Dedicated to the Love of my Life.

A/N: Trust me! This is one AMAZING story. I’m not tooting my own horn because it does not belong to me. It was originally a one-shot named: Sideways Into the Present, written by AngelOfDeath10…and, in reading such an amazing fiction, I found that AOD was willing to give permission to anyone keen on extending the some odd pages into a longer story. I readily grasped the opportunity. So, without further ado, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing. Bother.

FALSE VERACITY

Heero Yuy was in a very bad mood.

Why?

He had just discovered (and as he was rarely uninformed, the concept of ‘discovery’ was tinged with unpleasantness) that Dr. J was in the main compound of the Preventer headquarters. Sub-level 14, Research & Development.

This was bad.

No. This was worse than bad. It was worrying.

Heero unconsciously located the butt of his Beretta M9 and he caressed the cold steel with a calloused thumb. Flashbacks of himself and the good doctor were running rampant in his mind’s eye and it took a ridiculous amount of control and several variations of breathing techniques to alleviate his want to do major bodily harm to the man. Even with these measures, he wasn’t surprised in the least when Commander Une noticed that his everyday, stoic frown had transformed into something that of a heated scowl.

The Lady sighed at his expression. She rose from her seat, stood behind her mahogany desk, and faced one unhappy Preventer and one stricken Vice Foreign Minister. She took the manila folder in her hand and sat the information before them, sliding it around to where Heero and Relena could see the records.

Sure enough, there he was. A faded picture of a weathered, long-haired, elderly man lay clipped to packet upon packet of useless data. Those same eyes shielded by a pair of what Dr. J called glasses, others called permanent eye fixtures, and that familiar ear to ear smile. It made Heero uneasy.

The silence in the room proceeding the unveiling was deafening. The only noise present was the continuous ticking of the clock on the Commander’s bare wall. As well as the occasional melodious chip or two outside the open window to the left.

Heero didn’t think the birds had a purpose to sing this morning.

“I know you’re not happy about Dr. J working in R&D, Yuy, but he’s proved to be a valuable asset to the Preventer cause.”

Not happy? If that wasn’t the understatement of the century.

Heero narrowed his dark blue eyes. His body tensed at his superior’s words. No wonder she hadn’t informed him of the hire. There was no telling what he would have done to the scientist previously. As a matter of fact, there was no telling what he’d do now. Question the doctor heavily about how he’d survived the Libra incident, first and foremost. Then he’d kill him.

“But why tell us about Dr. J now after all this time?” Relena asked, her whimsical voice tinged with worry. She bowed her head to study the files. Her tied-back, honeyed hair cascaded down her suited shoulder. “It’s been years since-“

“Yes,” Une interrupted. She leaned forward and supported herself with splayed out hands, now eye-level with the both of them. “Yes, I know. But up until now he hasn’t been a problem.”

Heero grunted. He closed his eyes against the Lady’s incredulous stare. “What’s he done?” He folded his arms across his chest and withheld an, ‘I told you so’ even though he’d never really said anything. Heero didn’t assume he needed to state the obvious. Wasn’t this a given?

“As you may or may not know, Dr. J has successfully enhanced some of the finest security features available. But…” The Commander paused. “I’ve found that he’s been pilfering research dollars to invest in a little something of his own design.”

Relena’s fist alighted over her heart. “Is it dangerous?”

“No,” Une replied. “The tool doesn’t even operate, the last I heard. But the man refuses to discard the invention unless you specifically forbade him to.”

“Me?” Relena asked, quite surprised at the revelation. “Why me?”

Une repressed a sigh. She sank back into the leather chair behind her. “I’m not sure. But please go and take a look. Deny or approve as you see fit. It’s the only way he’s willing to cooperate.”

Heero cursed his fortune. He’d accepted the position as Relena’s bodyguard to do just that. Protect her. He didn’t think he’d end up dealing with and/or facing his past when he preferred for it to remain hidden. Who would? Yet, despite all his misgivings about seeing the doctor, his priority was to his charge. And wherever Relena went, he’d follow. Grumpily, yes, but he’d rather endure any and every amount of Dr. J’s training all over again than have the old man lay a single finger on his mark.

“Hn.” Heero removed himself from Relena’s side to open the Commander’s office door. “Let’s go.”

The Vice Foreign Minister bade the Lady farewell and did as she was told. Slowly. She knew she was in trouble. Once her ‘oh-so patient’ and ‘ever-understanding’ bodyguard closed them off from Une’s study with rather unnecessary force, he stared her down via his trademarked death glare and said, “When she asked for increased funding for the R&D department, you didn’t question the reason like I told you to.”

Heero was convinced the accusation was correct. The way Relena avoided his gaze was a dead giveaway. Never once since he’d known her, even when she was at the receiving end of his pistol, had she ever been unable to look him directly in the eye.

Though she knew he was angry, Relena thought it was unfair of him to be colder to her than usual. The requested endowment had seemed harmless enough at the time. She’d placed her signature in all the appropriate places and that was the end of that. Or so Relena had thought. The documents had been signed at least eight months ago. She hadn't known Dr. J was one of the scientists. Hence, to be mad at her was unreasonable. Almost.

“I’m perfectly capable of doing my own job.” Relena lifted her chin a little to show him that she wasn’t intimidated. Even if it was a lie.

“Apparently not,” Heero grunted. He turned on his heel, ignoring her aghast expression, and started toward the elevator at the end of the hallway. By the time he’d reached the stainless steel door, she’d caught up to him, verbal attack poised and ready on her lips.

Heero pressed the downward arrow on the wooden panel. He shoved his hands into his Preventer jacket pockets and waited. For both their elevator and the oral sparing to continue. Relena wouldn’t give in that easily.

“Well, pardon me for being human,” she quipped. “We’re not all perfect.”

Heero bit back a grumble. Women.

They stepped into the elevator together and descended to sub-level 14.

Without knowing it, Relena began tapping the toe of one foot in rhythmic irritation as she stared at Heero's back.

Men.

When they finally stopped at their destination (a grueling two minutes of cold shouldering), the two figures were exposed to a white foyer. At its end stood a large, riveted, metal door. As Heero reached for the knob, it opened in an almost precognitive way and the infamous doctor himself stood smiling in the threshold, reminding Relena of the Cheshire cat from the Alice in Wonderland books. However, the Cheshire cat had never specialized in weapons of mass destruction. An uneasy feeling seeped through the Vice Foreign Minister’s veins, but she hid it well.

And only the incredible tension that exuded from Heero gave his apprehension away.

“It’s an honor to have you visit my humble abode, Minister Darlian,” Dr. J gushed. “And it’s always interesting to see you, Mr. Yuy.”

Heero’s glower was so severe all Relena could do was shiver.

“It’s chilly down here, Doctor.” She smiled in a friendly manner, though she felt anything but thrilled about all of this. “I can’t wait to see what you have to show me.”

Dr. J chuckled slyly. He situated his spectacles with his clawed, robotic hand. “I don’t suppose you’d like to see all the different gadgets I’ve been fiddling with. Because I know exactly the thing Lady Une was worried about.” He ducked back inside the lab and made his way past mounds and mounds of haphazardly stacked mechanical parts. He vanished into a jointed room.

Heero took Relena aside before she could follow Dr. J.

“Tell him to discontinue whatever it is that he’s doing.” His voice was monotoned, as always, yet more urgent than usual.

Pulling her arm away, Relena wanted to assure the Perfect Soldier that she knew what she was doing. She’d been making decisions to guide the ESUN for six years already, after all. “I’ll make the best assessment for the situation. Unless you don’t trust me to do the right thing.” Her ocean-blue eyes flashed. Somehow, her bodyguard could always make her react…violently…to things. It was a symptom of still being incredibly sensitive when it came to the subject of Heero Yuy – not to the subject of her authority.

Dr. J cleared his throat. He sauntered back into the main room. Heero and Relena pulled away from one another quickly. The only thing Dr. J carried was a watch and a remote. With a questioning smirk, he held out the first object.

Relena placed it on her arm. Heero shifted his weight, uncharacteristically troubled. He took a moment to ponder just how he should destroy the good doctor if the device so much as gave her a rash.

Dr. J pushed a button on the synthetic band. The watch displayed a series of numbers. All zeros. He smiled delightedly and turned on the remote, which emitted a faint, but steady, beeping noise. “Excellent, excellent, everything is at full power.” The doctor fiddled with several other switches and knobs. “This, from what I can tell, breaks through some sort of time-space barrier. It launches an object into a different snapshot of the universe than the one we currently reside in.”

Both Heero and Relena acquired a familiar, dumbfounded air. Suddenly, neither of them could take another word the old man said seriously. Even if they’d wanted to. Right. Dr. J had made a machine capable of transfering things to an alternate universe. Sure. Maybe Dr. J should retire before his senility caused a truly horrific disaster. He was dangerous enough when sane, as it was. Assuming he had been sane to begin with.

“I see you both don’t believe me.” The old man’s tanned brow puckered in disappointment. “I’ve undergone numerous tests. I’ve sent probes and I know!” He waved a gnarled finger in the air. “I know that wherever they go is similar in atmosphere and the like to our world. I can show you.”

Relena was tired. It was a lot of stress (mostly because of Heero) to be humoring a crazy scientist. But a sense of pity caught her heart and she smiled as kindly as she could under the circumstances. “Sure. I’d love to see your project in action.”

The doctor raised an eager eyebrow. “Press the button on the left, on your watch.” His mechanical hand whirred, snapping open and closed, open and closed.

Relena obliged him. There were two switches on the left side of the gadget and two on the right. She pressed the inner left and a ‘1’ appeared on the timer, replacing the zero that had been there before.

“It should read one minute,” Dr. J explained. “When the numbers start flashing, and they should right away, press this green button on the remote and the portal will open up again. There’s a half-hour window, but as your trip is so short, there is no need to wait for the flashing. Are you ready?”

This was ridiculous.

“Yes, Dr. J,” she replied.

He handed the Minister his remote and pushed the button for her. Prior to hastily backing a good deal away…

Relena’s lips, which had been gracing Dr. J and his quirks with a somewhat tolerant smile, quickly became an O of horror. A five-foot, swirling portal of white light opened up and sucked her in like the powerful vacuum it was. In spite of this, Relena's arms flailed. One of her hands came into contact with Heero’s. He leapt after her, disregarding any danger he might put himself in for her sake.

When the two ‘subjects’ disappeared and the portal had closed, Dr. J scrunched up his eyebrows and thought a moment. He tapped his stubbled chin. “Now, did I have that set for minutes? Or hours?”

010

The portal was frightening and mesmerizing. The entire trip only took mere moments. Relena began to wonder if a person's hair could really turn white from fright. Well, she’d find out soon enough when she got out of this. Blast that doctor. She should have listened to Heero. (Though, telling him such was not on the top of her priorities. Even on a good day.)

They both collapsed in a heap on cold, hard stone. And slowly, so very slowly, Relena’s senses came into focus. Machines hummed, pricking at the tips of her buzzing ears. Servers, it seemed.

Then she noted that although Heero was fairly lean, he sure wasn’t light. Must be all that muscle. Relena groaned to notify him of his position, and he immediately sprang off of her. With some humor, though not much, she also noticed that her cream-colored skirt suit would probably never be the same again. Untangling her golden hair a bit, which had flown free of its ponytail during…er…reentry, Relena struggled to attain her bearings. First of all, she looked at the watch.

It wasn't blinking. That couldn't be good.

“It’s…not blinking.” She felt stupid saying it out loud.

Heero grabbed her arm and took a look at the device. There were enough zero spaces for it to be counting down the time, but it wasn't. All evidence pointed to one fact: the series of numbers displayed did not equal one minute. Looking into Relena’s concerned face, he didn't know what to tell her. So, instead of saying anything, he took the remote from her grasp and slipped it into his gun holster, taking out the weapon. Just in case.

“We’re getting out of here. I’ve got a bad feeling.” It was actually more than a feeling. He could discern footsteps coming in their direction. He could hear them and feel their short-stridden vibrations in the floor. They probably belonged to whoever monitored the computers - whoever made sure they were working properly. No use taking chances. If anyone discovered them here, there would be questions. Best to stay out of sight.

Dragging Relena behind him by the hand, Heero stealthily made his way out of the server room. He found himself in a poorly lit passage designed like the one leading to the Dr. J’s lab. There was an elevator at the end, as well. There were four-digit codes needed to go further down to the sub-levels. Not up.

Heero selected the button to the ground floor. He carefully stepped inside the elevator after the steel door whirred open to receive them. He briefly scanned the interior, automatically checking and rechecking for potential danger. Once he was sure it was secure, Heero guided Relena in after him. They had a few moments before they reached whatever lobby may exist in this place.

“I’m scared, Heero.”

Relena's words made him feel a little ill. He was afraid too, but not for himself. Why, of all people, had Relena Darlian been forced into unknown territory with him? She should be safe and in her own place. Heero could take care of himself anywhere. But himself and another person? This could get dicey. Yet he could make it work. Would make it work. Because this was Relena.

Heero felt her tremble, standing there next to him. He decided to try and encourage Relena in some form or fashion. It certainly wasn’t the temperature that was getting to her. He allowed himself to lightly embrace the young woman. (More of a brief squeeze, really.) She looked noticeably better at the gesture.

“But Heero,” Relena whispered. "We’ve been here for more than a minute or two and the numbers haven’t changed.”

If he were the type to swear. But Heero was more the type to tear apart a certain crackpot doctor once they returned. The old man wouldn’t be so willing to make dangerous inventions if he had no arms. Or maybe if he just broke all his fingers…

That thought made Heero smile a bit. He curtailed his musings as the elevator door opened.

Silent, pale people of all ages dressed in dark shades of gray. They stood in winding lines that stretched back through the tiled lobby and out the glass front doors of the building. Not a single one acknowledged them in the slightest of bits. The drones in front handed their large stacks of papers to people seated behind rows of small, square windows. Each station was separated by a few inches of marble.

Others watched from the corners of the room. (Guards sporting darned uniforms – again, gray.) They spoke in hushed tones and began to move towards them.

Several options were open to the two, at this point. They could be taken without struggle, but Heero didn’t want to relinquish Relena in foreign territory. (Or anywhere, to be more honest). They could make a break for it, but Relena looked stiff with distress and that idea seemed like a bad course of action with so many people blocking the path to the exit. So Heero choose the last option: he pressed to button to go up.

The elevator door slid closed as more officers approached. Heero felt himself tense rather than relax. He still had his gun exposed. Had they seen? This wasn’t good.

Up, up, up!

The elevator opened. This time, a narrow hall littered with beautiful potted ferns hanging from the domed ceiling and a long, red carpet greeted them. Wooden double doors decorated with elaborate carvings along its hinged edges stood imposingly at the ways end. As Heero and Relena cautiously traveled down the corridor, they passed what looked to be many other smaller doors. None of them were accessible.

No one came out, thankfully. Perhaps nobody was in there. Heero didn’t want to check. He thought he discerned the faint tap of keyboards within.

The only silent room turned out to be the one that was behind the impressive entry. Heero pressed his ear against the polished wood. He paused his breath to listen. Nothing. He dropped to his knees, then, and scanned the crack beneath the doorway. Perceiving no presence as far as he could tell, and there being little else he could do, Heero proceeded to turn the handle.

Inside, there was a monstrous desk covered in reams of paper. A high-backed, black chair was facing away from them, towards the bay window that bestowed a view of the polluted, bustling city below. Dark drapes. Dark walls. Golden statuettes of those in agony and grim angels wielding glistening swords. This room was meant to impress. It was meant to daunt. It was meant for someone important and feared.

This was not where they should be. As Heero and Relena made ready to depart, a voice hummed from the turned seat.

“Oh, Heero, already going? Have you only now realized the futility of your little crusade? What is it this time? Come to beg me again? You gave up your last chance so long ago. I admit: you are adorable with your hangdog expression. And last time, when you wept…” the voice giggled. “I was almost moved to something resembling human emotions.” The chair swiveled around. “But I don't suppose you think of me as human anymore, after what I had Dr. Po do to you.”

“Relena?” Heero had a moment of terrible uncertainty. Relena was behind him, holding onto his jacket. Yet sitting there with her hair up, dressed in a scandalously low top, and more eye makeup and rouge lipstick than could ever exist was…well…Relena.

The woman’s painted eyebrows narrowed. Something was wrong. First of all, she did not miss the gun clutched in his possession. More importantly, she noted the small hand and other set of legs nestled behind his frame.

“Who is that? Why are you here?” she asked, her voice sharp.

Relena came out from behind Heero and faced her doppelganger with as much open shock as the other, regarding her. Unexpectedly, the faux Relena’s visage registered understanding.

“So. Here to assassinate and replace me at last?” She smirked. “I knew your pretty ideals could never hold up against results. The resemblance is remarkable, I admit, but plastic surgery can do wonders.” The woman raked an appraising eye over Relena, cocking her head to the side to better view her double. “She looks a lot dopey-er than I do, though. Probably not a lot up top, either. To even think you could get away with this.”

Heero saw Relena clutch a handful of her soiled, cream skirt in an attempt to get a hold of her anger. His eyebrows quirked expectantly.

“You…” Relena huffed. “You are a presumptuous, badly dressed, exceptionally rude person! If I weren’t pretty sure you were me, I’d cut off diplomatic relations with you!” She was losing it. This was too much for her to begin with. But meeting a cutting and, frankly, revolting version of herself was a little beyond what a person should expect out of their day.

“She even sounds like me. Astonishing.” The anti-Relena flicked a switch on her desk with a long, manicured nail. “The guards will be here shortly. Unlike my usual lenient behavior towards you, which I admit is a weakness on my part that will now cease, I’m afraid I’ll have to have my guards beat you, Heero, and kill the girl,” she purred. “I’ll decide what to do with you later.”

Heero cursed his luck for the second time that day. “Relena,” he ordered. “Get behind me.”

The woman at the desk blinked, confused. But before any more questions were asked, there was a burst of activity.

Heero stilled, listening to the thundering pairs of boots advancing to fetch them. And just as the double doors were beginning to open, he kicked as hard as he possibly could and sent whoever it was on the other side face first into the decorated oak. With speed Relena never could have guessed he possessed, Heero pulled her and himself over the pile of gray, dominoed bodies to sprint down the hallway.

A few shots of cover fire for the remaining guards who weren’t presently trying to scramble to their feet, and they were well on their way with an agreeable head-start. Heero clipped them in their unprotected shoulders and legs, respectively; he prayed Relena wouldn't fuss about it too much. (He had promised to never kill again.) Taking a wild guess, he then broke open one of the smaller doors alongside to find a frightened little man seated at a cramped desk, pouring over some sort of report. He looked like he was about to wet his pants when he took in Heero's appearance. Particularly the gun.

Wrong door. Heero backtracked. He kicked open the access across the way to reveal a staircase. With an ironic glance at the ‘USE STAIRS IN CASE OF EMERGENCY’ sign, he started to run down them, still pulling Relena in his wake. She at least grasped the need to move as quickly as possible.

They’d reached somewhere near the ground level when more officers began to fire up at them from below. Bullets ricocheted off the metal handrails and sent Heero withdrawing to protect Relena. He took a stand in front of her.

Retracing their steps was futile. The same guards from before had, at long last, caught up and could now be heard crying out their demands for ‘halt’ or ‘surrender’.

This was bad.

On his own, Heero could get out of this. He’d been exposed to worse. With Relena, it would be next to impossible. The extreme glint in Heero's eyes spoke to the object of his concern. He turned to her, intent on shielding the woman he swore an oath to protect to the very end if need be.

Now face to face with Heero, Relena kissed him, much to his shock.

“I love you, Heero. I want you to know I’ve always loved you.”

Good God, why now?

This was not the place to tell her about how he felt. For one thing, he could barely form any thought, let alone the words he needed to say. This was like getting kicked in a very sensitive area by fate.

“I…” he began.

An officer from the exit to the floor next to them waved, catching his attention.

“What are you doing here? You didn’t give us any warning! Now we have to save your rear again.” It sounded like someone familiar. Better to trust them than earn instant death. Lady Luck was not entirely abandoning him, after all.

Heero and Relena stumbled through the door. They came face to face with three soldiers in uniforms they were not so wary of or familiar with.

“You're not going to like this, but we have to-” The soldier gasped as he realized whom Heero was with. “Relena?”

She blinked at the stranger behind the visored helmet. “Yes?”

It was all she managed before a cloth was clamped over her mouth.

Rage filtered though Hereo's system. He realized she had just been chloroformed. A hand blocked his own airways and strong arms pinned him down. Even as he lost consciousness, Heero felt a very satisfying pop - he dislocated the shoulder of one, unlucky molester.

Then there was blackness.

010

A/N: What did I tell ya? This is some exciting stuff, is it not? Kudos to AOD. You rock!

If you leave a review, I’ll get back to you. Though, if you have any major questions concerning the plot and whatnot, contact AngelOfDeath10. ‘Cause, remember, I’m just expounding.

God bless!