FUTURE HAUNTS
~By K.T.~
Chapter IX
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing (surprise, surprise). Please
don't
feel it necessary to bestow your powerful attention on an unworthy
creature
such as me...
Words surrounded by * are in italics.
Heero walked down the ships deck, escorted by soldiers wearing strange
looking uniforms. They led him into a large hanger where a beautiful
mobile
suit stood gleaming in the flourescent lighting. But they kept moving,
taking him past the hanger to a room near the back of the ship.
Heero was pushed into a room and the door was locked behind him. A
man sat
in a throne-like chair and he smiled evilly at the ex-Gundam pilot.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the Perfect Soldier, Heero Yuy."
Heero remained silent and still, waiting for the Shadow to make
his
wishes known.
Ryden laughed.
"So easily tricked when you allow sentiments to become involved in
your
mission, Yuy."
"Cut to the chase, Shadow." Heero interrupted whatever else
the
Shadow was going to say.
Ryden laughed again.
"So easily fooled!" He pointed a finger at Heero and then
suddenly
sobered, standing to his feet. "I am not Shadow."
Heero's eyes narrowed as his anger began to rise.
"Then I have nothing to say to you."
"Oh, I think you do..." Ryden giggled.
Heero looked at him, disgusted that he even had to waste his time
on
this psycho.
"Perhaps you would be interested in meeting, my lovely and talented
accomplis." Ryden said smoothly. A woman stepped from the shadows.
"Heero." She named him.
Heero stared in shock at Sabriel Arran.
-------------------------------------
Rina looked over her small band of Shadow loyalists and then
stood up
before them.
"Our friends are in danger. Ryden Alayn has made the ridiculous
announcement that he intends to be King of the galaxy. That *he*
intends to
rule Earth as well as the Colonies." She looked at the people who
watched
her solemnly and knew Shadow was right about the Earth's beauty being
destroyed by war. She...
"We must not stand by and LET THIS HAPPEN!"
Cheers and yells of agreement rose up into the air.
--------------------------------------------
Catherine's eyes narrowed as she listened to what Sally had just found
out
about the old shuttle Quatre and Relena had been in. She stood to her
feet
and moved to Hilde's front door.
"Wait a minute, Kitty-Cat." Duo placed a hand on her shoulder,
his
voice extremely serious. "We all want to go kick some New-Dawn-Butt,
'kay."
Catherine swallowed and then opened the door.
"Well, I'm going now."
Duo's eyes narrowed uncharacteristically as he weighed
Catherine's
words. Then he reached up and pulled off his head bandage, a small red
line
streaking across his temple and into his head of thick hair above his
ear.
"Noin, you contact Sally and keep her posted, I'll keep in
touch
with this." He held up a com link. Noin nodded. "Zechs, you and Hilde
head
towards the docking bay and check out the last five hours' schedule.
Cat
and I are going to go check out that base Wufei and Sally were held at
earlier, maybe Wufei was taken there."
Milliardo stood and moved close to Duo, his eyes never leaving the
younger
man's indigo gaze.
"Its Wind, now, Duo."
Duo blinked and then gave a lazy grin.
"Sure thing, Wind." He turned to Catherine who was watching
Milliardo warily. Lead the way, lady."
------------------------------
Trowa twisted around in his cell and then flipped his wrists back and
forth
in his manacles. He heard the crack and snap of the metal as he broke
first
one, and then the other. He looked grimly at his blood dripping wrists
before standing up and working on the cell door.
His friends would come for him, he was certain of it.
And
when they did, he would be ready.
--------------------------------
Ryden laughed.
"The look on your face, Yuy, is priceless. Yes, my beautiful
Aerran,
here, was the one who caused you so much trouble. I told her I'd help
her
kill Relena Peacecraft and I always keep my promises." Ryden gave
Sabriel/Aerran a sensual look. "My clever love. She fooled you all.
*She*
single handedly caught the Gundam pilots." His look was filled with
pride
and admiration. " the ones who are left await their deaths now."
Sabriel moved slowly to stand beside Ryden and Heero thought
quickly.
This couldn't be happening. Relena....
"Where are they?" Heero demanded, holding the gun steady. He
barely
held in his confused disbelief as he stared at Sabriel's tall form.
She had
betrayed them all! *She* had killed Duo and Catherine. *She* had handed
them
straight over to this psycho's group of rebels.
Heero looked from Sabriel to Ryden.
"There not here, if that's what you're asking." Ryden said,
smirking.
The handsome young man wrapped his arms around Sabriel's waist and
leaned
his chin on top of her shoulder, pressing her back to his chest. "Your
friends will soon be dead. And then...it will be your turn."
Heero's face twisted in disgust and he met Sabriel's deep, calm
eyes.
Eyes devoid of feeling. But...she had save Relena, once. She had
protected
the girl...Relena had said so. Why now?! Why would she want to kill
them
all?
"Did Relena's friendship mean nothing to you?" Heero demanded of
the
ex-bodyguard.
Ryden let out another laugh and pressed a kiss to the base of
Sabriel/Aerran's jaw.
"Her plan from the beginning had been to kill the little witch."
Ryden shook his head and released his hold on Aerran. He stepped up to
the
central computer unit and typed on some keys. Heero glanced at him and
then
brought his eyes back to Aerran. The glance had been his mistake. He
found
himself looking down the barrel of a gun.
"You know, Mr. Yuy. I promised Aerran that *I* would kill Relena
for
her." His eyes became glazed and he tilted his head to the side,
looking
every bit the crazed man he was. "So I now leave you in the capable
hands of
my beautiful love and am off to finalize my vow." He gave Heero an
evil
leer. "But don't worry, I'll give her something first. Something a
*boy*
like you could never hope to fulfill in a man's place." Then he left.
Heero seethed at the arrogant man's imply. Then he looked at Aerran.
Her
eyes could freeze ice.
"You can't let him touch her." Heero said, his voice pleading and
demanding at the same time. He didn't know what to do. What did one
say to
an emotionless killer...? Heero froze. Aerran was just how he used to
be.
She was a replica of himself!
"I don't care whether or not he kills her." Aerran spoke as she
trained the gun on him. Heero's grip on his own gun tightened.
Aerran's head went to the side and she looked Heero over. It was
not a
sensual look, but a calculating one, as if inspecting merchandise
before
buying.
"It was never her I wanted." She said as her eyes came back to
his
own.
Heero's eyes widened.
-----------------------------------------------------
Relena struggled to sit up, but with her hands tied behind her back it
was
a little hard. She finally managed to sit up and back on her knees
when she
saw the dark head of Wufei.
"Ohmigosh!" she cried out, crawling on her knees towards the
wounded
pilot.
"Wufei?!" She sat beside him and then saw Quatre's body lying a
little farther away. "Quatre!"
Wufei stirred and then blinked his eyes open. He heard a
female
voice cry out his name over and over and then focused in on Relena's
dim
outline.
"Darlian?" He rasped.
Relena smiled and bounced on her knees.
"Wufei, you're awake!"
--------------------------------------------
Ryden moved to the engine room and typed in the self-destruct codes.
Then
he smiled.
"I love you, Aerran." He looked back at the room sadly as he
moved to
the escape shuttles. "It's just that I love myself more."
-----------------------------------------------------
"Nothing strange." Hilde told Milliardo as she hacked through the
docking
areas main computer file. "I wish Duo were here, though. He's better
at
this then I am..."
Milliardo merely watched the girl's fingers as she typed away.
Then
he straightened and left the small office area. He looked out into the
docking bay and his eyes widened.
"Uh, Miss (Whatever-her-last-name-is). I think you should see
this."
Hilde stood up with a sigh and then joined Milliardo at the
surveillance window. Then, she flattened her palms on the glass and
leaned
close to see the workers held at gun-point by a bunch of scruffy
looking
people disembarking off of a shot-up shuttle.
"That could be something..."
Milliardo was already racing down the corridor toward the docking
door.
He reached it and punched the panel keys. Hilde rushed through right
behind
him.
Rina saw the young girl and long haired man come through the
door
and she pulled out a gun to train it on them. She didn't see it, but
five
more of the Shadow followers covered her.
"Are you of the New Dawn?" Milliardo shouted angrily.
"We are...the Shadow Warriors!" Rina improvised. "We have come to
destroy the New Dawn Order and to protect the peace on Earth!" The
people
around her hailed this statement and Rina couldn't help but smile.
Hilde saw that smile. She began pushing through the people
around the
other girl until she stood only a few feet away.
"Well we've come to save our friends who are trying to save
Earth as
well." Blue met green as the two girls studied each other. "Help us?"
Rina looked at the long haired man who did not look very happy
about this turn of events but when he saw her watching him he gave her
a
tight smile. Rina met the dark haired girl's gaze once again and
nodded.
"We will help you."
The Shadow Warriors cheered.
--------------------------------
"I always wondered what became of you. How you turned out." She said
to
him.
Heero frowned, his brows lowering over his stormy eyes.
"I don't..."
"You were nothing but a killer then. Yet...I was sure I had seen
some
feeling in your eyes."
Heero shook his head in confusion. Pain. An indescribable pain
filled
Aerran's golden eyes as she stared at him...stared through him.
Heero thought of all the pain and suffering he'd caused people.
Could
it be he had done something to this girl and never known it? How many
more
mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children of war were out there
who's
family he had killed, maimed. He deserved to die...he'd always known
that.
Heero let his arm slowly lower and the gun fell from his hand. The
ship
began to shake as an alarm rang throughout it. Bits of metal flew from
the
walls as the ships interior was destroyed. The ceiling panels shook
with
force and then one dislodged, falling straight over Heero. He only
stared
at the young girl before him.
----------------------------------
Trowa hacked into the central computer and found the codes to
unlock
the mobile
suits' hanger. He inwardly smiled and made his way down towards it.
---------------------------------
Rina , Hilde, and Milliardo Peacecraft ran through the colony
streets, the
Shadow Warriors close behind. They reached the New Dawn base and
launched
their attack.
-------------------------------
Wufei finally got the ropes undone around Relena's wrists and, in a
moment
of weakness, leaned against the sandy-blond's back. She remained
motionless
until he straightened back up.
"Thanks." He mumbled.
Relena put a hand on his shoulder.
"Thank *you*." She told him gently. Wufei blinked and
then
held up his hands for her to untie.
"Relena?" An uncertain voice spoke from behind them.
Relena ran to Quatre and held his head under her blood-throbbing
hand.
"Quatre! You're okay!" She hugged him tightly and Wufei shook
his head.
"Women." He muttered, not un-kindly.
----------------------------------------
Heero felt something soft on top of him. He rolled it off and stared
at
the girl's prone body in shock. She had protected him! But...why?
The girl groaned and her eye lids fluttered. Heero pushed himself
up
and sat back on his knees. The girl sat up as well, her long-legs
stretched
out before her.
"You...you...protected me."
The girl's golden eyes met his own. She frowned as if puzzled and
then
her face cleared, becoming impassive. Heero watched her as she watched
him.
He had the uncanny feeling that he was being tested. He decided that
he had
every intention of passing this test.
"You don't recognize me, do you." It was not a question.
Heero's
heart stirred a little at the even, husky voice of the dark haired,
golden-eyed assassin before him. She had tried to kill him; but, then,
why
had she protected him.
Sabriel broke eye contact with the dark-haired young man in front
of
her and let her shoulders slump. She was alone...again. She leaned
against
the wall at her back and drew her knees up to her chest.
"Who are you?" Heero asked suddenly. Sabriel brought up her
golden
gaze once again and fixed it on the perfect soldier who had destroyed
her
life nearly five years ago. She leaned her head against the wall, her
eyes
glinting challengingly.
"Are you still lost, Heero?" She asked.
Heero's eyes narrowed, the inner light which glowered from them
sharpening to pin-points.
"Am I...?"
*"Are you lost?" Large, light-brown eyes looked at him, their
gaze
neither accusing nor critical. Nothing but a sweet care and curiosity.
"I've been lost since the day I was born." The eyes saddened at
his
response, caring for him as one might their brother, their friend.
Heero
had never had a friend.*
"You're...you're..." Heero stared at the dark haired, bruised but
not
beaten, girl before him. She was beautiful, really. Her wild dark
hair
stuck out like a pixie's and her large, gold eyes were amazingly gentle
compared to the hard, uncompromising line of her mouth. Her body was
lithe
and graceful, assurance excluding from every movement.
"I was." She answered him.
"Why? Where? I...tried to look...but they said everyone died in the
explosions!" Heero stood to his feet, his heart pounding hard in his
chest.
He felt fury and sorrow twisting within his belly like sour milk.
"They lied." Came her calm, even voice.
"You wanted to kill me..." Heero's tone was filled with admiration
for
her duration, anger for her murdering spirit, and fear for those who
she had
put in danger, just to get to him.
"I wanted to."
"But..." Heero crouched in front of her, his eyes on her closed off
face.
"I wanted to see if you cared for anyone, first. If your life
was
worth saving, instead of obliterating." She shrugged as if it were an
every
day thing. Heero inwardly winced at her callousness to death. He
impulsively reached out and grasped both of her hands. She stiffened
and
tried to press back into the wall behind her but Heero held on tightly.
"Listen. I can understand why you would want to kill me..." He
looked
down at the slim, strong hands he held in his own. One of them was cut
to
the bone, blood smearing her entire arm. "I would probably have done
the
same thing." He looked back up, giving her hands a reassuring squeeze.
He
had never felt so...loose with anyone. The words just seemed to come
to
him, easily flowing from one lost soul to another. "I...do you still
want
to kill me?"
"No."
That single word and those piercing gold eyes flooded Heero's soul
with
hope. He took a breath.
"Will you help me?"
The eyes searched his, and then she leaned forward, slowly. Heero
stilled, unsure of what to do.
Sabriel stopped within a half-of-an-inch from Heero's nose. She
watched him as he waited. He was strong, she knew. Strong enough to
live
on without his Relena. But...
"Tell me, Heero. Why should I help you?"
Again, Heero felt as if he were undergoing a test. He thought
frantically, his mind searching for the right answer. Then those
green-blue eyes flashed through his mind. The long, sandy-blond hair
and
loving smile he found he adored. A tall-laughing blond, whose heart
was
kind, and loving. A wise-cracking, braided wonder, whose love for life
never faltered. A strong hearted, passionate man, whose black hair was
getting to look a little like the braided wonder's. And a smart,
silent
man. A man who is always there for them. Trowa...
"Because I love my friends, and I would die for them."
A slow smile crept onto Sabriel's face and Heero blinked at the
beauty
she became.
"Then let's go kick some ass."
----------------------------------
Ryden Alayn laughed to himself as he watched the Shadow Warriors fight
with
his New Dawn soldiers. He landed Zeus on top of the ware-house and
then
pointed the gun down, blowing a hole in the roof.
-----------------------------
N'Brekk watched helplessly as New Dawn soldiers escorted Dorthy
away. He felt his heart flutter in panic for a moment, not wanting to
be
responsible for yet another innocent death. His dark brown eyes
narrowed
and he twisted in his own captor's grip. The man yelled out to his
comrades
but N'Brekk jumped into the air and gave him a hard kick in the head.
Then
he spun around and moved his body with the speed of the other man
coming at
him.
N'Brekk lifted his tied arms and ducked under a hard punch, slipping
behind
his attacker and sliding his arms over the man's head. N'Brekk pressed
his
body against the man's and squeezed with his biceps. He released the
soldier when he heard the sickening crack of the man's neck breaking.
N'Brekk pulled the knife out from the soldier's boot and cut the ropes
binding his wrists. He looked at the two soldiers grimly for a moment
before running after Dorthy's "escorts."
----------------------------
Mary Paradis