Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Mission Complete ❯ Fighting Alone ( Chapter 35 )

Warnings: Blood, gore, and dead people. This chapter's definitely rated PG-13, so if you don't like, I suggest you skip those parts…

Fighting Alone

You stare Heero straight in the eye. "I'll do this alone. We didn't get word of this beforehand, so it was either top-secret or hastily arranged. Considering that the place in question is only about ten minutes from here, it's too much of a coincidence that they'd just attack at the same time that we're here, while an OZ base recently blew up. So I'd say this was a spur-of-the-moment thing, and as such, it'll be easy to take care of."

Heero just looks at you, something like - concern? - glinting in Prussian blue eyes. "Are you sure? I'll help you if you want."

You shrug, turning towards the road. "No, I'll be fine. Besides, I want to prove to you that I really am against OZ… and that I'm able to fight against them." You smile. "Don't worry. This'll be a breeze." With that said, you turn and walk away. Upon reaching the road, you hop on your motorcycle and speed away, trying to ignore the image of a certain Heero Yuy that's staring at you out of your mirrors.

Ten minutes later, you're on the outskirts of the town. Glancing around, you spot the building you were told to look for and head over to it, reaching into the bushes near the wall and pulling some weapons out. Let's see… your sword, a couple magazines of ammo, a few more pistols, about twenty bombs, three contact explosives… oh yes, a machine gun. Smirking, you sling your sword over your back and stuff everything else in places where they'll be easy to grab, take the machine gun, and head into the city. If nothing else, this might present something of a challenge.

It doesn't take you long to figure out that your hunch is right; this is a hastily-planned venture. Judging from the locations of the troops and the way they don't really seem to know what they should be doing, this would be easy… except for the sheer numbers of the guys. Ah well. Time to practice sniping skills! You'd learned for if you ever needed to assassinate someone, but hey, this is also a good time to put it into practice.

"Actually," you mutter five minutes later, walking away from the remains of a platoon of OZ soldiers, "machine guns were most definitely not meant for assassination. Oh well. It works better this way anyway."

Two dead OZ sections later, you're forced to toss away the machine gun. Whoever planned this whole thing for you didn't even think of giving you extra ammo for that. It doesn't matter too much, anyway, because it's on to the bombs and explosives!

The city's a pretty big place, and there are quite a few OZ soldiers attempting to take it over… which is why you find yourself between two OZ troops with only two pistols left and your sword. Luckily, neither of them have seen you yet. Sighing, you wonder idly if Y ever thought of sending you backup. Probably not… well, whatever. Darting out of your hiding place in an alley to fight one troop, you hold a pistol in each hand and fire at the soldiers coming at you. You have just enough to take them all down before the yelling of the other troop catches your attention.

They'd been drawn towards the scene by the gunfire and shouts, but you'd been smart in choosing this particular place to attack. Here, the only way to get across from the street they're on to the one you're on is by the alleys, which are way too small for the whole group of them to pass at the same time. Still… they have guns and all you have left is a sword. Breathing heavily from the exertion, you bend down quickly, grab one of the guns from the dead soldiers, hold your sword at the ready in your other hand, and leap into the alley.

As expected, they fire at you. Trying to make yourself as hard-to-hit as possible, you move continually, shooting at the soldiers ahead of you as you make your way towards them. The handgun soon runs out of bullets, though, and you spring yourself forward, slashing at them with your sword with a ferocity that none of them can match. They fall back, and you follow, quickly killing as many of them as possible before they can rejoin with the rest of their squad. You only have one between you and the other end of the alley when you take him down and end up moving forward - straight into a bunch of OZ troops circled around the part where you exited.

You curse silently and try backing away, but end up stepping on something soft. Glancing down, you grimace; the street behind you is too littered with bodies for you to try backing out that way, and there's no way you're going to turn around and let these guys shoot you in the back. Well then, there's only one thing for it…

You smile at the soldiers gathered in front of you. One of them says boldly, "We've heard about you. You've messed up our plans for taking over this city, and we have orders to capture you alive."

You chuckle slightly. "Too bad. It'll never happen." They tense up, and your smile broadens slightly as you fall into a defensive position. "Sorry, but I'll go down fighting. I've always wanted to die a hero's death…" you say the last part softly. Somehow, the thought growing old and dying anywhere but in battle has never really crossed your mind. Besides, it's better this way.

"Ready or not, here I come!" Before they can react, you launch yourself forward, slashing and stabbing at anyone in your way. Faint orders of "Don't shoot! You'll hit each other!" meet your ears, but you don't really care. Turning slightly, you plow through the men on your right, and one of those before you panics, grabbing his gun and pulling the trigger. You wince as the bullet goes through your side and growl. "Now you've made me really angry!" Ignoring the flaming sensation that shoots through your body whenever you move, you stab him in the heart and turn to his comrades, all of whom have a slight look of fear on their faces as they encircle you, making sure to stay well out of your striking range. You pull yourself upright, smirking. "Aw, don't tell me the little boys are scared of me? Well, too bad, because I show no mercy to anyone who's with OZ!" With that said, you lunge at them again.

You lose all track of time as you parry and slash, dodge and strike… it could have been seconds or hours, for all you know. All you realize is that you fall into a rhythm, something like a dance… a dance that is deadly for anyone who gets close enough for you to attack. Your sword weaves in and out, between the men facing you, and before you know it, both the blade and your hands are soaked in blood, even through the gloves you're wearing to prevent that. Doing a 180º turn, you bring your sword around in a quick arc and snarl at the soldiers in front of you as you dart forward again, ignoring the bullets that fly and strike your leg… your sword arm, and the man looks shocked that you can still move it enough to slice his throat… and your side again. Blinded by fury, you keep moving forward until suddenly, you're out in the open again, which dizzies you for a second. You'd been surrounded by them for too long, and being free of the constraining people and bodies confuses you… You turn back to hit them again, all thoughts of fleeing forgotten, when you realize your mistake.

"She's not near us anymore! Fire!" one of them snaps, and you fall and roll to the side as the first volley comes. Ignoring the burning pain from the wounds you already have, you spring to your feet again and position yourself to head into them once again, at the same time as they turn in your direction to start shooting again. You lunge forward…

…only to be blown back as an explosion rocks the area where the soldiers were. Your head snaps to your left, and you see none other than Heero Yuy standing there, obviously the one who threw the bomb. "What are you doing here? I was doing fine on my own!" you snap, annoyed that he had to go and interfere in your fight.

Heero turns and studies you - the blood running down your left leg, your bloodied shirt and the two small holes from the bullets that flew to your left side, the wound on your shoulder that causes blood to run down your arm and stream onto the blade of your sword, where it drips off, mingled with the blood of the many OZ soldiers you'd cut down. "You looked like you needed help," he states, his eyes traveling your wounds again. "You were about to die."

You snarl at him before you realize just how many times you were shot. "Thanks," you mutter reluctantly, turning away and clamping your hand against your injured shoulder. You flinch at the pain, glad that Heero can't see your face. "Now, if you don't mind, there are other OZ troops to take care of." You start to walk away, forcing yourself not to limp, but Heero's hand on your left shoulder stops you. You turn to look at him and can't hide the wince that spreads across your face as you twist your side. "What is it?"

He just gives you a look that most would call emotionless, but you pick up the hint of concern that he's showing for you. "Most of the soldiers are dead. There's only one or two platoons left, and I think you can't kill them by yourself. I'm helping you," he states bluntly, and you glare at him for a moment.

"Fine," you grumble eventually. "Whatever." You start walking in the direction that he indicates, and Heero just stands there, watching you for a moment before shaking his head. You're the typical stubborn onna that Wufei's going on about, but he can't help but think that they're not as bad as the Chinese boy claims. He follows after you, catching up quickly.

With the two of you working together, it doesn't take much longer to beat the remaining OZ troops, but it's sundown by the time you finish. Heero tells you that he's staying in a small building near here, and he half-invites, half-forces you to come along with him. You're too tired to argue; now that the adrenaline rush has worn off, you're beginning to really feel the pain of your wounds. By the time you get to the safehouse, Heero has to practically drag you through the door, and you collapse on the couch. You'll apologize for the bloodstains later.

Heero comes back after a few minutes, bringing a first-aid kit along with him. You stare at him for a few moments before you realize what it is. "Oh…" He sits down next to you and opens it, taking out what he needs, and you pull off your shirt. You're wearing a sports bra underneath, and you reach for the bandages, but he stops your hand before it can get there.

"Let me do it," he tells you quietly, his voice husky. The tone of it sends pleasant shivers down your spine, but you obey and let him bandage your wounds. When he's done, you mumble a soft thank you and sigh lightly, leaning your back against his shoulder and closing your eyes for a moment.

After a few minutes, he shifts slightly, and you open your eyes and sit upright. You watch, half-asleep, as he begins to put everything back in its place, but you wake up a little more when you see the gash on his forearm. "Heero…"

He turns to you, his eyes softer than you've ever seen them. "What?"

You sit up a bit straighter, grabbing his wrist gently and pulling his arm towards you. "You're hurt. When did this happen?" You reach for the bandages and grab some, dabbing the alcohol on the gash carefully to clean the wound.

He watches as you do so. "It was during the last fight. I was… distracted… and someone attacked me."

You give him a half-smile. "What, he caught the great Heero Yuy off-guard? What were you doing that he was able to actually hit you?"

Heero is silent for a moment. "Someone… a man was about to shoot you. You had your back to him and didn't know what was going on. I took care of him for you."

"Oh…" The two of you are quiet, and you finish bandaging Heero's arm. "Thanks."

He catches your arm as you stand up. "No. Thank you," he tells you. "Today proved something to me. I finally trust you."

You smile at him. Heero adds, "You can sleep in the room down that hall, the second on the left. Get a good night's rest; you don't know what might happen tomorrow and it's getting late."

You nod. "Okay. Good night, Heero." You turn and walk down the hall, stretching a bit. Unknown to you, Heero smiles slightly.

"Good night."

The next morning, do you go back to base? Doctor Y will want to know how the mission went, and you'll have to fill him in on where you were, too. - go to page sixty-six

Or do you stay where you are? Heero's nice enough, and you want to get to know him better… besides, now that you have his trust, you want to stay here for a while. You can just call Y and tell him you're somewhere else, anyway. - go to page sixty-seven