DISCLAIMER: Gundam Wing belonged to Sunrise and co. I’m not making any profits out of this, so don’t sue. Oh, those you think you’ve never heard before belong to me. And feedback is very welcome, people! ☺
TIMELINE: The story takes place after Survival of the Fittest, I’d say almost two years. This is the second installment of the “Shattered” duology.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: There’s a reference to a scene from my previous fic “Survival of the Fittest” in this chapter.
By Arayelle Lynn.
The next six days went on uneventfully. Noin and Dorothy were finally discharged and resting in their respective quarters. Relena still hadn’t regained consciousness; her lack of progress was worrying Dr. Farrell-Burnet. It was decided in the previous meeting that the enemy’s targets were now Relena and Quatre, two of the most prominent figures on Earth and in space. For that reason alone, the two was kept heavily guarded. Dr. Farrell-Burnett hardly left Relena’s side and Trowa and Wufei were watching Quatre like a hawk. The blond pilot had been supervising the formation of a secret network in the colonies. He had been back and fourth from Earth to space so he could monitor their progress personally. Fortunately, the Maganac corps had been helpful enough to volunteer as supervisors for each sector although it meant that they would be working separately for the first time the corp. was formed.
The news of the spy had disturbed Lady Une deeply, though. She hadn’t expected that one of her specially-handpicked agent could be spying for Winteridge. Currently, she had Zechs and Sally looking over the personnel files to flush out other spies, if there were others. In the meantime, she had kept security at its maximum.
As things finally progressing nicely, however, Lady Une still found herself more than a little curious over the things between Heero, Relena and Kylie. Like the doctor, Heero had made Relena’s bedside his permanent residence. He’s hardly eating and sleeping. All the time, he would be staring at Relena, as if he was channeling his strength to help her overcome her never ending slumber.
This puzzled the head Preventer. She had seen the way Kylie was taking all of these. She had been very surprise to find Treize’s ward nonchalant attitude, uncaring of the attention Heero was giving to Relena. It surprised Lady Une that Kylie allowed such closeness between the two former lovers where else, Heero was married to her! It was as if their marriage was a figment of imagination and that the only proof was the golden ringlets around their fingers.
Lady Une was itching to ask Kylie but the girl seemed to be more busy than usual. Once she had done erasing all the files on the Zero-Infinity system, she continued her work on Sandrock and Deathscythe, using what information she had stored in her own memory. Even being in the same base, Lady Une hardly seen her. But that didn’t stop her from thinking that they both need to talk. Badly.
“Ma’am?” Lady Une looked up, being pulled out of deep thoughts. She realized that Agent Grant had been talking to her. “Ambassador Winner has returned. He requested to see you,” he repeated, answering her questioning look.
She rose from her seat. “Send him right in, Grant.”
>>>@@<<<
He watched as Quatre disappeared into the office. He had wanted to follow him but Quatre reassured him that he would be fine and that he wanted him and Trowa to take the time to rest. But judging from his friend’s sagged shoulders and tired steps, Wufei knew that Quatre needed more rest than he. And rightly so because he hardly had any rest since the attack on Relena Darlian’s shuttle. He had caught Quatre reeling a little on several occasions which went unnoticed by unobservant eyes.
Standing next to him, Trowa gave him a concern look. It was obvious that the silent pilot was also worried about the Arab. And the way he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall next to the door told Wufei that he was not leaving until Quatre stepped out of the office.
Figuring that he could do nothing useful there, Wufei decided to swing by his quarters. He knew that he was leaving Quatre in capable hands.
“Trowa!” A female voice interrupted Trowa’s train of thoughts. He turned to see Dr. Farrell-Burnet.
He raised his eyebrow questioningly as she approached him. “You missed our last session,” she said, her voice lowered as she regarded Trowa’s puzzled look. “Where did you disappear to?” she asked, curious over his recent brief disappearance.
It took Trowa a moment to realize what she meant. “Oh, that?” he said, flexing his left arm. “I’m feeling better, doctor,” he said. “I had to leave the base on a personal reason.”
The doctor looked at him skeptically. “Without telling me? Or any of your friends?” She put her hands on her hips. Her eyebrow furrowed. “I don’t think you realize the seriousness of your condition, Trowa Barton. You might even lose the arm if you keep neglecting the healing process.”
“I understand it perfectly well, doctor,” he said, backing away. “And I will try not to miss our next session but right now, I need to take care of something first.” He then walked away, leaving a baffled doctor.
>>>@@<<<
Duo entered the infirmary, carrying a tray. As usual, he found Heero sitting on the same spot where he had been sitting for the past few days, unmoving. His eyes still on Relena’s unconscious face as he listened to the beeping that indicated her pulse.
And for a hundredth time, Duo sighed, seeing the uneaten breakfast on the small table where he had placed earlier that morning. He placed the tray he was holding and turned to regard his friend. “You have to eat something, Heero. You can’t continue on like this,” he said, softly.
As before, Heero didn’t even raised his head or even acknowledged his presence.
Duo sighed again. He was starting to worry about Heero. He didn’t sleep at all and he looked terrible. There were black circles under his eyes and his half-lidded eyes were bloodshot. He looked thinner than usual and his skin had a strange color.
“Heero?” he walked up to his friend, laying a hand on his shoulder. But his friend failed to respond. His eyes and mind were fixed on Relena and her alone.
So, Duo decided on another tactic. “Hey, Heero! The base is under attack!” he shook his friend’s shoulder.
That seemed to work. For the first time in days, Heero looked up. As his friend rose to his feet, Duo caught the look of profound guilt in his eyes. The look startled him so much that he failed to notice Heero’s eyes rolled as his knees gave way under him.
“Oh, my god!” Duo realized, in time to catch his unconscious friend in his arms. Slowly, he eased his friend onto the floor, his eyes landed on a surprised attendant. “Quick! Get Sally Po or Dr. Farrell on the double!”
Nodding, the attendant rushed out, leaving Duo to check Heero’s pulse. It was erratic. He felt Heero’s forehead and drew his hand back when he felt fire on his skin. Heero’s face was flushed and judging from that, he knew that it was fever.
“What happened?” Dr. Farrell asked as she rushed to Heero’s side. Behind her, came Sally Po.
Duo watched as the two women checked his friend’s vital signs. Then the three of them lifted Heero onto an empty cot nearby. “I don’t know. He was sitting and suddenly, he collapsed,” he reported, feeling slightly guilty for tricking Heero into rousing himself.
Dr. Farrell exchanged glances with Sally and nodded. “Exhaustion. Most probably caused by the use of the new system without replenishing his energy afterwards,” she said to the field medic.
“What should we do?” asked Duo, feeling slightly worried now that his anger at his friend dissipated.
The doctor plunged a needle into Heero’s arm. Then she turned to him. “Stay with him. All we can do now is let him rest until he regained his strength back.” She glanced at the other occupant of the sickbay. “Perhaps, it’s better this way, for both of them.”
>>>@@<<<
Kylie wiped the sweat on her face as she wheeled into the common room. She had just finished her routine physical therapy and was looking forward to a quiet evening before retiring to her quarters. Scanning to make sure that the room was empty, she made her way straight towards the windows, where the sight of Earth’s setting sun always calmed her.
She had only gone a few meters when she found that she was not alone. Behind a sofa, lay a pair of feet. Frowning, she approached the sofa, only to be greeted by a horrific sight. For the owner of the feet was none other than Quatre and he looked more dead than alive!
>>>@@<<<
The noise from outside the infirmary interrupted Dr. Farrell’s examinations. Both she and Duo turned away from Relena’s prone figure only to see Zechs bursting into the room, carrying Quatre in his arms.
For the second time within the hour, she found herself asking the same question. “What happened?” as Zechs placed the blond pilot on a cot. She took in her new patient’s face, noticing the sickly pallor of his face and the paleness of his lips.
“What happened?” Duo demanded, seeing Kylie and Noin entering the room as well.
Instead of answering, Zechs turned to Kylie. “I don’t know. I found him lying on the floor a few minutes ago,” the girl answered, calmly.
Dr. Farrell frowned. Just then, Lady Une entered hurriedly. “I heard about Heero. What hap…?” she stopped in midsentence when she saw them hunching over a prone Quatre.
It was then the others noticed Heero on the other cot. “What happened?” Zechs demanded. Kylie looked slightly startle, seeing Heero there as her eyes strayed from the doctor to Duo.
Dr. Farrell threw up her hands. “That’s it!” She started to push all of them out. “As the head physician of this base, I’m ordering everyone who’s piloting Gundams or even has anything to do with those machines to get some rest,” she said, having enough of the young pilots’ disregard for health antiques. “In 10 minutes, I am going to pay a visit to your quarters and I expect all of you to be there when I do. Or else…” She waved a warning finger at all of them before locking the door.
Then she turned to Lady Une, whom she hadn’t thrown out with the rest. “I swear they’re going to be the death of me yet,” she muttered, meaning not only Heero and Quatre and the people she had just thrown out but the absent Trowa as well.
“I couldn’t agree with you more.”
>>>@@<<<
For the third time that day, someone rushed into the infirmary. Looking up from the medical reports she had been reading, Dr. Tricia Farrell-Burnet found Dorothy Catalonia scanning the room breathlessly. Once her eyes landed on Quatre, she rushed to him.
“What happened?” she asked, taking his hand gently into hers. She looked at the doctor.
Inwardly, she cursed the people who invented the phrase. But seeing the distraught girl, she turned away from the database. She made her way towards the girl. “He’s just exhausted. All he needs is rest,” she said.
Dorothy nodded; her lips trembled as she took in Quatre’s pale face. She gently brushed away a lock of blond hair that fell into his eyes, watching him sleep peacefully. “I should’ve known that he would not rest until he had everything set up,” she murmured, referring to Quatre’s secret network project. “I should’ve been there to make sure he rested.”
Tricia put a hand on her shoulder, reassuringly. “You can’t be everywhere at the same time, Dorothy,” she said, feeling as if she’s one step closer to understanding the Gundam family. “The past is the past and all we have to do is to make sure that all of them rested well,” she said, referring to all Gundam pilots. “Who knows when the enemy would attack again.”
Dorothy nodded, settling down for a long wait.
>>>@@<<<
Two days later, all of them found themselves assembling rather coincidentally in the infirmary. Heero and Quatre were well enough to leave that day but Heero seemed reluctant to leave Relena, though he hid his feelings well. He still refused to believe that he had fainted and would give Duo a withering look whenever the jovial pilot teased him about it.
At the moment, the room seemed a little tense as the doctor made her examination on Relena. Dorothy was sitting by Quatre’s side, holding him close. Trowa flanked Quatre while Duo stood behind Heero, his watchful eyes observing the whole scene. Wu Fei and Mylin had entered together and stood next to Lady Une and Noin. Only Sally, Zechs and Kylie were absent. Sally, being sent to monitor the network’s progress in Quatre’s stead while Zechs and Kylie were involved in something none of them had bothered to mention.
Tricia Farrell-Burnet frowned at the turn out. She had called ALL Gundam pilots in for their regular medical examination, a feat she determined to turn into a routine after Heero and Quatre’s collapse. But she was displeased to find Kylie and Zechs among the missing.
“Where’s Miss Rayden and Mr. Merquise?” she inquired, frowning at Lady Une.
“They’re at the simulation room,” the young commander answered, being a person who never let anything got passed her. “Kylie’s collecting Zechs’ battle data so she could reconfigure the new system to suit Zechs’ ability.”
At that, Heero looked up. But his movement was so subtle that only Duo saw it.
“Great,” the doctor muttered under her breath. She was getting more and more tired of hearing about the system, especially since it could affect the young people’s life.
Suddenly, they all jumped when they heard a groan. Even Heero. The silent pilot looked down where a hand pulled at his sleeve. “Relena?” he called, softly. It was the first word he had ever said in days so his voice sounded hoarse.
“Heero?” The prone figure on the cot stirred. Without realizing it, Heero breathed a sigh of relief as something warmed inside him. Her voice sounded music to his ears.
“It’s me,” he confirmed, his voice so soft that the others were surprised to hear it. “Open your eyes. That’s it,” he encouraged, taking her hand in his. Relena opened her eyes and smiled at him. He found himself smiling back. “Welcome back, sleepyhead. You’ve been sleeping on the job again,” he teased, reminding Relena of all the times he had caught her catching quick naps while he finished what remained to be her reports.
Relena smiled sleepily. “Sorry about that,” she said, her voice squeaky and weak. She fought the lingering darkness, unaware of the others who stood around her. Her eyes were only on Heero. “I had the strangest dream. You came back from the dead and Kylie stole you away from me.”
Before neither of them could register the words she had spoken, a voice broke through the moment. “Relena!” Zechs ran into the room, seeing everybody converging around his awakened sister. He rushed to her side, as Heero pulled his hand from Relena’s grasp and stepped away from the little group.
By then, Relena was aware enough to remember what had transpired before her long slumber. Aware enough to realize the implications of her words to Heero… and her. And reality hit her hard, making her head and chest hurt.
“Relena?” Zechs called again, when he saw her paled. He brushed her face as she reopened her eyes. “What’s wrong? Are you alright?” Concern was evident in his voice.
Relena tried to swallow the lump in her throat but weakened by her injuries, she did not have the strength to keep the tears at bay. “I’m fine,” she answered, her lips trembling.
But Zechs knew that she wasn’t, despite of her being awake from her coma. He couldn’t figure out what had upset her until he heard a shifting pair of feet behind him. Turning around, Zechs saw Heero making his way towards the exit. His expression empty.
Duo watched all this in disgust. He watched as Relena stared forlornly after Heero, her tears unstoppable. He watched as Heero was making his way towards the door, a distinctive look of quiet pain in his eyes. Suddenly, Duo didn’t feel like keeping his mouth shut anymore.
“Oh, damn you all!” he cursed, rather loudly.
Everyone in the room stared at him, surprised by his sudden use of profanity.
“Kylie did not steal Heero away from you, Relena,” he told her, glaring at Heero who stiffened. “In fact, Heero is not tied to anyone.”
All of them looked at him as if he had lost his mind. Relena looked especially confuse, trying to process the new information in her aching mind. “B… but Heero and Kylie,” she protested, getting even more confused. “They’re married...”
“They’re not. It was all a lie.”
Relena looked at him, doubtfully. “What are you saying?”
“They can’t be married because they’re twins!” Duo interrupted her.
Heero looked as if he was ready to jump on Duo. But he stopped when he saw Kylie at the door. For a moment, all eyes were on the three of them; Heero, Duo and Kylie. They were all surprised by the sudden revelation.
“So, that’s the secret!” someone broke the eerie silence. They turned to Mylin, surprised to find her there. Nobody had seen her came in with Zechs a few minutes ago.
“Is this true?” Relena asked, looking at Heero, imploringly. She was both relief and hurt at the same time. Why had Heero lie to her? Why is he doing this to her?
When Heero didn’t answer her, Relena looked at Kylie, who stared back at her. “Kylie?” she pleaded.
“It’s true,” Kylie confessed, turning around. Without another word, she wheeled herself out of the room.
Now, all eyes turned to Heero. He ignored their stares and instead, kept his eyes solely on Relena. “I’m sorry,” he said, monotonously. Only Relena could see the pained regret in his eyes.
She burst into tears.
>>>@@<<<
“Kylie!” a breathless voice called out to her. Instead of stopping, Kylie chose to ignore it as she made her way back towards the hangar. “Kylie!” Quatre reached her, stopping her by standing in her way.
“What?” she asked, her eyes glaring at him.
“Is this true? Are you really Heero’s twin?” he asked, panting to catch his breath.
Kylie gritted her teeth. “Do I really need to repeat myself?”
The sarcasm was lost to Quatre. “Why? Why did you lie to us? Why not tell us the truth before?” he bombarded her. ‘Why are you doing this to me?’ he wondered.
Her face darkened. “I do not have to explain anything to you. What we had is over.”
“Why do you say that? Please tell me, Kylie,” Quatre pleaded, accepting her harsh words. He rather had that than being ignored by her. “Why do you want us to end?”
“Because what we had was a mistake,” she answered him. Quatre took a step back, looking as if he had been punched. “It was all a mistake, Quatre. I don’t love you and I never did,” she confessed. “I was only feeling grateful to you for saving me from myself. And I was lonely so I started looking at the only person who had ever shown me kindness.”
“And that person is you,” she revealed. “I used you, Quatre. Big time. I’ve never love you and will never love you.”
“That’s not true…” Quatre protested, weakly. He knew her. He had seen the love she had for him.
“It is true,” Kylie stressed.
“But I love you.”
“I don’t. Get that into your pathetic, thick mind, Winner.” She glared at him even more ferociously. “The only person I ever love in this world is myself. I only care about my hide. That’s the truth.” Her voice began to rise. “Hell, I could care even less about my own twin!”
“That’s not true.”
“It’s true. I used him the same way I used you.”
“Why?” Quatre asked, trying to make sense of everything she told him.
Kylie laughed, bitterly. “You should’ve listened to Maxwell. He was right about me. I would never associate myself with the likes of you people. You’re all nothing to me.”
That hurt Quatre even more than what her clone did. He stared at her in disbelief, trying to find an indication that she had, in fact, lied to him again. But this time, there were no lies in her pair of blue eyes. “Kylie, please…”
She turned away from him. “Go back to Dorothy, Winner. She at least loves you the way you deserved.” With that, she left him in the hallway, emotionally drained and lost deeper in his confusion and pain. She had succeeded in doing something that her clone had failed to do.
She had broken him.
>>>@@<<<
He watched as Rayden left the shocked Winner. He still couldn’t believe what he had just heard. Yuy and Rayden related. No, not just related, but twins!
Stealthily, he drew himself back into the shadows. Though the information would prove interesting to Winteridge, his sole purpose for being there was the Zero-Infinity system. And now that the spy he had hired failed to do his job, he found himself having to do it. Especially since Winteridge had been relatively demanding as late.
And since Lady Une had launched a full hunt for other possible spies, he found his job even tougher. And even more complicated now that Rayden had deleted all files on the new system from her computer. About the only way he could get the information that Winteridge wanted would be to hack into the Gundam’s computer system. Which was next to impossible… Or, through the only person who store that knowledge in her mind.
Staring after the retreating girl in the wheelchair, he started to form a plan.
>>>@@<<<
Silence shrouded the room like heavy blankets. Now that everyone had left, Heero found himself alone in the infirmary with Relena, who was staring at him.
“You should rest,” he said, breaking the silence, seeing the fatigue in her features.
There was only silence.
“I’m sorry,” Heero said, sighing.
The words seemed to jerk her out of her thoughts. “I’m not going to accept that,” she said, shaking her head. “You must have a valid reason for protecting your twin sister’s secrets.” She rose to her feet, standing before Heero, looking up at him.
Suddenly, she threw her arms around him. Heero was too startled to hug her back.
“Oh, Heero! I’m so glad I haven’t lost you. You don’t know how painful it is not having you by my side anymore.”
He felt his throat constricted, swallowing a huge lump. He had expected her to explode at him, or hit him for causing her pain. So, he was totally caught off guard by her forgiveness and the look of understanding in her eyes. And by the relief that he felt as if a heavy burden was lifted off him.
‘How could you’ve forgotten that only Relena could catch you by surprise?’ he thought, tightening his hold on her.
>>>@@<<<
Kylie locked the door behind her, inhaling a deep breath. She had finally arrived to her room, to her sanctuary, where no one would witness her confusion. After what had transpired, she felt empty. There was nothing, not even regret or pity that filled her as she recalled her words to Quatre.
And that left her colder inside.
Ignoring the questioning yelp from Adin, Kylie pushed aside the thought and turned towards her workstation. She had promised Zechs that she would redesign the system to compliment his battle skills and so far, she had been quite successful.
But before she could continue with her work, she heard the unmistakable sound of the door being knocked on.
Sighing, Kylie unlocked the door, half expecting Heero there to check on her, or maybe Wu Fei, who seemed the most shocked when Maxwell revealed her secret. But it wasn’t any of them at all. Instead, she found Lady Une standing uncertainly at the doorway.
“What do you want?” she demanded, knowing the answer already. Their ‘talk’ had been long overdue.
“I need to speak with you,” the older woman answered, entering. She took in Kylie’s room. Everything was neat and in place. All, except for the shattered mirror on the wall. She turned to her, drinking the sight of Treize’s ward on a wheelchair.
“Kylie…” she began.
“That girl died two years ago,” Kylie interrupted. She turned to the older woman. “I’m just a ghost of a forgotten past.”
Then, there was a long train of silence.
Seeing that the girl wasn’t willing to break the silence, Une took a deep breath. “Look, I just want to talk to you about Heero and Quatre…” Before she could finish her sentence, Kylie interrupted her again.
“How long?” she asked, looking up at her.
Lady Une’s left eyebrow arched, questioningly. “Huh?”
“How long were you planning to keep what really happened from me?”
Caught off guard, Une took a step back. At first she failed to understand the meaning behind the question but one look at the cracked mirror and the look in Kylie’s eyes made everything clear. It was then she realized what the girl had been referring to. A hand flew to her mouth. “You remembered?! How?”
“The Zero System.” The girl’s eyes narrowed.
Une gasped as she took in the information. It had never occurred to her that the Zero System had a different side affect on Treize’s ward. That instead of going insane and out of control like the other Gundam pilots, it had triggered a horrible memory in Kylie’s mind that should’ve been buried forever.
“How long were you and Treize planned to keep the whole truth from me?”
“I… I’m sorry,” she started, reaching for the girl. Kylie pulled away violently so she retracted her arms. “We were only trying to help. You were already about to lose your mind and Treize feared that we’ll lose you for good,” she explained. Her mind went back to the day when she, Treize and the doctors had watched helplessly as a little girl trashed and screamed in a hospital room.
“What gives you the right to erase my memory?”
“We had to do it,” Une quickly continued, forcing the memory back. “For your sake as well as Mister Treize’s,” she recalled the name of the one she loved brokenly. “He was so obsessed about you.”
Hearing the truth, Kylie decided to back off. Turning, she dismissed the older woman offhandedly. But instead of leaving, Lady Une stared at her, eyes wide, as realization hit her. “Oh my god! Is that why you rejected Quatre?”
Kylie spared her with a sharp look. “Leave.”
Une took a step nearer, reaching out. “Kylie? Is that true?”
Kylie slapped the older woman’s hands away. “That’s none of your business,” she told her, coldly. Then she tossed a disc at her. “I’ve just finished decipher it. It’s all about Winteridge’s base on Jupiter. Go make something useful with it.”
Une looked at the disc, half thrilled at the prospect of having Winteridge’s secret in her hands and the other half unwilling to leave the girl as yet. But the look in Kylie’s eyes made her change her mind, for now. However, as she walked out of the door, she turned around for the last time. “Tell me, Kylie, please. Why are you doing this to him?”
The girl stiffened at the quiet inquiry. The tone in Lady Une’s voice betrayed her resignation. Without turning, Kylie answered her. “In near death I was made to choose.” She looked at Lady Une, letting her see a tiny speck of emotion in her eyes. “I chose vengeance and renounced love.”
Lady Une gasped at her words. But before she could say anything, the door slid close and locked fast. Just like the girl on the other side.
>>>@@<<<
Quatre sank into his bed, burying his face in his hands. It had taken him all his strength just to make it to his room. How did it end like this? His shoulders shook at the unbidden tears. Kylie’s words still rang in his mind. They felt like razor sharp knives which tore his heart to tiny pieces. No, not just her words. It was the look in her eyes as well. It was cold and unfeeling. And defiant! As if she was glad that she had hurt him.
‘Is it true?’ he questioned himself. ‘Have I been so wrong about her? Had Duo been right all along?’
He moaned, feeling the poundings in his head worsened. But nothing could compare to the pain he felt in his heart. “Kylie. Why? Why are you doing this to me?” he whimpered, choking. “I love you.”
Again, the unfeeling look she gave him filled his mind.
“I’ve been such a fool.” With that, he buried his head under a pillow.
Keep me alive inside you
Suddenly he tensed, as the words whispered in his ear. He straightened, looking around the room to find the source. But the words did not come from the world outside. It came from inside him. His soul of outer space. At that moment, a forgotten dream came back to him.
Memories flooded in as he recalled the words the Kylie in his dreams had said to him. Bits and pieces came to him all at once. He saw her in many forms. He heard her saying many things.
Kylie as the white angel with a sword, protecting him from the shadows.
You’re not harming him as long as I’m here…
I’ll be here always. I will protect you…
Kylie at the park. Her words as she pleaded him to stay alive.
I care for you too much to ignore your call…
I want you to enjoy everything that was denied from me…
You’re the only one who can keep our love alive…
I will always be there for you. Just like old times…
Live and love, Quatre…
Keep me alive inside you…
All these words, different and yet held only one meaning. It told him that she loved him. It doesn’t matter if it was a dream or his wishful thinking. The look in Kylie’s eyes in his dream mirrored the one when she was trapped in Gundam Nova as it counted its last seconds. It was the look that only belonged to someone in love.
And he recalled that day clearly.
She stared at Quatre. After a struggle, she managed to raise her hand and touched the screen, where his face was displayed. Quatre, in turn, raised his own bloody hand to meet hers. “Thank you for teaching me how to care, Quatre. I know you don’t understand why I’m doing this but know that it’s because I finally learned how to care.”
Then, her strength finally gave out. Her arm dropped limply but she held her gaze at Quatre. “I’m cold, Quatre,” she whispered softly, feeling the chill creeping through her body. She no longer felt the pain. It was a distance away, just as Quatre’s face suddenly was. She tried to grasp at it, to touch it again but her arms wouldn’t move. “You’re so far away,” she mumbled, darkness swirling around her. She couldn’t even see the tears on his face anymore.
“Farewell, Quatre. You’ll always be in my heart.” She closed her eyes.
He jumped up. Those words alone made him doubt Kylie’s recent words. He was sure now. He knew that Kylie was in love with him. He could feel it strongly. People do not bother to lie at the brink of death. Kylie could’ve easily said nothing if she had indeed used him.
‘So, why is she rejecting him?’
Suddenly an image of her wheeling herself out of the infirmary flashed in his mind. He instantly understood. ‘Could that be the reason why she rejected me?’ he asked himself. ‘Could it be that she didn’t want to burden me with her paralyze state?’
>>>@@<<<
When Zechs, Sally and Noin entered her office, the expression on their faces was one of grim and contained excitement. Looking up from the database, which displayed Kylie’s new information, Lady Une laced her fingers together. “Well?” she prompted, her left eyebrow raised questioningly.
Sally placed a folder onto her desk, nodding. “We’ve found one.”
Her face was serious as she read through the content of the folder. It was still unbelievable to find there was more but based on her most trusted agents’ reports, this one had been seen talking to the dead spy before and had been hanging around in places that he was not suppose to be.
“If we can capture him before he realizes anything, we could make him reveal the other spies, if there’s any more,” Noin added, her arm was still in a sling but she had volunteered to help anyway.
Lady Une nodded her approval. “Take him in. Make it discreet.”
Her three agents saluted her. “Ma’am.”
>>>@@<<<
He walked along the corridor, approaching the turn that would take him to his quarters. His thoughts filled with his plans to acquire the Zero-Infinity System for his employer. Playing in his mind was also the amount of money that he will get once his job was done. Yes, after he got what Winteridge wanted, he would be free. He would leave the Preventers and Winteridge to their battles and take his family far, far away.
Yes, everything seemed to be looking up.
Suddenly he stopped. A warning bell rang in his head as he spotted a couple of Preventer agents knocking on the door to his quarters. Quickly, he jumped back behind the walls, his heart pounding.
‘They have discovered me,’ he thought, his mind panicking. Forcing himself to calm down, he stealthily retraced his steps, the wheels in his head turning. ‘Doesn’t matter. Perhaps, the time has come for me to act.’
TO BE CONTINUED…
AUTHOR REPLIES: Have I succeeded in making everyone hate Kylie at this point? Poor Quatre but *dum… dum… dum…* what could be the ‘secret past’ Kylie and Lady Une been talking about? And will Quatre finally discover the reason why Kylie left him? What about Dorothy? And what is the spy planning to do next? And have I scared you silly when Heero and Quatre collapsed in the middle of the story? He… he… he... Well, whatever it is, I just want to apologize AGAIN for the delay. Can’t help it, really. I need to work in order to pay the bills and need to organize my life in order to keep it. Hope the chapter makes up the delay.
Oh, don’t you think that the Heero-Relena part was sweet?
Ookami Kage: By the time you read this chapter, it does seem as if the Quatre-Kylie isn’t going to happen, well, maybe. About what Duo’s going to do, well, you hit a bull’s-eye!!! Now the secret is out but it made everything even more complicated, no? Hopefully, Kylie wouldn’t act on her threat and kill Hilde for it. And thank you for the encouragement. I can’t simply leave this story unfinished. I have many, many plans for our boys and my muse would not leave me alone until I’ve done all. Oh, I’ve had the pleasure of watching Gundam Seed Destiny. The story is okay but the ending not-so-great. But it’s a must-watch for all Kira and Athrun’s fans (hope Athrun’s fans won’t mind him being kicked around at the earlier part of the series) I heard the series will reach the shore of USA some time early next year.
Elizabeth: Are you happy with how things turn out for Heero and Relena? Nope, they’re not going to kiss any time soon. Be patient, Heero’s definitely going to kick the enemy’s butts soon. It’ll just be later than you expected since I still need them.
L.A. Une: Thanks for the compliments. That really encouraged me to finish this chapter.
Broken Memory: Nope, doesn’t seem like I’m going to stop any time soon. What do you think about that bit with Heero and Relena? I hope I didn’t give you a heart attack when Heero collapsed and Duo dropped the ‘bombshell” on everyone.
Arina K: Arina, shame on you. You shouldn’t have such terrible wish as to have Dorothy killed!!! He…he… he… I guess by now you’re starting to hate me for what I’ve done to Quatre-Kylie relationship. Blame my muse for it. She’s fallen in love with Quatre and wanted to ruin his relationship with Kylie. She said, it’ll be easier to steal Quatre away from Dorothy than it is from Kylie. I think she’s afraid that Kylie would hunt her down to the very end of the universe.
That’s all folks. Till next time.
