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Soulless 4/?

Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2003 8:47 pm
by melrose_stormhaven
Merry Christmas to all!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. Ask Heero, even.

Heero: I will kill you. You made Relena end up with Trowa. *shoots Melrose*

Melrose: *lying in a pool of blood* Damn it! I should have known better than to ask you…

Free talk: I slowed. Sorry…school has already started. Merry Christmas, everyone!!!

This chapter is for Morrighan. ^^


Chapter IV: Unresolved, Unfinished

James Maxwell sat on the couch in the study where their elders had earlier dumped them after they had treated their wounds and bruises. His head was buried in his trembling, bandaged hands. Behind him, Robert Mohammed Winner was quietly reading the newspaper. An unnatural, uneasy silence filled the room.

Robert looked up and glanced at James with a worried frown on his face. James had been like this since Freya's abduction. He's still blaming himself for what happened to Freya because he was the one who forgot our group project in his house, Robert realized.

As if sensing Robert's gaze, James raised his head and looked at Robert straight in the eye. Robert flushed slightly and quickly went back to reading the newspaper.

"What's today's news?" James suddenly asked Robert, startling the blonde.

"The news?" Robert looked at his friend blankly for a moment. When James continued to look at him, the blonde glanced back at the newspaper and began to read the headlines. "Well, the solar-powered laser communication satellites our company's building near the L3 space colony is nearly finished. Aunt Relena's the one who is going to inaugurate them a month from now. An alleged terrorist's bomb exploded near an embassy in North Africa. Then there's the announcement of a peace treaty between–"

"It was all my fault," James said abruptly, interrupting Robert's impromptu news report. "Freya was kidnapped because of me."

Robert took a deep breath. "James, it's not your fault, all right? Uncle Trowa even said–"

"Oh yes it was," he cut in fiercely, his eyes blazing with self-loathing. "You know how Freya and I have been quarrelling for several days now."

"Yes, I know that, but I don't see wha–" Robert's eyes widened as realization dawned to him. He gave James a horrified look. "God, James, tell me you didn't–"

James flinched slightly at the look Robert directed at him. "I purposefully left our project in my house to spite her," he said in a grim voice, his hands clenching into tight fists. "So, Robert, it is my fault. If I hadn't left the project, she wouldn't–the kidnappers–would have never gotten her."

There was a sudden blur of movement in front of them, and the next thing Robert saw was James being pinned against the wall by Brandon Peacecraft, who had an angry look on his usually cheerful face. Stunned, Robert could only watch as James tried to shrug out of the youngest Peacecraft's grasp, but Brandon's grip was too strong. "How could you be so petty, Maxwell? You've put my cousin in danger because of your foolishness!" Without another word, he gave James a powerful right hook.

James staggered back at the force of the blow, but quickly regained his footing. His blue eyes darkened into a deep purple. "Don't you think I don't know that? Do you know what I feel right now?" James shouted back.

Brandon wasn't listening. "If my cousin is harmed in any way because of your stupidity, I will kill you, Maxwell!" He drew back his arm for another punch.

"That will be enough, Brandon. I think he got your message. For now, anyway," a quiet voice said from behind Brandon.

Brandon let his arm drop harmlessly to his side and fixed James a look of anger. However, James wasn't paying attention at him. He was busy staring warily at the owner of the voice.

Alexander Peacecraft-Barton stood beside Brandon, his cool sky-blue gaze focused on James. Still dressed in his uniform and standing a few inches taller than James, Alexander made an intimidating figure.

James swallowed hard. Freya's cousins were all extremely protective of Freya–she was, after all, the only girl among the cousins. Brandon, even mild-mannered Christopher, would cheerfully beat the crap out of anyone who tried to hurt or harm Freya. James remembered with a shudder the fate one boy suffered when he pulled Freya's pigtails when they were in elementary school. The boy ended up with a cast on his hand the next day.

Despite their overprotective attitude over Freya, the Peacecraft brothers were rational. They could be reasoned with. Alexander, however, was another matter.

Born four minutes before Freya, Alexander was cool, calm, and reasonable except when Freya was concerned. He was irrational about almost anything about his twin sister. Until Freya went to high school and Alex entered military school, the twins were inseparable. He hovered protectively over his twin, ready to kill anyone who dared violate whatever limits he set on their behavior towards Freya. Alex's name meant 'protector' and he kept up admirably to his name.

"Alex," James managed to say, swallowing the nervous lump in his throat. I'm dead.

Alexander took a step closer to him, his face an impassive mask. "I know about you and Freya," he said in the same quiet voice, though his sky-blue eyes now burned with repressed anger.

James's eyes widened. Robert's eyes were wider. "Him and Freya? What about the two of them?"

Freya's twin brother ignored Robert. "I understand what you feel, but I don't think you should have done that." Then, with astonishing strength, Alexander punched James in the stomach.

*******

Heero could not speak, as all his attention was focused at the woman before him. Relena's sky-blue eyes flashed blue fire, her mouth drawn into a grim, angry line. Despite her pregnant state, she managed to carry herself regally. God, she was such a beautiful, special woman. How could he have been so foolish?

I love you, Heero.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded. She turned to Duo, giving him a venomous look. Duo shrank back a little. "Did you bring him here?"

Will you stay with me?

"No, sweetheart. Heero came here on his own." Trowa answered. He stood beside Relena and gently took her hand. Relena entwined her fingers with Trowa's, squeezing his hand. "You should be resting, Lena," he murmured. He drew his wife closer and planted a soft, gentle kiss on her forehead.

Heero felt a sudden, powerful surge of emotion he could only describe as jealousy–an emotion he knew he had no right to have.

I can't Relena. I can't stay with you. I'm so sorry…

Relena wrapped tightly her arms around Trowa. "I can't. I can't rest. I couldn't bear not knowing what happened to our daughter." She looked up at her husband, her eyes brimming with hot, unshed tears. Trowa kissed her softly on her lips. "Is there any news of Freya?" she whispered.

The warmth of your touch…The joining of the hearts, the bodies, and the souls of two people. In that single moment, Relena, we were one and it was the most wondrous thing I've ever felt…Oh, God, how could I have been able to give that up? I was a fool.

Trowa shook his head sadly. "There's been no news of Freya. Alexander just arrived, by the way."

Smiling slightly, Relena nodded. "That's good. I want to see him. It's been a while." Then she shifted her gaze to Heero, then to Trowa. "What is he doing here?" she said coldly.

"He's here to help us find Freya."

"Help?" Relena gave a bitter bark of laughter. "Cause trouble, more likely." She shrugged out of Trowa's grasp, and whipped round to face Heero, her eyes suddenly afire with fury, like the eyes of a lioness in the dark. "My children were safe for fifteen years, and then you come here for one day and Freya's gone. Damn you!" she shouted. Relena was crying openly now, her face wet with tears.

"Relena…" Trowa embraced his trembling wife, rocking back and forth. He whispered soothing words of comfort as he stroked Relena's hair. "We'll find Freya, but we'll need every help we can get."

Heero felt like a knife was twisting inside his heart as he watched Relena cry. He forced himself to meet Trowa's troubled gaze. "I'm leaving." Trowa frowned at his announcement. "I'll keep you informed of what I'm doing or if I find out anything about your daughter," Heero added grimly.

"You're not going anywhere, Heero Yuy. You're staying here until I get some answers from you," Milliardo Peacecraft said as he approached them, his mouth drawn into a grim, determined line. His ice blue eyes were bright with fury. He looked like a man ready to kill. Heero drew back to ready himself for a fight.

Just then, Christopher burst into the scene, with Robert just behind him. Robert had a frightened look on his face while Christopher was as calm as ever. "Father, you better come with me. Brandon and Alex are fighting with James. From the looks of it, I'd say James is losing. I didn't try to get involved, because I would have ended up beating the crap out of James, too."

"What?" Milliardo exclaimed, irritated. "Those silly fools!"

Duo sighed. "Silly or fools, we'd better stop them. Come on, let's go."

They found the room in shambles when they got there. James was lying dazedly on the floor, Alexander on top of him. Alexander's arm was drawn back for another punch.

"That's enough, Alex!" Trowa roughly pulled Alexander away from James. Alexander struggled in his grasp.

Duo helped his son to his feet while Milliardo kept Brandon at bay. "All right, boys. Break it up! Break it up!"

Alexander stopped struggling, but he gave James a mean death glare that made James flinch.

"This isn't the time to fight among ourselves. Freya's missing and we need all your help," Relena said.

There was an immediate chorus of apologies. "I'm sorry, Mom," Alexander said in a quiet voice. He embraced his mother tightly. "Are you all right? The baby–"

Relena smiled a small smile at her son. "The baby and I are doing well. Thank you for being here, Alex."

Alexander returned her smile. "I'm always here for my family, Mom."

Heero stared at Alexander. Now that he could see better, Heero could clearly see the resemblance between him and Relena's son. Heero caught Trowa's eyes on him.

Just then, Quatre appeared, puffing like a bellows. There was a tight, urgent look on his face, and he was clutching a piece of cloth. "Guys, there's a message from Freya's abductor."

*******

They sat in the Interchange room of the mansion, in front of the huge communication screen, patiently waiting for the message. The abductor had earlier only told them in the note accompanying the piece of cloth the time he or she would call in.

Relena sat on the couch. Beside her was her husband, Trowa. One of her hands gripped Trowa's for comfort; the other held the piece of cloth that was wrapped around a lock of blonde hair. While the rest clustered around the couple, Heero stood behind them, out of the screen's visual range, hidden in the shadows. The teenagers stood a little farther out, but still within the screen's range.

"The guy said he'll call in five minutes. We've been waiting for nearly six minutes," Duo growled out, impatience in his voice. He stood behind the couch

The screen then blinked on, showing a sitting figure–a man dressed in well-cut gray business suit, the face hidden in the darkness. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting," he said in a disembodied, mechanical voice. "We ran into some…technical difficulties. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Neiman Conroy."

Relena heard a sharp intake of breath coming from Sally. Duo stood a little straighter, while her brother and her husband remained expressionless. She knew the name. Neiman Conroy was one of the most wanted man both in the space colonies and Earth. They knew little about him, though he was suspected of being the mastermind of more than a hundred terrorist attacks these last years.

Behind them, Heero's eyes flared wide for a moment, before narrowing into tiny slits of blue.

"Don't try tracing this message. I've made sure you can't."

"What do you want?" Relena asked, her voice calm. "Where is my daughter? What have you done to her?"

Relena could almost see the man smile maliciously. "I want nothing from you…for now. I just want to tell you, Foreign Minister, that your daughter is in my possession."

"And how can we be sure Freya's with you?" Wufei demanded of Neiman Conroy.

"You can't." Neiman sounded amused. "But to ease your worrying, Mrs. Barton, Freya's here to talk to you."

Neiman's image suddenly disappeared, and it was instantly replaced by Freya's face. Relena gave a soft cry of pain and happiness. "Freya…!"

Freya smiled at them. Heero started when he saw her eyes. It was the same shade as his–Prussian blue. "Hello, everyone. I'm terribly sorry about this."

Relena smiled bravely, though her eyes were brimming with tears. "Are you all right, Freya? Did they hurt you?" she asked softly.

Freya shook her head. "I'm quite fine, Mom. I hope you and the baby are fine, too." Then the smile slipped off her face. "Mother…remember what we promised to each other. Promise me you'll keep it."

Relena shook her head. "I can't, Freya."

Freya's face hardened slightly. "You must," she said softly. "Promise me." She looked straight into her mother's eyes, her own eyes filled with determination.

Relena nodded, the fear suddenly gone in her eyes. "I promise."

Freya nodded back. "Thank you. I love you." The smile returned to her face. Then she asked, "Is James there with you?"

James reluctantly faced Freya. "I'm here," he said in a subdued voice, his head bowed.

There was a brief silence. Then, Freya said with exasperation, "It's not your fault, stupid."

The screen then blanked out, leaving them staring into the darkness.

~T.B.C.~

Free talk, part 2: Sadly, Heero, things may be a bit too late to regret some things…or is it?

I'm sorry this took so long. Anyway, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

Freya and James: Hmmm…do I smell something here? Makes me wonder why they quarreled in the first place.

Relena, Trowa, and Heero: What a mess…that's all I can say…

Neiman Conroy: Who the heck is he, and what role does he play in this little story?

Trivia: Just a little trivia about the twins' names. Their names are based on Relena and Heero's name. Freya is named after Relena, while Alexander is named after Heero. Guess how.

Next chapter: Freya decides to take matters into her own hands. Heero and Relena relive the past. Meanwhile, trouble brews in the space colonies and in Earth.

Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2003 10:35 pm
by Morrighan
This chappie is dedicated to me?! *glomps melrose* Thank you!!

I loved this chapter! I can definitely see how some of these threads will be very interesting to read!!

Can't wait to see more!!!

Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2003 10:58 pm
by Elyn Yuy
This is great!!!

What promise? Answers!!!

*sigh* Heero you bakka!

*slaps him upside the head.*


:salute: Elyn Yuy

Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2003 11:25 am
by melrose_stormhaven
Yeah! Heero no Baka!!!
*you wouldn't believe how stupid he was*

Heero: Hey!
Melrose: But you were stupid...
Heero: I had no choice! They-mmmph! *melrose gags heero*
Melrose: NOOO!!! Spoliers!

Thanks for reading!

Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2003 6:12 pm
by RyanEX2000
Hmmm...answers answers...

Nope,no answers here Mel Mel.Just an overwhelming urge to shoot a clown...or give Heero a hentai scene with one of the other G-girls out of spite :-P (just kidding).

And what is this promise Rel and Freya talked about?Freya seems awfully mature.Could it be that she knows?

Melrose: :eek: :pale: No comment.


Anyways A Merry Christmas to you Mel Mel.May Trowa suffer from hairloss and be forever shunned by society.

Posted: Thu Dec 25, 2003 8:06 am
by melrose_stormhaven
hehehe...you'll find out next chapter...

Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2003 11:17 pm
by Akasha
You are soooooooo evil!

i love this story and it took you sooooooooo long to post this chapter. I'm waiting......

Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2003 7:30 pm
by melrose_stormhaven
Long? Oh yeah, sorry about that. I'm working as fast as I can...

Duo: Procastinator.

Melrose: Shut up. *whacks Duo with her Pen of Destruction and Chaos*

Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2004 3:31 pm
by Andrea
Ooh!! You can't just stop there!! Mel!! You-you... you're so cruel!! I'll have to wait!!

I'm loving this story! :bounce:

Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2004 1:25 am
by rina_craft
freya and relena's promise to one another is __________... *evil grin* can't wait for the next chapter...

hmm... summer break is fast approaching so i guess the next chapter won't take too long... right? please update... :wink: