Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Lean On Me ❯ Prelude to Pain ( Chapter 23 )

Author's Note: I've come to realize that Midii Une could be Lady Une (which should have been a bit obvious), and that I have made them two different people. I'm not going to change that, but I thought I would just let anyone know that I am aware of that `theory', I guess you could call it. Anyway, on with the chapter I'm sure all of you have been waiting for. *wink*

Chapter Twenty-Three

Riley watched Katana pace the control room angrily, waiting for the arrival of her other prisoners. It had been five minutes since Katana had sent the second soldier to find them, and Riley didn't doubt for a second that she would kill the soldier if he didn't return with the prisoner's in the allotted time. She looked over at WuFei and Meiran standing across the room. Both were still held at gunpoint, and Riley could see Meiran was getting tired of standing. If not for the gun being pressed into her back, Riley was sure she would be leaning up against WuFei. Her husband, on the other hand, didn't seem to be tiring in the least. His angry gaze followed Katana's every movement, only occasionally did he glance at his wife and Riley to make certain they were all right.

Meiran felt Riley looking at her and turned her head to smile at the pretty brunette. "You okay?" she mouthed to her friend. Riley nodded, but then flicked her gaze in the direction of Jake, the man keeping a steady watch over her. She then rolled her eyes and slightly shook her head. Meiran smiled, knowing what her friend was saying. At least she can keep up a good front, she thought.

The control room door was pushed open roughly and a group of twenty soldiers walked in with Vienna and Heero in the midst of them. The frightened soldier who had been sent to find them stepped forward and saluted Katana.

Katana slowed to a halt in front of him and sneered. "Saved by twenty seconds. Consider yourself lucky."

Riley straightened as she looked at her best friend for the first time in what seemed like years. Vienna's brown eyes connected with Riley's and the two girls smiled at each other, forgetting that their lives were about to change drastically. Everything seemed to fade away: the fear, anger, and nervousness, and suddenly the two of them were back at Dr. J's lab working out together, laughing and joking around as they played small pranks on the other.

All of a sudden, not fully comprehending what she was doing, Vienna broke away from the security detail and ran to Riley. To surprise everyone further, Riley stood from her chair with untied hands; Jake was the first to see the frayed rope bindings on the floor behind the chair. The two embraced each other with smiles.

"How did she get her hands untied?" Katana demanded angrily, glaring at Jake. The man frowned, looking at Riley.

"She had one of her daggers hidden somewhere, I'll bet," Jake grumbled loudly just as two soldier's stepped forward to pull the girls apart.

The soldier restraining Riley removed a dagger she had stuck into the waistline of her pants and held it aloft in the air for Katana to see. "She cut the ropes," he said, stating the obvious.

Riley rolled her eyes, staring pointedly at Jake with a satisfied smirk on her face. "You didn't honestly think I would keep all my weapons in clear view?" Her smirk widened when Jake's glare darkened.

"No matter," Katana said, and walked over to stand in between the two girls. She smiled with certainty at her two `prizes'. "We have work to do, but first," she turned and strode over to the M.C.D., "let's get these other prisoner's off our hands."

Riley and Vienna started, both glancing at Meiran, WuFei, and Heero worriedly, and then to the M.C.D., where Katana was strapping the control bracelet on her right wrist. Both knew what was coming and that neither would be able to fight the machine off long.

------

Trowa was the first one off the jet and the first to meet Lady Une on the landing strip

"Everything is ready," Lady Une said once all of team one had gathered around. "Whatever you will need is already aboard the shuttles. You will all be on shuttle 037 on the take-off strip there." She pointed to a shuttle a short distance away. "Noin and Milliardo are waiting for you aboard." Everyone was surprised that Milliardo Peacecraft, a.k.a Zechs Merquise (a/n: spelling??), would be joining them all as well. "I will continue to keep in contact with everything to see how things are going," she added. She jutted her chin in the direction of the shuttle. "Not get going. You haven't much time."

"Thanks," Duo replied, and everyone took off for the shuttle, anxious to get moving.

The group clambered aboard the jet, and all of them were startled to find Midii Une already on board, buckled into a seat. She smiled at them as if it was any normal day during December. "Took you long enough to get here," she commented.

Noin poked her head out into the main cabin area from the door to the cockpit. "Buckle yourselves in. We take off in less than a minute." She disappeared back into the cockpit.

Everyone dropped into a seat and buckled up. Within three minutes they were in the air heading for the Granger space station.

------

Vienna held her breath, waiting. She knew what was coming, and she wasn't looking forward to it. She glanced at Riley. So it comes to this, she thought sadly. Riley looked at her, but the smile Vienna had always found hope in didn't appear, and for one of the few times since she had known Riley, Vienna saw fear, an overwhelming sadness, and defeat in her friend's emerald green eyes. None of those were what she wanted to see.

"Release them."

The soldier's let the girls go and backed away, standing beside Jake Rawthorne, who hadn't moved from his spot against the wall. He was watching Katana closely, he too knowing what to expect. His gaze flickered to Riley. He sent a silent apology to his old friend before hardening his heart against the conflicting emotions inside him.

A sudden coldness seemed to envelope Heero as he stood across the room with Meiran and WuFei. Both Meiran and WuFei's faces were strained, and a wild fury was burning behind WuFei's eyes. The same fury was inside Heero, but the promise he had made to Vienna kept it in check. Unlike Meiran and WuFei, his face was an emotionless mask.

Jackson stood a foot away from Katana, his hand on the M.C.D. He knew what to expect, and he also blamed himself because of it. He had created the blasted machine, the machine that would ruin the lives of two teenage girls, one of which being his own. His gaze moved over to her and he watched her, his heart starting to ache. He watched as she reached out and took hold of her best friend's hand and gave it a squeeze. He felt compassion for her. She wanted her friend to know that neither of them was in this alone. God, what have I done? he thought in anguish.

Riley's heart beat wildly to an unheard war drum. Her life had come to this: being a weapon that would ruin the world and colonies. Never before had she felt so hopeless. Unlike Vienna, she had barely any hope left. There was nothing neither she nor any other friend she had in this room could do to stop what was going to happen. Fate had caught up to her, and it was about to let out all its frustrations.

-*-

Katana watched the two girls in delight. She could see it in their eyes: fear. There wasn't much of it, but there was slightly more than a baby flame. And she loved it. Her fingers were itching to start the process, but she held back for a little while longer, letting the mixture of various emotions stir in the air, letting the tension build. She had been waiting for this. She wanted to see Meiran hurt, see that oaf of a husband boil, see that brown-haired wench squirm in agony, and see Vienna cry out and fight against the evil that would soon overcome her and eventually kill her; kill both she and her pathetic friend. So why wait any longer? she thought. All it takes is the push of a button, and it will all happen. She smiled. "Is it ready, Jackson?"

She heard the older man shuffle his feet before answering. "It's ready."

Katana frowned, noticing the tinge of anger behind those simple words. Is he backing out on my, too? she thought. Hm. Daryn must have talked to him before he ditched me. Oh well. There's no time for Jackson to back out now. Her left hand rose into the air toward the M.C.D. and, without glancing at the small keyboard, typed in an access code. She looked to Vienna and smiled cruelly. Oh yes, Vienna. You're going to pay. Her hand moved downward to a small button to the left of the keyboard. Her eyes traveled to Riley, and her smile broadened. You better be ready for this one, wench. Her finger de-pressed the activate button.

Nothing happened for a few moments, but all of a sudden Riley let out a strangled cry and dropped to her knees, holding her head in her hands. Meiran and WuFei instinctively lunged forward to help her, but five guards rushed forward to restrain them. They struggled against their captors but soon stopped short at the angry shout that escaped from Riley, followed by a silent moan. Every eye turned to look at the brunette kneeling on the floor. Her hands slowly fell away and landed flat on the floor; she didn't move.

Katana grinned. "Get up, Barton."

As if mechanically, Riley rose to her feet and her long brown hair, which had been shielding her face, fell away. Piercing bright blue eyes stared back into Katana's black ones.

That didn't take long, she thought. Indefinitely she has weaker mental strength than Vienna. She licked her lips in thought. How should I test you, Barton? Her eyes looked at a guard standing behind Riley. "Kill him," Katana instructed, jutting her chin toward the guard.

Riley swung around swiftly and dealt a heavy blow into the guard's stomach. The guard doubled over, his eyes bulging. He coughed and blood splattered onto the floor, some of which getting onto Riley's clothing. He dropped to the floor, blood dribbling from the corners of his mouth. Riley then swung her arm down and hit the man in the back of the neck with the side of her hand. He dropped to the floor, and before long he grew deathly still.

Jake, standing stock-still, stared at Riley in shock. He had known the machine was effective, but he didn't know it worked this well. Riley had turned on the innocent guard without a second thought and killed him. She was much stronger, too; stronger than Vienna had been when he had used the machine to put her under his control. The change in Riley had been abrupt and had knocked the air out of him. He was still getting his breath back.

Meiran and WuFei watched fearfully, fully comprehending the strength Riley had gained and the effectiveness of the mind-controlling machine. WuFei glanced at Heero and started. The ex-pilot was standing there without any guards holding him back, his arms folded across his chest and his emotionless eyes watching Riley. This isn't affecting him at all! WuFei thought wildly.

Standing beside WuFei, Heero watched as Riley turned back around to face Katana; he gritted his teeth. His hands tightened, squeezing his muscled upper arms in an effort not to lash out at the nearest guard. Get a hold of yourself, Yuy! he commanded himself angrily. You swore you wouldn't interfere, and you aren't going back on that vow. No matter how bad it gets.

Taking a deep breath, Vienna stared in horror at the dead guard lying on the floor a mere foot away from her. Riley had killed him in less than a minute with a punch to the stomach and a swift blow to the back of the neck; the thought was frightening. Riley had never been so cold-blooded; Vienna doubted the real Riley would have even thought of doing such a thing no matter the prize given to her. She quickly swept her gaze away from the dead man on the floor to Katana. The gleeful smile on her sister-in-laws face was nauseating.

"Perfect," Katana said, and turned to the keyboard. She typed in another code and glanced at Vienna before pressing the activate button. "Get ready for this one, sister," Katana growled excitedly at Meiran.

WuFei let out a fierce growl and angrily kicked one of the guards holding him back in the shins. The guard's hold loosened and another kick was aimed at the shins of the second guard restraining him. He lunged out of their grasp and bolted toward his sister.

"Restrain him!" Katana shrieked, her eyes focused on Vienna. The girl was obviously fighting the machine's power. Like Riley, she held her head in her hands, but she wasn't falling to the ground. Her face was contorted in pain and frustration. A low growl, much like her brother's, escaped her. Vienna stumbled to the left and ran into the wall; the jolt didn't seem to affect her. She slid down the wall, groaning and moaning as she fought the machine mentally.

Give in to it, Vienna. You know you want to.

No! I can't -give -in!

The pain will go away and you'll be at peace.

I -can't! It'll only bring death to my friends and family, so I won't give in. I won't, I won't, I won't!

Don't be so stubborn. You want to give in; I can feel it. You can feel it too, Vienna. Just let it go and you can be as free as a bird.

Can't! Heero, Meiran, WuFei -I won't hurt them!

You can be free. The pain will go away, and you and Riley can be free again to do whatever you want.

Vienna whimpered as she felt herself starting to give in.

-*-

Heero stared, mixed emotions twisting and turning inside him. Part of him wanted to kill Katana and every follower of hers in this room so he could stop them from hurting Vienna, while the other part of him continued to remind him of his promise. His hands clenched and opened over and over as he fought the urge to help. The sound of her voice making him promise not act foolishly echoed in his mind, and finally, Vienna's promise won. He held back his anger and focused on the promise. He was not going to break that vow.

-*-

The voices inside Vienna's head were fading away. The coaxing, peaceful voice was winning, and in a matter of movements would have complete control. Her true being weakly fought back one last time before giving in.

-*-

I decided to stop there for this chapter. I could go on, but I think if I continued the chapter would be too long, and you guys would grow tired. That could very well NOT happen, but I would still rather split the chapter into two separate ones. Hope you guys enjoyed it! Only two more chapters remaining until the end!