Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Plight of Ferguson Mueller ❯ Dangers of the New End ( Chapter 1 )

Dangers of the New End

"…and now that the peoples of the world and the colonies have united in uniform peace, we can focus on things that matter to each individual: another raise in minimum wage!"

"Yes!" cried the zealous crowd.

"Betterment of retirement communities! Building more schools! High-quality education for all! The opportunity for all humans to have proper medical and dental care!"

The crowd whooped and hollered as Their Precious Crusader rattled off her numerous intended miracles. Die-hardies wore t-shirts bearing the innocent face of their angel and held supportive poster boards that read everything from "Relena Rocks!" to "We Adore the Adorable" to "Gimme Just one night", and the girls wore her suits. They made Relena smile and feel like somebody out there truly did care about her personally, not just for her great miracles, and also thought she was reasonably attractive. It was hard for the Vice-Foreign Minister to date privately, especially considering she'd never had a date, or even been double dating. For one half second, she allowed her mind to drift to thoughts about the one man she ever could have given her heart to…why do the great girls love the baddest of bad boys…

"More effective law enforcement!" she cried one half second later, disturbing the steady flow of promise-whoop-promise-holler-promise-whoop-promise-holler. Why was she thinking of him at a time like this?

"Total compensation for the families of war victims!"

The biggest whoop yet.

"And, last but not least, the promise of a better life for you and me!"

They began cheering before the words were fully out of her mouth, and they didn't get any quieter when she thanked them for their time and gathered her papers left from her three-hour speech. She felt appreciated by the ones that insisted on relentless cheering the entire time; apparently the adrenaline of better education and law enforcement got them going. Her bodyguards waited patiently by her side as she carelessly shoved and situated papers in her briefcase for her departure from the Steely Arena. She rose from her childish squatting position once they were secure, and was escorted out by four that that each could have killed her frail self with a mere punch or kick. Backstage they went, the four big men and the little celebrity girl, past the make up rooms and dressing rooms and storage closets and locker rooms, and over a one-dimensional maze of cords and wires attached to cameras and sound equipment. A loud buzz whirred in the distance behind them, the sound of a hockey game on its way. Relena could hear rowdy men making the ice their own. She quickened her pace, for she was falling behind her place: directly between Agent 1 and Agent 2.

When the back door opened, a gust of cool night air laid its hands on Relena and pushed her away from the limousine. She fought it effortlessly, and placed herself inside between Agent 1 and Agent 2. Agent Three muttered to the driver through the lowered window that separated them where to go. The driver gave and affirmative grunt and rolled up the opaque little window. It wasn't like Péggin to grunt, Relena thought, then remembered that he had the flu. Poor Péggin, she thought. She reached up by Agent 2's head a touched a shiny little red button labeled 'TALK.'

"Driver, is there a floral shop on our way to the airport?"

No reply. Relena looked at Agent 2. He lowered his glasses. She tried again.

"Driver?"

"Yes." Came the answer, quick and gruff.

"Would stop at one please?"

No reply.

"Driver?"

"Sure."

"Thank you."

Relena released the button and leaned back against the cool leather seat. That's a weird substitute, she thought, not polite at all. Relena switched another button overhead and a window in front of her lit up with a television show. She pulled a small lever and a hidden door swung open and a mechanical arm offered her a Diet Coke. She opened the soda, filling the air between her and the can with tiny bits of condensation and the sharp whisper of contents under pressure finally being released. She sipped quietly as she watched as she watched one of those teen dramas Dorothy had insisted she see. It was all right, one of those 'teen with issues' storylines; those never impressed Relena; she had issues with world peace to contemplate, and she was too busy to commit suicide. The rhythm of the car moving in a strait line down the highway was deterred by a sharp turn to the left, one that made Relena lean to keep her balance, but her guards were still, as usual. The car slid to a stop. Relena looked over her shoulder. This was a gas station. She jumped out, followed by her guards, and bought two candy bars and a few bags of chips, then jumped back in the car before they made it back with her. She flopped back in the car like a child and opened a bag of Cheetos. The door behind her closed and locked. Relena didn't pay it any mind; she just assumed it was the wind.

"Relena," the driver's gruffly familiar voice cracked over the speaker, "Are the men in?"

Relena, surprised that the driver was making actual conversation with her, spoke before any real thought crossed her mind, "No-"

The car shot out of the gas station, throwing the Vice Foreign Minister to her side on the floor. She opened her eyes to the sight of a tiny pipe spewing a white fog. She gasped, taking in some of the fume, and blacked out.

Seconds later, she woke up. She was still in the limo, but nearly a dozen boxes and pieces of luggage surrounded her. She looked around with her eyes, then her head. The limo was still moving along the highway, thought exactly what highway they were going down was the real question. Relena realized she had been out for much longer than a few seconds, and pretty far gone if they had managed to load up boxes and such without her waking up. It was frightening. Relena wanted to move, but she didn't know if she had the strength. She wanted to see what was in the boxes. But what if there was something in those cardboard storage containers that was top secret-so top secret that even the Vice-Foreign Minister could see them, and live to tell about it? What of they were all bombs that would go off when the parcel was opened? What if they were dried corpses of little green men? What if…? Relena pulled herself up on a lonely box nearby and leaned on the top. She froze. Could she hear ticking? She heard nothing, save the wind that gushed on the outside of the car, the limo going a steady sixty or seventy down the road. The boxes were stacked as high as the ceiling against the windows, so no one could see her even if their vision could penetrate the black tint. She slowly lifted herself from the top of the box and gazed at the folded flaps. Why something so top secret be haphazardly stored? Her curiosity took control of her hands, and, very gingerly, she lifted the tabs that hid the contents from her wandering eyes, and they parted with a PLOOF! Heero Bear's silent brown eyes glistened under the dim light of the little bit of rainy day outside the cabin. Relena seized him, squeezing him as when she'd first received him, a mixture of shock and relief washed over her heart. She looked where her Heero Bear lay. Other childhood stuffed toys wee neatly situated inside. She used one hand to dig a bit. They were all hers. She moved to another box, grasping Heero Bear to her heaving chest. She laid the bear on top of the flaps, hoping to silence some of the noise the box made while opening. The bear convulsed with the opening the tabs and Relena hugged him close again. Books of hers. Pleasure reads. She reached for another box. A whirring noise stopped her dead. She looked over her shoulder. The window behind the driver's head was getting lower by the second. Relena made half a move to get back to her position, when the driver caught her, looking in her frightened eyes.

"You're awake," the driver said solemnly, his gruff, scratchy voice. She was still frozen.

"All of the stuff in the boxes is yours."

Relena was still completely petrified. The driver smiled.

"Don't worry Relena, you're safe, or you will be in just a bit."

"Who are you?" she accidentally screamed. The driver flinched in alarm.

"Come here, Relena."

Relena didn't move.

"Come, come here, Relena."

Relena grasped Heero Bear, willing her Heero to come at anytime, intercept the mad driver, and liberate her from this cursed vehicle. Her knees dragged her against her will to the tiny window, the portal to her death. The driver looked at her. She looked at the driver. He didn't seem real. She looked away to the road, hoping to clear her mind's eyes of this illusion forced on her by the stress of promise-whoop-promise-holler…the weren't on any highway, but a street leading to quiet suburbs. They stopped in front of a nice house, two stories, blues shutters, red door, and a cherry tree in the front. Relena looked at the house in disbelief. It was so perfect, so happy. It made her feel warm and loved, just looking at it. She looked at the driver. The driver removed his cap, releasing his cascading silvery hair that fell to his seat. He looked into her eyes with…her eyes.

"Oh, Milliardo!" she hugged him, squeezing Heero Bear between them. He pulled her into the front seat to sit beside him.

"I'm sorry I scared you, Little Sister, but I had to get you away from the guards."

"What for? If you had told me it was you I could have sent them away."

"I had to take you. There's trouble, Relena."

"What kind of trouble?"

"A revolutionary."

Relena paused. The whole human race was at peace. What was there to rebel against?

"A revolutionary against what?"

"Peace."

"…what…"

"He doesn't believe in peace, and he doesn't believe in you. All he wants to do it fight, and fight some more. And he wants to smite the very heart of peace-you."

Relena had expected to one day be the moving prey of some cunning assassin, but not one that was out specifically to start a war. That would not do.

"How do you know this?"

"A reliable, confidential source."

"Heero?"

"No, you just have to believe me, Relena. Heero doesn't know about this, not yet. But he's living nearby, and when I tell him, he will protect you."

Relena squeezed Heero Bear's tiny shoulders and looked into his cold eyes. His eyes were cold like Heero's, and she longed for them to warm up to her. She slept with her Heero Bear every night, hoping to warm his eyes, hoping that one day, the teddy bear would gaze at her with the same warmth and love she felt for both Heeros. Relena became fearful all of a sudden, and held her bear close.

"Relena?"

"Am I in so much danger that I need Heero to protect me?"

"Yes you are. And you can't know about it."

"What do you mean?"

Milliardo rummaged through him coat and produced a small, translucent bottle of tiny pills. He handed them to his sister. She took them, looked the unmarked bottle over and looked to her brother for guidance.

"Take every last one of those three times a day until they are gone."

"What are they for?"

"Just do as I say. They are for your own good. Every time you take one, recite this name, either out loud or in your head: Aleta Shelton."

"Aleta Shelton. Aleta Shelton. Who is Aleta Shelton?"

"You'll know soon enough. Come on, let me take your things inside. This is where you will live until it is safe for you to appear anywhere." Milliardo removed himself from the front seat with a moan and took some of the lighter boxes, obviously her clothes, and proceeded to the front door. A man and woman opened the door.

"Relena! Glad to meet you! Welcome!" the sweet woman exclaimed, throwing her arms around Relena and kissing her cheek. Relena smiled and hugged her bear.

"And who's this?" the woman leaned over and examined the bundle in Relena's arms with a caring smile.

"Heero Bear," Relena muttered absentmindedly. The man took the boxes from Milliardo's hands.

"Lemme give ya a hand there, buddy."

Milliardo willingly let the boxes go and returned to the car for three more. The man took the last three boxes. Milliardo waited with Relena and the woman for the man. He returned with a ever-present smile from putting the boxes in the house. Milliardo cleared him throat.

"Relena has some medicine she needs to take three times each day. I trust you know a reliable hospital incase of an emergency, and her medical files are in the bottom of her box of pleasure reads."

The man and woman nodded as Relena's brother instructed her as if her were their long-gone father. Relena felt like a child. She was sixteen years old and being treated like someone ten years her junior. Milliardo hugged Relena, who didn't hug back because she still held her bear.

"I will see you soon, sister, and you will be safe."

Relena didn't nod or anything. She just looked at the house's perfect little garden and blue shutters and red door and cherry tree in the front, so perfect, so happy. Milliardo was a shadow on this perfect little house, perfect little family, and he was back in the car with a wave of him coat. Relena watched him as he circled the cul-de-sac, and accelerated out of the neighborhood.

Two months later, Heero nervously scanned a customer's selected outfits and rang up the price.

"That's sixty-seven eighty-four."

The lady took her time writing a check while her children wandered about, playing with various small toys and figurines. The lady tore the check out of the book and handed Heero her drivers' license. She thought that his wild Prussian eyes were glaring right through the machine, initiating the gears, making the thing work. His chocolate brown hair shrived with his every move and not one hair was in place, or out of place. The casual beep of the machine and the little toys that the children played with couldn't hold a candle to this organic machine as he typed numbers, scanned, and sold like he was raised to work and do nothing else…

"Thank you for your purchase," his groan of a voice said, "Come and see us again."

"Thank you," the lady accepted, freeing herself from the trance he'd put her in. She called her children and they walked quickly out of the store, like a stick of honey surrounded by anxious little bees. Heero tapped his finger, and fidgeted with his cell phone. What the hell was Zechs doing? Didn't he know what Heero knew? Heero glanced around, feeling that the world was watching something he very obviously didn't see, and was laughing at him and taking advantage of his ignorance. He couldn't stand it anymore. He pushed himself away from the counter and stepped out into the mall. He shook his head from the self-inflicted hysteria and flopped down on a bench. He held his head in his hands and roughed up his untamable hair. He stretched. And he looked to his right. And he saw Relena.

His senses shut down. He couldn't believe it. What was going on?

"Relena…" he muttered in his deep voice. All five of the girls she was with looked behind them at the un-heard-of depth. He was looking at her.

"Excuse me?"

"Relena, what are you doing here? Don't you know how dangerous it is for you?!"

"Who are you?"

"You know who I am!"

Relena looked confused and surprised. She shook her head without looking away from his engaging eyes she knew from somewhere far away…

"Relena!"

She blinked. "I'm sorry. You've got the wrong girl. My name is Aleta."

Heero looked at her blankly. "…Aleta…"

"Yeah," Relena-Aleta confirmed, "And if you like, you can have my number!"

Her girlfriends laughed. Heero didn't think this was at all funny.

"…Aleta…"

"You've never heard the name 'Aleta' before? That's my name. What's yours?"

"I'm Heero, Aleta. That's a nice bear you have there."

Relena-Aleta stopped laughing and held the bear close. "Thank you. I brought him here to see if the shop can fix him for me. He got a tear…" she spoke as if she were entranced.

"What's his name?" Heero asked quietly, dropping his voice another decibel.

"His…he's…Heero Bear…H-E-"

"E-R-O. Come with me. I'll show you where to get him fixed."

Aleta's friends watched her go with this weird, but hot guy and smiled for her. Heero rounded the corner to a bit of privacy and looked her in the eye.

"Do you really not know me?"

"Well, now I know you're name is Heero…but that's all."

Heero felt lost. Zechs must not have known. Heero was always ten steps ahead of him, anyway. Heero took Relena's hand and started pulling her quickly to the exit.

"Hey wait, Heero, wait, where are we-"

With a mighty kick of his powerful legs, Heero kicked open one of the side entrances and pulled the objecting girl with him. Relena-Aleta started getting really loud as he pulled her along.

"Relena stop! Just come on!"

"No, let me go!" she pulled and pushed against this man who was kidnapping her. "Help!"

Heero growled and grabbed her arm, slinging her over his shoulder with a gasp from her. She almost dropped Heero Bear, but held tight to him and used him in her effort to free herself from this sexy acquaintance-turned-federal offender. He opened a red Lamborghini with a remote and put her inside. She tried to jump out, but the door slammed down and a seatbelt from nowhere held her down and made her struggles futile. Heero jumped in seconds later, and was instantly buckled, too. He looked at her.

"Where are you taking me?" she begged, scared stiff. Heero winced and started the car. He backed out of the parking lot and zoomed down the street, a hard expression dominating his face. Relena was flattened against the seat, her heart stalled from the speed, eyes wide as if her lids were being blown back. She grasped Heero Bear, protecting him from the rage of this mad Heero-also, clutching him to her chest and closing her eyes. She opened them seconds later, just as they were running into a closed storage garage.

"Stop!"

The whole garage stood a ninety-degree angle from it counterparts and the car vanished underneath it.

The boy, the girl, and the bear shot down a long, paved tunnel that steeped continually down at an angle. It was completely dark around them, the dashboard lights lit up Heero's unchanged face. He switched one of the gears.

"Oh, my God," Relena held her breath. There was a splash. There was a mechanical sound. They weren't driving anymore. They broke the surface of the water and floated for one second. Then Heero hit the same gear and they began speeding along like a red-Lamborghini-shaped-speed-boat. Heero put the boat in cruise control and unbuckled his seat belt.

"Relena, please look at me."

Aleta looked at him. "Look, if you wanted to go on a date, we can fucking go on a date, you didn't have to do all this to be alone with me."

"No, Relena," Heero groaned with a sweat drop on his head, "that's not quite it-"

"And stop calling me 'Relena.' I don't know who 'Relena' is. What do you want with me?"

"I'm not going to hurt you."

"You could have fooled me!"

"Listen to me." Heero looked at her. She looked at him. He searched her eyes. She searched right back. "How could you have forgotten me…"

"I never knew you, I'm sorry."

Heero folded his lips and looked down. He touched the bear.

"Do you remember who gave you this?"

"I just found it somewhere, my father told me."

"Your father has been dead since you were a baby. I gave you Heero-chan."

Relena grasped the bear even harder. "How did you know my nickname my bear? Only I knew that."

"It was on the card that was attached to his ear. It said 'Love, Heero-chan'."

"How could you have known that?" She whispered, her eyes shivering.

"I wrote it. It was a birthday present. From me to you. You chased me all over the place and I never go the clue. You were the only person that….loved me…and then…you made me love you…"

Heero was obviously trying very hard not to say or do something. He grasped the wheel. Something boiled in the bottom of Relena's heart. It was as familiar as it was foreign. She laid her hand on his. He looked at her. She pulled off her seat belt. He released the wheel. She traced the curves of his face, her hands trembling with the realization that she did know him, but from where? Where could they have possibly met, fallen in love, and been in love, and she couldn't remember? Did it matter? He was here now, he loved her now, but she couldn't love him, could she? Did she? Shouldn't she? She gently pulled him closer to her face, closer than most other humans could possibly handle, digging herself deeper into his eyes, deeper and deeper into his heart with wasn't anywhere near his stomach. She felt light-headed. Something was trying to force it's way to the front of her mind and the top of her heart. She felt the whoosh of his breath on her top lip. He was peering into her very soul…seeking her, finding her, not letting go…and she let him. They drew closer, each feeling the heat of the other's lips, a longing, a strange longing, from a time that had been strained and eradicated from her memory. It was too close.

"Heero, my Heero," she whispered in a tiny voice. She slid her lips in the break of his and held the shoulders of his shirt. The memory was too familiar. She dreamt of doing this, kissing his sweet lips while they sped away together, while she prepared her speech in her room on the fifth floor of the palace…

She pulled away in tears. "He left me! Milliardo! He left me with the Sheltons until it was safe and I cried and cried because I missed him! I was so scared, Heero, so scared. I had…a new life…I didn't want…I just wanted…you…"

Heero shushed her and held her close, reassuring her that everything would be fine, but he would have to fight-again.