Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Eternal Promises ❯ Part 7 ( Chapter 7 )

Disclaimer : I've never claimed to own Gundam Wing, or it's affiliated characters, so you can't sue me for that. I'm mearly borrowing them for my entertainment, and shall return them upon compleation of this fic, . . . perhaps ^_^. I do however stake claim to all original characters I happen to throw in here, and to this particular story.

Eternal Promises

By Eden

Part 7

No one moved for what seemed like an eternity after the screen went black. They couldn't quite understand how all of this could've happened. How is it possible that only two days after being kidnapped so efficiently, that the Vice Foreign Minister's captors wanted to release her with no conditions?

Zecks frowned. Relena herself had told them the kidnappers wishes to use her to draw out someone else. That they had not hurt her and were now releasing her was evidence that whoever it was had indeed come out of hiding. Relena's safety concerned so many people that it wasn't surprising.

Of course what everyone probably knew already, was that the person the kidnappers were trying to draw out was either himself or Heero. No one else had been trying to hide their existence from the world like they had.

He shook his head and looked over at the dark haired young man who at the present time was turned away from him. During the war he had seen this boy fight, and seen him die with no thought of how others would react to his death. He had been the perfect soldier then. One who fought and followed orders without concern for his own safety.

Well, that was what he had made them all believe. That may have been how he fought the war in the beginning, Noin had told him Relena's stories about Heero's death threats, but he didn't need Noin to tell him that after a while those death threats stopped, and his reason for fighting changed.

Even while he and Heero competed for mastery over their mobile suits, Heero's mind was always focused on other things. Now he was ashamed to think about it, but he had only been concerned about the fight, and about defeating the boy in the Gundam who would make him the ultimate victor. It had always been Heero who had been thinking about the greater good, about the things he himself should've been thinking about. Heero had always been the one who had protected Relena.

In some ways Zecks had never really deemed himself worthy to be her brother, or the one to protect her. That may have been the reason why he had left right after the war, leaving her to believe he was dead, and then why he only returned during Mariemaia's coup-de-tat. There couldn't possibly be any room in her life for a person who betrayed the beliefs of his family and whose hands were so stained with blood.

Despite being his rival during the war, Zecks had never really hated Heero Yuy. Instead, he had felt an understanding with him, especially when it came to his sister.

By now Heero had stepped forward, and had begun to type away on the laptop again. A moment later he cleared the screen and turned off the computer.

Sally, who was standing on the other side of Noin, took a step forward, "Were you able to find out where they were?"

Heero shook his head, "The computer that sent the message here wasn't the computer that originated the message. It was relayed by satellite link up, and is untraceable unless I can physically get to the computer." For the first time since the screen went blank, he turned around to face the room. There was a serious look on his face that seemed to appear anytime Relena or the kidnapping had been mentioned.

"The reason why the other precaution didn't work was because it was sent out by software that was homemade. No locater numbers means that theirs nothing to trace."

"So basically," Duo said leaning against a nearby table with his arms crossed, "We're shit outta luck."

"Hn." The look hadn't left his face, but had actually gotten worse.

Sally was beginning to look like she was formulating a plan of action. Suddenly something that looked like hard determination flashed across her blue eyes. "Well it really doesn't look like they've left us with any options. We have no choice but to do as they have instructed, and get to Belgium by noon tomorrow so we can get Relena back. After we have her back here, we'll have a few more options."

"How soon do we leave?" Trowa had been standing behind the group, silently watching the events unfold.

Zecks didn't know about anyone else, but to him, the former Heavyarms pilot had always been the most unpredictable of the five. The fact that he had come to Earth to join them on this rescue operation was proof enough to that. He didn't even know if he had ever cared about or known Relena all that well, and yet here he was, eagerly asking when they were going to head out.

He would never cease to be amazed.

"We'll have to arrange for the transportation to get us there, but I'd say within the next couple of hours we should be able to leave." Wufei straitened, and seemed to take charge of this part of the operation.

"Right," Sally agreed with her partner, "But before we rush into this, we really should think about who is going to go on this pick up. We can't have all of us going and walking into what could be a trap, and not have anyone left for back up."

"The logical thing to do would be to divide ourselves up into two groups. The first group will go in and secure the building. If things are secure, then they will also retrieve Relena, and leave. The second group is our back up for in case the whole thing is a trap. They will be coming twenty minutes behind the first group, and if there are problems, they well move into position around the first group. The only thing we need to do is decide who will be in which group." Quatre seemed to have taken over in the strategic department. He had devised a perfectly workable plan that would work well for the present situation.

Without meaning to, Zecks turned up the corner of his mouth in an amused smile. He was impressed at the speed that this was all being accomplished, and glad as well. They didn't have time to argue about the course of action.

"I'll go in the first group."

Now that had defiantly been expected. Without turning to look, Zecks knew that it had been Heero who had spoken.

"I will as well." He answered the young man, still without raising his head to look back. "She is my sister after all."

He could feel Noin beside him shifting her weight. "Well if your both going in the first group, then I'll go in the second group." She leaned closer to his ear and whispered, "Someone has to watch your back."

That was enough to make him finally raise his head up to look at her. She was too good for him.

Zecks had been telling himself that for years, and that was partially why he had left after the last battle of the Eve wars without so much as a good-bye. He had thought that it would be best for her if she forgot about him and moved on. Of course, when he had made his appearance during Mariemaia's coup-de-tat, and found that she had waited for him, he was secretly pleased.

She was perhaps the only woman in the world who knew about his tangled past, and didn't hold it against him. She was the only person whom he could absolutely trust.

He nodded at her, catching her eye for a moment, and then looked back as Sally spoke.

"Well, you'll need someone with you, so I'll be in the second group." The two women smiled at one another.

"I've never been one to stay back and let others have all of the fun. I'm defiantly going in the first group." Duo grinned his classic fighting grin.

"You'll need at least one Preventers member with you," Wufei said, something like determination flashing across his face. "I'll go in the first group."

"I will too." Trowa spoke up as everyone else had.

Sally crossed her arms, "Well that looks after the first group. The second group will also consist of four more Preventers, and that should even things out."

"Now we have to contact Commander Une to let her know our plan, and to arrange transportation. It should be a couple of hours before we're ready to go." Wufei answered the unasked question of what they were going to do now.

Without waiting to see if anything else was going to be brought up, or discussed, Zecks watched as Heero started towards the door.

"Where are you going?" He asked the young man, who seemed intent on retreating to the hallway.

"For a walk." He answered without stopping or turning around. "I'll be back in an hour."

As he closed the door behind himself, Duo pushed himself up from the table he'd been leaning against and took a step forward.

"Is it just me, or dose he seem even more murderous than usual?"

"Heero's realized the same thing that I have." Zecks crossed his arms across his chest as he felt Noin put her hand in the middle of his back. "He knows that the only two people that this group could be interested in drawing out of hiding would be one of us. We were the only ones who were deep in hiding, and wouldn't have been easy to find."

"But why would anyone want to draw either of you out though?" Sally had been packing up the laptop.

Zecks just stood where he was, without moving. "That's the only thing that we need to wait to find out. It could be for so many different things that I would hate to venture a guess."

"I suppose we'll worry about getting Relena back first before we get into that." Sally zipped up the bag and looked around the room. "Well, if you will excuse us for now we should go and report to Commander Une." She flashed a smile, and then walked out of the room with Wufei following, deep in thought.

Duo didn't waste anytime. A moment later he strode from the room with his hands crossed behind his head, muttering something about finding a vid-phone.

Quatra came over and began speaking with Noin about something. Zecks didn't pay any attention. He had walked towards the balcony doors, seeing that the sky was already dark, not surprising considering what time it was. He reached out a hand to unlock the latch and push the door open. He felt the cool wind ruffle his bangs and push his long hair up off of his shoulders. Inhaling deeply he went outside and moved towards the balcony rail.

Something he never realized while he was up working on Mars was how much he could miss the Earth. The artificial atmospheres of the colonies were carefully moderated to imitate Earth's weather, but the wind was never quite the same.

Taking another deep breath, Zecks allowed his head to drop as he gripped the cement railing with both hands. `Relena,' Heero closed his eyes tightly and thought, `how could this happen to you? I should've been there to protect you.'

Zecks lifted his head and opened his eyes, the stars winked down at him. He spoke aloud, "Can you ever forgive me sister?"

"I doubt she thinks that there is anything to forgive you for."

Startled, he turned around to see Noin coming to stand beside him at the railing. She looked over at him and smiled.

"I think that she would be more happy to see you than angry that you weren't here."

"But I should have been here to prevent this from happening at all. What good and I to her if I can't even do that?"

Noin turned towards him and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "In some ways I know your sister better than you do. She wouldn't want you worrying over things that there is no use worrying over."

He sighed and looked over her face, taking in its subtleties. "Your right, I don't know what she would say about my worrying of course, but your right about how you know my sister better than I do."

"You could do something about that," Her voice spoke into his ear. "It wouldn't be that difficult."

"I know," He said, "But would she want me around now? After I've spent so much of my life trying to stay away from her?"

He watched as she raised her eyes to look at the star splattered sky. "I think that she would want the chance to know her older brother. I also think that it would be good for her to know about the family she never had the chance to know."

She lowered her eyes to meet his once more. "I think that you need to have someone who you can share your feelings with, and your past."

Zecks knew what she was saying. It wasn't that she didn't care about him, but she knew that there were something's that he needed to share and explain to his younger sister. Things about the decisions he made, and about the family she had come from. It was something that he had wanted to do for a long time, but he had never felt like it was the right time.

"Sometimes," He said bringing his arms around her to hold her against his chest. "I think you know me better than I know myself."

He heard her muffle a giggle into his shoulder, and then she answered, "It's cause I do."

Heero stood down on the garden looking up at the balcony where Zecks and Noin were embracing one another. They looked so happy being in each other's arms, almost as if they were the only two people in the world who mattered.

A funny feeling came up and gripped his chest and he forced himself to advert his eyes. What was wrong with him? Ever since he had seen Relena's face on that computer screen he had felt something grip inside of him. It was like he was in pain, but he wasn't.

Bringing a hand up to cover his eyes, he willed the feeling to go away. Now wasn't the time to assess his feelings, it had to wait until Relena was safe.

Slowly he lowered his hand and raised his head to stair at the moon to clear his head. "I can't allow my emotions to get in the way."

"Sure, I mean you wouldn't want anyone to think you were human." A familiar male voice came from behind him.

Up until that point Heero had thought he was alone in the garden, but he had obviously been mistaken. Had he really been out of the game so long that he had lost his edge? Lowering his head, he turned around just enough to see a darkened figure leaning up against a tree with his arms crossed across his chest.

"Don't tell me," The figure spoke again, his face shadowed by the black baseball cap he wore, "That I managed to surprise the perfect soldier."

Heero looked back up at the moon. "How did you find me, Duo?"

"I left right after you did, and it wasn't hard to figure where you would go, even if I hadn't been following you." Heero listened as Duo stood up and moved away from the tree. "I came to see how you were doing. The tension in that room earlier was so thick you could cut it with a knife."

In the dark, Heero could feel a small smile creeping to his lips. The braded pilot always had something to say to lighten his mood, and even though he would never freely admit this to anyone, whatever it was that Duo said usually made him feel a lot better.

When he didn't say anything Duo came to stand beside him. "So what are you thinking about?"

"Nothing."

"Oh, come on! You must think I'm the biggest dumb-ass in the world!" He shoved an elbow into Heero's side, "Your thinking about Relena, aren't you?"

If it hadn't been so dark, Heero would've been able to see the large grin on his face, but fortunately, he was saved this time. Another annoying talent that Duo seemed to possess was the ability to peg his thoughts. It was if he always knew what he was thinking about, even when he didn't say a word. This time was no acceptation.

Duo sighed. "Heero, I don't know why you torture yourself like this. Why don't you just tell her how you feel?"

"I don't know how I feel thought." He answered quickly.

"Do you care about her?"

He could feel Duo's eyes on him, and the careful scrutiny he was under.

"I-," Heero stammered, not sure what he should say. On one hand he wanted to say yes; he did care for Relena, and get the admission off of his chest. On the other hand though, he didn't know what it would mean if he opened himself up like that.

He could remember the advice that Odin had passed down to him the day he had died. `Follow your emotions,' He had said. `That's the only way to live a good life.' Those words had gotten him through the war with his sanity intact. He had been able to use them in every aspect of his life, except when it came to dealing with his feelings for Relena.

"Well?" Duo prompted, his words interrupting his train of thought.

"I don't know how I feel about her. I care about her, but I don't know what that means." He told the braided pilot truthfully.

"You're joking, right? I mean, she goes missing and you come charging in determined to get her back just like you never lift, and you expect me to believe that you don't know what kind of feelings you have for her?"

"It's not like I've spent a lot of time thinking about my feelings or her."

"Heero, how can you not think about her or how you feel? Here's a girl who is beautiful, smart, powerful, and respected, who most importantly cares about you. You're the luckiest man in the world, and you don't even want to think about it." He shook his head as he said the last part.

Duo was right of course. Relena did care about him even he knew that. She had never done anything to make him think otherwise. It had never been anything that she had done to keep him away, but rather how he was so unsure himself.

"She's a good person," Heero turned his eyes towards the ground, "And she needs someone who can look after her the way she deserves."

"As if you couldn't!" Duo threw up his arms in aspiration. "You've got to stop with this whole righteous soldier routine if you ever want to get anywhere with her. You can only take that so far before you have to admit your real feelings to yourself and her."

Heero didn't answer. He had stopped trying to come up with things to say to Duo, and instead was now concentrating on merely what he was saying. Everything was true, he couldn't hide his feelings forever, but he didn't know when he would be comfortable enough to tell anyone what they were, if he could even admit them to himself.

Duo was continuing on, without pausing for breath. "If everything goes well tomorrow, them you should be able to spend some time with Relena. You know, even if you don't say anything about your feelings but just talk to her for a while, I think that it would mean a lot her."

His posture had grown rigid. He began to think about things that could happen that would keep them from rescuing Relena. Of course, there was always a risk of failure, but it wasn't helping matters to think about them all right now. Still, he couldn't help narrowing his eyes a little at the thought of something keeping him from her, and made himself vow that he would do whatever he had to in order to ensure her safety.

"Of course we'll get her back without any problems of things go according to plan, and maybe even if they don't. I've never been one to stick to the plane, after all. I just hope that we're not to rusty at rescue missions." Heero could hear the anticipation in his voice, and the confidence that they would be able to complete the mission.

It made him feel better to know the other pilots had confidence in their abilities as a group. It had been a long time since there had been a chance for them to work together like this on a mission, and Heero was sure that the years apart wouldn't change the way they anticipated each other's actions. That would help a lot if they were doing nothing more than walking into a trap.

Duo had been quiet for a long moment now, and the two young men had been standing in silence, both looking up at the silvery moon. Heero was a little surprised at the braded pilots silence since he rarely ever stopped talking, but he put it down to pre-mission nervousness, not that any of the pilots had been know to suffer from it.

He had been so deep in though, that he didn't even notice when Duo turned his head to look at his face. When he did see him out of the corner of his eye he asked him why he was staring at him like that.

"I was wondering if you guys ate anything on that long shuttle ride from Mars."

Heero thought for a moment, before answering that they hadn't been thinking much about food while they were in the shuttle, having been far to preoccupied with other thoughts.

Even in the dark there was no mistaking the large grin that spread across Duo's face. "Well then you wouldn't mind accompanying me to the kitchen to see what sort of food we can rustle up, would you?"

That grin was contagious, and even Heero wasn't surprised when the corner of his mouth turned up slightly. "Sure."

His grin only got wider, "Great! I've been dying to sneak a peak at the sort of stuff they have in that great big kitchen downstairs." He had begun to walk away back towards the house, listing off all of the things he hoped he could find in the cupboards.

Heero hung back for a moment and took one last look up to the night sky. "I'm coming for you Relena, I'm coming to bring you home."