A/N: For any of you who were confused by the last comment in ch2 when Relena said "Is there anything that I can do? Is there anything that I can do? As Relena Peacecraft… No as Relena Lowe there must be something that I can do." It was referencing the not so well known fact from Gundam Wing Episode Zero in which we find out Heero's name which, even then its still assumed and not clearly stated that his name is Odin Lowe, Jr. BUT I don't like the name Odin, I like Heero a lot better, but Relena Yuy doesn't really sound right, quite frankly it sounds really weird so I had it be Relena Lowe. Also it will come into play later, because Odin Lowe Jr actually has a birth certificate and a "paper trail" to him. Thus it gives Heero and actually clean alias because the only record of an Odin Lowe, Jr is when he was a little baby, and had been presumed missing.
Well that's giving away a little too much but I wanted ya'll to know vaguely what the plans were for that. I hope you enjoyed those first two chapters, I wrote them over Christmas and I am going to try and continue this story strong and keep them updated. For the other two stories I have no idea what I'm going to do with them right now so just consider them postponed for the moment.
Ch. 3:
Mariemaia Kushrenadah, The Person Who Makes History
The red headed girl smiled, 'its just a matter of time now' she thought, 'just a matter of time until he is mine' and with that thought a sly grin crossed her face. The man she was grinning at was, in her mind, a shell of the former perfect soldier that he once was. The man practically scrambled to grab the ring that she put on the table. 'He is so weak now,' Mariemaia thought to herself, 'I have to remind him about what he truly is.'
"So Mr. Yuy…"
"Lowe," Heero replied in a curt tone. He was not enjoying spending time with this little girl. She gave off a very strange aura, one that he really didn't like, but there wasn't anything that he could do to get away from her. While his vision had cleared and his mind returned to full alertness, his body was still numb all over and it was hard for him to move much less try to incapacitate both Mariemaia and her Lt, so he just glared at the little girl sitting in front of him. Once upon a time a glare from Heero could even shut up the ESUN President, but now it seems as if the little girl was laughing at his attempt to attack her via-eye contact. In fact she seem to be reveling in having his attention. She was even trying to fight a little giggle. All of this just served to make Heero even madder.
"Ah yes, you are now going by that now. It really doesn't fit you, you know? I would think one of your other aliases are a lot better."
"Odin Lowe is my real name. I don't need an alias anymore."
"But you are still going by Heero correct?" Mariemaia responded still with that grin on her face. "So it would seem like you are still carrying around the past even now."
"My past is a part of me. It made me who I am and what I became. It is also responsible for what I have right now, but good and bad. That is why I kept the name Heero."
"Ah," Mariemaia sighed, "Pardon me for saying but that sounds like a very Miss Relena response to me, don't you agree." Heero only glared back at her, daring her to make another snide remark and she did. "I guess that's all your good for now."
"All I'm good for?"
"Yes." Mariemaia smiled, "Look at you now. The entire earth's sphere knows your face now. You're Mr. Relena to the entire world."
Heero scowled at Mariemaia. This little girl was really getting on his nerves.
"You know what I am saying is right, just look at the predicament that you are in. You were sent to this colony on a diplomatic mission, it wasn't until your instincts took over that you actually did anything." Mariemaia then gave a very exaggerated shrug, "Face it Heero you're just being used by the Preventers. Ever sense it went public that you and Miss Relena are an item your face has been plastered all over the news and tabloids and with that it became impossible for you to continue your undercover work. Also it would be a huge publicity nightmare if you died while on a Preventer mission, so they have restricted you to the less dangerous work."
Heero scowled even harder at what Mariemaia was saying. It would normally not be a big deal except that he knew that everything she was saying was true. But at the same time he really didn't mind it. Not having to go on missions all the time and be separated from Relena was a huge plus. It was almost more of a plus that the media discovered his relationship with Relena, but that wasn't all. Lady Une had also gradually started restricting his movements. He was continually placed on protective duty for Relena. Again he didn't really mind. It was nothing that he would complain about, but when she decided to put her political career on hold he was left with nothing to do. Heero wanted something to do.
"As you have undoubtablely figured out, you are no longer useful to them. The Preventers can no longer use you the way they use to. They can no longer use the perfect soldier as well just that a soldier. The only use you have now is as the husband of Relena Peacecraft."
"Lowe," Heero growled.
Mariemaia smiled. Things were going exactly the way she wanted. The perfect soldier was so predictable. "Ah yes, she did take your name didn't she. I heard that it caused quite a mess with the media didn't it?"
Oh it was. The media had a field day when the news finally broke. Luckily it did not happen until after the wedding and all the paperwork had been filled out. There was nothing that they could do about it. After being questioned so much about it Relena had actually lost her cool and yelled at the reporters telling them that her life was her own and that if she wanted to do something that she would. To Heero it was one of his proudest moments. To have your love defend her choice to be with you and to take your name, it was nothing less than a miracle for Heero. It was a shinning beacon in his mind. It was a symbol that stood tall stating that what Relena had said all those years was true, that even for someone who has so much blood on his hands could find someone to care for them so deeply.
At this Mariemaia dropped her grin. It was not because she was not happy, far from it, but because it was time for part of her plan to come ahead. She adopted a serious expression and stared directly into the icy blue eyes of the former perfect soldier Heero Yuy, now the figurehead of the Preventers political division who redubbed himself Heero Lowe.
It was ironic of what he decided to call himself. In reality he was always Odin Lowe Jr, but he had never known it. It wasn't until after years and years of searching did he finally find his true identity. And the ironic part was what he did with that information. He went on another quest to find out who his parents were and everything else he could find out about them. It was only after that did he legally change himself, buy bringing himself out of obscurity. In the eyes of the law Odin Lowe Jr was found in a small apartment on the L1 colony. After extensive mental checks and test they concluded that he had suffered from amnesia and could only remember very little about his past. The Odin Lowe jr moved to earth where he became a preventer, but before filing his papers and becoming an official preventer, in the eyes of the law, he legally changed his name to Heero Lowe. A report from the secretary that officially changed his name said that when asked why he wanted to change his name that the man only answered, "Because its not my name". From that point on the Preventers classified his file and nothing was know about Heero Lowe until that fateful incident. Suffice to that the incidents revealed the relationship between Heero and Relena and eventually lead to the discovery of Heero as a Gundam Pilot. All of this was what lead up to what would soon be happening. Suffice to say that what would soon be happening was only possible because of those events.
Mariemaia continued to stare into the icy blue eyes of Heero Lowe. "Everything will start now," she thought, "Everything will start now."
"Yes we all know about that incident, and we also know what it means to you," and with that Heero eyes when wide, but only for a brief second and Mariemaia inwardly smiled.
"And would it be correct for me to assume that the real reason as to why Relena put her political career on hold was not because she wanted take more control of the Mars Tierra-formation project, but because she wanted to be with you more?"
Once again Heero's eyes widened ever so slightly and Mariemaia had to suppress a giggle. Heero's reactions were amusing to her because they were slowly getting slighter and slighter. At the beginning of their talk he was a complete open book as could be seen when he scrambled for the ring, but the longer they talked he slowly started to regain his old façade of the perfect soldier. Things were going exactly as planned. First the return of the façade and then…
"Well then I'm sure you both discussed the eventuality of her returning to politics correct?"
There was no response from Heero, absolutely none. The façade was now back completely. Mariemaia once again had to restrain a slight chuckle.
"And I'm sure that it would be no surprise to you that Relena met with the ESUN President a few days ago to discuss Relena taking over as Secretary of State."
Bingo. Everything was set up. Heero sat in front of her unmoving, unflinching, and completely emotionless. The façade was up and the return was beginning.
"Oh, it seems as if you had no idea about Relena doing this. That's quite strange, I mean you had just left for this colony when she contacted the president. She couldn't have been planning this could she? She loves you and would never do something like this without talking to you first right?"
Still no response.
"Well I guess, that you don't believe me so let me give you proof, Desmond."
With that the man who and been standing silently at Mariemaia's side, after the initial outbursts from Heero, nodded his head and slowly moved over to the wall and pressed a small red button. Instantly the sound of gears turning could be heard and a screen was dropped down and the lights slowly dimmed. Then a bright light appeared on illuminated the screen. On the screen it showed none other than Relena walking if from of the New White House, the house of the ESUN president, and greeting the President and shaking his hand while the press snapped picture after picture. All the while a woman reporter was commentating on what was going on.
"In a surprise decision, Miss Relena Peacecraft accepted an offer to talk with the ESUN President about her return to politics as the New Secretary of State. Miss Relena contacted the President's office last night and the President agreed to meet her today for discussions. We will keep you updated as this story continues."
And with that the screen winked out of existence and the screen slowly began to rise back into the ceiling. The lights snapped back on and Mariemaia turn her attention back to Heero to see a most unexpected sight. Heero was staring intensely at the spot where the screen use to be, but it was the type of intense stare that caused a chill to run up the spine of Mariemaia Kushrenadah and for one brief second she began to doubt he ability to control the fury that she had just unleashed. This stare held no fire, which was the bad part, because this stare was full of intensity. Heero's eyes were always such an icy blue but now that icy blue was sub-zero. It was as if Heero's eyes had adopted the icy nothingness of space. But that wasn't the only reason as to why Mariemaia briefly doubted her own confidence. It was the utter lack of feelings expressed in the eyes of the man in front of her that caused her to stutter. The man who just an hour before had been casually insulting her and her Lieutenant was now a cold emotionless man now sitting straight backed on the couch opposite her.
Mariemaia took in a deep breath and steeled herself for what would come next. Now came the most important part, she had to find away to keep Heero here without chaining him up again. This part was extremely important because Heero need the time to think about what had happened and decide what to do next. This was something that Mariemaia planned on and had hopefully, in her mind, done almost everything she could do to break the trust that Heero had in Relena. But Mariemaia knew that the anger that he felt right now would not be enough. She knew that if she tried to persuade him to join her now that she would fail and never get another chance. "Now is the time for caution," She thought, "his will has been broken and now I have to be the one to help him put it back together." And as she took another deep breath she adopted a more kindhearted expression.
"Now Heero I know that I have thrown a lot of stuff at you during our talk, but I want to make it clear that I was doing this for your own good."
With that the icy eyes were turned onto her and a chill once again ran up her spine, but this time there was no wavering in her confidence.
"I had always expected that this would happen to you ever sense, the media found out about your relationship with Relena. She has always been focused on helping people that is what she lives for, but when she eventually she announced that she was going to step away from politics I just knew that this would happen one day. Relena uses politics to help people or at least that's what she says and I don't doubt that its just that I can't help but think that some part of her enjoys the attention that she receives from being in the political spotlight. There the press and the entire world praise her works. I had hoped that you would be able to find your happiness with her but right now I don't know what to think."
Mariemaia chanced a look into the icy eyes whose gaze was now transfixed upon herself, but she was relieved. The icy gaze was not the same as before. There was a hint of omission. It was as if Heero's eyes where conveying his wanting for a kind word no matter if it came from his current captor. She was close.
"Now, I know this wont mean a lot coming from me, but I truly feel for what you have gone through in your life."
Heero's eyebrows rose ever so slightly. It was as if he silently asked her 'oh really?'
"I do not agree with what my grandfather forced upon you. In fact I find it a crime against humanity. No one should ever force a little boy to go through what you went through. They trained you to be a killer with no emotions, but as we all know you have emotions and that, I believe, is your best quality. You have the emotions that make you human. You hurt, you laugh, you cry, and you smile just like every other person. My grandfather was a fool for doing what he did to you and the same mistake will not be repeated. So I offer you a deal."
Once again Heero's eyebrows rose ever so slightly.
"I wish for you to stay with us for awhile longer. I do not believe it is right for us to let you leave at this time when you are going through such an emotion time. So if you agree to stay with me for a few more days and talk with me then once you finally decide to leave I will not stop you."
At that Heero's eyes visibly widened and her Lieutenant standing beside her started.
"Your Excellency!"
"Now Desmond, I never really wanted for anything to happen to Mr. Lowe in the first place. We were scheduled to meet the following day when he arrived but now that this has all happened I believe that we should try and reconcile this situation by acting like mature adults. We can talk about everything more tomorrow. But the main question still remains Heero. Will you stay with me voluntarily or am I going to have to give you back to my grandfather? I really do not want to do that but as I am not the one in complete charge I can not just let you go now that you have seen our operations unless I get something in return and I believe that a few days or a week of your time is not really asking that much."
As Mariemaia finished speaking Heero continued to stare at her with the same icy expression in his eyes. Other than raising his eyebrows he had not really reacted to what she had said and that had unnerved her slightly. It was a little weird for her. She had never lacked for confidence much like her father, but now facing the former Gundam pilot after she had laid out her hand in front of him she now felt unarmed. Well she was never really unarmed. There were countless plans that she had in place that she could use if Heero declined her offer but none of them would have as good of an outcome compared to Heero deciding to stay here on his own volition. It was all or nothing for this point in her plan it was time to see if all her work paid off, but Heero was unmoving and his face conveyed no emotion other than the icy stare from his blue eyes.
A few silent moments passed and the tension was rising with each passing second. Desmond Wolfe who was standing besides Mariemaia was preparing for the worst case scenario going over how he could neutralize the former perfect soldier if he went after Mariemaia. As Desmond was running through the various pressure points he knew, Heero slowly opened his mouth and Desmond slowly started to ease himself into a combative stance. But once Heero spoke, Desmond Wolfe could have been knocked over with a feather.
"I'll stay," Heero said. It was a simple statement, but there was no emotion behind the words. Actually it was the complete lack of any type of emotion in the man's words that truly bewildered him. After everything that Mariemaia had thrown at him and despite the glare that could have outright killed whom ever stared into his eyes after he had watched the video, the clear lack of any emotion was unnerving. But Mariemaia was overjoyed, he could tell even if she was trying her hardest to hide it. After spending years with her he had developed something of a sixth sense when it came to her emotions. Whatever Mariemaia was feeling at any given point in time all Desmond would have to do was look at her and he would instantly know and now was no different. He saw as Mariemaia took a deep breath to compose herself before she replied to the man sitting in front of her.
"Heero, I am happy to hear your decision and I would love to talk to you more, but I do believe that you should get some rest you look completely worn out. I'll have you put up in the quest suite. Come now let me show you to your room."
As she stood up and turned her back to Heero she gave a quick glance up at Desmond and in the brief moment that that their eyes met Desmond could tell that it was talking all of Mariemaia's strength to not cry out in victory and he inwardly smiled. To everyone else Mariemaia may seem like a prim and proper lady, showing only the maturest and politest attitude that anyone has ever seen, but Desmond new differently. He knew that at heart she was still a young girl and at that statement he had to restrain himself from laughing out loud. In his eyes Mariemaia would forever have a very childlike quality to her, no matter how much she grew. It was a part of her that he loved and cherished above all others.
As the group moved closer to the guest suite silence was prevalent as no one dared to speak and it was not until the group had reached the door to the guest suite that Mariemaia spoke.
"Well Heero I hope that you have a relaxing sleep. Breakfast will be served a 8am tomorrow and I hope that you will be able to join us."
There was no reply for Heero other than a slow nod as he made his way into the guest suit and shut the door behind him. And it wasn't until several moments later that Mariemaia let out a huge sigh and turned to look at her Lieutenant with a huge grin upon her face.
"It seems as if phase one of my plan went perfectly don't you agree Desmond?"
"Yes your Excellency. Everything will go as you planned."
Giving a short laugh Mariemaia threw back her head and stared directly into the eyes of Desmond Wolfe. "Of course it will, because I am Mariemaia Kushrenadah. And I am the person who will make history."
Back in the guest room Heero had flopped down upon the bed. The lights were of and he had shut the block-out curtains so there was little light in the room. It was almost just like how he started when he woke up except this time he was not tied up. And unlike earlier, he didn't have the same problems. Now he his problems had changed. Now he didn't know what to think. He had always believed that the best way to live one's life was by their emotions, but right now he didn't know what to feel so he didn't know what to do. As he slowly drifted off in to sleep brought upon by the exhaustion of the day there was only one thing that he could think of. One question that he needed answered.
"Am I not good enough for you, Relena?"