Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Eyes Cold As Death ❯ Eighteen ( Chapter 18 )

Eyes Cold As Death

Chapter Eighteen -- Aftermath

Heero gently laid Relena on the waiting gurney, quietly watching as the paramedics loaded her into the ambulance. He rubbed his arms and started to turn away when a paramedic placed a hand on his shoulder.

"She's asking for you." Heero nodded and climbed into the ambulance. The paramedics had already been hard at work, for an IV was already set up and she was being placed into a neckbrace. Another paramedic was taking her vitals. Heero leaned over her, attempting to stay out of the paramedics' way.

"Relena?" He whispered, his eyes searching her face. Blood matted her hair to her head and her face was too pale, probably from blood loss and shock.

"Heero." Her eyes fluttered and her lips spread in a small smile. She grasped at his hand, weakly curling her fingers around his. He brushed hair from her face. "Thank you, Heero." Her eyes slipped closed and a trembling sigh escaped her lips. He lowered his head in grief. His hand was guided to Relena's lips and he felt her place a small kiss on his bloodied knuckles. He glanced up at her, his head still bent. She smiled again, this time a wide smile that seemed to crack her dry lips. Her eyes were cold, and she gripped his hand with an invisible strength. Her voice was raspy and cold.

"I'm giving you official support and orders from the World Nation Council. These orders are to be carried out in any manner appropriate. As Lady Une is injured, I am appointing you as Acting Head of the Preventer Organization." Heero licked his lips and nodded, waiting for Relena to continue. "I am giving official sanction to neutralize the threat to the World Nation. I said this lucidly and under my own control. No one is influencing this decision. Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly, Miss. President." Relena nodded, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. Her smile thinned out, becoming a ghost of what it usually was.

"Off record, Heero, I want you to completely obliterate the Eagle Squadron. I want nothing but ashes to remain. This was the last straw." She let go of his hand. "I leave it to you, now." He nodded numbly. What about your policy of pacifism? What about your aversion to war? Why all of the sudden this dramatic change? Is it because of the bomb? He wanted to ask these questions and more, but found all he could do was tell her to get better in a shaky voice and attempt to exit gracefully from the ambulance. He stepped away from the ambulance, his hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose. He bent his head again and cradled his elbow in his other hand. He stood there; listening to the ambulance as it cried its way from the ruins of HQ. Before him, firemen were battling the blaze as the flames took a life of their own, feeding off of the ruined concrete and steel supports. Water flared from tense hoses, sweeping gracefully across the inferno. Wufei stepped up to him, turning to face the fire.

"Will she be okay?" Heero nodded, still pinching the bridge of his nose. "Une was just taken to the hospital as well. They said that, assuming there was no internal bleeding, she would recover shortly. Her injuries were minimal except for her head injury. A couple of days of observation and she would be released." Heero found that he didn't care, but refrained himself from stating so.

"President Dorlan gave the Preventers permission to neutralize the enemy using any means necessary." Wufei didn't answer. "Officially." He felt, rather than saw Wufei's head turn sharply toward him. Wufei opened his mouth to speak, but closed it instead. He nodded thoughtfully and turned back to watch the flames devour the remains of Preventer HQ. There was a disturbance over by the main entrance, a ripple flooded through the crowd of emergency workers. Heero turned away, looking thoughtfully in the direction the ambulances had gone. He felt Wufei's hand on his shoulder.

"It will be okay, Heero." Wufei's voice claimed that it wouldn't and Heero spun on Wufei, hands clenching at his side, teeth grating, hissing.

"How? How will it be okay? One of my best friends is dead. I cannot take that back. I cannot just press rewind and return to happy days. Life is not okay. It is shit. Pure stinking shit. Relena will most likely never walk again, Quatre will never hold Trowa again, Duo still wakes up from nightmares and Trowa will never breathe again. What has befallen you? And what has befallen me? How much more are we to be put through? How much more do we have to suffer before this bullshit will end?" Heero raised his fists to his temples. "What the hell did we ever do to deserve this?" He screamed, shouting at the uncaring sky. Quietly and brokenly, he repeated: "What did we ever do?" Wufei wrapped his arms around Heero, pulling him close. Heero let go, pouring all of his fear and frustration into his tears as he sobbed into Wufei's shoulder. He clutched at Wufei, weeping out his grief and his pain. Wufei whispered words of comfort in a tear-clogged voice.

"We will survive, we always do. It's okay. It will be okay…" He felt as though he were a lone flame, flickering unsteadily on a bent wick, trying to escape the rising liquid wax before it snuffed him out, drowning him so he couldn't burn. He was a candle about to burn out. But he didn't want to burn out; he wanted to fight, to live. In light of this recent event, he would fight, he would end this. His sobs slowly calmed down, and he began to breathe easier, his chest no longer hitching in spasms. Wufei held him at arm's length. Heero wiped his eyes.

"You look like shit, Yuy." Heero managed a weak smile.

"Thanks." Wufei frowned.

"I was being serious. We need to get you checked out. You're bleeding like a sack of shit." Wufei led Heero over to where some paramedics were working behind an open ambulance. Heero dug in his heels.

"No. I can't afford hospital time. We need to…"

"Shut up." Wufei pushed him toward the ambulance. "I won't let them load you up, but you do need to get checked out. That head wound is serious, and you can't help anybody if you're dead from blood loss." He allowed Wufei to push him down on the rear bumper of the ambulance and push a cloth against his forehead. He took the time to actually study Wufei. His uniform was torn and dirty, soot brushed over the fabric. There was wet and dried blood along the fraying edges of some of the rips. Wufei's face was scratched lightly and his eyes were red and puffy from smoke irritation and crying. Old tear tracks cut lines in the soot and ash that coated his face. Heero realized that he probably looked worse.

"Wufei?" A shocked and relieved female voice called out. Wufei turned, a smile spreading over his features. "Wufei!" Sally ran through the crowd, jumping against Wufei who caught her, smashing her against him in a desperate hug.

"Oh, Sally, oh God." Heero heard Wufei whisper into her neck. Sally leaned back, cupping Wufei's face in both hands and kissed him. Heero averted his face, not wanting to intrude on their reunion.

"Wufei, I was so scared. I was on my way in when I felt the explosion. They say that it was a bomb, but outside of that no one knows what's going on." Wufei chuckled, brushing his hand over her cheek.

"Shhh. Its okay." They kissed again, and Heero's heart tightened. He grieved for Trowa. Trowa would never hold Quatre, kissing him, loving him. Trowa was gone.

"Where's Trowa and Duo?" Heero closed his eyes at the mention of Trowa's name, breathing a startling sigh of relief when Duo's name was mentioned. Duo had stayed home. Thank God, Duo had stayed at home. Heero heard Wufei's strained reply as though it were his own.

"Trowa's gone, Sally."

"Gone?" Sally's voice broke in fear. Heero turned his gaze to her.

"Dead." Heero croaked before burying his face in his hands and giving into the grief.

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There was a man in a toga standing over him. He was shouting something muffled over his shoulder. Duo squinted at the Toga Man, trying to understand what he was doing here. Toga Man turned back to him and kneeled down beside him.

"Hold on, sir, help is coming. We'll get you out of here." Toga Man's voice was muffled, as though it were coming from underneath a mask. Duo reached up and rubbed his eyes with fingers and thumb. He looked again at the Toga Man and realized that it was a fireman, complete with protective clothing, heavy coat, nifty hat and a respirator. Duo squeezed his eyes shut and then opening them, trying to figure out if he was hallucinating. It was a fireman.

"Wha'?" Duo managed, shifting slightly as he tried to comprehend what was happening. The fireman reached out to hold Duo still.

"Just hold on." The fireman reassured. Duo tried to move, but his body screamed in protest. He felt like a giant bruise. "Don't move, sir, you're hurt."

"Yea, I can feel that." He moaned in petulance. He felt water misting over him and he craned his head to attempt to see why. He could see dying embers glowing in the rain. It looked as though a volcano had erupted and rain had stilled the lava flow. But when he blinked to look again, he realized that he was looking at the twisted and disgruntled remains of the hall, the wide gaping maw at the end being the cafeteria. Water was raining down, but it looked more like a shower than a rainstorm, and the cooling lava was simply charred and blacken concrete from the flames that were slowly being forced to submit to the shower spray.

Pain blossomed in front of his vision in bright colored streaks as he tried to see further. He groaned and laid his head back down. White sparks danced in front of his eyes as the world was reduced to TV snow. He placed his hand gently on his forehead, crying out as he moved his left arm.

"I think my arm is broken." The fireman nodded in affirmation. "Heero once set his own leg. You're not going to make me set my own bone, are you?"

"No." They lapsed into silence. Duo tried to focus on anything except for the pain.

"Can I have some aspirin?" He pleaded with the fireman still hovering above him. There was an abrupt nod.

"Once we get you out of here and to an ambulance." Several more firemen showed up, and Duo gazed long and hard at each one making sure that they weren't Toga Men, too, but they all were firemen, and Duo closed his eyes, wishing that the TV snow would go away. It only made his head hurt more.

He didn't know when it was that they had gotten him outside, but he flinched from the harsh light, pain spreading throughout his head. He was strapped to a stretcher, and was being carried over to something he couldn't see. He had learned quickly enough not to crane his neck to see. He didn't need the nausea accompanying the pain. He was placed before an ambulance and suddenly Sally's face entered his limited vision.

"Duo! Heero said that you were at home." Duo tried to shrug, his shoulders hampered by the neckbrace the firemen had insisted he wear.

"I was, then I came here." Duo smiled, feeling slightly nauseous from his stretcher ride from the lower level of the decimated HQ. "Can I get out of this thing so I can puke? Please?" Sally sprang into action, helping him sit up. The nausea flooded over him like a wave and he threw up. After emptying his stomach and dry heaving a few times, he felt well enough to sit up on his own and gently waved Sally away. He wiped his mouth, grimacing at the bitter taste in his mouth. "Can I have some water?" Sally turned to a paramedic who was hovering uncertainly around. She pressed a paper cup into his hands. He fumbled it to his lips. He drank greedily, the cool water refreshing his parched throat. He set the cup down, wincing as he moved his injured arm. He asked the question he had ventured into the dying building to answer.

"Is Heero…is he…is…" He found that his throat closed on the words, locking them tightly inside. Sally understood anyway and nodded sadly.

"Heero is fine. Beat up, but fine. According to Wufei, Heero lost a fight with a flying desk. He took most of the momentum from the desk before it had a chance to hit Relena." Sally fell into an uncomfortable silence. Duo stuffed the fingers of his good hand between his neck and the brace, wriggling them around until they eased the itch.

"What are you not telling me, Sally." He tried to blink away the TV snow, but it stubbornly remained to block most of his vision. He resisted the urge to shake his head, knowing somehow that the movement would only make things worse.

"Wufei had minimal injuries, Une has a concussion, maybe some internal bleeding." She trailed off, leaving Duo scowling at her.

"Sally," He hadn't intended to whine, but his plea had turned into a whine anyway. She turned, startled to stare at him. He cleared his throat uncertainly.

"Heero is fine, Duo. He's fine." Duo swallowed hard, trying to get past the lump that was growing in his throat.

"You aren't telling me everything. Where's Quatre, he and I entered the building together." Sally narrowed her eyes at him. Apparently she didn't know Quatre had been here, he thought.

"I haven't seen Quatre, but Trowa is…" Her words were silenced, but he could see her lips form the word: dead. Everything froze. He didn't breathe.

"Trowa?" His voice was small, uncertain, like that of a child's. Breath hissed out of his lungs, and he failed to fill them back up. The water pouring from the hoses slowed. The light intensified. The hoarse shouts from the firemen grew hollow and distant.

He picked himself up from the ground and turned to the paramedic. He held out his injured arm.

"I think I broke it. Can you fix it?" His voice was hollow and faraway in his own ears, but he ignored everything. He couldn't trust his hearing. Trowa couldn't be dead. None of them could die. It was forbidden. The paramedic placed a brace over his arm. It was an impossibility; Trowa just could not be dead. This was just a hallucination, just like when he mistook the fireman for some guy in a toga. He turned away from the ambulance after the paramedic finished. Sally stood silently, arms crossed over her chest.

"Duo, you need hospital care. You are in shock." Duo smiled calmly at her.

"Of course I'm in shock, Sally, but I need to go." She raised an eyebrow at his sweet sounding voice.

"Go? Where?"

"I need to get Deathscythe." Sally shook her head and stepped closer to him. She placed her hands on his shoulders, gazing at him with sympathy, sorrow and grief.

"You have a broken arm and possibly a concussion, Duo. You need medical attention."

"Screw medical attention!" He shouted, the TV snow becoming momentarily thicker. "I need Deathscythe!" Duo brushed past Sally, a little disorientated by his sudden outburst.

"Duo!" He spun around; barely catching himself as his body threatened to overbalance.

"NO!" He bellowed, startling Sally. "I will not sit here with my thumb up my ass while fucking pieces of horse shit wander around blowing me and my friends up!" He balled up his good hand into a fist and shook it threateningly at Sally, his anger steadying him. "I need my fucking Gundam so I can go shove my fucking scythe up their assholes so I can watch them squirm in agony for what they have done." He was a creature of rage at this point, and he needed to take out his aggression on someone or something, and the Eagle Squadron was a good place to start.

"How many people must I loose, Sally?" He continued in his hoarse shout. He lowered his voice abruptly, he throat sore from shouting. "They attack us and we do nothing. They threaten us and we talk about peace. They steal from us and we remain where we are, hemming and hawing over our reluctance to go to war!" His voice was rising. "They torture one of our own and we do NOTHING! They try to kill us AND WE FALL BACK! Well! NO MORE!" Tears were streaming down his face and he turned and stalked away from the torn and twisted remains of HQ.

"I will hunt them down, each and every one of them. I WILL MAKE THEM PAY!" He turned back to Sally who stood rooted with eyes wide and fearful. But he could see that spark of steel in her eyes as well. It comforted him slightly. She hadn't given up. "Shinkami will come for their souls." His voice frightened even him, but he turned away once again and walked toward the employee garage that was across the street from HQ.

He pulled his keys from his pocket, marveling slightly that they were still hidden safely. He searched for Heero's car, rejoicing when it was close by. He unlocked the door, yanked the door open and slid behind the wheel. He started the car. He was beginning to shake, the adrenaline coursing through his veins urging him into action. He forced himself to calm down. He leaned his forehead against the steering wheel and forced his tears not to swell in his eyes. His tears didn't want to listen to him or his rationalizations. His tears wanted to believe that Trowa was dead, and they wanted recognition.

Duo refused, knowing that at this time tears were useless, they would only get in the way. There was a battle to fight, and he needed his head and eyes clear in order to fight it. He curled his splinted arm in his lap, and shifting with one hand, managed to get the car into gear. He sped away from HQ toward the hangers where his Gundam lay in wait. He just needed to get there before the asshole that had bombed HQ got there and finished the job.

______________________________

Sally watched helpless as Duo stumbled across the street toward the parkinglot. How could she stop him when she wanted someone's blood just as much as he did? His rantings echoed through her head. Shinkami will come for their souls. She wiped her eyes, knowing her tears were useless here, but they fell regardless. Duo was right, how many friends must they loose before they stopped their enemy? An enemy they didn't even choose, an enemy that chose them. She turned back to HQ, her carefully maintained shock finally crumbling around her. Tears sprang to her eyes, blinding her in their suddenness.

This could not be happening. She tried to lie to herself, but the lie was transparent and only made her feel worse. Regardless of how she felt; this was happening, and it was happening now. Heero and Wufei had left for their Gundams eventhough she had tried to convince Heero to get medical care, but like Duo after him, he had refused, in almost as volatile a way.

What did it matter anyway? No. She chastised herself. Don't give up hope. It's the last thing we have. If there is no hope than there is no reason to continue to fight. We believe that we are correct, that we are standing up for that in which we believe. So we must maintain hope that we will persevere. But, she admitted reluctantly to herself, it was hard when faced with the facts. Sure, she had seen people die in previous wars, but never someone so close to her. Never a friend.

Her cell phone gave an impatient beep and she engaged it, holding it up to her ear.

"Yes?"

"Sally? Its Noin. They're here."

"Who?"

"The Squadron. They've just begun to attack. Zechs is already launching. He insisted that I call for backup first. I can't reach HQ or the other pilots." Noin's voice carried panic over the line.

"Heero and Wufei are probably almost there, and Duo just left HQ at breakneck speeds. Trowa's dead, Une and Relena are injured. Quatre's missing and HQ is a pile of rubble and ash."

"What?" Noin's disbelieving voice filled her ear. Sally sighed.

"I'm sorry, but it's true. There was a bomb."

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, but you need to go. Defend us. I'll be there shortly."

"Roger." The line was disconnected and Sally pulled the phone away from her ear. The battle had begun. She just wished that it didn't have to have started with a well-placed bomb.