Staying True, Part Three
By: KLMeri
Something tickled her face. She stirred, and wrinkled her nose. Slowly,
she awakened, eyes still shut.
"Zechs," she breathed, smiling softly. Then Noin froze. Something
touched me... Her eyes flew open and met a pair of black, beady ones staring
back.
She screamed, and jumped up. The squirrel landed on the ground, as
startled as Noin. It glared at her before scurring up a tree.
Noin clutched her chest, the breath rushing in and out her lungs roughly.
Her heart pounded wildly. For a second, she thought she was going to faint.
As the shock wore off, Noin began to chuckle, until she was on her knees
clutching her sides as she laughed uncontrollably.
"A squirrel. It was a damn squirrel! Lucrezia, you're such a fool!"
The tears rushed out of her eyes, and she furiously wiped her face.
Suddenly, it wasn't funny anymore. Noin grew silent as she stilled,
remaining hunched over. She closed her eyes as images flooded her mind.
****
His face burned her soul. She had been dreaming of him all night. The
visions were just memories, but they hurt Noin just the same. She grimaced
as something sharp pricked her skin. Noin sat up, inspecting her shirt for
the obtrusive object.
A nut? she thought, carefully examining it. She shook her jacket, and
several broken pieces flew onto the ground. Again Noin chuckled. "What I
am, a stump for squirrels to eat on?" Somewhere among the trees, a squirrel
chattered loudly. "Yeah, whatever. Same to you too, buddy," she replied.
She sighed, and rubbed her eyes. Well, time to get going I guess. Her
stomach growled as a definite 'yes'. Standing up, Noin searched her pockets
for the note. Relieved when her fingers touched it, she pulled it out again.
L3 Colony, she read. Noin stared at it. Could he really be there? she
pondered, a flicker of hope lighting her eyes.
After Noin had the dream, she tried searching for Zechs. Her job with
the Preventers got it the way though. She spent her free hours running
scans, looking for any information that could led her to him. All she got
was dead ends. Noin grew desperate. Until....
Until she received the anymonous call. The voice was muffled, and at
first she thought it was a prank, but soon she convinced herself that the
person wouldn't lie. This was her last hope. The man said he knew the
whereabouts of Zechs Merquise.
She would have eagerly agreed to anything he wanted, but strangely the
person said he didn't need a reward. He said all he would tell her was that
she needed to search the L3 Colony...immediately.
Noin shoved the paper back into her pocket, started heading back to
headquarters. At least that was where she hoped she was going.
****
For the third time, Lady Une hung up the phone, exasperated. No answer
again, she thought. Tapping her pen against the desk, she pondered whether
or not to go to Noin's apartment and check up on her.
Then her thoughts turned back to yesterday's meeting. She was faintly
shocked when Noin announced that she wanted to search for Zechs in the L3
Colony. It hadn't even been a full two months since his funeral.
There's just no way he survived, she told herself. Yet, Lady Une still
wondered if she made the right decision in declining Noin's demand. She felt
slightly guilty for crushing Noin's hopes like that. Maybe I should give her
a chance...
****
Noin sprinted as soon as she recognized the building through the trees.
She was so happy to be somewhere familiar, even if it was the place she had
tried to escape in the first place. She grinned. Alright, Noin silently
cheered.
Then she noticed some officers staring at her. Noin looked down at her
appearance, and recoiled. She seriously contemplated dashing back into the
foilage.
I need a shower, she concluded. And a change of clothes. Noin began
walking towards the underground garage to get her car. She stopped for a
moment, and looked over her shoulder at the headquarters building.
I'll be back. Nobody will stop me from finding you, Zechs. Nobody.
END OF PART THREE
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