Just One Dream

Written by: Angel Yuri

            “Darkness, a cold, inescapable void…” A voice, strong with pride, echoed within the shadows. As it walked through the black surroundings, his every step created a resounding noise.

“What am I doing here?” It asked itself. Then a vision of swirling pink, blonde, and blue appeared near his feet. “What the-?”

The picture focused itself, and a girl came into view, “Relena?”

Sure enough, the girl who was the princess of the Cinq kingdom smiled slyly at him. She was in a simple pink dress, standing in the sunlight. He kneeled to get a closer look at the picture, and gently touched it. Then the picture shattered.

“Heero!” A frightened, feminine voice shrieked. The young Gundam pilot jumped to his feet and began following the voice that yearned for his help.

He stumbled to his feet and looked around the black area. He kept running towards the source of the voice, and tried to reach for his weapon.

“Just great, I don’t have it just when I need it most.” He growled at the fact that his holster was empty. The voice rang once again, and his pace hastened. A shaft of light enveloped him, and he had to shield his eyes from the glowing light.

Once it darkened, he saw her being restrained by a very robust soldier of OZ.

“Heero!” She turned her head towards him as she was being pushed back, “Help me!”

Only a few feet sat between him and Relena, “Relena! I-“ Before he could finish his sentence, all he could do was scream as he plunged down a dark shaft.

***

Clashing shades of blue were over his head, “My head…pain…where am I this time?”

“Heero? Are you awake?”  A kind pair of violet-blue eyes lay upon his. Her cold, worried face warmed to a gentle smile.  

“Relena? What’s she doing here?” He thought, slowly cracking his eyes open. However, the pain residing throughout his whole body almost made his eyes shut. Still, he managed to keep an eye open to gaze at her face.

“Relax, Heero,” Relena gently chided, still cradling him. She rubbed a cool cloth across his forehead, trying to rid of the small fever he had. When she looked for another bandage wrap, she felt him slump down in her arms.

***

“Back where I started? Just great!” Heero cursed, finding himself in the dark void. However, the light suddenly came back.

“Flower field?” He shook his head, walking through the field. “Why would a flower field be here?”

Heero’s eyes widened a little as he saw her again, “How does she get into these situations?” He walked toward Relena, who was decked out in a floor-length, sleeveless blue gown and her back was turned to him.

“Hey!” He called, “Relena!”

The wind died, and the petals slowly fell to the ground near Relena’s feet.

She turned to him, but her image slowly faded away. Heero began running toward her, but she had disappeared before he got to her. Another flash of light, and there he was walking down a flight of stairs that lead to an airplane.

“Yeah, I remember that,” He reminisced. “Quatre and I met back up with Relena.”

As he walked down, he couldn’t make out the rest of his surroundings, for a blur covered up what was supposed to be Relena. The scene kept replaying itself before Heero, except each time Relena’s face couldn’t be seen.

“Why?”

Then visions of his friends emerged, each of them turning to him and giving a memorable smile or action. Hiro’s present memories swirled into a crude painting, but there wasn’t a real picture that could be shown.

His attention turned back to the foreground, where Relena stood waiting for him; her sly smile greeted him warmly from his battles in space. Once again, every memory he had of her kept changing.

“Why am I seeing this now?” Heero asked himself, feeling his mind twisting into knots, “Am I…passing on?”  The pictures kept changing again. Hiro turned to the background where Wing Gundam stood proudly, “Wing Gundam…my mobile suit…”

Now Relena stood in the foreground, “Heero! Where are you, Heero?!”

“Can’t you see me?” His mind shouted, “I’m here, Relena.”

Wing Gundam raised its laser sword while Relena kept searching.

“No! Put that down!” Heero couldn’t warn Relena, for he realized he was just a spirit watching his life fade, “Relena look out!”

“Heero?” She turned and found Wing Gundam raising the sword before her, and with one swipe, she fell to the ground. Vice Minister Relena Darlian Peacecraft laid lifeless on the cold ground.

A lone tear fell down Heero’s cheek.

***

“Heero…Heero!” She continued cradling him, but she held him tighter as she was at the verge of tears, “You’re not going like this, so please come back! Hiro!”  

The soft reckoning slowly stirred him. He groaned, winced at the pain, and cracked his eyes open.  

“Welcome back,” She smiled brightly.

“R-Relena?” His throat was dry and crackling, “How did you get here?”

“I was here with you the whole time, Heero,” Relena smiled. “I was on my way back from a long conference, and I saw Wing Gundam in the distance. I told Pagan to stop and let me out. From there, he left to fetch the paramedics.”

“Why did you stay?”

“Heero, just because you say that you hate me doesn’t mean that I hate you too.” She explained, “In exchange for your words, you protect me with your life. I suppose I should repay you for that.”

He stared at her for a few seconds, “…Thank you, Relena.”

Relena slipped her hand around his, “You’re quite welcome, perfect soldier.”

Heero laid back against her arms, and looked at the sky, “The blue sky reaches so far that none can escape it…”

“Did you say something?”

He grinned at Relena, “I hate you.”

Relena gawked, “Fine then! Feel that way…”

“Just kidding, I think," He snaked a hand around her neck, "and, ai shiteru."

"Ai shiteru, perfect soldier," Relena added as they kissed for the first time. ("Finally...")

It didn't last long, for Heero had fallen asleep again in Relena’s arms.

 (“Just one dream,”) He reflected. (“It was just one dream…”)