FORGOTTEN SOUL

Chapter One

Not for the first time, Releena Dorlian Peacecraft stared out of her bedroom window, wondering yet again where he was; what he was doing; what he was thinking. If he was thinking of her the way she was thinking of him. It was midnight in the Cinq kingdom, and it seemed the only light burning in the entire city belonged to her. A soft blanket of snow was spread over the ground, and tiny flurries danced lazilly on the air.

'I should go to bed. I have a meeting tomorrow,' the young foreign minister reminded herself, not moving an inch from where she stood. She had waited up at this window every night for the past three days, and it was beginning to show in her work. But sleep was impossible. Everytime she closed her eyes, her mind would conjure up horrible possibilities of what had happened to her Perfect Soldier, ever since he had gone missing three days ago.

"Heero, where are you?" she whispered into the frosty air. "Please come home."

Abruptly, her memory began playing back the crystal clear images of the last time she had seen him, on the morning of his departure...

//Heero! Wait!"

Clad in his black and red gundam suit, Heero Yuy winced at the familiar call that echoed across the length of the room and silently turned around as Releena came rushing up to him. Trowa and Duo, a little farther ahead, paused as well to watch the proceedings, and Heero mentally cursed the both of them, wishing they would keep going. He could almost feel Duo's grin as he turned to Releena, hoping she wouldn't make too much of a scene.

Releena's gaze quickly scanned his outfit, then flickered to the other two pilots and back to Heero again. "You're going on a mission, aren't you Heero," she stated quietly in a voice threaded with hurt. "And you didn't bother to tell me? You didn't even stop to say goodbye."

Heero sighed. He figured it would be something along those lines. "I didn't want to worry you," he said, just as softly. He wondered if she knew that he had been pacing up and down the hallway to her office for nearly an hour that morning, trying to decide what to do.

"Heero, I'm going to worry about you no matter what happens," Releena said. "But I wouldn't stop you from going; I wouldn't even try. I've accepted that part of your life. No matter how much it frightens me, I understand that it will always be a part of you, Heero. You should know that by now."

Heero was silent. But Releena could read his silences better than anyone, and saw the brief flash of guilt in his eyes. Eyes that were no longer as cold and hard as they had been a year ago. Ever since the Wing Zero pilot finally accepted his feelings for the girl in front of him, he was gradually opening up. It was hard for him; he had fought his whole life against becoming close to anyone; but he was trying.

Releena reached out and took his hand. "Just come back to me, Heero," she said quietly, knowing Duo and Trowa still watched. "That's all I ask."

Heero squeezed her hand. "I'll try my hardest," he whispered back. Releena smiled in understanding. He wouldn't promise her because he didn't want to break it. Promises meant a great deal to Heero Yuy.

Her gaze went briefly to the others. Duo grinned at her and gave her a thumbs up while Trowa simply watched in anticipation. Everyone knew that she and Heero were finally an "item," but Heero seemed hesitant about public displays of affection and contented himself with holding her hand and sitting next to her when anyone was around. This was fine with Releena, as Heero more than made up for it when they were alone, but there were times, like now for instance, that she wished he'd be a little more spontanious. She frowned then, and mentally smacked herself. If she was teased by Duo as often as Heero was, she would probably be shy, too.

Stepping close, she gave him a quick hug before pulling back, her eyes searching his face. "I love you," she mouthed, giving his hand one last squeeze before turning and walking away down the hall.

Heero watched her leave and ached to follow her. He glanced back at Trowa and Duo, torn between following his partners and running after Releena. Abruptly, Trowa frowned at him, his displeasure speaking volumes as his green eyes went from Heero to the departing Releena and back to Heero again. Duo also gave him a scowl, making very unsubtle shooing motions with his hands, urging Heero to follow.

Heero frowned back at them. Who were they to meddle in his personal affairs? He could take care of this little dilemma himself. He didn't need Duo's scowl, telling him he was being a selfish fool. He didn't need to see the warning in Trowa's eyes, a reminder that every mission was a risk; that anything could go wrong. He didn't need to be told that every moment with Releena could very well be one of his last......

"Ah, hell," Heero muttered.

He caught up with her just as she reached the doorway, latching onto her upper arm before she could leave. She turned, wide eyed, mouth open to say something, but Heero immedietly covered it with his own, silencing her most effectively. He heard Duo's loud wolf whistle, and then a rush of lost breath as Trowa punched him in the stomach, but ignored the both of them. Tightening his hold on her slim back, he drew her closer to his body, letting her feel every emotion that had been building inside him the moment he recieved word of the mission; the fear, the determination, and the love.

He wasn't afraid for himself; that emotion had been long buried with the countless missions he'd completed. He didn't fear death then, and he didn't now; only the heartache it would bring to the people closest to him; to one person in particular. Back in the days of Wing Zero, he never thought his life was anything worth holding on to. His existance was unimportant. He had nothing to lose.

'Forget about me, Releena. Life comes cheap. Especially mine.' Those words still haunted him in dreams, and sometimes when he wasn't with her, they would hover at the back of his mind, mocking him. Where would he be now if she'd listened to them?

He shuddered inwardly. Probably lying in a ditch somewhere, buried under a ton of scrapped gundanium. Not here; not kissing her in the middle of a hallway, in plain veiw of his two partners and not caring a whit.

"I love you too, Releena," he murmured into her hair, releasing her lips so that they could both breath. "And, I'll be back soon......I promise."//

Releena sighed as she remembered that promise. Picking up an old, worn teddy bear that had been lying on her bed, she held it close and stared out the window for a long, long time.

The nameless boy came to slowly. Still keeping his eyes tightly shut, he reached out with his other senses, trying to figure out where he was. The sound of beeping machinery could be heard all around him, and the sharp smell of amonia, chemicals and blood stung his nostrils.

Frowing, he opened his eyes, and immedietly wished he hadn't, as an intense florecent light beamed down on him from above. Squinting, he tried to get up, and suddenly realised he was strapped to some sort of operating table, tied down at wrists and ankles. The leather straps restraining him were thick enough to hold down a gorrila.

The nameless boy was confused. He tried to remember what had happened to him, but the effort sent a sharp lance of pain through his skull. Wincing, he let his mind go blank, and the pain receeded. At that moment, the door to his room opened with a hiss, and several men in strange uniforms walked into the room.

"This him?" the leader asked, turning to the only scientist in the room, an old man with long gray hair and an eerie mechanical arm.

"It is," the scientist answered sullenly. The boy on the table blinked at him, frowing. He looked vaguely familiar; should he know this man? Then the pain stabbed him behind the eyes again and the memory was lost.

"You are sure you can reprogram him?" the uniformed man asked, glaring hard at the scientist. "If he turns on us...."

"Gentlemen, I think I know how to handle my own protege," the old man said irritably. "He will not disobey us, I assure you. Although, I must voice my opinion yet again: this experiment will only lead to tragedy. The Romefeller Foundation lost the war; it can never be revived to it's full glory, and I fail to see why you cannot let it go."

"Hah. With the Gundam Pilots working FOR us this time, we will be victorious. Romefeller WILL rise again, with the assisstance of the very ones who brought it down in the first place!" The uniformed soldier seemed to think this hilarious, and laughed manically for a few minutes before sobering. "And remember, old man, any funny buisness, not only will we kill you, we will also kill your favorite protege. So get to work. I want this kid up and mission ready as soon as possible. We have a great many things for him to do....."

Still chuckling, the men left the room, leaving the scientist alone with the boy. Gazing down at the lean figure tied to the table, the old man shook his head sadly.

"I am sorry, boy," he muttered. The youth stared back at him, trying to focus through the stabbing pain in his skull.

"Do I....know you?" he asked. The old scientist sighed and took a needle from his coat pocket, plunging it into a vial and filling it with a clear liquid.

"No, Heero," he whispered, jabbing it into the muscular forearm. Almost immedietly, the boy's eyes rolled back and he fell unconcious. "When I'm done with you, you won't remember a thing."