|
"Sensus Divinitatis"Written By: The Plotting Housewife Disclaimer: Gundam Wing belongs to Bandai, Sotsu
and associated Parties. This work is written for pleasure not profit. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements,
Ghosts, Demons, Apocalypse, Major character death, blood, gore, violence Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, 5x6 Summary: It begins with a prophecy and ends with
Judgement Day. What happens in between will determine the fate of
the human race. The murders of the Gundam Pilots was only the catalyst.
The beginning of the end. " Sensus Divinitatis" Chapter 15: June 23rd, AC 206, 5:17pm, Part One"Other...shoe?" Relena leveled Ginetti with her gaze. "Don't play dumb. I know you're an intelligent man." She speared a potato with her fork, holding it up to her mouth. Eyeing him, she continued, "So? What's the catch?" Ginetti raised his hands, palms outward. "I assure you, there's no catch. I'm just a simple man with simple needs." He paused, swallowed. "I'm sure you may think I'm odd, even a bit 'round the bend, but -" "Tell me about those books you have on your shelf." He glanced at her, expression almost guilty, though he feigned confusion. Relena rolled her eyes, exasperated. "Books on the occult, Armageddon. You seem to have a bit of an obsession on the subject." She tried for casual, popping the potato into her mouth and chewing slowly, though now it seemed to taste bland, dry. "So, what's the deal with that?" Ginetti looked down at his plate. "I'm...not sure how much I should share with you." He raised his eyes, pleading. "There's many things I would like to tell you, things I'm afraid may come to pass, but...I'm sure you won't believe me..." He trailed off, picking up his plate, and standing. He carried it over to the counter, reaching for a glass container. He dumped the uneaten remains of his supper into it and sealed it with a rubber lid. Relena observed him silently. He seemed nervous, hands shaking slightly as he packed up the leftover food. She felt almost bad for him, but this was no time to beat around the bush. Something strange was happening and if this man knew something, she was determined to find out what it was. She grabbed her empty plate and walked over to the sink to wash it. Snatching a dish towel, she turned to him, watching his back as he worked. His head was down, shoulders tense. She dried her plate and placed on the rack a few inches away. "Albert...Albert, look at me." A pause, then he turned, slowly. He seemed almost shy, gazing into middle distance near her elbow. Firmly then, "Albert." His eyes rose, met hers, anxiety swimming behind the brown irises. Relena dropped the towel and pulled the dish he was holding out of his hands, setting it on the counter behind him. Eyes hard, she pressed, "Tell me what you know." His mouth opened, closed, opened again. "Tea?" Her brows lowered, impatience seeping into her voice, "Albert." "Okay," he blew out a breath, defeated. "Okay, I'll tell you. But I'm going to make some tea first. Is that alright?" A nod, "Fine. I'll have some, too. I have a feeling I'm going to need it." Ginetti turned towards the stove where the kettle sat, a muttered, "You have no idea," under his breath. Relena ignored that for the meantime, swiping two mugs off the hooks mounted under a cabinet. Fifteen minutes later, Relena was curled back up in her chair, mug in hand, and a few of the aforementioned books on her lap. She watched as Ginetti stoked the fire, a queasy churn in her stomach. She had no idea what he was going to say, but she had a dreadful premonition that she wasn't going to like it. Ginetti placed the poker back into its spot on the rack and stood, absently brushing non-existent dirt off his knees. He turned and stepped over to the opposite chair, sinking down with a heavy sigh. She waited patiently for him to gather his thoughts, but her gaze was steady, expression expectant. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, fingers clasped together, staring at the floor. "I'm not sure where to start." That was easy enough. Relena held up a book, titled Ancient Prophecies and Predictions of Armageddon. "Did you belong to a cult, or something?" Ginetti's eyes widened, shocked. "Heavens, no! No, I - like I said before, I am - was - a scientist. An archaeologist. I was with a group of other scientists exploring ancient cultures, more specifically, the primitive practices of religion and spirituality. We were studying cases of human sacrifices. We...came across some interesting scriptures, dating back to what we think to be about thirty five hundred years ago, give, or take." He rubbed his face, blowing air between the gaps in his fingers. Relena waited. "About six years before the first war, we were digging through a site in Egypt, looking for artifacts, when we came across these scriptures. They were remarkably well-preserved despite their age and the exposure to the elements. We thought they were fairly recent, no more than a couple hundred years old at best. A hoax, maybe." "How did you find out they were much older than that?" Ginetti sipped his tea, hands wrapped tightly around his mug. "The parchment it was written on came from trees that have been extinct for at least three thousand years." His eyes gleamed with excitement, a sudden change from his resigned anxiety. One finger uncurled itself from around the mug, pointing at Relena. "But, here's the kicker. Those trees never grew anywhere near Egypt. Not even close. Those trees were indigenous to northern Europe, specifically in this area." Ginetti licked his lips, finger tapping his own knee, expression giddy. "Now, tell me how it's possible for parchment from trees native to this area to have found its way halfway around the world during a time when humans had yet to travel those distances?" Relena shook her head, at a loss. Ginetti beamed. His arm flung out, pointing at Relena in some personal triumph. "Exactly!" He exclaimed, almost jumping out of his seat. "It's not possible. Yet, there they were. They were absurdly easy to find, too. Almost as if someone had set them there to be found." He paused, deep in thought, suddenly somber again. He turned woeful eyes on her, "And I think they were." Confused, Relena asked, "You think they were what? Put there to be found?" Ginetti nodded, "Yes. I - there was a man, another scientist there in the group with us. He was new, so to speak. A German fellow. He was the one who found them. Wanted to claim them for his own, though that is very unfitting of a scientist. Our ethics state that our discoveries are not our own, but there he was, practically trying to shove them into his pockets. He was an odd one. Very anti-social at times, but at other times, very...schmoozy..." Relena barked out a laugh. "Schmoozy?" Ginetti chuckled, despite himself. "Yes. It's hard to explain, but there was always something very...off...about him. He could be a real nasty piece of work sometimes. He would do things, petty things, like spread rumors about other scientists behind their backs. He had no time for anyone he didn't deem useful to him in some way. But, if you were someone he considered useful, he was the nicest guy in the world." He leaned back in his chair, shaking his head. "Did he consider you useful?" Ginetti gave her an unfathomable look. "No. He didn't like me. I'm not sure why. I never did anything to him. Never spoke ill of him. To be honest...he scared me." Relena cocked her head, curious. It was hard to understand how anyone couldn't like Albert Ginetti. "Why's that?" He tapped the side of his mug with twitchy fingers, then set it down on the wooden table between their chairs. "It's hard to put my finger on. He was a very selfish man. Only out for his own agenda. Sometimes...it just seemed like, behind those eyes, he was busy plotting my demise." Ginetti looked distant, lost in his own world. A jolt of familiar discomfort raced down Relena's spine. She'd met someone like that. She'd met him a few times. Strangely, he was also of German descent. "What was his name?" As soon as she asked the question, she felt as though all the air had been sucked out of the room. Her lungs seized and suddenly, she was back in her villa, immersed in frigid waters. The faces of her dead friends flashed behind her eyes, their mouths opened, screaming a warning at her that she couldn't hear. Her fingers tightened painfully around her mug as she struggled to regain control of herself despite the overwhelming panic that was increasing exponentially. She knew exactly who Ginetti was talking about, though she knew it made no sense. She had to hear the name, even though she didn't want to. An ominous silence descended onto the room as Ginetti's wide eyes met hers. She heard him, though it was through a rush of static in her ears and her heart thudded against her rib cage. "Heimlich Bensen." As soon as the name left Ginetti's lips, the mug in Relena's hands shattered, slicing the delicate skin of her palms though she barely felt a thing. Her eyelids fluttered, head swimming as the roar in her head became deafening. She registered the concern in Ginetti's face as he jumped up and rushed to her aid, kneeling down in front of her chair and grasping her bloodied hands in his. His face was right in front of hers, shouting if she was alright, but she felt numb from the neck down, paralyzed. Her lips tingled as she struggled to form a coherent sentence and though she couldn't hear herself anymore, she suspected she was mumbling nothing but gibberish. Ginetti stood over her, hands on her cheeks, eyes wrought with fear. As her consciousness faded, his face changed, morphing into that of a younger man's. Sharp, blue eyes, the shape of almonds, peered at her with a calm knowledge she couldn't possibly comprehend. Dark brown hair brushed against his familiar nose and the lips beneath whispered to her, oddly enough, clear, as a warm, summer day. Rest. You'll need your strength. There is a war coming and you'll need to fight like you've never fought before. Relena's throat convulsed as she struggled to speak to the dead man, her friend, her once love. The only thing that came out was a hoarse whisper, garbled though trembling lips. "Heero..." Her eyes rolled back into her head as the world around her faded to black.
~ * ~ |
