Date: Oct 4, 2001
Part: 28//??
Pairings: 1x2, buckle my shoe (Why am I wearing shoes with buckles, anyway? Am I channeling the Amish?) 3x4, shut the door (Were you raised in a barn or something? The appropriate answer being "Yes, and everytime I see an (_)_) like you I get homesick") 5x OC (Oh, say can OC...) Oc + Oc.
Disclaimer: If I owned Gundam Wing, this would have been televised. I don't. It's not. So there. Sue me and I'll send you used kitty litter and a my slacker stepbrother (The kitty litter is the better deal here).
Email: Anakerie@cinci.rr.com I am an email addict. Send me anything. Send me a recipe for meatloaf. Send me spam. Send me naked pictures of Antonio Banderas...
The Deran sky was a dark, emerald green as evening approached. There were nights when Wufei could do nothing but stare up at it, entranced, as it darkened. It was a constant reminder that he was living on an alien world, light years and another lifetime away from the place he had been born. Rather than make him lonely, it made him feel secure.
But now, somewhere, above him in the rich, velvety blackness of space, his friends were battling for their lives. If they still had lives to fight for.
His basic nature was screaming at him to join them, to take his place at
their sides, to live or die with his brothers. To do anything less smacked
of cowardliness. They needed him.
And yet, he was needed here as well, he mused, watching the trees zip by
from the plane's tiny window. Once reunited with his family, once he had
seen that they were alive and well, once he had held them again, the thought
of leaving them behind almost made him want to vomit. They might be
safe in whatever hidey hole he found for them, but what if they weren't? What if the Wronith discovered them? What if he returned in victory only to find that once again, all he loved was lost?
"Sir?" Macus asked hesitantly, seeing Wufei lost in thought.
"Hum?"
"We'll need to land soon, sir. Our fuel supply is running low. These planes
are designed for a zero-G environment. Flying around on the planet drained
our tanks pretty quickly." His tone implied that he was willing to take full responsibility for the situation.
So it was decided for him, then. Whatever wars happened above, his own
would be here on Dera. "Very well then. Find us a good spot to sit down."
"Yes, sir."
He patted the young man on the shoulder, silently vowing himself in the
soldier's debt for the rest of his life. "I'll go tell my wife what's
happening."
Derans never forgot.
Bad memories could be deliberately forgotten, with effort, but as a general
rule, all that was seen, all that was heard, all that was felt, could be
recalled at any time.
There were times, after he had grown to manhood, when he was laying
awake in bed holding his wife, and hearing his children playing in the
next room, that Luke considered making himself forget those terrifying, terrible days when he was four years old. When he had seen his brother's fields go up in flames, when he run for his life holding on to his big sister's hand.
But he never did vanquish them, for he understood that they had helped shape the man he eventually became. He had learned lessons then, hard lessons, but he had learned of love, honor, loyalty, and sacrifice.
But those days were far in the future. It was right now, and right now Luke
was frightened and angry, and the need for his parents was overwhelming.
Otosan and Daddy could make everything better, he was sure of it, if only
they were here.
He glanced at the Chang twins, sleeping on their mother's lap, and felt a
flash of pure jealousy. Easy for them to sleep. Their mother was still
alive. Their father was right up front. Rosie, he noticed was awake, and
staring off into space. Her face was pale and tight. She glanced at him and
smiled, and offered her hand. Taking it made him feel a little better.
"They're just babies." She whispered with a glance at the twins. "They don't know they should be really scared right now."
"Not a baby." Meishel's black eyes opened. "And I'm scared."
"It's okay, Meishel." Luke tried to sound older. "I'll protect you."
Her returned look was skeptical. "How?"
"I dunno. But I will." He promised. "I pinky swear." His finger locked with
Meishel's smaller one.
Shan had awoke, and he placed one grubby hand on top of theirs. "Me too."
"And me." Rosie's hand was much bigger than any of theirs, and covered them all. "We'll all protect each other. Not just now. But when we're grow up, too."
There were those who would not give much credit to a vow made by frightened children in the belly of a war plane, Denea mused, listening to them speak. But there was no doubt in her mind that they would keep their promise, and that time and age would only make it stronger. Once upon a time, three children had made a vow on a rainbow to always defend each other, no matter what. She knew the power of such promises.
But I failed, she thought sadly. When it came down to it, I couldn't save
you. You slipped away from me. I'm sorry... I'm so sorry...
Knock that off. A voice spoke in her head and she jumped. Who was it that
took Linra shopping for a bra? Who explained why she was bleeding, and how to handle the pain? Who held Rosie last year when she couldn't stop crying after the little boy she liked moved away? The guys are great, don't get me wrong, but my girls need a mother, too. And I've never had to worry about that. They have you.
Warmth settled over Denea and she found herself both smiling and trying not to sob. I miss you, she thought.
I miss you too. But don't worry; my aim is getting better.
Denea groaned at the old joke.
"Denea, are you okay?" Rosie asked, concerned.
"Yes, honey, I'm okay. Just remembering a bad pun, that's all."
Heavy footsteps thumped on the metal, and Denea raised her hand to
acknowledge Wufei's presence.
Meishel wished to lodge a formal complaint.
"This plane stinks! I'm hungry! I want to go home!" She narrowed her eyes."AND I want Jazz!"
For a two-year-old, Wufei reminded himself, she had shown extraordinary
patience through-out all of this.
"Yeah, Baba." Shan seconded her request. "Feed us."
"We're going to land soon. I'll try and find us some food then." The man
sighed. "I'm hungry too, and you don't hear me griping."
"Sir?" Macus called out. "I've found a small-craft runway near Arcina. There should be some food in the terminal. It's not well hidden, but we don't have the fuel to look for anything else."
"Set us down, then. We'll take what we can get at this point." Wufei called
back.
"Yes, sir."
"We're keeping him, by the way." Wufei muttered. "That boy has impeccable manners. He'll be a good influence on the children."
"Oh, you just like anyone who sucks up to you." Was the dry response.
"Egomaniac."
"I'm going to make you eat those words." The man leaned over her and brushed his lips against hers. "It's high time someone showed you your place, woman."
"EXCUSE me." Rosie butted in. "Minor alert. Young, grossed-out children present."
"What's minor?" Luke wanted to know.
"It means we're too young to watch them act like that." Rosie explained.
"Oh." Luke nodded. "I get it. Like wrestling."
"Huh?" Denea was confused.
"I had a bad dream, and I went to tell Daddy." Luke explained. "He and
Otosan were wrestling. They got really embarrassed about it. Daddy said it
was special wrestling. For adults only." His brow furrowed. "I guess they
didn't want to get their clothes all sweaty, cause they took them off."
Rosie covered her mouth to hold back a squeal. Wufei was as red as Luke's
curly hair.
"Well, yes..." the man sputtered. "When a man and a woman..."
"My Daddy isn't a woman! Neither's Otosan!" Luke was offended.
"Er... when two people..."
"It was something adults do, Luke, that you can't do at your age even if you wanted to. When you're a big boy, you'll understand." Denea said briskly.
"Oh, okay then." There were plenty of things that fell into the category.
And if he got really curious he could probably make Rosie tell him.
There was a bump as the plane touched down on the runway. "Now listen to me." Wufei said seriously. "We all stay close. No one runs off on their own." He glared at his twins, who gulped nervously. "No races, no hide-and-seek. If you even think about stepping out of my sight..." He tried to think up a suitable punishment. "I will eat every single cookie in the house and I won't buy any more for 10 years!"
"Relax, Baba. Trust us." Shan's tone was cheerful.
"I might if you didn't sound so much like Duo right now." Wufei snorted.
"Come on. Let's go find see if we can find some food."
She had been a little girl... when?
A thousand life-times ago. She had been a little girl, and she lived in a
big brown house, and her best friend was Maimi Duken down the street. She and Maimi had tea-parties for their dolls, and talked about how disgusting boys were, but SOME boys were okay. They had skinned knees from playing Flashball, and dared each other to use the "stingy stuff" on the sores.
She had been a little girl, and life was trying to convince her parents that
she needed a hoverboard, and riding Maimi's when they would never buy her one. And falling off, and breaking her leg, and getting in SO much trouble for it. And Maimi not speaking to her for a whole week because SHE got in trouble, too.
She was a little girl, in the brown house, in bed with her doll, and Maimi
was down the street, and she was safe.
She was a little girl, and her parents took her to Seta each year to play on
the beach, and then...
Then she wasn't a little girl any more, and she was scared, and she hurt so
badly, and she wanted her mother to come and make it all okay again.
"I won't ride the hoverboard any more, Mother." She muttered softly. "I
promise. And I won't get mad and yell at you, just come and get me, please. Please. I want to be in the brown house again."
She tried to open her eyes but she was so sleepy. The wall she was sitting
against had been cold at first, but it wasn't any more. It was warm; her body was warm, like a blanket. She was a little girl in her own bed, under
her own blanket.
She had to lay down, and she felt another girl's body against hers. Maimi.
Maimi was spending the night with her, and tomorrow they'd play in the VR and...
Zea smiled and let sleep overtake her.
*********************************
Heero thrust Rylan behind him as he opened fire on a group of Wronith
guards. He would have shoved Jazz to the back as well, but the boy was right at his side, blasting away. Jazz was an excellent shot; he and Duo had trained their son well.
Heero, however, was too caught up in the battle to look very hard at teenager, or pay attention to what the boy was doing other than blasting Wronith. So he missed the subtle changes on Jazz's face. The blank look that came into his eyes, and the way his breathing quickened. Rylan noticed, hiding back behind them, but he did not understand what it meant.
As the first group fell away, more Wronith appeared. Heero cursed under his breath, and saw a flash of movement.
Jazz had rushed forward, charging the guards. And the boy was laughing! The startled Wronith turned toward him, and Heero picked them off. Jazz's
neuralizer took out the two at the back.
"COME AND GET ME!" Jazz shouted out. "Come on! Bring it on!"
"Jazz?" Heero asked, feeling a sense of familiar dread in his gut. Oh, not
now. Please not now, he prayed. Not that...
Jazz turned to him, and Heero's heart sank to see no recognition in those
violet eyes. Only a feral smile, and a look of childish glee. He laughed again, throwing his head back, his teeth flashing in the artificial light.
Without a word, Jazz turned on his heel and began to run down the corridor as fast as he could. Rather than a cloud of dust, that eerie laugh trailed behind him.
Heero and Rylan took off after him. "At least" Rylan panted. "He's going the right way. Is he nutso?"
"No. He's in a battle fit. Beserker." Heero explained tersely. "Doesn't know
where he is." Why hadn't he considered this might happen? Duo had the experience to control the beserker rages; Jazz was just too green. Hopefully it wouldn't last long.
"Sounds nutso to me." Rylan muttered.
Heero rounded the edge of a corridor, jumping over a sprawled Wronith guard. "Through that door." Rylan pointed. "That's where the girls probably are."
Several more guards were sprawled on the floor, and Jazz was tugging and
pounding fiercely on a what looked like the entrance to a large
refrigerator. "They're inside! OPEN DAMN YOU!"
Heero hurried to a computer and typed quickly. The door hissed and opened so rapidly Jazz fell over backward. He sat up, rubbing his head, and looking around the room in bewilderment, as if wondering how in the world he had come to be here.
"ZEA!" Rylan shoved past Heero and into what the man realized was indeed a small gas chamber. Five girls lay curled on the floor, wearing thin blue gowns and nothing else.
"Zea? Zea, wake up." Rylan pleaded. He shook a limp form. "Come on, don't go NOW. I brought help."
"Mother..."
"You'll see your mother soon." Heero was kneeling at her side. "Do you know me, Zea?"
She blinked and shivered. "He..Heero. Jazz's father..."
The boy in question had come back to himself a bit, and was shaking the
other girls. "Hey, Zea. Fancy meeting you here." He called over.
"Jazz." She became more alert. "You came..."
"Of course we did." Jazz grinned. "Up and at um, ladies. Time to blow this
pop stand."
One by one, the other girls came to. Zea quickly introduced her friends.
"We're getting out of here." Heero commanded. "Can you all walk? Good."
Zea stumbled out of the chamber and Heero watched her approach a guard. Her bare foot drew back, and connected with the man's groin. She bent over and retrieved his En-Gun, a determined look on her face. Another girl glanced at her, nodded, and liberated the other guard of his own weapon.
"You know how to use those?" Jazz asked curiously.
"No." Zea shook her head. "But we've got good motivation." The girls were thin, weary, and worn-looking, but there was grim determination in their eyes. Children had been taken, but their childhood's had ended upon their capture. In a way, these girls were very much like Duo.
Heero jerked the door off of a wall cabinet, and was pleased that his hunch
paid off and more En-Guns were inside. He handed each girl a weapon.
"Let's go home."
End Chapter 28
(:./lasha/dragons28)
