bitterly. (This is not the place for rivalries.) His eyes went to the bloodstained bullet now rolling back and forth in Heero's palm. (And this is certainly not the time.)
The blanket of warmth that had covered Rei, slowly slid away, leaving her feeling vaguely vulnerable. Groaning softly, she lifted a suddenly heavy hand to her forehead. Something hard stuck to her skin, and crumbled when she carefully closed the hand. Rei's eyes fluttered open and she took in a breath at the sight of reddish-brown stains across her hand and forearm. The memory of what happened hit her, and Rei shot up, looking around. Everyone was sitting or standing around the middle of the auditorium, and Rei noticed she had been moved from the spot where she fell, to a less bloody patch of floor. Heero sat nearby, one hand fisted, staring at her.
"What are you?" He asked simply, voice steady.
The feeling drained out of Rei's face as the question sunk in. (What happened, wait!) Her eyes snapped to her leg, where the searing pain that had clutched her earlier was now gone. "What happened?" She asked quietly, reaching out to touch her leg. "There's no wound. What. Happened." She asked, this time forcefully.
They seemed to be taken back by her question, and no one responded. Rei quickly ran down her Mars abilities, but could not recall any time she had been able to heal herself.
"We would be asking you the same thing." An annoyingly familiar voice replied from a few rows back. Relena sat up straight, her head appearing above the seats.
Rei's irritation rose. "Well, in case you didn't notice, I happened to be unconscious for the past..."
"Ten minutes." Zechs supplied from a seat.
"Thank you. Ten minutes, and I think I missed this." Rei waved her hand at her leg, indicating the absence of her wound.
"You, your body, pushed out the bullet." Heero explained quietly. He opened his hand and tossed Rei the bullet. She caught it awkwardly and brought it up to her face.
(Impossible.)
"Let me guess." Relena stood up and crossed her arms. "You don't know what happened."
"No, I-"
Rei's breath was suddenly snatched from her, and she pitched forward. Opening and closing her mouth, she tried to pull in a breath, but her lungs wouldn't comply. "Wha-" She managed to force out, but the rest of the word was a strangled groan. Her vision blurred and she could feel the darkness laughing inside of her. (Hmm. What to do now? Suffocation, no breathing, don't give a...) Rei swallowed hard, but felt no air come with the mouthful. Struggling to fill her lungs, the voice continued to laugh in her head.
'Darkness' Rei mouthed and tears filled her eyes as blood pounded through her ears. Through the blurry screen, Rei could make out Heero's form above her, looking down with concern, and suspicion. 'Help' she tried to force out, but a black mist filled her sight, and she could feel her power being pulled from her chest. The mist pulsed in her eyes and she tried again to pull in a breath. Faintly, Rei could feel the darkness reaching out, extending, and pulling at the person closest to her. 'No!' Yanking up energy, Rei shoved Heero away from her, sending him into a nearby chair. Spots worked behind her eyes, but Rei heaved herself to her feet. Extending both hands, palms up, she threw power around the group, and heat flew into her own face. Turning as quickly as she could, Rei stumbled along the aisle, still trying to ignore the burning in her chest and eyes. She ran into something hard, and wrapped her hands around it, the stage railing. She could feel the floor swaying beneath her, but clutched harder to the railing. Her power now beat in her chest, sending jolts with every heartbeat. Heat boiled her skin and feeling her peak, Rei grit her teeth and jerked up even more power. Pain shook in her head, and her feet threatened to fall out from under her. The burning in her chest pulsed harder. Her power pushed against its barrier, and finally released.
Heat flew around her body and through her hair. The darkness shivered and broke away from her, spiraling up in the air above her, and cool air suddenly filled her lungs. A shattering howl rocked through the auditorium, and the shadow was gone. The air was rough and cold , and Rei coughed heavily. "I have to get away from here..." She whispered hoarsely, one hand against her sore throat. She looked to her left, towards the center of the auditorium, and saw the others, all of them, standing together in the aisle. If it weren't for the shimmering wall of heat surrounding them, Rei would have wondered what they were doing.
Walking unsteadily, one hand on the seats she passed, Rei walked up to the wall of power. She raised her voice to make sure she was heard above the crackling heat. "This will keep you safe from anything that might come around. I'm sorry, but I won't let you get hurt because of me." She shifted her gaze and locked stares with the shifting, shimmering Heero on the other side. He moved closer to the edge and glared back. Suddenly feeling guilty, Rei blushed and turned away. "I have to." She said, not quite loud enough. Slowly, she backed away, and ran around the auditorium, around the bubble prison, and out the doors.
I know, I know, too short and too late. But school just started, so give me a break here! Anyway, I would like to give a BIG thank you to everyone who reviewed, I finally broke 200!! This is so exciting... Well, I hope this chapter wasn't too weird, I've been out of it for a while.. But I did make a couple revisions on my last chapter, so I hope it isn't so awkward now. Well, give me a review, let me know how it is!