Hello everyone! No, I haven't died - I'm still very much alive... I'm sorry that this isn't Chapter 9 to the Heero's Peace Sequel *dodges bricks and bullets*, but I've been stuck with that fic for a while, and I'm ever so slowly chiseling away at the wall of writer's block. Anyways, this is a preview of sorts to give you all the gist of a new series that I might start after I finish the HPS. It won't be a songfic series, but this particular one is a songfic - we all know I can't help myself ^_^ Be warned, though, that this story is slightly AU and doesn't follow along the series and EW storylines, but it's not too far off and I hope all you H&R fans will like it just the same.

Author's Notes: The song I chose has some unusual references in it, and I wanted to be sure that you all understood them so that you could get the full meaning out of the fic (I'm not trying to insult anyone's intelligence here, so forgive me if you already know this stuff, but I am the Queen of Useless Facts) *laughs*-

Scylla and Charybdis: Two horrible monsters from Greek Mythology. They resided on either side of the Straits of Messina, those who tried to pass them often died, except for the great hero Odysseus. Scylla had six dog heads that were attached to long, scaly necks. Across from Scylla was the deadly whirlpool, Charybdis; three times a day he swallowed up the sea and spat it out again.

Mephistophiles : An evil spirit; the devil from Goethe's "Faust"

Alabaster: A hard, white stone - the word 'alabaster' is often used to describe death

Ok, and finally the disclaimer. Don't own the characters, ya-ya-ya, or the song, "Wrapped Around Your Finger," sung by The Police

Her eyes widened, staring right back into his. He watched as her hands began to tremble and her breathing became rapid and ragged while she struggled to stand. Relena felt her knees go weak, and she lowered herself to the ground, aided by the tree she had been standing under as the sounds of the lively activity in the university's courtyard around her turned into a faint ringing noise in her ears. He made no motion to help her, or comfort her, but simply stood there impassively, awaiting the rest of her reaction, streams of sunlight trailing their way across his face through the leaves on the branches above. She looked up at him, a single tear wending its way down her cheek, and she bit her lip in order to keep from crying out. Her mind struggled to process the information it had just been given; she sat in the shade just shaking her head, numbly mouthing the word "no," over and over again. When she finally found her voice, Relena wanted to ask him if this was some kind of joke - she almost prayed that it was, but from what she had come to know of Heero Yuy over the past semester, this was no farce.

"So you killed him?" Relena asked quietly, stumbling over the words while fighting against the sobs that threatened to overtake her. Heero knelt down in front of her, seeing the contempt slowly overtake the sadness in her eyes. He braced himself, expecting her to start screaming at him, or hit him or make some kind of scene, but as several minutes passed, she scarcely moved or said a thing. Relena simply kept her eyes fixed on the ground, languidly twirling the small golden band around her right ring finger, as if pretending that she was alone. Momentarily lost in thought, she replayed the scene in her mind.

***FOUR YEARS AGO***

She had been fifteen years old, and her father, Richard Darlian was a high-ranking diplomat seeking to promote peace between warring factions from the Far East. She had gone with him while he attended a summit since it was spring break at her school and she hadn't wanted to stay there alone over the holiday. It happened on her birthday of all days, and she remembered all the details as if it had been just a vivid dream. They had gone to a jewelry store - her father had ordered a birthstone ring for her, and they stopped first to pick it up before continuing on to dinner and the opera. Flanked by guards, they had exited the shop and moved towards the waiting limo, but stopped briefly on the sidewalk when Relena said, "Oh, father, it's so pretty! Please can I wear it to dinner?" Mr. Darlian smiled kindly and opened the small velvet box in his hand. He began to slip the ring on his daughter's finger when shots rang out around them. Relena felt a warm rush of liquid spray across her face as the guard next to her crumpled to the ground, half of the side of his head gone as his eyes starred dully at the sky. She was too scared to scream as the other guards fell also, leaving she and her father standing alone while the white cement sidewalks were washed with blood. Mr. Darlian pushed Relena behind him while he attempted to move back in the direction of the shop for cover. Relena heard a grunt escape from her father as a bullet struck his shoulder. He turned around and she could see the red blood fanning out and soaking through his white tuxedo shirt.

"Relena," he gasped as another bullet hit him from behind. He began to shake, and collapsed into his daughter's waiting arms.

"No, father, no!" She cried, lowering him to the ground and cradling his head in her arms. "Please don't die on me. Father!"

"My Relena..." he said as he felt himself slipping away. With his last bit of strength, he reached up and took her hand. He still held her birthday gift between his fingers, and he smiled at her.

"Read the inscription," he sputtered, smiling, as the world went black. She did as he asked.

"To my princess. Happy birthday." And he was gone.

"You killed him?" she asked again, this time a little more loudly.

"No," was the emotionless answer from beside her. "I shot his guards. Odin killed your father."

"But you didn't do anything to stop him!" She spat back, losing her battle with the tears as they started flowing over her cheeks.

"It was our mission," he replied stoically. "But I failed at mine."

"How?!" she cried, trying to stand up. She wanted to get as far away from here as she possibly could. "He's dead, my father is dead." Relena finally managed to get to her feet, and began to retreat across the yard until Heero caught her wrist. Turning her around to face him, he looked into her eyes - the eyes that four years ago had first made him think that killing, and everything he had come to learn in his life with Odin Lowe, had been wrong.

"Relena," he said softly, still holding her wrist firmly, his voice trailing off. The tone caught her attention. There was something in his whole manner that hadn't been there just seconds before. "Relena, I failed at my mission," he said again, as if he were somewhere far away. "My mission was... was to kill you."

You consider me the young apprentice
Caught between the Scylla and Charybdis
Hypnotized by you if I should linger
Staring at the ring around your finger

He dropped her hand and began to back away slowly, confusion radiating through all of his being while he regarded her, left standing alone and frozen in shocked silence. Taking one last look, he turned his back to her hoping that she would not follow.

***Later that Night***

Why? Why had he told her? "Because she's in danger now that Odin's free," he answered himself.

"But why should you care?"

"I don't know..."

Perhaps the answer lied in seeing her again.

I have only come here seeking knowledge,
Things they would not teach me of in college

He walked as if in a dream - slowly and aware of each step, his mind spinning at all the details of the situation as the chilly night air swirled down the corridor to meet him, biting at his chest and arms through the thin shirt he wore. Finally he reached the cold metal door that opened onto the apartment building's rooftop. Heero pushed on it slowly, scanning the flat concrete vista that appeared before him, straining to see through the darkness of the middle of the night until a glint of gold caught his eye near the ledge.

I can see the destiny you sold
Turned into a shining band of gold

A shiver ran through him, and he crossed his arms in effort to reserve what little warmth was left as he began to walk towards her. Heero found her asleep, sheathed in a heavy blanket and curled up in a chair set to face the northern night sky. "She's probably on the roof looking at the stars," her roommate Hilde had instructed, concern written allover her face when he'd knocked on their door. He had said nothing in reply, but simply turned to find his way to the roof until a hand reached out to grab his sleeve. "And Heero," Hilde said quietly, looking as if she were ready to cry, "She seemed really upset; she wouldn't even tell me what was wrong. That's not like Relena..." the small, dark-haired woman let her eyes bore into him. Heero stood in silence for a moment, her hand still hanging on to his shirtsleeve. He made an effort to loosen her hold on him, when she looked up, seemingly prepared for a confrontation. "Do you know anything about this?" she asked, a trace of hostility in her voice. He looked her in the eye for a split second before finishing the job of prying her hand off of his sleeve, and Heero walked away towards the roof, leaving a bewildered Hilde standing in the hallway.

So now he stood over Relena's defenseless, slumbering form, noticing how the lights from the street below reflected on the long golden hair spilling over the bulky quilt around her shoulders, and the way the lights cast an eerie glow on her face. She could have been a ghost. By all rights she would have been if he had been able to pull the trigger. He looked down at her and reached out as if to touch her.

I'll be wrapped around your finger

"Relena..."

I'll be wrapped around your finger

She stirred, and he abruptly pulled his hand back, startled. Heero's eyes followed the ring on her hand as she lifted it to her face, breathing in deeply while she rubbed her eyes.

"Heero?" She gasped in surprise at the sight of him standing there, her voice was at first tender, but quickly she stiffened. "Have you come to finish your mission?" she asked venomously, a tone very uncharacteristic of the Relena he knew, as much as the anger flashing across her face. "Well, Heero?" she pressed.

Mephistopheles is not your name
But I know what you're up to just the same

"I couldn't kill you," he replied lowly. "Not now, and not then."

Rising rigidly from the chair, Relena squared her shoulders defiantly and gathered up her blanket, making ready to leave. "Then why did you come here? Because Odin Lowe has been released from prison? Well, I'm not afraid of him."

"Relena, you should be." Something about the way he said those words made her stop. Slowly she eased herself back into the chair and waited for him to explain.

I will listen hard to your tuition
And you will see it come to its fruition

"He raised me. I don't remember anything about my life before him. He always said that he found me in a dumpster in some dark alley - that I was something worthless; that someone threw me away. So I owed him my life, and he trained me. I was eight years old the first time I killed a man, some sheik from the Arabian nations..." Heero couldn't stop the words from coming. He had never told anyone of his life with Odin Lowe. "He was relentless. He didn't care who we killed as long as we got paid. I was taught to follow through with my missions no matter what happened. But that ended the day your father died."

I'll be wrapped around your finger

"W-why didn't you kill me, Heero?" she looked at him intently, her heart filling with pity as quickly as it had filled with fear and loathing only moments before.

"Your tears." Heero paused a long while for a moment. "I'd never seen anyone cry before. I-I didn't know death could make someone so sad."

She reached out for him. "Oh, Heero..."

I'll be wrapped around your finger

***Four Years Ago***

"Finish her, boy, what are you waiting for?" Heero's finger lightly touched the trigger, but he couldn't make himself exert the final amount of pressure that would send a bullet to end the life of the girl on the street below. His eyes were fixed on her face, the tears streaking down her face, mingling with the blood of the dead guard beside her as she held her dying father. "What is wrong with you, dammit! Do it - NOW!" When he didn't comply the second time, Odin shoved him aside, nearly knocking him off their perch on the rooftop while he set his own rifle in the space that Heero's had previously occupied. He pulled the trigger, but the bullet lodged in the barrel. Swearing, he stormed towards his accomplice. "Give me the gun," he seethed, backhanding Heero after snatching the rifle, sending him flying almost over the ledge. Just then the sounds of approaching sirens filled the air, and police cars crowded the street while a helicopter circled above. Odin threw down the gun, and grabbed at Heero. "Run!"

Heero could feel his heart pounding in his chest as they flew down the stairwells, jumping down entire flights at a time until they heard the sound of footsteps ascending from below. The muffled voices of policemen... "Up here... On the roof..." Odin swung around and started to climb the stairs and Heero followed. "There!" one of the voices from below shouted, and the pace of the footsteps quickened before Heero and Odin found themselves on the roof again. Odin ran to the ledge hastily, inwardly cursing his apprentice for the precious moments he had wasted and cost them their escape. Heero lagged behind, doubling over from the pain in his ribs - a result from the blow that Odin had given him. He heard the policemen burst through the door, and he ran to the side of roof. The group of officers had headed in the opposite direction, and Heero looked over the ledge. Seeing the bars of an old fire escape, he launched himself off the roof and stealthily swung his way to the ground, disappearing into the alleys of the city.

Devil and the deep blue sea behind me
Vanish in the air you'll never find me

"So you got away from him?" Relena asked, snapping him back into the here and now.

"I thought I did," was Heero's reply as he stared off into the stars. "And I could leave now, but he'll find you. And he'll kill you. He'll spend his life looking for me, to kill me, too."

"Are you...?"

"Odin never leaves a mission unfinished."

He felt a surge of anger rise in him as he came to the realization that he would never be free as long as this man was alive. 'And I would spend my life running from him - he'd still have control over me...' Heero thought to himself. His fists clenched and unclenched at his side, the channels of anger running through him, narrowing into one thought. "Come and get me, Odin."

I will turn your face to alabaster
Then you'll find your servant is your master

"We have to leave here, Relena. Too many people could die because of us. He won't care who gets in the way."

And you'll be wrapped around my finger

"Why should I trust you?" she questioned. He reached out to take her hand, helping her out of the chair.

"Nothing I can say will convince you that you should trust me. Just know that I'll protect you."

I'll be wrapped around your finger

She rose to her feet to follow as he made his way back to the rooftop door. He pulled it open, ushering her through before him, her blanket trailing behind her, dragging on the stairs.

"Be ready to go in an hour," he instructed from behind. "Tell Hilde that you're going to visit your aunt in France."

"But I don't have an aunt in France," she replied, beginning to understand his reasoning right after the words escaped her lips.

"Exactly," Heero replied as they reached her door.

You'll be wrapped around my finger

"Wait, Heero... Why are you doing this? Protecting me?" Staring at her blankly, almost looking past her to the stark white door of her apartment as she stood in the dim hall light, he seemed to be contemplating something. He froze for a moment, as if he would answer. Their eyes met, and he held her gaze for a long while, but said nothing as he turned to leave.

I'll be wrapped around your finger...

I know some things may seem a bit unclear, but the actual Eternal Return series will clear all of that up. Please let me know if you'd like me to continue with this. Thanks & love to all! ~Stella