Chance (part 3)
Niko
Heero looked around the illuminated house with a slight groan. It was a mess. At least there was electricity and running water again. That much was a plus. Still, he had a lot of work to do till the others got there. Unfortunately, along with the manual labor involved in the clean up came wondering thoughts. Thinking about what cleaning product was safe to use on hard wood floors only kept ones interest for so long. On this day, inevitably, his thoughts wandered to that damn phone and the voices on the other end. Maybe his imagination was to blame but it had seemed so real. Even worse, now that he thought about it, he could almost remember it happening to him in the past. It was like a jigsaw puzzle in which the pieces had finally come together but the picture was still unclear. Or perhaps it was more like a morning after a blissful slumber where you can no longer tell whether you've been dreaming or if everything is real. Either way, there was something undoubtedly right about the whole thing. Whether he believed it or not, something was going on. He began to divulge himself in fantasies, on ideas of what might be if this sort of opportunity were really open to him. He had so much to gain if what his heart said was true. He'd call again, of course. Whether he would stay on the phone this time or not was still up to fate. To think, talking with your ten years junior self. What would he tell him? How the war ended, whom ended up with whom, what stock changes made and broke many wealthy businessmen. Guilt and his conscience nipped at him. That was wrong, yes, but these were just fantasies. He knew what could happen if he did something like that. A time paradox, a Pandora's box equation. He could mess up everything. What happened happened for a reason. Had he stayed with Duo, who knows, maybe they would have both died in a shuttle crash. On the other hand, maybe this reality was the messed up one. Maybe he wasn't supposed to leave after the war. This was all too confusing. Heero wiped at his brow absentmindedly as he surveyed the layers of dust settling above the furniture. He wished it had been Quatre and Trowa's turn to prepare the place. Maybe then they would be the ones in this odd situation. Besides that, this was a dirty, lonely job. He started with the ceiling and worked his way down with duster, broom and mop. After many hours of hard labor, his stood back and admired his work. Spotless. He smiled to himself. Duo never knew the meaning of the word. His side of the room was always a mess. The guy had improved greatly over the five years but he was still a slob. He'd just started cleaning up after himself as time went on.
Heero put the things away and sat down to a small meal of ramen. He ate it quickly as was the custom and slipped the empty dish into the sink. What was there to do now? He still had a good two or three days to completely finish the place off. After working most of the day, he wasn't very keen on the idea of continuing his task. He glanced at the clock on the wall and frowned. Time moved just a tad bit too slowly for him. He drummed on the table with his knuckles and blew his bangs out of his face. Duo's journal instantly came to mind as he pondered over what to do. He walked to his bedroom and grabbed the book then returned to the kitchen where the lighting was best. A hot mug of hot chocolate and he was set. Heero opened to the day's date and read over the entry. Nothing much. Duo certainly took a long time to say nothing happened though. Three paragraphs in fact. Heero shook his head and turned the page, unsatisfied with the previous entry. This one was much more to his liking and brought a small bout of laughter at the memory. Duo singing with the broom. With those oh-so-short-shorts on and those long pale legs dancing across the floor, Duo had been quite a sight. The crimson color that rose to his cheeks was equally humorous. It wasn't often that Shinigami had reason to blush. The boy hardly understood the word humility.
He had such a beautiful singing voice, Heero thought. I wish I could have recorded that moment in time.
He sighed wistfully and closed the book. If he was going to make that call again, he had better do it now while he still had the courage to do so. The phone was sitting out of the box this time. Heero had learned his lesson the night before. His hands didn't shake thought he knew they should be. The frequency settings were the same as the times before and he waited.
"Heero Yuy, please respond."
Nothing. … he's not going to pick up the phone again… but I need to know-
<"I hope you aren't planning on hanging up again.">
Thank God!
"No. I'm sorry about that. I was shocked. I need to ask you a question."
<"I'm not in the mood to answer it.">
Heero growled, "Listen to me, this will only take a second. I need to know what year it is."
<"What kind of nut case are you?.">
"Humor me." Heero waited, his fingers crossed. There was a long silence. It was like torture. Didn't this guy realize how much this meant to him? He had to know.
Finally, <"This is the year After Colony 195.">
The sound echoed in his ears, his mind, his soul. AC 195. Ten years ago. He pinched himself. It hurt. A lot, actually. His eyes were the size of saucers, all this prior fantasies suddenly materializing before them.
"Heero Yuy, would you believe me if I told you that I know your future."
<"What the hell? Are you some kind of phony physic? I'm not interested. Good-night.">
"No! I'm not! Hold on a minute!" Heero shouted, "I want to help you!"
<"Help me?"> There was a small mocking laugh at the other end of the line, <" And just who the hell are you?">
Heero thought for a moment. He needed a name. Knowing himself, he'd never believe he was talking to himself in the future. Hell he could hardly believe it. He usually just went by Duo Maxwell when times called for a new identity but it wouldn't work in this case. So what would he call himself now? He couldn't let some technicality ruin his chance to…
"Chance. My name is Chance."
<"Good for you. Good-bye.">
"Wait, listen! You're going to make the wrong choice in your future that you'll regret for the rest of your life! If you listen to me, we can avoid the path already taken and create a better future."
There was a long drawn out pause, <"I don't understand you and frankly I don't care to. How do I know I can trust you.">
"You don't."
<"That's all I needed to know.">
Heero knew what was coming next. He was about to hang up on himself, or rather, 195 Heero was about to hang up on 205 Heero. He couldn't allow that to happen. He leaned against the table and felt the black book under his hand. The journal. Of course. Perfect!
"Wait, don't hang up. I can prove it to you."
Pause.
<"How?">
Heero took a deep breath, "Tomorrow afternoon you, Trowa, Quatre and Wufei are going to go to the store but you'll come home early and find Duo dancing in the living room and singing into a broom."
Longer pause.
<"What makes you think this will happen?">
"It already has. Just not for you."
With that, he hung up the phone and set it down on the table. Now his hands were shaking. Not just his hands. His whole body shook violently. He hadn't just done that.. had he? He hadn't just..
.. oh God.
He fell, his hands grasping a hold of his chair as he went down. The last few minutes of the day seemed to fade like a dream though his mind said clearly that they had been real. Heero bent his head over his arms, unable to think straight. The world seemed to dip and sway, twirling around him in a downward spiral. Consequences of his actions flashed before him previously unthought of. He was tampering with time for heaven's sake! Then suddenly, a horrifying realization came to him. He couldn't care less. As long as he got what he wanted, he didn't care what happened to anything else. Selfish? Maybe. But then again, he'd risked his life for the world, it was about time the world repaid its debt.
Heero stood, his legs sturdy beneath him,. He took the phone and Duo's journal in hand and looked at them, a mysterious gleam in his eyes. He had a new mission.
I will reshape my past. I will mold my life and recreate my future. As long as I end up with Duo…, the world can go to Hell.
