Author: Karen, The Huntress
Pairings: 1+2
Warnings: Angst, Language.
Archive: DHML Archive, Shades and Echoes.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Can Duo save Heero from a malfunctioned Zero System?
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters or the song, "The World".
Note: "Return from Eternity" is based on the song "The World" from the .hack//sign OST 1 CD.
Return from Eternity
~You are alone again in your sweet insanity.
All too calm, you hide yourself from reality.~
*********
"Wing Zero, come in. 01 can you hear me?"
Something's not right I can feel it. In the distance I see Zero bobbing among the weightless debris that once were Taurus Suits and Mobile Dolls. The fuselage is blackened with scorch marks and the left arm is bent at an odd angle but I've seen worse damage.
Gundanium is tough but you can't convince Heero Yuy that he's not made of gundanium. He was ordered to wait until he had backup. I was only minutes behind him when the MS squadron popped up on the radar; there was no reason for him to charge in alone.
Did I mention that Heero can be as stubborn as hell? Not only did he ignore orders but he insisted on fighting with a Zero System that had not been fully calibrated. I don't want to think about what that unreliable system might have done to his brain.
We worked on the damn adjustments half the night but the readings were still not within reasonable safety margins. I finally got Heero to take a break and we ended up sleeping in our Gundams. Then the call-to-arms and he launched before anyone could stop him.
*********
~Do you call it solitude? Do you call it liberty?
When all the world turns away to leave you lonely.~
*********
Heero and his solitary attitude. He's never accepted my offer of friendship. I don't know if it's pride or fear that makes him a loner. Well...he sure as hell is alone now.
*********
~The fields are filled with desires, all voices are crying for freedom.
But all in vain they will fade away.
There's only you to answer you, forever.~
*********
As I guide Deathscythe through the maze of broken suits and the managed bodies trapped inside, the monitor screen sizzles with static interference. There's nothing but white noise hissing through the cockpit communication channel.
Beyond the tattered remains of silent weapons and rent metal, a field of stars twinkle against the ebony infinity called space. So much destruction...so much senseless dying but still OZ continues their fight for domination and the Gundams their fight for freedom.
I carefully close the gap using minimum thrusters to ease along side Heero's massive mock-human warrior. "Heero please be all right." I whisper as a dull thud tells me that Deathscythe has made contact.
With unrestrained buoyancy I use handholds anywhere I can find to ferry myself to Zero's cockpit hatch. Again I call through my helmet's headset and again receive in reply the same unnerving rush of hollow air.
"At least Heero did take the time to put on his pressure suit." I remind myself to bolster my courage against what I might find inside.
The emergency hatch release resists my initial efforts but finally cooperates. The compression seal breaks and the moisture-laden internal atmosphere instantly crystallizes in space's arctic environment. I glide inside and secure the hatch.
Heero slumps forward held in place by his restraining harness. His fingers clutch the control rods with the same determination he uses to guard against any emotional entanglements that might compromise the Perfect Soldier facades he presents to the world.
My hand trembling as I cup it under his chin and gentle lift his sagging head. I raise the shield visor on the Zero System helmet and lean in to better see Heero's face then gasp at the glassy stare that meets my inquiring gaze.
*********
~In blinded mind you are singing a glorious hallelujah.
The distant flutter of angels...they're all too far, too far to reach you.~
*********
"Heero." My voice sounds so far away as it struggles through the headset.
"Heero." I plead with a panicked rise in pitch.
There's no time to waste. Swiftly I hit the harness coupling and free Heero's limp body. It takes no effort at all to float through the vacuum of space carrying my brother-in-arms. Tucked securely in my lap Heero is safe from the hellish demons that Zero has loosed in his mind.
Reverently I repeat what once were practiced prayers that had almost been forgotten since Shinigami defiled my soul. I implore the fates, I beg unashamedly.
I entreated the angels that Father Maxwell said always watched over us foolish mortals who use our Gundams as avenging gods without any consideration of retribution for our sins.
But are the heavenly guardians too far away to hear? Have their ears been deafened by the battle clamor and their eyes blinded by the weapon's deadly discharge? Like Heero's altered senses, are all the angels fluttering on broken wings and have we drifted too far away to ask for help?
*********
~I am here alone in my sweet serenity,
Hoping you will ever find me in any place.~
*********
Sitting by Heero's hospital bed I'm strangely calm. There is a quiet serenity surrounding my heart like an angel's sweet caress.
I entwined my fingers with his fingers. His hand is warmer. His eyes are closed, his face is peaceful and rhythmic breaths flow over his slightly parted lips.
Heero is hooked up to all these damned machines. There are patches attached to his temples, the pulse points in his arms and legs and a larger patch monitoring his heart rate. Wires connected to each patch relay a steady stream of electronic data to a computer array in the main medical unit.
The doctors have done all they can. Now they say it's up to Heero to decide if he wants to come back. The Perfect Soldier must make the choice to remain in his self-imposed exile or return to a world, that despite the heartache, is worth enduring the pain.
But I will not be discouraged by the doctors' lack of faith. By sheer willpower I'll use my touch, my voice, to guide Heero back home. I'll challenge Heero's isolation and, just like the God of Death has vanquished all those who dared to oppose him, I will be victorious.
*********
~I will call it solitude, when all my songs fade in vain.
Fly my voice, far away to eternity.~
*********
I lean closer until my mouth is inches from Heero's ear. I whisper my deepest desires and declare that my heart is his if he will only wake up and accept my total surrender. To seal the bargain I let my lips linger on his lips and pray that the kiss will give him a reason to choose me over eternity.
Heero's breathing stills and for an agonizing moment I fear that he has slipped away. Then a puff of air feathers against my cheek and the sweetest sound in the world murmurs over his lips.
"Duo."
A hint of blue then Heero blinks back from the void.
"I'm here and I will be forever." I pledge.
"Forever." Heero whispers as my love bears him safely home.
OWARI
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