Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. This fic is written for fun and lack of profit. If you try to sue, I'll get Heero and Duo to blow you up for me. (If only in my imagination)
A.N. - Sorry this chapter took so long! My laptop is being stupid again. It refused to turn on for a week, and then suddenly started working again. Now it's turning off every hour or so, and I need to get it fixed, but I'm low on funds. I'm also working on my costume for Anime North. I'm going to be dressing up as Kiba from Naruto. I'll be volunteering, so if any of you are going to AN, look for a volunteer dressed as Kiba and come say hi.
On the bright side, I compiled all my previous chapters together, and it's almost 85 pages long. Go me! It's looking like there will be at least another 85 pages more.
I am definitely NOT going to be giving up writing this story, but instead of tearing my hair out trying to do a chapter every week or two, I will update whenever I can. This might mean two chapters in a week, or only one a month. I'm sorry if you'd like me to write faster, but between everything going on in my life right now, and lack of inspiration for these latest chapters, I'm working as fast as I can.
Last Chapter:
Duo talked about food the entire way home, and after a quiet dinner, the five separated to do their own activities before heading to bed for the night. None of them said it, but they were all secretly glad that their first day back at the Preventers had been an uneventful one.
Chapter 26:
The next week became routine for the pilots. They would go in, open their case files, and continue assembling a list of all the people tied to the group they had just destroyed, and their links to other terrorist organizations. An overall pattern had begun to emerge, but hadn't solidified yet. They could have done some arrests of minor criminals, but didn't want to take the chance of alerting the larger organization.
The first change came when Une notified them that the practice space Heero had requested was ready. They all followed her down, and exclaimed over the sheer size of the room. It took up almost an entire floor of the sub-basement, and had steel lined walls. Une had laid mats over in one half of it. New welds were evident in the steel flooring, where equipment had been removed and the holes filled in. The whole space had been polished mirror bright, then burnished so the light wouldn't blind those working inside.
"Here's your new practice area, guys," Une told them as they stared at the cavernous space. "If you need anything else in here, just let me know. It's important that you learn to use your new abilities."
"Thank you, Commander," they breathed in unison.
"You're welcome. The code on the door hasn't been set yet, so feel free to program it yourselves. This space is off-limits to everyone but your unit and whoever you let in. Now, if you don't need anything, I have a meeting to prepare for." She left quickly once she was sure they didn't need her for anything.
The pilots spent the next while exploring the area before Heero called them back to order.
"Now that we have an area to practice in, we should make the most of it. This is the perfect place to practice our flashier abilities. We should try and train here an hour or two a day. Noin and Zechs, and Sally when she gets back, you should use this place too. Practice hand to hand combat. I suppose we could get a small target range and a mobile suit simulator as well, if anyone's interested.
"Go ahead and get started, everyone. Trowa, if I could talk to you for a moment?"
"Sure, Heero." They moved to the side as the others spread out.
"I wanted to ask you, what do you want to do about your power? I'm sure we could get some animals in here, if you wanted."
"I'll think about it. I don't know if I would want to keep any animal down here. It's a big room, but it's still underground. I would prefer to get a few pets back at the house, but I'll talk to everyone about that tonight."
"Alright, you might as well join in with anyone who's sparring for now then." When Trowa walked off, Heero situated himself in a quiet corner and sat down to meditate. He wanted to see if he could gain any control over his Sight, so that it would become a useful tool.
In another area of the room, Wufei was trying to remember exactly how he'd created fire the first time. The memory was elusive, there had been so much going on that it was proving difficult to isolate that one feeling. Then suddenly, it clicked. He remembered how frustrated he'd been with Heero's insistence that he could create fire in his hand, and was getting very angry with the stupid guards who insisted on shooting at him. He'd drawn on that frustration and anger, and channelled in into something useful. That was when he'd created the fire. He tried to duplicate those feelings, and was pleased to discover that he had again managed to create a flame in his hand. It was small and wavering, but it was there. Wufei looked down, expecting to see his hand blistering from the heat, and was surprised to find his hand undamaged. Once he thought about it though, he realized that he felt only a pleasant warmth, rather than the searing heat you would expect from holding fire in your hand.
Heero could sense Wufei's surprise from across the room. /It wouldn't make much sense for you to be hurt by the fire you created, would it/ Heero commented telepathically, amused.
/You could have warned me/ retorted the Chinese pilot.
/You should have been able to figure it out for yourself/ replied Heero. /You're using anger to create the fire, aren't you/
/Yes. Why/
/I think that any strong emotion would work, it doesn't have to be anger./
/I'll try that/ was the reply. After some further experimentation, Wufei found that Heero was right. He could use any emotion to create the flame. More lasting ones, like pride, would also make the flame last longer. Once created, the fire was easy to enlarge. About an hour after he began, Wufei noticed that he was getting exhausted. Then, suddenly, the fire in his hand guttered out and his legs refused to support him. He fell loudly to the floor, drawing the attention of all the other pilots.
Quatre was the first to reach him. "What's wrong, Wufei?" he asked anxiously. "Are you hurt?"
"Just tired," Wufei gasped, more out of breath that he would have been after running for an hour.
"Was it your powers that tired you out?" was Trowa's question.
"I think so," Wufei managed to mutter before slipping out of consciousness.
A.N. - I know this chapter was very short and not that great. Sorry. I've got great ideas about future chapters, but there's some things I have to have happen before they get there. Just be patient with me, chapters will start picking up again soon.
Clarobell - Well, Heero and Duo are going to be getting together, and Trowa and Quatre already are (even if I haven't written much of it yet) I have yet to decide about Wufei, but I think he will remain unpaired for awhile yet. He has to resolve past issues first.
ravel queen - Thank you. I'm glad you like the way I'm handling Heero in this story. I've had the same problems with stories in the past, either Heero's abusive or a sobbing wreck. Hopefully I'll be giving him a bit more balance. Don't worry, Heero will have a chance to talk about his problems soon enough.
dk-joy - I like Une as a character, but she never seems to have much depth. It was fun writing that chapter and giving her an identity of her own.
Lady-Friselle - Nice to hear you're still enjoying it. Although as for the message, that would be telling! I can't tell you what's going to happen!
shinotenshi(at)shine/com - Lol. Who wouldn't be a sweetie once they let go of the 'I want to kill you attitude'? I've always felt that there was more to Heero than the icy front, and I'm having a lot of fun writing it.
Lady Jeanne - Thanks. I guess I'll have to make up my own first name for Lady Une then.
Mystical-Maiden - I never get tired of people telling me they like my story, so don't worry about sounding repetitive. Thanks for the continual reviews.
Windy River - Oops, not very soon.
Alara Moonrunner - Sorry, but the last part of your email address got cut off.
The Chaotic Ones - Go ahead and talk to me individually, just be aware that I might have to reply to you as a group. I don't know how far into the future this fic will go, so when you write your sidefic, just let people know that it may not chime with the plot at that point in my fic. Oh, and Midi Une is a different person. She's about the same age as the pilots, while Lady Une is definitely older.
Black deoxes - I will definitely be finishing this fic, although it'll take awhile because of the premise behind it.
ForeverRead - I'm glad you like my idea for this story. Keep reading!