29-May-2001
Title: Chasing the Crown, an Extended Family Fic
ExFam Authors:
RavynFyre - ravynfyre@hotmail.com
Diane Davis - fenwyck@radiks.net
von - sablexo1@yahoo.com
bonnejeanne - bonnejeanne@yahoo.com
*Special Guest Writer! Nixie the Pixie!*
Nixers - Nixerchan@aol.com
Category: yaoi, AU
Rating: NC-17 for now, that will change
Pairings: 1x2, 3+4
Spoilers: Series, Endless Waltz, Mission: Arcadia
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing characters and universe are the property of the copyright owners.
Kenny, Duan, Wufan, Tryan, Carter, Jack and the Ripper, and everything relating to Rip & Jack's universe are ours. No money being made here.
Feedback: Any and all comments, feedback, critiques welcome, be they short or long.
Please feel free to direct feedback to any or all of the authors!
WARNINGS: AU (Alternate Universe), Original Characters, LEMON in some sections. Kiddie-Angst.
Birdsong filtered through the open window as the visible sliver of sky slowly lightened from deep violet to soft blue. The stars had vanished an hour or more ago, and then the birds had awoken with soft finchy trills, and more melodious songbird calls. Mariemeia had hoped their quiet music might lull her into at least a short nap before the day began, but, as like the rest of the night, she simply lay in bed, staring at the window, waiting for the sleep that never came. She didn't even feel tired, not with the rest of the day looming up before her.
She sighed and flung back the blankets, giving up the pretense of rest, since it wasn't working anyway. Padding quietly to the door, she cracked it open and peered out. Lady Une's door was open and the room beyond was dark. She was already up and gone, getting everything ready for the day. The rest of the suite was silent, and the smell of the laden breakfast cart sitting beside the table filled the air. Mariemeia's stomach flipped uncomfortably, twisting at the thought of attempting to ply it with food. She managed to push the cart back out into the hallway to be collected and then retreated to the bathroom to splash cold water on her face before she succumbed to her nausea. Breathing in quick, shallow gasps, she rose shakily to her feet again and got a drink of water to wash the taste of bile from her mouth.
Briefly, she wondered if Une or Relena would be angry if she just locked herself into her room for the day and stayed hidden. The thought of facing all the people that would be here today frankly terrified her. All those accusing eyes and pointed fingers… Not that they would be incorrect. She *did* start a war, after all. But it was a far different thing to face the reality of the aftermath in the light of day, than it was to play it off by joking about it with her new friends the night before.
Her new friends. The boys said she could stay with them, and Une had agreed last night before she'd tucked the redhead into bed. The boys would probably laugh at her now if she tried to hide in her room all day. Steeling herself, she washed up quickly and retreated to her room to get dressed.
She almost reached for the light khaki pants that she'd set out the night before, and then thought better of it. If she had to duck into the garden to hide today, the pale fabric would stain easily, giving her away later. Nodding to herself, she retrieved a pair of soft rusty brown pants, like a muted shade of her own hair, and pulled hem on. Dark enough to hide any stains she may get, but nondescript enough to keep her from standing out in a crowd, they would work well. Not that her hair wasn't beacon enough. She sighed as she pulled on a soft brown shirt and pushed the long sleeves up her arms. Too bad she couldn't wear a hat to hide her hair, but the only hat she had with her was an old dark baseball cap given to her by several of the guys in the Preventers Computer Security division where she'd been spending most of her free time. The comfortable old thing was probably not befitting the daughter of Treize Khushrenada, and wearing it in such a public setting would likely irritate Lady Une. Then again, Relena had said she just wanted everyone to dress comfortably.
She stood and pondered it for a moment, biting her lower lip. With a determined air, she walked to her closet and dug the hat out from the bottom, rolling the bill slightly in her hands before pulling it on. Une could always yell at her to take it off later. Glancing at her reflection quickly, she nodded again and then started to head out to the main suite again. At her door, she paused and turned back, returning to the small table beside her bed. She carefully picked up the small folded piece of paper lying there and opened it up. A small measure of calm quieted her from the inside out as she stared down at the simple Yin/Yang drawing. Taking a deep breath, she folded the paper back up and tucked it into a pocket of her pants before completing her retreat from her room.
On the desk near the large bank of windows, Une's computer sat serenely, the fan humming into the quiet morning as it cooled the internal components. Mariemeia climbed up into the chair behind the desk and typed in a few quick commands. With practiced ease of familiarity, and the double handful of Une' s own passwords and security codes that the girl had meticulously learned and memorized, Mariemeia called up the revised Preventer schedule for the day. She smiled to herself; the guys who'd given her the hat she wore thought she was just a cute kid who was lonely and liked to talk to all the techno-geeks. They were partly right. Those guys were all fun to talk to, even if they were all at least twenty years older than her, but she was more interested in learning all the backdoors to the Preventers computer system that she could, than in listening to them all trade stories about the latest hacker gaffe. Between what they had all unwittingly taught her, and the codes and passwords she'd "borrowed" from Lady Une, Mariemeia doubted that there was any part of the Preventer computer system that she couldn't get to, given enough time.
Which was very useful for getting her hands on the schedules of where which Preventers were going to be stationed at any given time. She snickered to herself as she remembered the time she overheard a couple of Preventers wondering aloud how Mariemeia always seemed to be able to avoid them when they were looking for her. Someday, Une might figure it out, but until then, Mariemeia would always have a ready-made list of safe hiding places. She had the sinking feeling that even with the guys letting her hang out with them, that she'd still need that list today.
As she carefully committed the revised schedule to memory, her father's name caught her eye. She instinctively clicked open the file attached to it, and blinked in surprise. Lady Une had more than doubled the security and honor guard detail on her father's estate for the day. It made sense, but... wow. She shook her head as she quickly navigated her way back out of the system, covering her tracks as she went. At least that was that many less Preventers she'd have to keep track of here today. Once the computer was returned to its sleeping state, she hopped down from the desk looked around.
It was still pretty early. Too early, really, to go bother the boys yet, and her stomach still churned uncomfortably at the thought of trying to force down any breakfast. Looking around at the far-too-familiar walls of the suite, she frowned. Almost giving in to her impulse to pace, she opted, instead, to head out to the balcony that overlooked the gardens.
In the garden below, a slight movement of something white caught Mariemeia's eye, drawing her gaze slightly to the left. For a moment it wasn't clear what she was seeing, but after a while she realized it was someone in the garden below, making slow, stylized movements that were balanced and round, arms, body, legs moving with a measured precision that almost seemed to follow some unheard music. The person below was turned away from her, dressed simply in white loose pants and a white tank top, feet clad in simple black slippers, and about six inches of inky black hair pulled back in a ponytail at the nape of his neck. The wind had teased a wisp of the black stands out of confinement. The figure turned in another graceful, controlled movement and she saw that it was Wufei. A fine sheen of perspiration was visible on his bare arms and shoulders, brought out by the deceptively gentle movement of tai chi chuan.
She shifted position slightly, peering through the thin screen of obscuring vegetation for a better look. After a long moment, she steeled her courage and turned from the edge of the balcony, jogging through the suite and out the door, heading for the quickest way outside. Perhaps if it wouldn't bother him too much, Wufei might talk with her before the rest of the day intruded. May as well get everything over with as soon as possible. Besides... she *owed* him this.
Slowing once she reached the path to where she'd seen him, she crept along quietly, pausing beside a set of bushes that shielded her from his view. Biting her lower lip, she peered around the edge cautiously, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible so she wouldn't disturb him.
Wufei continued to move through the twenty seven forms, his face calm and relaxed, and as a result, perhaps a touch younger looking than usual, only a tiny twitch at the corner of his mouth betraying anything beyond a serene concentration on his exercise. However he had not been living with the five boys without learning to detect small presences in his periphery.
Coming to rest at the final position, he took several deep, even breaths, and without turning, said, "Why don't you come out and sit with me for a moment, Mariemeia?"
Without waiting for an answer, he sat cross-legged on the grass with his hands on his knees, palms up, relaxing.
She wasn't too terribly surprised that Wufei had apparently spotted her, even though she had been trying to be quiet. He had been a Gundam pilot, after all. Slipping out from behind her hiding spot, she tentatively stepped up to sit beside him, crossing her own legs in an unconscious mimicry of the older youth's pose.
She darted a glance up at his face momentarily, before turning to stare out over the garden again, her courage fleeing her suddenly. With a soft, frustrated sigh, she bit her lower lip again and concentrated on trying to order her rebellious thoughts.
"This is going to be a difficult day for you, is it not?" Wufei said quietly. "Have faith in one thing. It will end. And one other thing. We will not allow anyone to hurt you."
"Why? It's nothing less than what..." she trailed off, shaking her head suddenly. "I'm sorry," she blurted out, looking down at her hands clenched in her lap, "I wanted to do this better, but... I'm not that good with words yet. I'm sorry I let Dekim use you. It was wrong. I was wrong."
Wufei turned slightly to face the child more fully, his dark eyes widening. He looked at her for a moment and then said, "You have one thing left to learn, Mariemeia. Just one thing. It is not your fault that you need to learn it. Your grandfather is at fault. But you will have to take the lesson anyway. You have learned that you are not a dictator, but you have not yet learned that you *are* a *child*." He paused for a moment, his expression unreadable. "You could no more have prevented your grandfather from doing anything that he pleased than you could have convinced me to follow a path against my will and choice."
Her brow furrowed, though she still did not look up to meet his eyes, concentrating, instead, on her hands once more. "I have a lot more than just one thing to learn," she said softly, ducking her head a bit more until she couldn't even see the outline of his face from under the bill of the hat. "I'm trying... But most places wouldn't even consider you an adult yet. Why is it so different, then? We... I hurt the whole world. Does it matter what age?"
A hand moved out, and tipped her chin up gently but firmly. Dark, wide eyes met hers. "You are still believing him," Wufei said, his voice stern but not harsh. "Believing the lie that he told you, that it was all for you. It never was. You were every bit as much a tool as I was, except you had less choice in the matter. Hurt the whole world? No, Mariemeia. You were hurt, along with the world. The one who did it has paid. But it will not be over until you let it go."
"When does it become... letting it go... and not running away? When is it okay?" she asked in a small voice.
"Now," he answered her simply. "If you can be a child, and listen to someone who has lived through it all and more. Just now."
There was a moment's hesitation, for what Wufei's heart told him to do was not something that came easily to him, but he reached for her, and gathered her up into his lap and held her against him, firmly but gently, stroking her back.
She instinctively stiffened against him, unaccustomed to such a breach of personal space by someone older than her. The unfamiliar sensation of comfort caught her by surprise, and she began to tremble as his hand moved down her back. After a moment of confusion, she wrapped her arms around him tightly and gave in to the tight pressure that had been sitting in her chest since she saw him from the balcony. She squeezed her eyes shut tight, unsuccessfully trying to dam up the tears threatening to spill forth, even as she buried her face against his strong chest.
As he felt her arms go around him, Wufei released a tense breath of his own and his arms tightened. He pulled the cap, knocked askew, off her head and stroked her red hair very gently. "Yes," he murmured softly. "It's okay... it's okay to just be a child. Sometimes frightened, sometimes foolish, sometimes happy, sometimes sad. Don't you know, that's why I fought? So that she could be a child... so that you could be... it's all right."
"I'm sorry... you had to fight," she managed to say between soft, gasping sobs, "All of you."
Wufei stroked the girl's hair and back. "I'm sorry too," he said after a moment. "I'm sorry you grew up in the hands of your grandfather. I'm sorry I didn't meet you until it was almost too late. But it's all over now. I'm going to make sure of that. Don't feel guilty for what your grandfather did, Mariemeia."
She stifled her shaking cries, growing tense again against Wufei before whispering almost too softly to hear, "He never even really liked me, did he?"
Wufei hugged her tightly for a moment. Then he said, "He's not important, you know. He was stupid. He had no more understanding of what a precious gift you were than he understood why your father's men followed you, and why he was killed. Let him go too. He doesn't deserve to be kept alive by your sorrow."
She slowly relaxed in his arms again, once again letting her tears flow, though without the painful desperation of before. "G- gift?" she stammered questioningly.
Wufei wiped her cheeks gently and then smiled. It made him look like a young boy. "Gift. A promise of beauty and strength for the future." He leaned forward and pressed a brief kiss to her forehead.
Her cheeks flushed slightly, washing out the blotchiness from crying as she ducked her head back down against his chest. "He liked beautiful things," she murmured softly, "Do you think...."
Wufei's arms tightened slightly. "Yes," he whispered in her ear. "Yes, I do... and not, think... I know. And beauty is inside you, Mariemeia."
She took a great, shuddering breath, fisting handfuls of his tank top. "I didn't mean to get your shirt wet. S-sorry. I.... Who was she, Wufei?"
He brushed a strand of hair back from her face. "She was Meiran, my wife. She died when we were fourteen. Until we married, she had been my best friend. You remind me of her, a bit."
"I... I do?" Mariemeia asked, glancing up hesitantly, her brow creased with a small, confused frown.
Wufei nodded. He smiled reminiscently. "She was a headstrong, tomboy spitfire. She believed passionately in causes. And she wept if she found a fledgling bird fallen out of its nest. And yes, you do remind me of her."
Mariemeia looked down thoughtfully before taking another deep, calming breath. "I want to help make sure the peace lasts. I want to make sure no one ever has to fight again. I want to make sure you get to be young, too," she said, looking back up. "I want to help."
Wufei sighed. He murmured, "More than a bit." Then he ran a hand over his hair, smoothing back a loose wisp. "All right, then I imagine you will find a way to do it," he said, a little hint of resignation in his tone. "But you must find a way to work with others to accomplish your goals. Don't... try and do it alone."
She nodded, ducking her head to simply rest it against Wufei's chest again for a long moment. "It wasn't my fault..." she whispered to herself. "Should I... talk to the others? Or do they already understand?"
Wufei almost held his breath when she said the words, and then he stroked her hair one more time. "They understand," he said, giving her a quick, almost unexpected squeeze. "And if you ever find someone that doesn't, let me know. I'll... explain it to them."
She shook against him for a moment, somewhere between stifled laughter and quiet cries of relief, before reluctantly pulling away. "Okay," she said, scrubbing her arm over her face quickly before meeting his eyes shyly, "I'm going to make you miss breakfast."
Wufei shrugged, his face assuming a more accustomed expression. "Since I am not Maxwell, that is not a tragedy," he murmured dryly. Then he smiled. "I rarely have more than tea, but you should eat. Unless you want to stay small all your life..."
"It could be useful," she offered with a hesitant smile, "Sometimes a tantrum works better than logic."
He assumed a stern expression. "Useful or not, It doesn't fit your family," he said. He allowed her to see a momentary twinkle in his dark eyes. "You are going to be with the boys today, hmm? I'd suggest you don't try the tantrum on them."
"No," she agreed, "That'd be too girlish. My credibility would go right out the window." She indulged in a small giggle before meeting his eyes again. "Do you think they'd be up now?"
Wufei regarded her with a raised eyebrow. "Wufan went across the hall to have breakfast half an hour ago," he said simply.
"Maybe I could go... join them?" she asked him.
The young pilot nodded and set her on her feet, giving her a brief pat on the behind. "Go!"
She nodded and turned to leave. Before she took a step away, she suddenly turned and wrapped her arms around his neck for a quick, strong hug. "Thank you, Wufei," she whispered before letting go and retreating at a quick dash.
Wufei rose to his feet, looking after the child. He reached down and picked up the hat that had fallen to the grass. "No," he murmured softly, "Thank you, Mariemeia, for the honor you do me."
Tryan watched as Heero and Duo left. He then looked down at Carter. "You okay there?" he asked, quietly.
Carter smiled and looked up at Tryan. He nodded. "Mm hmm," he said. "I'm fine. Don't worry if I get quiet today. It's just there's a lot of people, all thinking in the same direction, and a lot of feelings too, because of the ceremony thing. I got ways to tune some of it out but I never had to with so many people before so it might take some concentration."
"Ok," Tryan said, "But if you wanna take a nap or something, let me know. Ok?"
"Sure, ok!" Carter agreed sunnily. Then he cocked his head slightly. "You guys... I guess I should tell you... Zechs has dreams."
"What kind?" Wufan asked.
Carter ducked his head slightly. "Snake voices... in his head. I think he's sorta still connected a little, even though It isn't paying much attention to him. I think he pissed It off."
Duan grinned at that one. "You know how? Maybe we can get Heero to do that too," he said.
Carter shook his head. "I think it's cause It almost got what It wanted one time, and then he kinda broke away. You know how everyone was talking about him blowing a hole in the Earth? He was real close... but then he slipped out of Its grip somehow and helped save the Earth at the end. But all he really remembers is the bad parts."
"Hn," Duan remarked, folding his arms across his chest. "Maybe we can tell him sometime, you think?"
"Maybe... but we gotta be careful," Carter said.
"Hn," Kenny remarked. He was filing all this away in his 'friends/foes/others' database.
"Right," Duan said. "We look out for each other and our guys, first."
"At least Trowa and Quatre seem to be a little better... that's good. So maybe we don't have to watch 'em so much," Tryan said.
Carter nodded. "They're pretty ok for now," he mentioned.
Wufan nodded, then looked at Carter. He could tell that his friend was little tired, so he stood and went to stand behind him. Placing his hands on Carter's shoulders, he began slowly massaging his muscles. "This should give you some energy," he said, quietly.
Carter sighed and then suddenly started beaming. "Oh," he said. "She's... better!"
"Who's better?" Duan asked.
"Mei," Carter answered. He smiled and closed his eyes.
Tryan looked down at his friend and sighed. "Don't think I'll *ever* get used to that," he commented.
"Speaking of she," Duan said. "I wonder what Heero and Duo are gonna do to Dorothy for spying?"
"And what were they doing that she could spy on?" Kenny murmured.
"What do you think?" Carter said, grinning, and then blushed.
Tryan giggled. "You didn't hear 'em?" he said, then blushed.
Duan's head lowered as he looked over at his emerald-eyed friend. "Hear what?" he asked.
Kenny rolled his eyes. "We should give 'em a hard time about not using 'stealth mode'," he said with a momentary smirk.
Tryan placed both hands over his mouth and laughed.
"Yeah, all we did was jump off the roof and we got grief for it. Maybe we should tell 'em they're scaring the neighbors," Duan remarked.
Carter put both hands over his mouth too, to stifle his giggles.
Wufan chuckled. "Oh so that's why Heero looked funny and wanted to know where the camera was this morning," he said.
"Betcha they don't get that tape back," Duan said.
"No bet," Kenny said.
Duan held his hand up for a high-five to Kenny. "Right as usual," he said.
Kenny slapped his hand and then returned to looking serious.
A soft knocking came from the door to the hallway.
"I'll get it," Wufan said, heading for the door.
"Race ya!" Duan called out and streaked towards the door as well.
Wufan felt a slight brush of wind at his shoulder as he kicked into high gear. He shook his head in amazement as Duan hit the door a millisecond ahead of him.
"Rematch," Wufan called out.
Duan nodded. "You got it," he said and opened the door.
Mariemeia blinked in surprise as the sight of both boys greeted her after the odd, double thump on the door a bare moment before. "Umm... hi? I'm not... interrupting, am I?" she asked with a curious smile.
"Nah, I was just beating Wufan to the door again," Duan said. "He's kinda slow. Come on in!"
"I am not slow," Wufan said to Duan. Then he turned and smiled at Mariemeia. "Hi," he said. "Do you want some breakfast? We've just finished eating and there's some left."
"Sure," she replied, slipping past them into the room, "I couldn't eat earlier. My stomach was all weird. I feel a lot better now, though." She turned and gave Duan a small smirk before saying, "Sometimes it's better to be a little bit slower. You last longer."
Duan's eyes grew wide as saucers. "Oh," he said in an exaggerated manner.
"But, I'm not slow," Wufan said, pushing his glasses up on his nose.
Carter smiled and held out a lovely ripe peach to the redheaded girl. He didn't say anything but his blue-green eyes were gently beaming with a soft warmth.
Mariemeia walked over and accepted the fruit, closing her eyes happily as she bit into it and caught a dribble of juice on her chin with her free hand. "Mmm. Good. I think I was hungry," she admitted sheepishly after she'd swallowed her first bite. "So what were you guys doing since you finished breakfast?"
"Just talking," Tryan answered, then remembered what they were talking about and blushed again.
She paused mid-bite and examined the flush creeping up Tryan's cheeks. "Oh. Um... 'need to know'?"
"Just older guy stuff," Duan said, coming to sit down.
"What have you been doing?" Wufan asked, coming to sit back down as well.
"I was out in the garden. Talking to Wufei," she said quickly before busying herself with settling into one of the empty chairs.
Kenny met her eyes and smiled slightly. "Good," he said.
"Will you be able to stay with us during the party?" Wufan asked.
She nodded happily, wiping another dribble of juice from her chin. "'Till you guys get sick of me and kick me out," she replied with a grin.
Duan grinned and handed Mariemeia a napkin. "That won't happen anytime soon," he said.
She nodded her thanks for the napkin and smiled at the braided boy, but her blue eyes flashed with a brief spark of intense relief "So. Are you guys still on a mission?" she asked, changing the subject.
Kenny nodded. "Mm hmm," he assented. "Can't tell you too much about it though. Not yet anyways."
"That's okay. I understand. I'll try to stay out of the way. Let me know if there's anything I can help you with, though. Wufei said I should try to find people to work with... to not work alone," she said, carefully setting the peach pit on a nearby plate.
"That's good advice," Duan said. "You have a better chance of success that way. So, what do you want to work on?"
Carter gasped suddenly and blinked. Then he got up and went over to Mariemeia and took her hand, looking into her eyes deeply. After a moment he blinked again and backed up, sitting down quickly on the floor.
"He had it," he said softly as if to himself. "He had it and he brought it to Earth..."
Tryan glanced at Kenny and Duan, before moving to sit next to Carter.
"What's wrong?" Mariemeia asked, a frown of worry creasing her brow as she hopped down off the chair and knelt on the floor near Carter.
"He's ok," Tryan explained. "He's just... special."
Carter glanced over at Tryan and gave him a nudge. Then he stuck out his tongue. Then he looked at Mariemeia and smiled. "I'm sorry. I didn't get that before. But he had It twice. Once when you were... you were just born. And then he lost It somehow and then he got It back after the war." He patted her hand. "It made him crazy. He didn't have any chance to see you."
The young girl blinked in confusion, cocking her head at Carter. "Who? Had what? I don't understand."
Duan looked at Kenny for a moment, then glanced over at Wufan.
Kenny took a deep breath. "It's called the Serpent Crown. It's evil. It influences people and causes stuff to happen. It can cause very very bad stuff to happen, if people let it."
"So who had it?" she asked, glancing back at Carter.
"Your grandfather," Carter said quietly.
"Is that what it was?" she asked quietly, more to herself than anyone. She glanced away for a moment, deep in thought, before looking around at them all and settling back on Carter. "He had this... thing. He'd never let me see it, though. Said it was 'adult stuff'."
"Do you know what happened to it?" Wufan asked, coming to sit nearby.
She shook her head sadly. "No. I don't remember a whole lot from right afterwards. Not for a few weeks, anyway. 'Till they let me out of the hospital. I didn't even think about it again until just now. Why?"
"That's our mission," Kenny said, shrugging one shoulder philosophically. "To find it and destroy it."
She blinked once, then nodded. "I'm sorry. If I'd known it was important, I would have tried harder to keep track of it. Do you have any ideas how to find it?"
Carter patted her hand. "Don't worry," he said. "We... have some ideas."
"And there was no way you could have known that much about it," Duan offered.
Mariemeia nodded thoughtfully. "Okay. I trust you. The offer still stands, though. If I *can* help, just ask."
"Hn," Wufan remarked. "I guess... what do you know? I mean, do you know anything about, say like the Preventers, or your grandfather's stuff? Where would he keep something he valued? Did he have a house here on Earth?"
Carter shook his head. "It won't be there. Someone... took it away. But it was here."
Mariemeia frowned slightly, lifting her hands up in a helpless shrug. "Sorry. Would... Do you think the Preventers might have anything about it on their computer system?"
"Good question," Duan said, "But I doubt it, though. Why? Do you have access to their computers?"
She nodded vehemently. "I have all of Lady Une's security codes and passwords. And I picked up a few tricks from the security programmers. I can look for you. If it's in there anywhere, I can find it if I have enough time. What can you tell me about it?" she asked, losing her slight air of hesitation as she looked around at them all.
Duan looked at Kenny again, then moved to sit down with Mariemeia and the others. "It's old, and nasty and evil," he said, filing away her comments about security codes and passwords for the moment.
"It makes people do bad things," Wufan said, "They do bad things to themselves and others."
Kenny spoke after a moment. "We had one where we came from and it about destroyed the world. People did a lot of bad stuff and stopped even having kids for a while. It took a lot to stop it and I think we were maybe luckier than we deserve."
"This is Wufei and Heero and Duo's mission too?" she asked.
Kenny nodded. "Hn," he acknowledged.
She nodded, looking quite confident as she glanced around at them all. "You won't need luck here then. The eight of you... You can do anything. I believe it."
"I don't know," Duan said. "Luck is always a good thing to have on your side. Maybe you can help us out though. Are you good with computers?"
She sighed and looked down. "Just the Preventers' system," she admitted with a small shrug. "What help I could be would be more a function of who I am and whom I know, rather than what I know or could do. Sorry."
Wufan patted Mariemeia's hand. "That is fine, Mariemeia. "
Carter smiled. "That's not completely true," he said softly. "You can do something very important. You can keep getting better. Because you are strong. Someday, you are going to help a lot of people in a way no one else can. I'm not sure when or what but I can feel that much."
She looked up again and met Carter's gaze with a confused frown. After a long moment, she took a deep breath and nodded. "I'll work on it," she murmured quietly.
Carter nodded and then leaned over and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek.
She blinked, a flush creeping up her face as one hand came up to touch the spot. She coughed nervously, fidgeting for a moment before looking up again, blue eyed-glance bouncing off of them all quickly. "So, um... now what do we do?" she asked, swallowing.
"Well, *we* need to nail down some information," Duan said.
"Yeah," Tryan added. "Like, do you have any ideas about what the Preventers security arrangements are going to be?"
"Why do you think I learned how to hack into the database? It's a lot easier to hide from them if you know where they're going to be," she replied with a small, smug little smirk "I know Lady Une has a habit of altering the roster a little bit, but she's usually pretty good about sticking to her schedule. Last update was about six hours ago. Should be good for a while yet."
"That's good to know," Duan said, then he looked back at Mariemeia. "So, are you going to tell us what they are?"
"Or do we have to hold you down and feed you peaches till you spill?" Tryan added.
Her eyes narrowed challengingly at that. A small smirk tugged at her lips again before she bounced to her feet and hopped a few steps away, edging towards the door. "Try it, circus-boy," she said with a grin before dashing for the door.
Tryan sprang to his feet then executed a twisting somersault in the air. He landed perfectly in front of the door, seconds before Mariemeia got to it. He bowed. "As you wish," he said with a grin.
She rocked to a stop, her eyes growing huge. "Wow... I have *got* to learn how to do that!"
Turning on her heel, she walked back to the table and climbed back into a chair. "I need something to write with, and to write on. Then I'll give you everything I know," she said, grabbing another peach.
"One second!" Wufan said, dashing to find Mariemeia the things she requested.
Tryan followed her back to the table. "I could teach you, if you want," he said, retrieving a peach for himself.
She nodded at him vigorously. "I like learning cool things like that," she admitted.
Tryan smiled. "Not a problem," he said. "I've been teaching these guys some stuff too. You can learn it. You're fast on your feet."
"Yeah, you're a good runner," Duan commented.
A few seconds later, Wufan appeared in the room and placed a pad and pen down in front of Mariemeia.
Kenny watched the antics with his arms crossed. "Hn," he remarked. "Not a good idea... writing it down. Safer in your head. We'll just get you to help when we need to."
"Oh. Okay. I'll check for updates later, if you want. And if there's anyplace besides here or my father's estate that you need to know about. Those are the only two places I looked up this morning. Just let me know," she replied, rushing through the explanation to cover her reaction to the earlier compliments.
"What about the estate?" Duan asked.
Kenny nodded. "We might need to know about that not tonight, but tomorrow night."
"Well, by tomorrow, everything should be back to normal, but for tonight, the Preventer detail is a little more than doubled. Tomorrow, though, I can get you a complete roster. I'll have it for you this afternoon," she assured them.
"That'll be great," Duan said, with a smile.
"Yes, thanks Mei," Wufan said.
She shook her head negatively at them. "No. Thank you. It... feels nice to help," she admitted quietly.
"So, do you have any questions to ask us?" Tryan asked.
"Did he have it sometime, then? Is that why you need to know? Because you're going there to look?"
Kenny nodded. "He put it in a mobile suit called Epyon."
"That's the one Zechs used..." she said with a small frown. "Is that why he tried to blow up the world before?"
"Yes," Wufan said, "It influenced him."
"He doesn't know it yet though, at least not consciously," Carter said softly.
"And Heero used that suit once too," Kenny added.
"This is why you came here, isn't it? Part of it, at least?" she asked, contemplating them all.
Kenny smiled slightly. "She's pretty sharp."
"For a girl, yeah," Duan added, with a smile of his own.
She narrowed her eyes in a mock-scowl at the braided boy before launching off of her chair and pouncing on him. Stuffing the napkin she'd just used down the back of his shirt, she bounced away and smirked triumphantly, indulging in an utterly childish raspberry.
"I think she likes me," Duan called out, attempting to remove the napkin from his shirt.
Tryan sighed. "Well, at least she didn't hit ya," he said.
Kenny nodded. "Yeah, Duan. Usually girls like to hit him," he mentioned to Mariemeia.
"You have a girlfriend?" she asked, trying to hide her grin under a mask of wide-eyed innocence.
Duan turned a nice shade of red, then shook his head. "No!" he said.
"You want the position?" Kenny said casually.
Duan looked up at his partner with total surprise.
Mariemeia bit her lower lip, trying to hold in an embarrassed laugh as she flushed again. "Umm... But I can't hit very well," she replied with a shrug, "I'm disqualified."
Wufan looked down at his shoes at the exchange.
Kenny glanced over at Duan's shocked expression and his mouth curved in a small smirk.
"Gotcha," he said.
Duan's expression turned dark for a moment, then he launched himself at his friend.
Kenny grinned fully and dodged, leading Duan on a chase that took the two boys around the room, over and around furniture, and finally through the main doorway to the hall.
"Should we follow?" Mariemeia asked wryly, moving over to stand beside Wufan.
Wufan sighed a little and pushed his glasses back up on his nose. He was suddenly aware of Mariemeia's presence next to him and the strange feeling in his stomach as a result. "Umm, I don't think so... unless you want. It will be a little tough though. They're fast," he said.
"That's okay," she said, smiling at him, "It's probably safer here, anyway. Softer places to get tackled," she finished, nodding towards an empty couch nearby.
"That's it," Tryan said, grabbing Carter's hand. "Come on. We've been safe for more than ten hours now. I say we find 'em."
With that, he made a beeline for the door with Carter in tow.
Wufan looked down at Mariemeia. "He's right," he said, "And so were you. I tell you what. Let's fine Duan and Kenny before Tryan and Carter do."
"I think they have an advantage over us," she replied, though she nodded in agreement with Wufan. Before he could put action to words, however, she turned and gave him a fierce hug. "You were right, too. Thanks for the advice about talking to Wufei," she whispered.
Wufan blinked, then smiled. He hugged Mariemeia back. "You are most welcome. He is very wise and good to talk to," he said.
She nodded in response. "You are too," she replied before releasing him and grabbing his hand. "Come on! We'll never catch up if we don't get moving!"
Wufan nodded, then ran off behind Mariemeia.
TBC
End of Part 26
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