Chapter 6: Codename: Rei Tamashii

"Captain Woolfsen, sir!"

"What is it, private?" a man of around fifty tilted his head up to look at the unexpected intruder. His eyes were old but they were still keen and were able to sense the boy's uneasiness. Thirty years in the military gave him much experience on how to handle such soldiers.

"We are ready to commence the testing on the new homing missiles in ten minutes, sir!" the young man briskly replied and saluted. He was very young from the way he looked, maybe seventeen, average height, with short brown hair and brown eyes, an ordinary guy who didn't stand out much among the rest of the soldiers.

"Tell them I'll be there in a minute."

"Yes, sir!" The soldier saluted then left the room in a hurry to give the captain his privacy.

When the private left the older man rose from his seat and walked over to the large window in the office. He sighed as he stared out at the naval base that was located in the southern region of the United Kingdom. His tired green eyes fell upon the ships in the ports, the weapons on the buildings, and the people running back and forth through the night.//OZ is back and soon they will attack... Our reasons for developing these new weapons are justified. We must be prepared! We have to be unless we want OZ controlling everything again... *sigh* but how many lives will be sacrificed this time? Will we even stand a chance now, especially when we don't even have the Gundams to help us? I pray to God that this ends before too many lives are wasted.// The old captain ran a hand through his gray beard, straightened up, then turned to walk out the door.

*KABOOM* *CRASH*

"What the hell was that?!" The sudden explosion knocked the old man to the floor. Soon he heard the frantic pounding of feet on the floor and distressed cries. "Private!" he yelled at a running soldier making him halt in his tracks. "What's going on? What was that explosion?"

"Sir! We're being attacked by an unknown enemy!"

"What the -?" Just then the lights went out, but more explosions could be heard.//Why aren't the alarms going off? Dammit! It's got to be OZ.// "Private! Go to the main control room and tell them to prepare the laser cannons! It might be OZ!"

"Yes, sir!" With that the young man was off and running in the opposite direction but struggled to get past the others in the hall. The captain slowly got up and followed in the private's path, still somewhat shaken by that explosion. Three shadows were silently watching as he did so, watching and waiting for something.

"Do you think that this will work?" Noin asked as she stood in front of Lady Une's desk.

The woman waited before saying anything. "I am sure it will. We have taken all the necessary precautions, and we do have backup if it should fail. The only thing that we're unsure about is the enemy's reaction to our plan. If we're not careful she may try to kill herself." Lady Une's voice remained steady as she got up and walked over to Noin. "You should get ready also, just in case something happens that we weren't prepared for. Wind is waiting for you down in the communications room. I think that you should go there and wait with him."

Noin stood there for a moment longer reflecting on something that just came to mind.//Lady Une is so much the mother figure now... I guess it's all thanks to Mariemaia. It's really hard now to imagine that she was once a cold-blooded opportunist... Thank you for being there for us, Lady Une.// "Yes ma'am," she replied playfully but left before she saw the warm smile that was forming on the woman's lips.

"Everything will be alright, Noin. Have faith." She stared at the closed door for a minute more before going back behind her desk.

"AH!"

"What the -?"

*Bang*

"Where did it go?"

"Oof"

"Somebody hel-"

"AAHHH!!"

The screams of the men could be heard throughout the hallways of the base as an unseen enemy took them down. Gunshots and dropping bodies usually accompanied it. Once some of the noise had died down, running footsteps were heard followed by an occasional explosion. A figure clad in a black and silver flight suit suddenly zoomed past the fallen victims.

"Rei," a voice called to her through the com-link in her helmet, "the control room is to the right at the end of the corridor. Don't bother to download the information on the base. All we want is the data on the new homing missiles. Make sure that you render the base completely useless."

"Ryoukai," came the cold and steady response as she reached the door and kicked it open with unimaginable force.

"Who the hell are y-?" but the question was cut short as the man was knocked down with a blow to the head.

As the other soldiers in the room drew their guns and fired, the girl ducked and dropped to the floor and rolled out of the way. All the shots missed, and the girl was up again and soon lunged for the nearest soldier. She knocked him out with the back of her hand and drew her gun, shooting at the rest of them. Her aim was deadly and it only took one bullet apiece to take each one of them out. Soon the room was quiet again, aside from the sound of the raging fire outside, and the girl just stood there for a moment to survey the scene before going over to the computer console. Removing a disk from the chest pocket of her suit she inserted it into the computer slot and proceeded to push a few keys. The screen was soon giving detailed information of its deepest secrets to her and in minutes it was done pouring its "heart" out. Once it was done she ejected the disk and slipped it back into her pocket. Satisfied, she ran out of the room but not before throwing an explosive into it.

Another shadow watched the girl as she ran down the corridor. "She's headed towards the Sector 2 area, I will go after her but be ready anyways," the shadow called over a communicator before it stalked off after her.//I'm not going to let this chance slip by... NO WAY IN HELL!!//

"Wufei," Sally's voice rang over the communication link in the cockpit of his Gundam, "Heero has just informed me that the target is heading towards Sector 2 of the naval base. Don't do anything, just be ready in case Heero fails."

"Don't tell me what to do, onna. I know the task assigned to me," he snorted at his partner.

"Fine, just be careful. We're not sure if she has a mobile suit nearby or not. The radar we set up didn't show anything but if it's like all the other times it should be there." Sally couldn't help but show concern for her partner despite his sharp tongue.

"Thanks... Sally, I'll keep that in mind," before she could answer back he shut off his communication to the Preventers headquarters.//C'mon, Yuy, I know you can do this. I don't want to have to use Nataku to stop a little girl.//

"Huff huff huff huff..." the girl's breathing resonated in her helmet as she ran towards the designated exit of her mission. She soon found herself in a large hanger-type room that was almost empty, save for a few planes. The exit and the sounds of her own footsteps were the only things on her mind until...

*click*

That one sound registered like a loud explosion in her head and she quickly whirled around brandishing her own gun. Through the black visor of her helmet she saw her opponent's figure highlighted by the moon's glow through the windows of the building. What she saw was a young man of about nineteen years of age, around 6' tall, somewhat slender but very muscular build, dark unkempt hair, wearing a green tank top and jeans. What got her were his eyes, made silvery with the moon, set in an unnerving glare, but she didn't flinch from it... She couldn't. She made no attempt to run or shoot since he was only ten feet away from her.

"Omae o korosu," he declared coldly to the enemy. "Don't think that you can escape," Heero's voice would have sent chills down a snowman's spine, but the figure in front of him didn't even budge a millimeter.//So this is OZ's new soldier. She's pretty good, but that doesn't matter.// "Drop your gun. You won't make it out of here alive." He waited a moment and when the girl didn't move he knew that one of them was going to die... "Fine then, but I won't kill a faceless opponent like this." The figure waited for a few moments and then carefully moved her left hand up to her head and grabbed for her black helmet, slowly taking it off... //No...//

Heero immediately let go of his death glare and his face turned into an expression that could be best described as 'lost' when he saw the waves of golden hair spill out of the helmet. They cascaded down her shoulders and fell to her butt. His eyes then moved to the black helmet that she now held against her body in the crook of her arm. Slowly they then moved to her heart-shaped face. It was deathly pale, especially in the moonlight, and her lips were set in a thin line instead of the full smile that he had always remembered. Then his eyes slowly wandered up and fell upon hers.

//Nothing.// That was what he saw in her eyes... nothing. No emotion whatsoever was present in those silvery orbs and that sent chills down his spine. They showed none of the happiness, the grief, the anger, or the determination that they once held and that tore him apart inside.//This can't be her... IT CAN'T BE!!! This person standing before me is nothing b-but... an empty shell... there's no life in her. It may look like her but it isn't; it's not her... I don't see Relena anywhere in that thing... I don't see compassion, or purity, or the kind soul that she has always shown me... I see nothing... Eyes void of any human emotion ever known, and they're looking at me.// He would have been fine if hatred or even sick amusement was showing but to his dismay they weren't.

"Relena..." was the only word he was able to muster through the raging storm of thoughts and questions in his head. Silence fell upon them and then all of a sudden, and much to his own surprise, he threw his gun down, and it skidded right next to the girl's feet.//I can't do it. Even if it does turn out not to be her... I just can't do it... I can't take that chance... not with her... not again... not ever... DAMMIT WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME!!?!// He then hung his head and dropped his hands to his sides in defeat and readied himself for the bullet that he knew would inevitably pierce him in a few seconds.

"Heero, watch out!"

"Huh?" he heard Trowa's voice from behind him, and he turned around in horror as he saw Trowa fire a shot at the girl. "NO!!" Showing off his quick reflexes Heero jumped in the way of the bullet meant for the enemy. Without making a sound the bullet tore through his left shoulder, and he fell to the ground. His head fell backwards and as it did so he saw something strange pass over the girl's eyes before it was immediately gone.//There... there was something there...// Using the slight moment of confusion that Trowa had caused she turned around and bolted for the exit. The last thing Heero saw was her hair whipping across her back before the pain reached him and Trowa was by his side.

As the girl neared the exit she saw two more figures running towards her and her mind quickly noted the new obstacles: one blonde male, 5'9", slight build, Preventers uniform, and one brown-haired male, 6', strong build, black leather clothes, with one long braid. They both had guns in their hands as well so she decided not to make the first offense, in case they'd fire without hesitation, and instead try another tactic.

"Ojousan?!?!" the braided man said in surprise as the distance between them started to close. Then to his surprise instead of attacking him she did a baseball slide between his legs, then a roll before standing on her feet once more and dashing for the hangar exit. Soon she was nearing her freedom, and she was finally outside in a matter of seconds.

*CRASH*

A giant metal foot appeared out of nowhere and stopped her dead in her tracks, and her arms instinctively went to cover her face. She looked through the openings of her arms and saw a beam weapon pointed at her.

"I can't believe Yuy actually failed... it's not like him," Wufei commented to himself as he saw the girl's figure next to Altron's left foot. Turning on the outside com-link he began to address the enemy. "You have nowhere to go, onna. Give yourself up now; you won't escape from us.... What the -?" his statement was cut off when he saw her honey blonde hair blow in the night wind.//It couldn't be...// He watched carefully as she slowly moved her hands and positioned them behind her head; her eyes were closed at the moment. Then they shot open, and Wufei found himself staring at strangely blank eyes... red eyes.

"In the name of Nataku... what's happened to her?" he reestablished the communications to the Preventer Headquarters. "Sally..."

"Yes, Wufei? I'm here," she replied to her partner. "What's the situation on your side?"

"We caught the enemy..."

"That's great! Do you have an identification?"

"... It's Relena... or at least I think it's her."

"What?! What do you mean by that? Wufei?" she asked losing some of her composure.

"You have to see this for yourself... We'll bring her in soon." He switched off the link and stared back at the scene.//Now I understand why Yuy failed...// He soon noticed that Duo and Quatre were outside of the hangar approaching the girl carefully followed by Trowa who was supporting an injured and limp Heero with his shoulder. Heero's left shoulder was bleeding, most likely from a gunshot wound, Wufei thought. Duo and Quatre looked as if they were at a loss for words while Heero had a blank expression on is face. Trowa, on the other hand, seemed composed with a gun still in his hand, pointed at their acquired target.

"Wind, Noin... I just spoke to Wufei.... They've captured the girl," the woman spoke as she turned around to face her fellow Preventers and friends.

"And?!" Wind's voice was demanding, but who would blame him after all the things he'd gone through?

Sally couldn't face him; or rather she didn't want to face him with the news. She didn't think that she would be able to handle the look of hurt and complete loss that she knew would adorn his face. "... It's Relena..." she finally replied, her face was staring at the floor to try and hide from his glare.

"What?! You must be joking," the look on his face said that he didn't have time for such things. When he didn't hear Sally reply he knew that something was wrong and that what she had said may have been true. Not knowing what to do afterwards he just stood there like a lost child who wasn't sure of the world around him anymore. The only thing preventing him from total collapse was Noin's reassuring hand, squeezing his shoulder gently.

"They should be here in about an hour. We should prepare things for their arrival," Sally spoke up once more as she got out of her seat and headed out the door.

"What's her status? She should have contacted us by now." Cold blue eyes narrowed at a computer screen.

"We don't know, sir. She hasn't answered our questions, and we're not picking up any noise from her helmet," replied one of the personnel at a nearby computer terminal.

"She turned off communications?!" he asked in anger.

"No, sir, it's still on, but she's just not responding," the soldier said, trying to avoid the general's wrath.

"I think that we may have another obstacle on our hands," he commented coolly.

"Sir, what should we do?"

"Wait. That's all that we can do... for now." He abruptly turned around and walked out of the room, the sound of a door sliding was the only thing signaling his absence.

"Who are you?" Heero's rasped voice pierced the silence created by their present situation. The girl didn't answer him; she just stood there with her hands behind her head, staring emotionlessly at the space in front of her. "I ask you again, who are you!?" This time he gritted the question through his teeth, pain was evident in his firm voice. Still, she did and said nothing.

*click*

"Trowa, what are you doing!?" Quatre's voice was full of fear and surprise as the tall, stoic pilot raised his gun and pointed it at the girl's head.

"Answer," he said in a low and even voice as he continued to shoulder the injured pilot of WingZERO.

"Rei Tamashii," she finally answered in an emotionless voice that matched Trowa's.

"Rei Tamashii?" Duo and Quatre voiced together obviously confused at why she would say that instead of 'Relena' while Heero and Trowa continued to look at the girl.

"Rei... zero... Tamashii... soul..." Heero's voice was barely audible against the night wind.//That's what I saw in her eyes... the lack of emotions... the lack of a soul.... Rei... Tamashii.... They couldn't have picked a better name. DAMMIT! WHAT DID THEY DO TO HER!?!! How did they do this to her?... How?...//

"Come on; we'd better get back to Preventer Headquarters. Sally and the others are waiting for us," Wufei called to them from Altron's cockpit. "I'll follow behind you to make sure that it's safe."

The others nodded and proceeded to lead the girl known as 'Rei' towards an aircraft that was hidden behind Wufei's Gundam. Quatre pushed a button on a remote and soon the hatch to the craft opened and a platform unfolded for them. Once onboard, they led the girl into a cell built especially for this certain mission. Duo assigned himself the task of piloting the aircraft while Quatre took to tending Heero's gunshot wound. Trowa, on the other hand, got the job of watching over the caged girl as she stood leaning against the wall in the cell.

Her quietness and lack of movement made the pilots uneasy, but they weren't really sure what to say to the person whom they had been searching for the past nine months. For some unknown reason she didn't even acknowledge their presence. After Quatre finished dressing the wounds on the Japanese pilot he moved to join Duo in the cockpit while Heero sat in front of the cell next to Trowa. Throughout the entire flight back to Preventer Headquarters his Prussian blue eyes never left the girl's strange ruby red ones, no matter how much it hurt him to look.//No soul at all...//