Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Perfect Soldier's Mistake ❯ A Life Lost, A Life Saved ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

CHAPTER 1
A Life Lost, a Life Saved

"My heart is like a battlefield,
Dark and void of life.
For when the battle's over
My soul is filled with strife.

But, do not mourn this forgotten soul,
For I have seen it all before.
Mourn for those whose lives I took
Whose hearts shall be no more."

Debris was falling around them, and more was filling the sky from the explosions they were creating. The forest surrounding the base was ablaze with fire. He spun around and sliced a mobile suit into two. Just then the sirens began to sound to warn others of their arrival. 'A bit too late,' Heero thought as a smirk spread across his face. He started relaxing a bit. This was where he belonged: on the battlefield. The loud explosions and wailing sirens were like music to his ears. He fired his buster rifle at the base and watch as one side collapsed in bright flames. He looked over at Duo's gundam, Deathscythe, and watched as it made its own assault on the mobile suits.
Then, from the corner of his eye, Heero noticed something. Two OZ soldiers were carrying something, or rather someone, into the base. He looked closer at the figure and realized that it was the girl he had seen from the other night. She was unconscious from what he could tell. 'What's she doing here?' he thought as he continued to watch the soldiers. But his thoughts were interrupted as an explosion behind him caused his gundam to fall to the ground.
"Heero!" he heard Duo shout.
Heero cursed himself for not paying attention. This was a mission. He had to stay focus. He tried to get Wing to stand, but had no success. "Damn it!" he cursed again as he slammed his fist on the control panel. 'That last explosion must have disconnected the wiring,' Heero reached for the self-detonation switch. "Duo," he called. "Go on ahead. Wing's been disabled. I can't fight. I'm going to self-detonate, so get away from here."
"But Heero!" argued Duo.
"GO!" shouted Heero. He didn't need Duo getting hurt as well. Duo had to live, to finish the mission. Wing was disabled so he couldn't fight. 'The only other option is self-detonation,' he thought. 'I can't let them capture me or Wing. My life means nothing. Only the mission.'
He flipped the cap off of the self-detonation switch and pressed it. Silence filled the cockpit of Wing. Heero cursed himself again. 'The self-detonation must have been disabled as well.' he thought. 'I can do nothing except wait, but what will happen then?'
Heero watched the battle rage around him, until Duo was out of sight. Then, OZ came for him. They pried open the hatch to the cockpit. At the first light from outside, Heero made a dash for the woods. He didn't make it far before he was shot in the leg. Within moments they were surrounding him. They bound his wrists together and held him a gunpoint. The commanding officer of the base looked at Heero and smirked.
"So we finally caught one of you pilots," he said. "And as they say. Catch one and the rest will follow. One way or another."
Heero remained silent. He had been ordered that if he were caught he wouldn't say anything. He'd die, rather than tell OZ the whereabouts, or any information, of the other pilots.
The soldiers marched Heero into the base and through a maze of corridors. He tried to keep the turns straight in his head, but he knew it was futile. In a base this hard to break into, breaking out was almost impossible. After about fifteen minutes of walking, and many struggles and near escapes, the soldiers stopped by a cell.
"Enjoy you stay," the first soldier laughed as Heero glared at him. "It'll be your last." With that they opened the door and roughly pushed Heero inside. They closed the door immediately.
The first thing Heero noticed was the air inside the room. It was musty and damp, and smelled as if someone had died and rotted in there. Heero didn't care to know whom. The second thing he noticed was the size and condition of the room. It was about as big as a moderate-size room would be in a normal house. Only the house would be much nicer looking. The walls were made of gray metal and, Heero guessed, as smooth as glass. He noticed a camera high in one corner of the room. For a moment he thought and trying to smash it so they couldn't see what he was doing, when he realized that is was already disabled. He wondered briefly why before pushing the thought aside as poor maintenance. He scanned the room and finally noticed the crates sitting in the corner.
'OZ is being lazy,' he thought. He walked over to the crates and started looking through them. "Pens, paper, ink…" he said to himself. "Just some stationary equipment."
It was then that he noticed the small bundle behind the crates. He pushed aside one crate and walked into the small clearing in the back of the room made by the boxes. The bundle was wrapped in some type of woolen blanket. Heero pulled the blanket off and found, much to his surprise, the same girl that had distracted him from his mission, earlier. She was sleeping peacefully, and what surprised Heero the most was that she had escaped the bonds that had held her wrists together.
He also wondered where she had gotten the blanket, but figured it must have been from the crates. It was no importance of his anyway. He was about to turn around and walk away, when he spotted a small slip of paper sticking out of her pocket.
'What is she in here for anyway?' he thought. 'Could it be because of this, possibly? Could this be information on this base?'
Heero pulled the piece of paper out of her pocket and unfolded it. It was actually several pieces of paper, stuck together in the corner. He walked back towards the dim light bulb hanging from the ceiling and started to read.
'It's a diary,' he thought. 'Maybe it'll tell me why she's in here at least. Or maybe the way out of here…' He turned to the next page and continued. It was a warning.


Open these pages and this curse shall befall to you:

Let your heart be beaten and broken,
And tears fall from the sky.
For your forgotten life and soul
Shall be as lost and alone as I.

Heed this warning and no harm will come to you. Ignore this warning and may your heart and soul shatter to pieces, as mine did years ago.


Heero read over the warning again. 'It doesn't really matter to me,' he thought. 'It's just a bunch of bullshit.' He turned to the next page and continued reading.

Day - 3528

Dear Diary,
I feel I have been wronged today…I had been walking through a forest, when I came upon a building. A chain-link fence surrounded it. I saw people marching in lines around the building. My instincts told me to leave, but I stayed and watched instead. I was spotted. I ran back through the forest as fast as I could, but they caught up with me anyway. I didn't know that they were so fast…they knocked me unconscious and dragged me to this room where I now sit… I had done no wrong to anyone, least of all them. I know not where I am. I think it might be the same building that I had seen before, though.
I plan on escaping here tomorrow, so I need my rest. For now diary, I bid you farewell.
Kat


'Kat', thought Heero. 'That's her name… Now at least I know why she's here.' He turned the page and continued.


Day - 3529

Dear Diary,
I tried to escape today. I attacked the guard when he brought me lunch, and I ran. I didn't make it far, though. There is just too many of them. Why do they insist on keeping me here?
Another prisoner was brought in today. He didn't stay long, though. Maybe an hour. He said he was to be executed. Is that what will become of me as well?
There were explosions earlier. Lots of them. Sirens went off, as well. Two big machines were attacking the building. I saw them as I was trying to escape. I have never seen anything like them before. They were taller than even the biggest trees I have seen in the forest outside. One was as black as night and held a very dangerous-looking weapon. It looked almost like some kind of grim-reaper. The other was as white as a dove, with colorful markings on it. It held a sword and gun of some type. I saw this one fall.
I heard a couple guards exclaim that they had caught a 'gundam pilot'. I'm guessing that that machine was a 'gundam'. I recognized the pilot, though…it was the boy I saw a few days ago. I've dreamt about him every night since then. His cold blue eyes haunt my dreams. Why can I not stop thinking of him?
I do not know the time, but I feel the hour is late. I bid you farewell, diary.
Kat


"Do you not heed warnings?" asked a voice.
Heero looked up quickly and noticed Kat sitting quietly on the ground beside the crates. He handed her back the papers and walked to the other side of the room.
"Can you talk? Or are you mute?" asked Kat as she took the papers and followed him.
"I can talk," answered Heero.
Kat smiled. 'That voice of his is so nice…' she thought. 'I wish he would use it more…'
But her thoughts were interrupted as an explosion sounded from somewhere in the building.
"He went this way!" shouted a soldier from outside Heero and Kat's calls, as he ran by.
"What was that all about?" wondered Kat aloud.
Heero snorted. "Duo."
"Excuse me?" asked a very confused Kat.
"Duo," he replied again.
"Hey Heero!" called a voice outside their. "You in there?"
"Yeah, Duo," answered Heero.
'Heero…' thought Kat. 'So that's his name. Duo must be his friend."
"Okay, buddy," Duo called. "Step back! Cuz this door ain't gonna be here in a minute!"
Heero and Kat ran to the back of the room and waited behind the crates. They heard a click, a couple beeps, and then silence. Several seconds later brought on a minor explosion and, the door flew away from the wall, as well as a bit of debris.
A slim boy of fifteen walked into the room. He was dressed from head to foot in black and had his hair tied back in a three-foot braid that trailed down his back. He carried two guns with him. He threw one to Heero and smirked.
"Now, aren't you glad I'm here?" questioned Duo.
Heero walked by Duo and called back over his shoulder to him. "Come on, let's go."
"Well, no thanks what so ever… We'll see what happens next time you get in a jam…" commented Duo.
Heero said nothing and kept walking.
Kat, noticing a chance to escape the base with these boys, ran up to Heero. "Please may I come with you?" she asked. She looked up at him hopefully, pleading with her eyes to let her come. She didn't want to be stuck here forever.
Heero looked down at her. He felt something tighten in his chest at the sight of her. He mentally shook it off and nodded slightly, showing his approval.
Kat smiled. "Thank you."
"Alright then," said Duo. "Let's get moving."
Heero, Duo, and Kat headed down the hall, running as fast as they could, towards the hanger where Wing was being kept. From the end of the hallway came some shouts. They had been found. They ran into a side corridor and leaned against the wall. Duo leaned back out into the hallway and fired his gun at the soldiers. One by one, they screamed and dropped to the ground.
"All clear," said Duo, a smirk lighting up his face.
The three ran back out into the hallway. As they were running by the dead soldiers, Duo kneeled down and picked up one of the guns. He threw it to Kat. "You know how to use it?" he asked.
"Sure," answered Kat.
"Alright, you can help us then. Anything that moves, besides us, shoot it," said Duo.
Kat nodded.
They continued down the hallway without any other encounters. Duo stopped them at a door near the end of the hallway. "Alright," he said. "This is the hanger where Wing's being kept. They'll probably have very high security inside here, so be careful."
Heero nodded. "Duo, I can handle this from here. Go on and get out of here. And take Kat with you."
"But I want to come with you!" exclaimed Kat. "Please?! I can take care of myself."
"No," answered Heero. "It's too dangerous, and, anyway, this doesn't concern you."
"He's right," agreed Duo. "You better come with me, Miss. It's a lot safer."
Kat wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. "I'm coming with you, Heero. I don't care how dangerous it is! I'm not an ordinary little girl!"
Heero winced. She sounded so much like the princess Relena to him, it made him sick. But there was something else about her that made it not so bad. It made it almost nice for her to be around. He pushed the thought aside. He had no right to be thinking such things during a mission. "Fine," he answered, finally. "But don't expect me to protect you in there."
Duo shrugged and ran off in the way they just came, to fetch his gundam that he had stashed nearby.
Heero looked at Kat once more before turning to the door and opening it. The security inside was even worse than they had expected. Everywhere he looked he saw soldiers. He opened fire on them and watched as most of them fell to the ground, lifeless. Heero smirked. This was going to be easier than he thought.
The two entered the room and proceeded to obliterate anything that moved. Heero was slowly making his way towards Wing, when Kat caught his attention for the second time that day. The gun had been knocked out of her hands, and she was currently using some form of home-taught karate to kill the soldiers as they advanced on her. He saw her turned to look at him, her eyes wide in horror. She yelled to him, "Watch out!"
Heero turned his attention back to the soldiers he was fighting, but he was a bit too late. A soldier, who had been preparing to attack him, kicked the gun out of Heero's hand and jumped back, just out of reach. The soldier raised his gun, level to his chest and smirked.
Heero finally realized what had happened. He had let his attention slip, for the second time that day, and now he was going to pay for it. He had no weapons at his disposal, and the soldier was too far away for him to attack any other way. Death was finally here for him. Vaguely he heard someone yell his name, but it didn't matter anymore. Nothing would matter in a few moments. He closed his eyes, smiled, and awaited Death.
But, it never came. He heard the gunshot as it sounded. Loud, and sharp, but the bullet never reached him. He felt himself being pushed back, not by the bullet, but by some other form.
He hit the ground, and opened his eyes. He found Kat, lying on him, facedown, unmoving. A small hole was torn in the back of her shirt, and the blue material was stained dark with the red blood. Heero couldn't believe his eyes. This girl, this small, young, orphan girl who he hardly knew, had just given her life to save his.
'Why?' he thought, as a wave of emotion, which he hadn't felt in a long time, hit him: Sorrow. "Why her? She doesn't deserve this. This wasn't her war. It was mine. Not her mission. Mine… Why does she have to die? Why did she do this?"
He couldn't answer these questions of his, so his sorrow brought forth another, more familiar emotion: Rage. Exactly like the rage he felt towards OZ, like the rage he felt towards the people who had murdered his father.
Heero looked up at the soldier, eyes almost glowing red with anger.
"You bastard…" whispered Heero. "I'll make you pay for this."
Being as gentle as he could, he set Kat's body aside, and then looked up at the soldier again. Heero stood up and fixed a glare on the soldier so deadly, that the soldier dropped the gun, and backed away. In one sweeping motion, Heero picked up the gun, aimed at the soldier's head, and fired. The bullet slid in between the soldier's eyes, leaving a small, round hole in its wake.
The sound of more gunfire snapped Heero out of his bloodthirsty trance. He spun around, picked up Kat's limp body, and ran. He was barely aware of dodging soldiers, gunfire, and other mobile suits in his race to Wing. His only thought was to get out of here while he still could. 'For the sake of my mission,' he thought.
'For the sake of Kat's life,' said a little voice in the back of his head, but he pushed the idea aside. He didn't need his emotions affecting him now. He climbed into Wing, still carrying Kat, and into the cockpit. He laid her down on his lap, and started Wing. Into the air it flew, dodging gunfire from the now active mobile suits. He spun around to face the base and aimed the buster rifle at it. He fired, and he watched as the base collapsed into nothing but a burning pile of debris.
"Burn in hell…all of you…" he whispered, then set the gundam on autopilot, heading for Quatre's mansion.
"Hey, Heero!" came Duo's voice over the intercom. "You ok, buddy?"
"Just fine," Heero answered.
"And Kat?" Duo questioned.
"She's fine, too," he lied.
"K," replied Duo. "See you two at Q-man's place! "
Heero didn't reply. Duo shrugged it off and flew away. Had he seen Heero's condition he would have stayed longer. Heero watched Deathscythe fly off, and then looked down at Kat's serene face. He felt the side of her neck for a pulse. There was one, but it was faint. 'So, she is alive…that's good. Perhaps she has a chance, yet,' he thought. He smiled sadly. 'I hope she does.' He didn't bother to push away this thought. It didn't matter what he thought now. His mission was over. He didn't even bother to wipe away the tear that ran down his cheek, falling onto hers.


To Be Continued…

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Author's Note -- So did you like it? I hope so. ^.^ Took me a good two weeks of thinking and typing to write it. Please review! I want to know what you people think! Should I finish her off? Or should I have Heero save her life in return? Tell me what you think!