Reflection of the Spirit, Part 3 by Tomorrow

AN: Thanks for reading and e-m,ailing everyone, I really do appreciate it. I;m sorry this took so long, but things have been happening.

Disclaimers: I don't own Gundam Wing. Big surprise.

*How could he? How could he be so cruel? All I've ever done is show him kindness and affection; I've never done anything to hurt him. Why does he find such pleasure in killing MY heart? I was just living in a dream when I thought I could change him; I was wrong, I can do nothing,* Relena thought to herself as she ran amongst the storm and into the wild brush that lay behind her manner. The rain that had just begun to fall as her foot touched the earth outside ran down her body, soaking her to the bone. Those tears of divine lamentation that God had shed for His daughter of angelic spirits, decorated her body, for as they fell upon her neck and glided down unto her breasts and along her arms and calves they turned into small adornments of crystal that put to shame even the lust of the stars of the heavens themselves. The winds that whispered upon her ears words of compassion and contemplation, whistled to her to leave him behind, for he would not be able to break her heart once more if she was never in the protection of his arms. In the clouds she could see the eyes of the angels as they came to seek vengeance unto this young man, the sparks from the sharpening of their wielded blades burning imprints upon the sky as the lightning struck the Earth with passion. Thunder echoed across the land that day as the winged messengers of the Father sparred with each other for a mighty battle; the great reverberation being the clanging of their swords.

She ran, not bearing to glance behind her, for she was afraid he would be following her, or worse... he may not be. Her nightgown embraced her sensuality to every curve, showing off the maiden beauty of a woman to only the trees which she passed or the creatures that stood in her path, but never could they appreciate such exuberance as the one who desires it so in his mirthful fantasies. Those golden tresses which one would so vainly wish to call their own created a sash of lavishness, becoming a cape around her form as it danced along the omniscient songs of the wind. The trees were black and the wood splintered; they twisted around each other, making a single cage in which to confine this gentle soul, the leaves of these arbors acting as the guardians to her cell, for they relinquished any grace of light that hoped to free her of such the natural barrier. Animals could be heard crying, crying for the loss of another life to destiny-a destiny too incisive for such a lone person to bear-and their movements of cunning trickery and survival turned to wracks of fear and anxious concordance.

Finally, after sprinting deep into the bracken, she fell to the ground, worn and chilled from the excursion, her only movements being shivers from the now icy breezes. Her eyes fell to the leaves that sprinkled her bedding, noticing a puddle that had accumulated among a pile of rotting twigs. As she gazed into the infant pond, her face twisted in the water, and her eyes glowed with a possessive blue radiance, until what she looked upon was no longer the image of herself, but of something much more sinister, much more disturbing, much more... PERFECT.

"No, no please don't take me. I can't, I can't go with you. I'll never go with you. Why... why do you come for me? Leave me be, I have done nothing," she whispered to the face reflected in the waters.

"Now princess, Daughter of Divine, that is where you're wrong. I need you here with me... I have always needed you. Finally I have come to realize it. Don't fight me, you know you want this as much as I," the puddle echoed back.

"You're not... you're not..." she murmured before the essence of slumber and darkness took her under its wing.

"Lena! Lena where are ya! Come on Lena, he didn't mean it!" Duo's voice rang out as they entered among the wilderness. The five pilots and their respective women immediately followed Relena after she fled, but for some reason they couldn't keep up with her-not even Heero-and had lost her trail in the fresh mud. Splitting in pairs: Duo with Hilde, Dorothy with Quatre, Trowa with Catherine, Wufie with Sally, and Heero by himself, they took off along the different paths that could possibly lead to their lost princess. Quatre had tried to convince Heero to make a threesome with them, but he refused, telling Quatre that he worked better independently... which is true.

"I can't believe Heero would say something like that. He knows how sensitive she can be when it comes to him, and he practically screamed it for God sakes," Hilde told Duo as they searched.

"I can Hilde babe," he replied. "Heero's the kind of guy that thinks he was born alone, lives alone, will remain alone, and will die alone. I guess having these feelings towards Relena just freaked him out. I mean, thinking that he was at fault and would always be lonesome meant he was in control. It was because of_him_that his fate is the way it is, and therefore he could decide whether to change it or not... hence being in control of everything. But with Relena, he doesn't have any reason for feelin' the way he does. For someone like him, that's got to be scary."

"I guess so, but he needs to figure out if he would rather be in control or have Relena, because soon it's gonna be too late for either of them."

"Yeah, I know."

"Weak woman getting all upset and making me get my new robe all muddy... this is injustice!" Wufei called out as he stepped in a colossal mound of muck.

"Oh Wufei, leave her alone. If you want to get mad at someone, make it Heero. It's his fault she ran out you know," Sally responded calmly.

"Yuy is so blind. Even I can see that he has a weak spot for that woman... I knew ever since that time when he went to get her off the Libra. It's so obvious. He doesn't have a high sense of integrity, otherwise he would have already professed his love."

"I completely agree Wufei... you're such a man!" Sally shouted as she grabbed Wufei around the waist and pulled him into a passionate kiss.

"What would you do that for woman?! I wasn't even ready for that!" he screamed while blushing.

"Oh, just for telling me how much you loved me that day, not being so shy about it like Heero," Sally smiled.

"Uh, Sally, that was over two years ago."

"So I'm a little late."

"Oh, poor Relena, I hope she's all right," Catherine mumbled as she and Trowa rounded another tree.

"I wouldn't worry Cathy, Relena can be strong when the need be," he answered.

"Yeah, that may be so, but that doesn't mean she didn't get hurt or something. What if the wolves got her, or a bear?!?!?"

"Catherine, I think you've been around the circus too long."

"Stop it Trowa, this isn't the time to take on a split personality of a comedian. Honestly, I don't think you WANT to find her! You want her to die! Instead of Heero filling you with ideas, you're filling HIM with ideas! What's wrong with you!"

"Cathy," Trowa chuckled, "I suspected that Heero liked her, but I assure you I didn't talk to him about her at all. I only said that to help you calm down. You know I don't like it when you fret sis."

"Thanks Trowa, but we'd better keep looking."

"I can't wait to see how Miss Relena reacts to Heero when they meet up with each other again when she's been found. I just love to see that spark in her eyes. Why, I don't think I've seen it since after the war ended," Dorothy said cheerfully, fully confidant that Relena was all right.

"Yeah, well Dorothy, what if they DON'T see each other again? What if Miss Relena's hurt, or worse?" Quatre reasoned with her.

"Oh Quatre, stop being so negative. If I know Relena, she's probably been planning something like this for a long time, and she's safe and sound under the shade of the trees."

"Well, how well DO you know her?"

"Not very."

"Where... where am I?" Relena asked as she glanced about the darkness. It was as if she was standing in the abyss of space, for all she could see around her was bleak emptiness. She looked at herself, realizing she was naked, her hair the only garment of which to wear, and yet an exuberant luminescence blurred her sight from truly identifying her own limbs. As she took a step forward, she was answered by a familiar voice.

"You are in my home my dear. Not very inviting is it?" The voice snapped at her.

"You're home, but I thought you..."

"Yes, I AM," he replied. "Look at what I must suffer every day, every hour, every_moment_I remain captive here! How would you like to be greeted by nothingness as you look through the grim reality of life? How would you like to be tortured with such loneliness as I am prisoner to? How would you like to be forsaken by your own kind?" the voice echoed, a tinge of sadness hinting the last phrase.

"Perhaps it is YOU that betrays!" Relena chided back. "Maybe you have forgotten why God configured you in His image?"

"NO!" he lashed at her. "I know my place, and I have come to accept it. But, but now it won't be so difficult. Now, I will finally be in union with my mate... no more waiting."

*Relena, where are you?* Heero thought to himself as he dashed through the trees and other various types of shrubbery. It had been over an hour now, and he still found no trace of her. *I shouldn't have let them get to me. Why am I such a coward whenever I think about her? Why does she make me want to forget everything that I've worked so hard to disown? If anything happened to her, I'll never forgive myself.*

As he finished his sentence, Relena could see cutting through the pitch darkness the outline of the one who had brought her to this dismal atmosphere.

"I promise, I will help you... I will make you see again. I won't forsake you," she whispered while extending her hand to the figure. Just before her luminous hand touched his cheek, the figure cringed, muttering, "I must return you now. I grow weak, as does time grow short. Go now!" and the light which was clothing her then engulfed her completely.

"Relena..." Heero murmured as he heard numerous whimpers in the distance. He followed the faint cries until he came upon Relena's limp body, lying in deep repose next to a puddle in which the rain had gathered. "Relena... RELENA!" he called to her, trying to wake her from her slumber, but all she did was mutter his name, her eyes never opening. As he swept her into his arms in one, fluent motion, he noticed how gaunt and pale she had become. Her face and arms were white as a specter's form, and the blue that shaded her lips only contributed to her sepulchral manner. However, as he carried her away from the forest, her cheeks again began to blossom with an innocent blush of youthful beauty, and her skin transformed back into the same cream hue it had taken before.

*What's wrong with you Relena? What's happening to you?* Heero questioned to himself as he radioed to the others to meet him back at the estate...

AN: Oooohhhh, what's up with this? Relena's got herself into another fix again... but can she get out of it this time? Well, you'll just have to wait and see. Thanks everyone who has read and e-mailed.