Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Anything Would be Better Than Your Good-bye on a Bad Day ❯ The Spirit That Guides Me: Retribution ( Chapter 5 )

Written By: Minako-hime and R.S. Xavior

Disclaimer: We renounce any ownership to Gundam Wing or any of it characters. They are owned by Bandai, Sunrise, and its respective creators. So please don't sue us because combined, all we have are ten cats and two very annoying computers. Plus we are not getting paid to write this.

The morning came swiftly, and Heero was the first to wake in the room. Relena lay in the bed near him, sleeping soundly and peacefully. She needed the rest. Heero smiled, seeing she was curled up beside himself. He placed his arm around her sleeping form. She didn't stir when he did that. She was usually a light sleeper, ready for anything that might happen, since she was in such a prominent position. Sally walked into the room silently. She wanted to check on the two. Heero turned his head to face her.

"Has anything happened?" Sally asked, looking to Heero and the emaciated figure curled up on the bed with him. "She hasn't woken up, yet…"

"No, and I just woke up," Heero replied.

"I guess it was foolish to hope for a quick recovery," Sally commented.

"Why is everything so quiet? Have they given up, yet?" Heero questioned.

"Quatre thinks they're mobilizing for another attack. We will be prepared as well," she answered.

"They are preparing for the elite troops to be sent in. That is what I think…" he responded.

"Well, we'll have to be even tougher then," Sally said, narrowing her eyes.

"I feel better..." he commented.

"I'm glad," Sally replied, looking to Relena's sleeping form with concern. "I'm more worried about her."

"She worries me as well," he said, stroking her hair. "She barely eats without me asking her to." Relena did not respond to the movement at all.

"I think she's dying, Heero. I don't know if I can stop it," Sally said, sadly. Heero's expression turned to shock as pain gripped his heart. His eyes became as big as saucers, and his upper lip curled up slightly. The color faded from him and fast. He lay there motionless.

"Heero, I'm not even sure if that's the situation! I'm doing the best I can to figure it out..." Sally said, grabbing Heero by the shoulders and trying to console him.

Heero still remained in his world of shock, unable to hear the real world around him. "Re…le…na" he said as he started trembling.

"If we lose her, we also lose him…This is bad," Sally said, closing her eyes. Slowly Heero's eyes lost their shine and glazed over, his heart and mind still paining him.

"It's still all clear. I wonder where they all went," Duo said, entering the room and then seeing Heero. "What's wrong with him?"

"I told him without thinking...I told him I thought Relena was dying," Sally answered.

"Really? That sucks!" Duo said, gawking.

"Now I know why Wufei calls you baka!" Sally replied, slapping Duo. Relena began trembling uncontrollably in her sleep through her link with Heero. She felt his pain and fear.

Choked sobs came from Heero's throat, yet his mouth remained closed. His body jerked with each sob that came. Sally sighed. She reattached the vital monitors back to Heero's body. She also injected a drug in his vein to calm him. "I'm sorry, but you need this..." she said, pulling out the empty syringe.

"Gosh! Man, the dude really does love her!" Duo commented. Heero stopped the choked sobs after a few moments. His trembling ceased, but his face remained the same.

"Duo, just get out of here. I need to run some tests on Relena-sama," Sally replied.

"Hey! I'm not the problem," Duo added, leaving.

Sally begun to conduct her tests, trying every possibility she knew. Relena remained deathly still in the hospital bed with Heero near her in muffled hysterics. Sally left the room to calculate and observe the tests so she could get the results. She returned quickly, looking at the results with apprehension.

"This isn't good.." she said out loud.

Heero's expression still stayed strong. A single choked sob escaped him. He had heard Sally's muttering to herself. "Re…len…a ch…an," he said weakly, forcing the word out. The monitor showed that his pulse was slowly increasing to abnormal levels.

Sally dropped the test results and rushed to Heero, frantically trying to help him. "Heero, you need to relax! Relena's not going to live if you can't get a hold of yourself!" she said, hoping her words got to him. "I can't make your pulse go down to a normal level...That's something I can't do."

His eyes softened a bit as his hand weakly clinched the sheets beneath him. His pulse slowly returned to normal. He turned to face Sally. His expression made him look like a lost child. Sally knew he was hallucinating. His hand trembled slightly as he weakly reached out for her. "Father…don't leave…me," he whispered.

Relena began to wake up, remarkable in her state. Her eyes flutter open, and she noticed Heero's troubled expression. "Heero..." she said, looking to him.

Heero laid his head against his pillow, making very faint cries through his mouth. His hand fell to his side, giving up reaching for whomever he alone, could see. "Re…le…na," he said through the cries. His expression never changed.

Relena held him gently in her weak grasp. "Heero-chan...everything's going to be fine...What's wrong?..." she asked through tears. She hated to see the person she loved so disturbed.

His cries stopped, and his eyes returned to normal. His face remained deadly pale. He looked to her through his now half-closed eyes. "Don't die…" His hand weakly reached up and touched her cheek. It trembled slightly as he did so.

"Heero...what are you talking about...? I'm not going to die," she said, looking at him through confused eyes.

Heero sighed weakly and whined slightly. He was thoroughly exhausted by the ordeal. "She…said…" He motioned his other hand to Sally. The motion was very slight, though.

"Relena.." Sally started, looking at the floor. "He's right...I think you may be dying...I'm sorry." Heero heard this, and his choked sobbing started again. His mouth tried to allow it out, but the sound came from his throat.

Relena looked at him, completely bewildered and in shock. "Heero!" she cried. She looked up at Sally, noticing the papers on the floor. "What do the results say?"

"They're not good...You have cancer, Relena," Sally said, picking up the papers.

"What kind...?" she asked her eyes opening wide in shock.

"It's ovarian...It's spread into other parts of your body. We're going to have to go through intense chemotherapy and radiation," Sally answered. Heero replaced his sobbing with breathing that came in fast, forced gasps.

"It will be alright, Heero...I'm too stubborn to die...You remember, right?" she said, holding his hand comfortingly, placing her body near his.

As if her words brought a cure to him, he returned almost normal. He was almost completely spent of energy, "I... know," his voice a very faint whisper.

"You two never cease to amaze me..." Sally said, walking to the door. "I'm going to tell the others now." Sally walked out of the hospital room and traveled down the hall and down the elevator where the Gundam pilots and the others waited.

Heero struggled to bring his other hand to Relena's other free one. He was completely lost within himself.

Relena took his hand in hers to save his strength. "In case something does happen...you have to survive..." she said.

"I'll…try…to live…for you...then..." he replied.

"I know that, Heero...But you have to succeed...You're stronger than that...so much stronger than I am, Heero..." she said, looking to him with her eyes determined and serious. She brushed a few bangs from his face, planting a passionate kiss on his lips, leaving them there long after the kiss invitingly.

"Then, I...promise…to live…for you…" he breathed.

-Meanwhile with the others-

The other Gundam pilots and Noin with Zechs awaited Sally's arrival for the results, knowing she was going to try some tests.

"Man, I'm telling ya... It doesn't look good for her," Duo commented.

"For once, Duo is right," Sally said, looking at her papers as she entered the room, overhearing Duo's loud comment.

"What's wrong?" Zechs asks, looking downcast. Noin stiffened for the news, readying herself to take whatever information was hurled at them.

"It's really bad, isn't it?..." Quatre questioned.

"Yes, it is. It's ovarian cancer, and it's already present in other parts of her body," Sally answered, nodding.

"Damn it…" Wufei whispered to himself.

"What are we going to do...? She holds this peace together..." Duo said, being completely serious for the first time in his life.

"Hope," Zechs responded, holding back the tears threateningly welling up in his eyes.

"Yes...but this peace is just as fragile as she is..." Noin said, taking Zechs's hand.

"All we can do is pray for her survival. Have you told Heero?" Trowa questioned.

"Unfortunately, I have.. He did not take it well..." Sally said, nodding sadly.

"I can imagine," Quatre added.

"Well, if you don't mind...I will go try and cheer them up..." Wufei said, standing up.

"You'll have a better effect on the two of them than I had," Sally replied.

Wufei nodded and walked towards the elevator. "Anyone else?" he asked.

"Yes, I hope I can be of assistance," Quatre nodded, walking to Wufei. Wufei nodded, and the elevator opened, taking them both up.

"I am going to need some time alone..." Zechs said, walking off to his nearby office.

"Yes...His sister means so much to him," Noin commented, watching his fleeting figure.

-Meanwhile Upstairs-

Relena slowly ran her hands through Heero's hair, trying her absolute best to comfort him, quite odd because she was the one that needed comfort in such circumstances. Wufei and Quatre walked inside the room just as the nurse came by with breakfast. Relena lifted Heero's chin.

"Breakfast is here now..." she whispered to him.

"I'm...not…hungry.." he replied.

"We are sorry. We heard the news from Sally," Wufei said, hinting slightly at his concern for them.

"I'm okay...I guess...But Heero isn't taking it well..." Relena responded, slowly allowing Heero to lay on his back.

"We heard," Quatre said, placing his hand sympathetically over Heero's shoulder.

"Quatre...Wufei.." Heero said, weakly staring at the ceiling, lost.

Quatre felt the emotional pain in his mind and the physical pain it caused Heero. "Ahh...!" Quatre said, grabbing his chest.

Wufei walked over to the bed and stood beside Quatre. "You okay, Quatre?" Wufei asked.

"I'm fine...I've had this power since I was little...to feel other people's emotions...their pain..." Quatre answered.

"I can imagine...Heero, maybe you and Relena should try and eat something. It would get your minds off things," Wufei said. He walked over to the trays and got them, placing one on Relena's lap and other on Heero's. Relena looked at her tray, not having an appetite either.

"Quatre, help me, would you? You take Relena," Wufei said, sitting down beside Heero. Quatre nodded, knowing what Wufei wanted to do.

Wufei picked up Heero's spoon and attempted to get Heero to eat some of the soup. Heero just turned his head and refused. Quatre took a fork and forced some food into Relena's mouth.

"We're going to make sure you get well…" Quatre commented. Relena swallowed the food unwillingly.

Wufei took Heero's chin in his other hand and forced his mouth open. He finally got Heero to swallow. Of course, he made sure he didn't hurt Heero either. "Whether you like it or not...." Wufei finished.

"You guys are going to eat," Quatre said, forcing more food into Relena's mouth.

Relena relented after a short struggle. She no longer had the strength to work against their forceful and healthy bodies. Heero gave up, no longer having the strength either. He opened his mouth slightly each time Wufei brought the spoon to him. Relena did the same, then went completely limp and unconscious as Quatre had only given her half the plate. Heero finally closed his eyes and fell unconscious as well. He could not take down any more than half the bowl of soup.

"It looks like they've had all they can take..." Quatre commented, placing Relena back on the bed.

"Yes, but their appetites aren't good," Wufei added, placing Heero back on the bed as well. "I worry about them."

"Everything depends on them..." Quatre replied. He looked somberly at the figures on the bed, knowing the significance of their lives beyond life itself. Relena lay limply on the bed, her hand resting near Heero's but unable to grasp it. Heero flinched slightly in a troubled dream, his hand near Relena's, shaking.

"I will stay here and watch them," Wufei offered.

"Thank you..." Quatre answered, holding his head in pain. "I don't think I can take much more of this..."

"Be careful, alright? We don't need you sick too," Wufei added.

"I'll be alright...It will be manageable...if I try to keep away…" Quatre said, looking to Wufei. Quatre made his way to the bed and put the two hands together. "This should help…"

"Father..." Heero cried weakly in his sleep. His hand stopped shaking when he felt Relena's. "…help…her.." Relena tightened her grip on Heero's hand.

The wind blew suddenly in the room, despite the fact that the window and door were closed, and the air conditioner wasn't on. The presence of another could be felt in the room. Quatre felt it circling around them all, centering around Relena.

"I hope he can do something," Quatre commented.

Slowly a ghostly man appeared beside Relena's bedside. He stood a few inches taller than Heero. His outfit was clean and neatly placed on. He wore a black collared jacket, which he left unzipped, over a white flannel shirt, also with a collar. He had on khaki jeans that were held up by a black belt. On his feet were ankle high military boots. His blond bangs flowed off to the sides of his head from the part in it. Some bangs touched his naturally tan colored face lightly. He lifted his head and looked at Quatre and Wufei smiling kindly. His eyes were the exact same color as Heero's, Prussian blue. Relena awoke suddenly and stared at the figure above her. He diverts his attention back to her and gazes upon her form.

"Who…?" Relena asked, weakly.

"I'm glad he's here…" Quatre said. The pain in his body stopped. "Wha…?"

"My name is Odin," the man said, answering Relena's question. "…You watch over my son...He needs you.." Odin pointed to Relena.

"Father..." Heero said weakly, still asleep.

"You're...Heero's father..." Relena said, staring wide eyed at the figure.

"His pain called me to him," Odin said, nodding.

"I don't know...if I can take care of him...I'm dying..." Relena replied, her eyes welling up with tears.

"Be strong…for him..." Odin said, waving his hand lightly over Relena's head. "He loves you…" Odin walked around the bed to Heero's side and looked at him. Relena marveled at the ghostly figure, wondering at the ceasing pain.

"I am sorry…for leaving you back then. I should have listened to your advice...Now you must carry on for me..." Odin said, stroking Heero's bangs. His ghostly hands seemed real because they did not pass through his hair. "You have grown so much since then…" Relena smiled at Heero, the person she admired most. "I just hope that I can help...Sleep tight, Odin," Odin stopped stroking Heero's hair and turned to Wufei and Quatre.

"Arigatou, chichi..." Heero said weakly in his sleep.

"We thank you," Quatre said, smiling at the scene. Odin bowed his head in response.

"Repay the favor and make sure Odin lives... Watch over him," Odin said. The wind blew once more and Odin vanished with its fading passage. "I love you, my son..." his voice faded with the wind.

Relena held Heero's hand tightly in hers. A smile came to Heero's face, and he looked peaceful, squeezing Relena's hand back. Relena fell back asleep beside Heero's form, the pain coming back when Odin left.

"That guy's name was Odin, but why he call Heero 'Odin?'" Wufei asked.

"It sounds as if that was his name before he took on the alias Heero Yuy. I always thought it was odd that his name was the same as the colonial hero..." Quatre answered, holding his head again in pain. "Yes...It's all tied together...."

"To peace be at rest…Watch over her, spirits…And help her heal..." Odin's voice said. A small sparkle appeared from above Relena and softly landed on her as someone blew it on her. "My gift to you, Odin." Relena suddenly became a healthier shade of color.

"What happened?" Quatre asked as his pain left as well.

"I thank him, wherever he may be...He must have answered Heero's plea... Odin…That name rings a bell..." Wufei replied.

"Hmm...Well, I remember looking through my records, and there was an Odin Lowe there..." Quatre said, scratching his head.

"Assassin of Heero Yui, the pacifist…right?" Wufei questioned. "It came by in the Barton Family's records that they kept."

"That was right!" Quatre said, snapping his fingers.

"So that means our Heero is Odin Lowe, Jr..." Wufei replied.

"Things are certainly starting to get even more interesting...Seems like we're going to have to stop the Barton clan once and for all," Quatre stated.

"Yes...Whatever grudge they hold against them…it must be stopped," Wufei added. "Let's go get Sally and the others. No one must know of Odin or Junior here..."

"Yes...I don't think either of them wants us to say anything about it," Quatre said, walking out the door. Wufei soon followed suit behind Quatre.

Relena shifted in the bed and held Heero tightly. "I'll always…protect…you.."

Heero smiled feeling his father's presence and Relena's stronger self. "Arigatou gozaimasu…"

"Heero…" Relena said, smiling in her sleep.

"Relena-chan…" Heero said in his sleep.

-Meanwhile Downstairs-

Quatre and Wufei arrived downstairs where everyone was worriedly waiting for Quatre and Wufei to return.

"Wuffers and Qu-man back!' Duo cried.

"I don't know how you can say such things in a time like this," Quatre started.

"Oh no, she's not…" Duo said, his face paling.

"She can't be…" Zechs choked.

"I'm sorry, I gave you the wrong idea," Quatre said, waving his hands a little wildly. "Wufei, why don't you do the honors?"

"Man, don't do that! I just lost ten years of my life for that!" Duo screamed.

"Somehow, Relena has gotten better..." Wufei said, ignoring Duo.

"Do you mean she's well somehow?" Zechs asked, standing up.

"Well, we fed them, and in her sleep her vitals went up and she regained color…" Wufei answered.

"Strange...And you don't know how this happened?" Noin asked, looking at them in confusion. Wufei shook his head in response.

Noin dismissed it, although knowing something else was going on. "Well, at least she is doing better..."

"Sally, you hear that?!" Duo yelled much too loudly.

"What's going on?" Sally asked, coming into the room.

"Relena's doing better!" Duo cried for joy.

"Oh...That's great! How did it happen?" Sally said, smiling.

"We don't know...It just did...Why don't you come and see?" Wufei said. Sally nodded.

"I'd like to see this…" Sally said, walking toward them, motioning everyone to go.

"This is a bit suspicious," Zechs commented.

Wufei and Quatre reentered the elevator, followed by everyone else. They reached the room in no time. Heero still had a smile on his face.

"See?" Wufei asked.

"Well, I'll be!" Duo said, going up to Heero and peering at him oddly. "Weird…"

"This is good...but I'm still wondering why this happened," Sally commented. Heero's head lolled to the side, turning his smile into one that held a secret. The monitors read better information, although they did not read that she was completely in health again.

"Well, how much better is she? And why is he smiling like that?" Zechs asked, walking beside his sister.

"Looks like he might know something you don't, Zechs," Noin answered, smirking slightly. Heero laughed very slightly in his sleep.

"He is mocking me…" Zechs said, narrowing his eyes.

"Milliardo..." Relena said, waking up, feeling her brother's presence.

"Relena…" he said in response.

"Don't worry about me...I'll be alright..." she said, smiling weakly at him. Zechs smiled back.

"In other words, I guess you're telling him to lay off," Noin commented.

"That is not very nice," Zechs said.

"Well...it's the truth...You're too protective..." Relena added. Slowly, Heero opened his eyes. Still a bit tired, but awake, his smile still there. Relena looked back at Heero lovingly. "I'm glad...you're alright..."

"Hn…still tired, though...and the same to you..." Heero answered, half smiling.

"This is great! Heero in the same bed with Relena!! I wonder what they've been doing!" Duo exclaimed.

"Shut up, baka!" Wufei said, pulling Duo's braid.

"Ow! Just stating the obvious here!" Duo retorted.

"Duo…remind me to hurt you when I feel better..." Heero commented.

"I'm not that stupid!" Duo quipped. Heero laughed slightly at the comment. The thing was, it sounded like more than one person was laughing. Relena giggled and then started coughing. Quatre noticed the second laugh and smiled slightly, trying not to hint to the others. Wufei nodded to Quatre and hid a half smile. Quatre felt the pain in Relena's body again, but it was much less, and he was able to hide it mostly, but not completely, from the others.

"Quatre, what's wrong?" Trowa asked.

"It's just...I can feel all the pain she's feeling...I'm okay, though..." Quatre replied.

"Are you sure...you're alright?..." Relena asked and started coughing again.

"So you haven't recovered completely...We'll need to keep you here, then..." Zechs commented. Heero looked to Relena and began to move his hand. He looked down at it and saw a small piece of paper. He closed his palm, hoping no one saw but him. Relena noticed the small piece of paper as the coughing spell diminished. Relena looked at him for a moment, but she masked her expression from the others, Heero the only one able to read it. Her face told him that he needed to tell her what it said after everyone left.

"Maybe we should let them rest..." Wufei commented.

"Yes...Perhaps we should..." Zechs answered, nodding reluctantly.

"Relax...Heero will take care of her along with Sally," Noin said, placing her hand on Zechs's shoulder.

"Yes…" Relena said, clutching Heero's arm. The other soon left.

"I need to thank your father…" Relena said, looking to Heero.

"He knows... He comes to me in my dreams every now and then when I feel lost," Heero replied.

"I'll still protect you...I've got my own mission to fulfill..." she said, holding him more closely.

"So do I," he commented, bringing the piece of paper to his face.

"What does it say?" she asked, smiling at him.

"I held you once…then you walked...I taught you the only profession, I knew...Still, you spawned wings and flew... Now guide those wings to others…and mend those of the broken...This is the last request…of the idiot.. who fired a single shot…and changed the course of history…" Heero said, reading the note. Heero could hear his father reading the note to him as he read it himself.

"Your father regrets what he did.." Relena commented, looking at the note in awe.

"He always did…" Heero replied.

"Even more remorse than what you felt for accidentally killing Field Marshall Noventa...." she added.

"He always had a big heart...He wants me to help him repent for what he did...and for what I've done..." he responded.

"I can tell...You inherited that, Heero..." Relena commented.

"Thank you," Heero responded.

She put her head on his shoulder, holding him close with her arms, arms that had bones protruding out. "It' s the least I can do...compared to what you...have done for me..."

"You know what I must do," Heero added.

She looked up at him, her eyes afraid for him. "And what will you do in response to that must?" she asked.

"I will lay to rest his soul by taking down the last of the Barton Foundation, the ones that caused him to do what he did," he answered.

She held him even more closely with her frail body. "Yes...but you must come back alive...I can't live without you..."

"He wouldn't let me walk into something to get me killed..." Heero replied.

"Then he's very wise...I'm sorry about all the pain you've had to go through..." Relena responded.

"So I will return," Heero replied. He lifted her chin and placed a kiss on her lips.

She looked up into his Prussian blue gaze, stunned. "Heero…?" Heero looked at her and smiled. He started to rise from the bed. She looked up, raising her hand. "I love you…Heero…"

"Aishiteru, Relena," he said, taking her raised hand. "I will go to my room and change. I will get my gun and move out... Don't tell anyone, please..." He removed the machine hooked up to himself. "And don't worry, I won't be fighting alone…You stay and get better for my return..."

"You had better return...I'll haunt you when I die if you don't," Relena commented, smiling.

"I will protect him..." Odin's voice said.

"I will live for you, Heero," Relena replied. She felt the pain in her bones again. "Ahh…"

"I understand..." Odin's voice stated. "Odin, its time for us to show what the Barton's nightmare really is...Good-bye, Relena..."

"Ja ne..." Relena said, going unconscious and utterly exhausted.

Heero smiled, leaving the room. A small wind left with him as well.

----To Be Continued...