Reachout 53

"I am tired and cold," Heidi said as she watched the cards being played. "I want to go to bed."

"We are in the middle of a game," Pink Opal announced. "Straighten up."

"I don't want to." She yawned. "I want to go to bed."

"Just go outside so you wake up and appreciate the heat in here," Pink Opal commanded. "Goodness. Do your job."

Ugh. Heidi walked outside. It really was cold. While she walked she saw something on the ground. A wallet? She picked it up to see who the owner had been. Duo Maxwell. Oh. It was one of the gundam pilot's.

Once upon a time, Heidi had family that was destroyed in war, and she blamed the pilots. She had even been so obsessed, she wanted to have surgery to look like a dear friend to trap them. These are things she knew about herself, but she didn't feel that way anymore.

It felt shameful. She felt embarrassed and guilty doing so much because of war. Heidi didn't have any memories of what she had done, having erased most of her memories away with the zero system. They rarely used that system anymore, which was good. She hated it.

All Heidi could do now, is make up for her mistakes. She could give the wallet to the pilot, if she didn't have such guilt about seeing them. Oh, buck up! You have to do this. They need their wallet. It's got their cards and money. She held onto it and kept going. Besides, the pilots hadn't actually killed even a single member of the group. She could probably hand it straight to him.

"I swear, if I could channel all my anger into this snow, I'd suddenly be standing on a beach somewhere!"

Okay, that wasn't such a safe phrase for her. He's probably cold and tired. It was pretty loud, but the whole 'standing on a beach somewhere' kind of diminished the threat. I was made to look just like their friend though. I hate to trick him. I know! She went into the base and grabbed a suit. It darkened her up so he couldn't confuse her face as much.

She went outside with the wallet and found him up ahead. He was really scanning the snow. He really needs this. She watched him kerplunk his butt into the snow, looking defeated.

"It doesn't matter whether it's black, beige, or white. It's all probably buried in the snow." He looked toward the snow. "Just buried somewhere." He flopped backwards.

She moved closer, but even though he wasn't super alert, he still noticed her. He didn't pull out a gun. She just moved toward him and tossed his wallet kind of near him.

He looked surprised as he sat back up some. He grabbed the wallet. "Thanks, I needed that."

"You're welcome." She noticed him still eyeing her. "I'll be off now." Her phone started to go off. Oh, terrible timing, she couldn't answer with a huge suit on.

"Wait." The pilot stood up awkwardly, pocketing his wallet. He approached her slowly. "That's an interesting ringtone. You like that kind of music?"

Uh? He was still coming closer. "Look, I'm sorry. You should stay away. I was consumed with hatred some time ago, so I did something really stupid to myself. Please don't come any closer, I'm not her. I just wanted to return your wallet, Duo Maxwell." No, no, no! She did not call him by his name! "I mean, Sir!"

"What's your first memory of this place?" he asked.

Aw. "Um? My mind was kind of erased a lot by the zero system. I don't remember much."

"Then just do me one favor?" He held his finger in the air. "Just, one, okay? Take your helmet off."

"I'm not trying to trick you. I don't want to trick you." It hurt. "I'm not the same person you would be looking for, and I don't want to hurt you in any way."

"I know Hilde Schbeiker in and out. I can't be tricked," Duo said confidently.

Huh? This guy is silly. "Look, according to communications around here you just thought you saw Hilde, and Zechs Merquise thought he saw Noin, and then you had problems in the zero room and thought you saw someone else. You are on a terrible roll right now. Why make it worse?"

"Because." He actually sort of smiled at her. "All I am really doing this for is finding her, so if I mistake twenty people in a day for her, that's just twenty more people that get me closer to finding her. I don't drop it just because a nice person in a helmet comes by and I'm too tired to check out a nice voice."

Mmm? "Okay, I guess I see your point." She took off her helmet. She'd get this over with.

That didn't help at all. His eyes actually lit up. Aw, they were kind of cheery looking. "Tell me about when you lost your memories?"

"Oh. I was with a group of four other women," she said. "Around that time, the zero system was messing up. It was too much pull at once. So, here I am, all messed up in the head and running from the law while still trying to help people."

"Hilde!" Oh great, he was convinced.

"Look, I'm not her. I don't know anything about her. I'm just a trap," she insisted. He didn't listen and came up closer to her. "Sir, really, I'm not her."

"I know that sound. I know that look. You are her."

"I'm not, I don't know you." He looked at her oddly now. Was he starting to get it?

"Follow me," he demanded as he grabbed her hand.

She followed him, though that was a rude gesture. It was better not to fight with him though. "Where are we going?"

"My gundam has something off in it. I want you to look at it."

Gundam? "I don't know anything about gundams." Did she? "I guess I can look?" She was back in the zero room. The gundam was up ahead. She didn't really want to get close. This place. Someplace just like it. "I can't, I don't want to be in here."

"It's okay," Duo tried to persuade her. "I know, bad memories, right? Come on, it's okay."

Hilde moved toward the gundam. Slowly. This thing digested my whole mind. I want to run! Duo Maxwell was guiding her hand though. They reached right next to it and were taking a lift up. She could feel her heart start to beat faster. "I don't want to look at this."

"It'll be fine, really," Duo coaxed her as he brought the compartment door open.

She found herself involuntarily too scared and wanting to break free. No, no, this thing took everything, no, I don't want to be near it! She tried to escape, but he wasn't letting her go.

"There's no zero system, that's all been ripped out. Just look at it, you used to work at it all the time," he said, showing her the inside. He lifted something up and pointed to some wires. "What's this? Do you recognize this? Do you see what's wrong?"

"Why are you making me look at the steering?" She wanted out. "There's nothing wrong with it."

"See. You knew what it was, and that it was fine." He pointed back to her. "You are Hilde."

"I can't be," she stated.

"It's a little different visually, but everything else is still the same," Duo tried to convince her. "Come back, Hilde."

No way. "Look, out of every girl in all of RTL, how could you think I was this important? I don't want to trick you."

"You aren't tricking me," he said, even more encouraged. "You are Hilde Schbeiker."

Hilde Schbeiker? "I'm not, you aren't listening, Guy!"

"I know your favorite thing to eat, your favorite places to go, what you like best in the world? Ooh! Cold pizza in the morning for breakfast, right?" he asked. "Yeah? Hey, I bet that was your pizza I ate."

Heidi scratched her head. She did like pizza, but a lot of people did. But? "Someone ate my cold pizza leftovers I had in there. Was it you?"

"No, no. Innocent kid," he said strangely.

"I was saving that for dinner too. Ooh, you just admitted that you definitely ate it," she said. Dang, she didn't make that much to go out all the time! "You are lying. That had my name on it and everything."

"I shared it with a kid who lost her brother this morning," he said. "I figured that would be fine."

Oh. A little girl lost her brother that morning? "Oh, poor girl. Yeah, she could have a slice." Oh no, no. What, what now? "Look, Sir. I was trained to be like her. I'm not her. I know my past, but I just don't remember it." Shoot. No choice. "I was a stand-in at the junkyard. I do sound like her, that was natural, which is why I was picked to try plastic surgery. You heard me once before." She stuck her hands shyly behind her back. "At least I was dressed in your shower according to the files?"

Yeah. She finally saw him accept it. "You were . . . so much like her. I pulled a gun on you. You were the one in the shower."

"Sorry?" Yeah, he looked really miserable now. "Really sorry there, Fella. I tried to tell ya." Ooh? "I could tell you about someone you did get right. I even know when she comes around here?"

The poor pilot looked tired. "Fine. What's your name?"

"The gem name is Tiger's Eye for duties, otherwise I'm Heidi," she told him. She moved a little closer to him. "I'm not allowed to say this, but there is something I'd like to tell you." She tried to move closer to tell him, but he backed away. Made sense. "Do you have a piece of paper?" Nope, he had a different approach! He grabbed her and dragged her closer, his anger at being tricked again definitely on display. "Please don't do anything rash, I'm a new mom, Mister!"

He loosened up his anger almost immediately, but he still kept her close. "Sorry. I'm just really tired of being duped. Just. Tell me what you know," he whispered.

"Marilyn, the one who tried to take your gundam before, has a little boy a little over a year old. He matches the age of what Middie Une's baby would be."

There was a sort of smile? Sort of. "Thanks. I'll check out the news. Sorry if I dragged you over too hard. You were saying that you weren't her. But. You're a whole lot like her."

She shrugged. At least the scary part was over.

"Do you remember getting caught in the shower, or was that just in a report?" he asked suspiciously.

Uh? "My report. I told you, the zero system messed us up," she said.

"You said you were a new mom?"

"I wasn't lying, really." She gestured behind her. "I was going to get some rest and then go see them when I saw your wallet on the floor."

"Them," he muttered oddly. "Love. To . . ." He just looked at her oddly. "Heidi?"

"Uh huh." Strange. It was like all his defenses were almost completely gone.

"You have a nanny for them when you go out?"

"I don't do many tasks right now," she answered.

"Oh." He shoved his arms behind his head. "Okay. Well, thanks for the wallet. I want to go see the little girl I saved one more time before I head off. Make sure she's good. Might just spend the rest of the day here. Make sure she takes news and stuff okay."

Aw, that was sweet. "Sounds like a good idea." He might even be able to use the excuse to see Marilyn. She left back to her own room near the nursery and rested for about an hour. Afterward, she headed toward the nursery. Kids and babies weren't allowed in other parts without guardian supervision. She needed to get back to her triplet boys, but they weren't more than two rooms away.

She waved to her nanny, one of the other members who liked to make money by watching tikes. It was a good way to make money, as well as help when her quadruplets were born. "Thank you. Sorry I slept a little later, Mandy."

"No problem, Heidi." She stood up, so much taller than her. She was so tall and elegant, even in her condition. "Your boys were little dreams to watch. They slept the whole time. I'll see you."

Heidi went toward her triplets. Anxious little fellas were actually not anxious? Alright, it looked like she might get more rest.

"Triplets?"

The pilot Duo had been over by the door. "Yeah?" she answered. "Lucky me, huh?" She laughed. "It's okay, they are all good boys."

"All boy triplets?"

"Uh huh?" Strange he was still hanging around her after knowing the truth.

"Sorry. I wasn't too far seeing the little girl," he said nervously. "When did you have them again?"

"Not too long ago," she said.

"You have them early or . . .?"

Really, he was fascinated. Hilde Schbeiker had only been gone from him for a couple of months. "Was your friend already heavily pregnant or something?"

"Nah. No," Duo confirmed. "I'd have been able to tell, especially with triplets. Pregnancy takes way too much time." Still, he was curious. "How long ago did you lose your memories?"

"Three months, but anyone could tell I was heavily pregnant." He really should have got it by now.

"Oh, I forgot my tea and milk." Mandy came back in and grabbed her drink. She didn't look pleased to see the pilot. "02?"

"You're big," Duo said to her. "You're really big."

"Guess so." Then, she was typical Mandy. "Don't get any bright ideas, gundam pilot, this didn't happen in a couple months."

"No, it wouldn't. You're a ballon, Lady. How many are you having?" Duo asked Mandy.

"Quadruplets."

"Quadruplets. Wow. Wow, wow, wow." Duo smiled. "Does that, um, run in your family? Er, uh what was it?"

"Mandy," Mandy answered him, "Heidi, what's he doing here?"

"He just saved a little girl this morning so he can visit here right now, I guess?" Heidi saw one of her boys start to fuss so she picked him up.

"I'm a BE," Duo said as he snapped a picture of Mandy. "Aw, mothers doing their thing. Sorry for the fascination. I never had one, so it interests me." He texted something on his phone. "Anyway, quadruplets. Being born soon." He covered his face. "Um? Do you know the father?"

"Probably just some rando. No one ever contacted me," Mandy said. "No one ever contacted Heidi either."

"Oh. Huh." Duo touched his head. "It's been like 3 months." He was muttering something to himself. "What was your gestation? The big numbers are born faster, right? Less room?"

"I am any day," Mandy said. "Heidi's was about a month ago. It was a little touch and go, but RTL always had the best resources. Even if it's gone, some connections never burn away. They ended up great."

"Yeah, but they are my super strong boy heroes," Heidi said proudly as she looked at them.

"You like having your family?" Duo asked her strangely.

"Why are you hanging around here still?" Mandy asked suspiciously. "If you are visiting a little girl, then go visit the little girl, gundam pilot."

"Most RTL members are ready to haul rocks off at me. Heidi's actually been super polite, so why not stay a little longer?" Duo pointed out. "I'm a friendly guy. So? Question? Family boring, yes or no? Heidi? Like it?"

Of course she liked having her family. It was hers. There were no memories of the person she was before the zero system. Her brothers. Her sisters. The accidents. The terrible things she did. Nothing before or after. All she had, that was hers without a doubt, were them. She gave them all her biggest smile.

It didn't matter who she'd been, every time she looked at their adorable little faces, it felt like a new start. "Oh yeah, they aren't boring at all. It's my three boys, Sir."

Duo came a smidge closer. "Kind of big for just having them. How old are they? Triplets run in your family?"

"A month. The 'new mom' excuse wasn't pushing it too much," she insisted. "I don't know if triplets run in my family. I don't remember, you know that."

"Three months old?" He was looking at his own fingers as he muttered again. "If said boyfriend did, which I doubt, wasn't that whoopee with him, it'd been three months. Might have been four months." He tried to look at them a little again from the doorway. "A month old?"

"Right," she told him. "I had serious pregnancy weight already when I came out of the zero system for the last time. Yes, I was there for the brutal pregnancy part." They were all hers.

"Yeah. It doesn't line up."

This guy. He was still believing? "You are just cruising for some heartache if you keep hanging around," she warned him. "Oh? There she is." She waved at Marilyn outside of the room as she passed by. "That's Marilyn. She knows a Phillip is the father of her baby, RTL said so, so you won't get straight answers out of her. She doesn't want to get involved with that crime family, so she doesn't talk to anyone. She only leaves for the barest of missions."

"Not anymore," Mandy said. "They were going to send her out to the only Antarctica post. Marilyn got blood tests to prove it wasn't them, but they don't believe her."

"Oh, is that right?" Duo looked toward her.

"Don't get any bright ideas," Mandy warned him. "I know who you are, 02. She'll scratch and bite to stay with Triton, don't mess around with her."

"Oof, oof, keyword there." Duo continued to glance at her. "Why'd she call him that?"

"It's in her profile," Heidi told him. "We don't know anything about ourselves, unless it's in our profile."

Duo stroked his face several times. "Mandy. Marilyn. Heidi. I'm guessing you guys don't move around much in that condition. With all that responsibility. This is home sweet home, huh?"

"Well, we aren't idiots. I can't just drag my triplets out everywhere. I just do useful tasks when Mandy is babysitting." This was what the outposts were like for women with families.

"And I am an excellent babysitter," Mandy said toward Duo. "Didn't you have a little girl to look in on again?"

"Right, yeah, better do that. Got sidetracked." He finally left. Mandy went over, making sure he left the nursery area completely. All the way until he turned to the kids corner.