Counting Days: Prologue (Revised and Beta-read)

[Eternity]

Author?s Note: Thank you Goldberry for being such an amazing beta-reader for a poor little newbie like me...T_T

Pairings: HY x RP
Setting: AU, Long Island (that?s in New York, by the way)
Rating: G (?)
Warnings: Most of them are out of character.
Extra Note: They?re all 15 and in high school

Disclaimer: I don?t know how Gundam Wing could possibly be less mine. I only own this story.


Counting Days: Prologue

Every living creation on the earth rejoiced, for finally, the icy breath of winter had gone, replaced by the young, vibrant air of Spring. The soft breeze stirring the heavens smelled fresh and sweet, and in pure, untainted joy, the birds sang. The flowers opened up to the sky, giving the earth every shade of red, blue, and yellow. As if a rainbow shattered, and it?s pieces rained down upon the winter-hardened earth. The sun was bright and smiling, giving everything in sight a warm kiss, it?s rays reaching out like a mother?s welcoming arms. But apparently, the sun?s smile was nothing compared to the brilliant white grin that was plastered on a young girl?s face that cheerful morning......

?Hey, it must be the first day of spring,? Duo Maxwell commented, amused, as he pulled out a thick history book out of his locker.

Standing at a locker right next to Duo?s. Heero Yuy glanced at him quizzically, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. ?Huh??

Duo indicated with his head a slim, golden-haired girl that was heading their way, her smile almost blindingly radiant.

Heero turned around and leaned against his locker, admiring everything about this girl; the way she walked, the way she talked, the way she smiled, the way she laughed......

?Hi, guys!? Relena Peacecraft said cheerfully, almost jumping with joy. ?Isn?t this such a beautiful day? I love spring! The world seems so alive!?

Duo and Heero shared an amused but warm look. Everyone in the High School loved Relena, and one of the reasons was because of her always-cheerful attitude that just brightened up the bluest of the blue. She always seemed to have an extra hand to help you out with, no matter who you were.

She spun the lock that bolted her locker shut, and stiffened slightly as a warm touch caressed her cheek. Dark, Prussian blue met glittering violet as Relena looked up, her face flushing.

?Spring is nothing, compared to you,? Heero said quietly, a small smile softening his features as he gently ran his fingers along her jawline.

Relena looked into his eyes shyly, her face getting redder by the second, as Heero leaned over, closer and closer...

?Heero and Relena, sittin? in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!? Duo sang out cheerfully, giving the couple a great, mischievous grin as they jumped apart, wide-eyed. ?First comes love...?

?Duo!? said a voice behind them. Dark haired Hilde Schbeiker stood with a hand on her hip, her other arm piled high with books. She shook her head at Duo, who gave her a puppy-dog look.

?Uh-uh,? she said, shaking her head. ?That?s not going to work this time. No way. I?m telling you--?
Duo fell to his knees and let out a whine, and Hilde cracked, just as he knew she would.

Hilde stared at him, then looked up Heero and Relena, who was watching the scene before them with amused grins.

?What can you do?? she asked them helplessly. Duo jumped up and gave her a tight hug, which she laughingly returned.

Relena sighed, and Heero?s warm hand slowly sneaked into her own, and they exchanged a heart felt smile. That would do until later.

That afternoon, during lunch, the four youngsters were sitting at a table with all their other close friends. There was sweet and mind-bogglingly rich Quatre Raberba Winner, and his girlfriend Dorothy Catalonia, her white-blond hair flying in the light breeze. Then there was quiet, but extremely smart Trowa Barton, and besde him, Midii Une. The two were not quite officially going out, and the others were trying hard not to rush it for them too much. Trowa?s sister Catherine was a Senior, and, as much as she loves her brother and his friends, she doesn?t like to hang out with them that much, and sat on the far side of the grounds with her Senior friends. And then there was Chang Wufei, who was one of those people who thought women were inferiors, existed only on the expense of men. Sally Po was there beside him to teach him what was what, even if the use of force becomes necessary. Even though Wufei acted like he didn?t enjoy Sally?s ?lectures?, they seem to very much like each other?s company.

?Yo, Rellie, wanna brownie?? Midii asked, waving a chocolate fudge brownie.

?Oh,? Relena said hesitantly, ?I-I can?t, Midii, I?m sorry...I have diabetes.?

Midii gasped loudly. ?Oh my gosh, Relena, I totally forgot, I?m so sorry--?

Relena smiled at her forgetful friend. ?Oh Midii! It?s okay!?

?No, it?s not! Ugh, I?m so forgetful, I hate it...?

?Midii! It?s okay! I promise!?

?Hey,? Duo suddenly said, pointing at the newspaper in Quatre?s hand, which he and Dorothy were intently reading. ?Whatcha readin???

Quatre and Dorothy frowned, and the former said, ?It?s about that story about all those fifteen year old girls who were missing from New Jersey.?

?Yeah, I heard there were a lot of them missing,? Trowa said. ?Five, I think.?

?Yes, five,? Dorothy said, obviously disgusted. ?Five! All at the same time. It?s disgusting.?

?Well,? Quatre said, ?another five are missing from Manhattan. Ten missing girls in all.?

Everyone shuddered, and Heero instinctively drew Relena close to him, burying his nose into her sweet-smelling golden hair.

?That story upsets me,? Relena said pouting. ?My brother is working day in and day out trying to figure it out. It?s definitely kidnapping, but the kidnappers are smooth. They leaves no evidence, no prints, no anything. But the NYPD think that if they find some sort of common quality between these girls, it would help them find who the kidnapper is.?

(A.N.: Milliardo Peacecraft is a detective for the NYPD.)

?That?s right,? Quatre said. ?It says that right here.?

??They??? Wufei asked. ?There?s more than one kidnapper??

?Yes,? Relena said nodding. ?The kidnappings occur at exactly the same times, witnesses say, even though the girls live in completely different places. So there must be five people working together.?

?What else have they found out?? Sally asked.

?Well, apparently,? Quatre answered, ?all the girls are fifteen, and all pf them have light-colored hair, such as blond or light brown. And...they all have bluish to purple eyes.?

Everyone choked. Dorothy and Relena glanced at each other, their eyes wide. After a minute of stunned silence, Relena smiled nervously.

?We?re being silly,? she said. ?There are millions of fifteen year old, blond haired, blue-eyed girls out there!?

?You?re right. Yeah,? Duo said nodding, and immediately cracked a joke that made everyone laugh, the tension instantly fading. But Heero glanced at Relena, her light, musical laughter ringing in his ears. If ever something like that happened to Relena, he?d die...

?But, then,? he thought, ?nothing ever happens here.?


But the kidnapping kept happening, each taking place closer and closer to the middle of Long Island, where our heroes live. Each time, five fifteen year old girls were reported missing, all of them blond, all of them blue eyed.


Heero was at the police station, Relena?s brother beside him. Sometimes they really just disliked one another, both of them shooting icy death glares at each other. But today, when
30 girls were reported missing in just 2 months, the NYPD were desperate. Milliardo knew that Heero was a genius and had a lot of great detective skills, second only to Milliardo, who was the best of the best. They asked Heero to come and help, because for once, Milliardo?s team were stumped.

Heero smirked at the taller, white-blond haired man.

Milliardo growled at him, saying, ?This isn?t about me or you, buddy, this is about those girls, and finding them.?

Heero?s face turned grave instantly. He nodded, and said, ?You?re right. Let?s stop hating each other just for this once.?

Milliardo actually chuckled, and said, ?Right.?

In no time they had Heero on a computer, his eyes flicking from one girl?s profile to another, trying to find something, anything they have in common.

?Let me see their medical records,? Heero said.

?What?? one of Milliardo?s men said skeptically.

?Do as he says,? Milliardo barked.

?Yes, sir!? the poor man said quietly. Well, wouldn?t you shut up if you got a full dose of Death Glare by not one, but two people who looked like they can tear you up with their bare hands?! I thought so.

In a second the papers were in Heero?s hand.

?They?re all five foot three,? Milliardo said. ?All enjoy reading and writing. Watching romantic movies...their favorite flowers are roses....?

?These girls have a ton in common!? Heero said. ?I mean, they?re all practically the same people. They all have the same blood type. The rarest type there is, apparently,? Heero added. ?Type AB.?

?And,? Milliardo added, ?they all have diabetes, and have been hospitalized because of it two to three times in the past year. Besides that fact, they?re all in fine health.?

Suddenly, Milliardo slapped himself in the forehead. ?Jackson!? he barked.

?Sir??

?Is Dr. Francesca Mario out of prison already??

?Umm...I?ll go see, sir....?

A minute later, the detective known as Jackson said, ?Yes sir....eight months ago. She was bailed out by her sisters, sir.?

?And she?s one of how many??

?Uhhhhh......Six, sir. She?s one out of six.?

Milliardo sighed. ?We?ve found the culprit.?

?Who?s Dr. Francesca Mario?? Heero asked.

?A scientist in uptown New York. When her daughter died from a very, very rare disease two years ago, Dr. Mario stole the body from the hospital, where she died. We caught her after a 2 weeks, but she wouldn?t tell us where she hid her daughter. She did tell us that she was going to bring her daughter back to life. See, the girl?s organs were frozen, because this disease, unusual enough, doesn?t affect any of the organs...it affects something and kills the person in a matter of hours, but it doesn?t touch the organs. But I?m really not an expert at medicine.?

Heero nodded for Milliardo to continue.

?Dr. Mario stole the organs, too. She?s been doing studies about transferring a person?s organs to another person?s body, and if the brain was well intact and not damaged or touched in any way, the new person will have the old person?s memories. Francesca Mario realizes that she cannot have her daughter?s body, so she wants girls who look a lot like her daughter. Her daughter has blond hair and blue eyes, and was fifteen when she died. She was, I believe, also five foot three, and was diabetic. Mario even wants the girls to have the same interests, the reading, the writing, the sappy movies, the roses, etc. etc., just to have as many common grounds as possible.?

?But why so many girls? I mean, thirty!? Heero exclaimed.

?Well, the process has never been tried before, and well...if one doesn?t work and the new person dies, there has to have extras.? Milliardo scowled. ?Disgusting.?

?So you want me to look for five foot three15 year old girls, blond hair, bluish-purple eyes, likes reading, writing, watching romantic movies, loves roses, has diabetes, with blood type ?AB?, to find out who Dr. Mario will abduct first?? Heero said, his hands already typing with lightning-fast abilities as he spoke.

?In the state of New York, specifically Long Island,? Milliardo added.

Suddenly, before the pictures even completely loaded on the screen, the two men gasped in realization.

?No...? Heero choked.

The very first picture was of Relena.


?Milliardo! Relena, where is she?!? Heero yelled, jumping up from his seat.

?With Lucrezia....? Milliardo ran to the phone, and dialed their home. A second later.... ?Lucy, honey? Relena?s with you, right??

Heero stood in horror as Noin?s voice traveled through the phone.

?Why....no, she went out for walk in the park....and--?

?Call all her friends!? Milliardo barked. ?Call them all! Find out if Relena?s safe!?

?O-okay...I?ll get on it right away!?

*Click.*

Milliardo put down the phone, his whole body shivering, his breathing ragged. Behind him, Heero was the same exact way, his eyes unfocused. No, not Relena...it can?t be Relena...no...

?Sir!? Jackson?s voice rang in their ears dully. ?Four girls have been reported missing, all in the area of Long Island, sir!?

?Heero...? Milliardo said, his voice dull. ?Go home. We?ll take care of this, don?t you worry.?

?No! I want to help!? Heero yelled, snapping out of his daze to step forward.

?You?ll slow us down!? Milliardo snapped, his voice cracking. ?I will do everything to find her! She?s my sister!?

?Well, she?s my girlfriend!? Heero screamed.

Milliardo grasped Heero by the shoulders, as much as Heero struggled.

?Heero, Heero listen--?

?No! I want to help find her!?

?Listen to me!?

Heero looked up to see a sight he thought he?d never live to see. Milliardo?s ice blue eyes were glazed over, and his usually steely voice was softened.

?She?s my sister, Heero,? Milliardo whispered, taking his hands off Heero?s shoulders. ?I love her more than you know, and I promise you, I will do anything to find her, and we will succeed.?

?B-but, if you have trouble, you promise--?

Milliardo nodded. ?We know who to call.?

And off he went.


Heero walked alone to Relena?s home, and he found the door wide open, a few police men standing outside talking to Relena?s sister in law Lucrezia Noin, who was hysterically weeping.

Eight heads popped out the front door, and Heero realized after a long five seconds that those eight heads belonged to his friends.

?Heero!? Hilde shrieked, her face tear-stained. She ran to him, and grasped his hands. ?Heero! Relena she was--she was--?

?I know.?
Heero looked up sharply, a sudden thought running through his head.

?Dorothy,? he thought. ?Where?s Dorothy?!?

He turned his head, and spotted Dorothy?s blond head, bent down in sorrow. He heard her crying, ?Oh, it should have been me!?

He reached out, and touched Dorothy?s shoulder.

?No, Dorothy, don?t say that.?

Dorothy wailed miserably, and threw her arms around Heero?s neck, tears streaming down her face, and everyone gathered in for a group hug, which was really something that helped them stay on their feet and keep from collapsing in a heap on the ground, all of them crying for their best friend on each other?s shoulders.

Heero looked up at the moonless night sky, and whispered, Relena...I promise...I will find you.

END OF ?COUNTING DAYS: PROLOGUE?

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Well? What did you think? Please, please review.... I really want to know what you think of this story. Should I go on? Or does it stink too bad? I?d really appreciate any comments/suggestions/even complaints. Thank you, once again, Goldberry!!!

~Eternity

[Goldberry]

Awwwwwwwwww, no prob! *pats Eternity* Besides, your story has a good start and there are lots of things you can do with it, plotwise and character wise. I like the changes you made too! Especially the beginning paragraph. Very nice.

Great job, Eternity!

*huggles*
Berry