Changes Through Time, Part 8 by Tomorrow

AN: Part 8 here for your enjoyment. I just wanted to say that some of the dtuff I say in here may be a bit disturbing, so you might not want to read it if you get freaked out easily... believe me, I know what it's like to be that way. Anyway, other than that, I just wanted to tell you that present Heero will be going by Odin. You'll find out what I mean as you read. Well, thanks!

Disclaimers: I don't own Gundam Wing. I never will either.

Heero with great speed and urgency ran down the hall of the shelter towards Relena's bedroom. All he knew was that that deranged buzzard had zoomed out of her bedroom and could have cause great harm to her. When he reached the room, he flung the door wide open and ran to her bedside, but as he laid his eyes upon her, he found himself unable to move. All he could do was stand over her and gaze at the scar that lay across her breast. It was in the shape of a perfect crescent moon and resembled somewhat of a devilish smile to him. A smile so evil, so provoking that he felt he could hear laughter coming from behind its demented form. An enormous amount of guilt began to overwhelm his senses as he remembered the occurrence of that night. Images of the attack began playing over and over in his mind. Each vision became more and more graphic, making it seem as though the blood that had flowed from her chest was illuminated with the glows from the internal fires of Hell,-the place he would surly go succeeding his death-and her piteous shrieks having the same chilling affect as a blustery Arctic wind. He could see the crystal drop tears form precisely along the corners of her begotten eyes and her paling lips quiver in disbelief. Heero could see his own hands shaking as he was trying to carry out the deed, doubting the just cause of the mission. He spied the warm blood on his hands, covering them, staining them forever. No matter how many times he cleansed his hands, no matter how spotless they seemed to another, he would always see the scarlet heat and hue burning into his hands-becoming deeper by the day. This soldier, this perfect assassin, was taking the last breaths away from an innocent young woman. This, this was the one thing he had always told himself he never would do. But now, she was dying in his arms for no reason except because of a few callow words from someone who was even more heartless than he. The stinging he felt as the vitriolic tears of salt washed away the infection of his open cut was magnified ten-fold, and he realized the significance of this pain. She purified and made clean the darkness within him. She was what made his heart ache and his mind wander. She was what healed him and gave him back the chance to live. She was the tears, and he was the contaminated wound. Heero remembered screaming into the night when the revelation of this importance in their confrontation struck him, and he remembered holding her close to him, suffocating himself, making sure that she was still on this Earth with him; knowing if she had left that he would never have a chance to see her again. For he knew that Hell would be his home after his walk upon the Earth unless she was there, his guardian angel, to pull him back up and rekindle his halo of righteousness.

He didn't understand his actions. It seemed as though his emotions were not merely just taking over his mind but also the gestures of his body. Heero had always been the one to act on his emotions; he even gave this advice to Trowa at one point in time. But he had never realized how powerful TRUE emotions would be. He trembled as he cared for her wound. His eyes began to water and cloud his vision as he went through the procedure of dressing the gash.

*What's wrong with me?* Heero thought silently to himself. *Damn you Relena! I hate caring, I hate love, and I hate you for making me feel such things! Why did you have to care so much? We would have both been better off without each other... you could have been so much better. I'm so sorry. I've ruined your life, and I've broken your heart. Forgive me... please?*

He was scared for her. She had lost more blood than to be expected, and her breathing was very crackling and wispy. Her joints seemed to all be begging for him to finish what he had started; wanting a sleep that would ease them for eternity. They became limp, and Heero could stay with her that night no longer. He bounded off of her balcony and ran into the woods behind, not stopping until the sun began to rise in the east and cast dreary shadows upon him. The twisted bark of the trees took on the form of gremlin faces, and the whistling made by the wind between their branches seemed to utter massages of condemnation to his weary soul.

"Get out of here you child of the Devil," the great oak lashed out at him.

"How dare you kill the sweet maiden," whipped the voice of the old willow tree.

"You have an ugliness about you now that makes the hideous vulture appear as a king," stated the pine.

"Go! Dance with the Black Man and leave her alone," muttered a dogwood.

"Stop your scourging, all of you," came a strong yet quiet voice. "You should all ask for forgiveness from this young boy after the treason you have brought forth against him. He realizes his wrong and has already tortured himself more than called for. If he truly was heartless, he would not have spared the little sprite! Look at yourselves! By saying such falsity, you are no better! Hush now and be gone you evil spirits, and be away from the boy and these lifeless arbors. Go!"

Heero looked all about trying to find the source of the voice, which belonged to the one who defended him but could not find her. He thought he was going completely mad when the voice spoke again, "It's alright now lad. You will not be burdened anymore."

He found the voice to be coming from a simple white rose that had bloomed near the place where he was standing. Its voice was young and sweet, yet had a brilliance of wisdom with it. Just as he was about to touch its soft petals, his legs gave way and he fell, crushing the little flower, the symbol of the only one who would defend him. Heero awoke the next morning, the rose no longer beneath him. He assumed it was just his guilt playing games with him and nothing more. Still, he felt that he had to complete the mission he was sent out to do... kill Relena Peacecraft. He ran back towards the estate as quickly as he had left and entered unnoticed by the many guards stationed at the main entrances of the house. Her bedroom was where his journey ended, and he saw her lying there in an ageless sleep. Yes, the knife still lay on the ground, already sterile with her blood. He placed the knife on her throat and began to push down on her light skin. Before he could pierce her, the memory of the voice came back to him and he immediately dropped the knife. The cut on his had throbbed and his head began to swirl. He latched onto the edge of her bed to steady himself, and once he regained his composure, grabbed the knife and threw it out of the window with all of the strength he could muster. The boy then began to scream for help and about twenty guards came to his aid. Heero made up a quick story that he had come into check on Relena when he found her being attacked. He fought the man off and cared for her injuries the best he could but knew she needed to see a doctor. Being it was Heero, the men quickly called an ambulance and had her taken away to the nearest hospital where she received proper care. Since she didn't remember anything about the incident when she got back home, Heero never spoke a word about it to her and tried to forget the whole thing ever took place. But now, every time he saw blood coming from her body, a sudden terror came over him, and he had to do everything in his power to cease its flow. This was the same reason why he reacted so quickly to her pricking herself with the sewing needle. Seeing that deep red glide along her peach skin was a contrast his eyes couldn't behold without his palms beginning to sweat and his pulse accelerating. All of these memories were being brought back to him as he saw the mark he placed on her that fearful night.

Once his reminisce had reached its closing, he could no longer bear to look anymore. He fell to the ground, curling himself into a ball and letting out high-pitched sobs that he had no way of controlling. This was something no one ever would have thought Heero Yuy would ever do... but he did. Pain wrenched his body and he kept flinging himself from side to side, trying to ease the aching. Sweat poured down his face and he screamed in defeated agony.

With that, everyone in the shelter raced towards the room in unbelievable concern. When they saw Heero on the floor, cringing and rocking himself back and forth, and Relena lying on the bed, motionless, the covers being stripped from her body as well as her breasts, they stood there in bewildered horror.

"Oh my gosh!" shrieked Sally as she steadied herself against the doorframe.

" Serena... Odin," Catherine whispered as she sank to the floor.

"What have they done?" cried Hilde, barley being able to choke out the words.

"Who's done this to you?" screamed Dorothy as she ran towards Heero/Odin.

"Oh, Relena..." he murmured as he began to regain himself.

"Relena! What do you know about my Relena? Where is she, what have you done with her?" shouted Future Heero as he abrasively pulled Odin to his feet.

Just as Future Heero was about to shove Odin into the wall, he too noticed the scar on Serena's breast.

"That mark... that looks like the scar I gave my little Rena that night so long ago. Where did she get this?" he inquired shakily.

The present pilots, all except for Odin, just stared at him with puzzled expressions crossing their faces.

"I demand to know. Who is this girl... REALLY?" Future Heero asked, fire beginning to burn in his eyes.

Before another word had a chance to be spoken, five creatures burst their way into the dwelling and found the route to the bedroom. Each of these beasts had the head and wings of an eagle, but the body of a loin. Their beaks were razors and their eyes held a scowl that could possibly have outranked Heero's death glare. Their wings were mighty and course from being weather-beaten, and their brows seemed to contain a permanent furrow. The screeches they made caused the glass around the lamps to shatter into thousands of pieces, and their wing, being so unwieldy, knocked over every piece of furniture in the room, tearing them into splinters. The talons on these wild creatures were over-grown and curled , and their legs were dry and chapped from the wind brushing against them constantly. Their lion-like bodies were bulky, and the muscles bulged from beneath the skin, showing their tremendous tones. They darted at the defenseless people in the room with merciless fury and screamed with delight as they heard the terrifying shrieks of the young women as they dove behind the splintered furniture for safety. One of the beasts grabbed Odin in his caws and began to playfully drag him along the ground and collide him with the other boys when the opportunity arose. Feathers flew about the room and blurred the vision of Future Heero as he whipped out his gun and began to fire at the epitomes of evil. He fired every bullet, and could only nip one of them in its wing, but it seemed to have no affect. But as quickly as they came, they left. The creatures' booming cries could no longer be heard, and the feathers began to settle to the floor.
Very warily they all stood up and began inspecting the room, being ready for another attack. After about ten minutes, they breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down in the dirt.

"Wheeew! That was a close one. What the heck was wrong with those things?" asked Dumont nonchalantly as everyone began to loosen up.

"I don't know, but I can assure you they'll be back," came Future Heero's reply.

"How can you be so sure Heero?" inquired Future Quatre, getting a bit nervous from the look on his comrade's face.

"I just know."

"Well, at least we're all okay," said Catherine with a playful wink.

"No we're not," said Odin in a low voice.

"What do you mean?" asked Future Wufei as he eyed the young boy.

"Rele-Serena's gone...

AN: Soon you'll see what I've been leading up to. Now you understand why Heero did what he did that night, and I thought his side of the story needed to be told. Hopefully I'll get part 9 posted soon. Please e-mail me... Please?