Better Ideas 16 Hy x MK Its finally here!

[Zeros Lost Soul]

Better Ideas 16


Incredible. Even with all the damage and scars, it was still awe-inspiring. Zero stood against a layer of scaffolding, broken and ruined, but still standing tall. Heero couldn?t help but admire it, it was his suit. He knew every square inch of it, every plate, every part. It may have been only a machine at first, but after his experience in battle, especially with the zero system, it was almost alive.

?It really is beautiful isn?t it?? Mariemeia had walked up beside him.

?Yes, it is.? Heero could only agree with her.

?They all are, but after challenging me and my grandfather, I couldn?t help but admire this machine, and you.? Mariemeia smiled at him.

?What are you doing here?? Heero glanced away from Zero to look at her.

"Semester is over, summer break."

?Col. Une sent the after mission report to me. Seems they weren?t as zealous as some of the other factions we?ve faced.? He started walking out of the hanger and Mariemeia followed him. ?After that last skirmish, they surrendered a few days later.?

?So you?re not going to have to fight anymore?? She sounded hopeful.

?I don?t know. But your mother thinks I need time away from the field, she said that I could use some downtime.? Heero smirked at this, although Mariemeia didn?t see what was funny about it. ?I?m not sure I could handle two weeks at home.?

She smiled slightly. ?Maybe it?s a vacation in disguise. You know, maybe she?s trying to give you a break with out making it sound that way, a kind of hidden reward.?

?I think she?s trying to hide the fact she wants to put Zero in a museum.?

?Museum?? Mariemeia opened the door to the car they had arrived to, his car.?

?Yeah, I know she?s received a lot of offers from various organizations, particularly the Smithsonian museum in North America.?

?Do you think she?ll do it?? She slid into the seat of the car as she spoke.

?I don?t think so, at least, not with out my final approval.? He shut his door and started the engine.

Several days passed in near boredom for Heero. Mariemeia had started looking for a summer job and had been gone for most of each day. He would continuously work out and clean while he tried to figure out what else to do.

It was the fourth day of his so called ?vacation? that Mariemeia came home early with a small black bundle in her arms. Heero quickly reassembled his pistol on the cloth on the table before standing to meet her in the doorway. Before he reached her she leaned over and set the small bundle on the floor, where it stood on its small paws staring up at Heero with its large puppy eyes. Heero met its eyes with an odd look of bewilderment. Mariemeia took his look for ?What?s this?? and laughed lightly at his expression before she spoke.

?I thought we could use the company, besides, I saw him and just couldn?t leave him there at the pet store.? She kneeled to pet him behind the ears and spoke in what Heero deemed an ?indecipherable infantile language. ?Isn?t he cute Heero??

Heero recovered from what she took as surprise, but actually ran much deeper. ?His name?s Saul. He?s a black lab, and he?s had all his shots.? Heero nodded mutely. Noticing the slight look of discomfort, Mariemeia let the puppy explore the living room and came back to Heero. ?Is this alright? I mean, if you don?t like dogs we can??

?No, I mean, its fine. I just?? He paused uncomfortably. ?I?m sorry, its nothing.?

?Are you sure? You know you can tell me anything, right?? The concern in her voice made him want to let everything out at that instant, but he knew he couldn?t do that to her. She was happy; his past mistakes were not hers to bear.

He nodded and with a genuine smile coming back to his face replied ?Yeah.? She picked up the small puppy from its spot sniffing the couch. ?Well, I?ll take him outside to do his thing. Could you go out to the car and grab the white plastic bags from the passenger seat of my car?? Heero gave a slight nod and proceeded to the task at hand.

That night.


The screams. They wouldn?t stop, the shouts of fear and terror before they died blared across the radio in the cockpit. He even saw their faces from time to time. One after another they died at his hands. Even in the dark and cold space their cries could be heard, until there was the only one who couldn?t be killed by him, and in what was thought as his last moment he told him, ?till we meet again, Heero.? And briefly, there was silence.

And then it continued. ?Are you lost?? Explosions tore through his mind. ?What a miserable person!? He fired. ?Are you afraid?? Everything he saw turned to fire, dust, and then it was cold, there was snow. Then the last image of a young girl in a woman?s arms in a destroyed fortress, and then pain and blackness.

He woke with a cold sweat and his breathing erratic. His eyes were wide as sat up and held a hand to his rapidly beating heart. He started at the slight touch on his shoulder. He turned to see Mariemeia looking at him with concern. He swung his legs off the side of the bed and held his head in his hands.

She hated seeing him like this, so afraid of the things he?d done. ?Heero? Talk to me, please don?t shut me out.? She pleaded to him.

?All the things, all the people.? He paused. ?Destroyed or dead. Things should?ve been different. So different??

?Heero, things happened the way they happened. They shouldn?t have been any other way.? Mariemeia knew it wasn?t any comfort, but it was true.

?How can you think that??

?Because we are still here, the earth is still here. If things had been different, you and most of the human populace and the entire planet wouldn?t be here. Every person on this planet owes you for their life.? She slid next to him. ?You may have ended many lives, but you saved countless more.?

?If I had been colder less affected, I could have stopped things earlier, never let the war go so far.?

?Heero, if you didn?t at least care a little bit about people, I would be dead, you would?ve have fired perfectly, regardless of whether Relena was down there or not.?

?I didn?t miss for her.?

?What? What do you mean??

?I missed for you. The radio was still on, I knew you were afraid, and I wondered if that is what that little girl felt like, when she saw that explosion coming toward her. The explosion that cost her and her dog, and everyone else there their lives.?

The confession caught her off guard and surprised her. So it wasn?t for Relena after all. ?Tell me.? She hesitated. ?Tell me what happened.? He had never had dream that affected him so much for as long as she had known him.

He didn?t move fore several moments. Mariemeia hung her head in defeat when he spoke. ?It was a warm day. A Sunday, most of the base was unoccupied for religious services and inactivity, but everyone would be back within a few hours. I had just finished placing charges all over the base and it?s suits. I had escaped into the park.? His eyes seemed focused on something so far away. ?I was laying in the grass when she came to me. A young girl was out with her dog. She was young, must have lived in the nearby apartment complex. She gave me a flower.?

?That night I destroyed the base, but something went wrong. A charge on one of the suits hadn?t gone off yet, but when it was knocked over by the blast of another nearby suit, it fell back on that same complex.? His eyes held back so many tears. ?Where it exploded.?

Mariemeia held a hand over her mouth as she gasped and realized what happened. Heero lifted his head and looked at her. ?When I saw you playing with him, I just couldn?t keep it out of my head.? A tear trailed down her cheek as he said this.

?I?m so sorry, I didn?t know. I thought that he might take your mind off?? She was nearly all out crying by the end of her sentence when Heero interrupted her.

?Shh? It?s alright.? He pulled her against his chest and ran a hand through her hair. ?You thought of me, no one else ever really has, they just want me around for their own ends. And that?s why I love you Mariemeia.? Her eyes widened and her tears stopped almost immediately.




A.N.- Standard disclaimers apply. Finally! Its been about 4 or 5 months, but I also just got back from army basic training and AIT. I thought this was one of the most difficult chapters yet! But I think it is also one of the most beautiful too. It sounds weird to call my own work beautiful, but I think it is. Tell me whatcha think! Later

-Zero

[Kanya Barton]

Yayness! You've brought me back here...I really need to start coming back here! So many fics to catch up on!! But, this is what I came back for...and you didn't let me down! I think this is one of your best written chapters in the story. This is definitely something worth coming back to. I can't wait until the next one comes out...hopefully it won't be 4 to 5 months before that happens, though. Remember, if you ever need any help...talk to me and I'll do my best to try and help out. Well, I'm at school now and the bell's about to ring so I'll leave...
Peace out!