Disclaimer: See previous
part(s). The phrases in German are simple phrases that I am sure children would
not use, but my friends have not been over there in a couple of years, so I
just went with these. I have never seen any official information that gives
Quatre’s father a name, so I gave him one. While Ling and Yen are mine, Ling’s
mother is part of the Gundam Wing Universe. Dolly Court is for my little
sister. (I swear I’m out of whining siblings trying to get into the story)
Sunday, October 6 AC 198
“Une!” called someone, “Stop it! You’re just
hiding! Go out there!” The person was concealed by darkness. She looked around
the vastness, hoping to discern from which direction the voice came.
“Lady,” a voice that sounded remarkably
like Mr. Treize’s said, “you know what you must do. Watch my daughter and make
me proud.”
“Mr. Treize?” she called, “Is that you?
Where are you?”
“You know what we’re talking about,” said
another unrecognizable voice, “Just do it!” Une sat up in bed with a jolt. It
had been a dream, another dream. She shook her head. How long was she going to
have them? Usually she could not identify the voices; this was the first time
Treize had come to her.
“I wish I could go back, Mr. Treize,” she
told all the voices, “but there is nothing I can do.” She sighed. “I thought I
might have had family left here to watch her, but there is no one that I know
or trust here to watch Mariemaia. The Preventers do not exist anymore.” She
then kicked herself for making excuses, yet she had no solution.
She looked at the clock and sighed. She
had to get up to make breakfast for Mariemaia before taking her to school. She
got out of bed, took a quick shower, and got dressed. As she walked downstairs,
she rapped on Marie’s door to get her up and moving. She made a simple
breakfast.
“Guten Morgen,” greeted Mariemaia. Une smiled a reply and
set her breakfast before her.
“How is school?” she asked. Mariemaia did
not really answer. As they pulled up to the school, Mariemaia got out and
walked into the school with an “Alles Gute” from Une. Mariemaia walked into her
classroom and sat down.
“Guten Tag,” greeted some of her friends,
“Wie geht es Ihnen?”
“Gut, danke, und Ihnen?”
“Aucht gut, danke,” replied a friend, “You
look bad.”
“Is it Frau Une?” suggested one. Mariemaia
nodded.
“I can hear her scream at night
sometimes,” she told them, “This time she screamed for my father, like he was
there and then left quickly.”
“Marie,” consoled Anna, “She won’t tell
you what is happening.”
“Anna is right,” informed Elsa.
“But why would your father come to her
in her dreams?” questioned Carla.
Mariemaia sighed, “She says she can’t do
whatever they’re telling her to do. I think she’s supposed to go back to the
Preventers or help them, but she won’t for my sake.”
“There’s nothing we can do,” Elsa instructed.
“Marie, just let her know you’ll be fine
if she leaves. She needs to know that she can go save the world without having
to worry about you,” Carla said, ignoring Elsa and Anna. Mariemaia nodded.
Wednesday, October 7 AC 183
“Mama,” started a small boy, “Why do I have to be
dressed up?” A blonde woman in her mid to late thirties smiled down at the boy.
“Your uncle is coming,” she told him, “My
younger brother is coming. He’s bringing his little boy, too, but you’ll have
to play nicely.”
“Why, Mama?” he asked.
“His son is only three, darling. He’s
little.”
“Oh,” the boy, about eight, scowled a bit.
He was not too fond of little kids. He did not care to “go easy” on them.
After a few minutes, his uncle walked in
the room with a smaller boy in his arms. The boy wore a small suit, completely
ironed free of wrinkles. The young child looked down at his older cousin and blinked.
He gave him a small smile after a bit of sizing him up. The older boy scowled
more then his babyish cousin buried his face in his father’s chest quickly,
causing him to chuckle.
“It’s alright, Quatre,” the man soothed.
“Brother,” the woman greeted with a smile,
“It’s wonderful to see you after all this time. Is this little Quatre?”
“Why, yes, it is,” he answered, “I wanted
to bring some of the girls, but they have school. They actually insisted that
they stay. I think they’re having a party with a lot of sweets or something.”
He added with a chuckle. He looked down at the other boy. “Hello there, Nabil,
how have you been? I see you’ve grown a lot since I last saw you four years
ago.” He grinned.
“I am fine, Uncle Alim,” the boy, Nabil,
answered, “How are you?”
“I am quite well,” he replied, putting his
son down on the floor, “I brought a playmate for you. Quatre is only three, but
I think you two will get along alright.”
“You said you wanted to discuss some
things?” asked the woman.
Alim nodded, “Yes, yes, I do. We should
go…away from the children.” The woman glanced at them and nodded as well.
“The boys will be okay in here. There are
enough maids around to watch them, and I have a room not too far from here,” she
informed him quietly. They left the room and went to another.
“Baba?” Quatre timidly called, “Where did
Baba go? When-when will he be back?” Tears came to his eyes, and he started to
run to the door.
“Uh-uh,” Nabil stopped him, “They’re
talking about grown-up things.”
“But…but,” protested Quatre, his lip
quivering. Nabil sighed and got some toys out.
“Here, you can play with these,” he told
his little cousin. Quatre, momentarily allayed, sat down to begin playing with
the new toys. He giggled and acted out scenes from his storybooks. Nabil simply
rolled his eyes.
Once a couple of hours passed, Quatre
passed out on the floor. It was time for his nap. Nabil took this opportunity
to spy on his mother and uncle. He quietly walked down the hall and paused
outside the room. He gently opened the door a little, put his head and ear on
the floor, and listened.
“You can’t go through with it!” his uncle
softly shouted, trying not to raise it too much to alert anyone.
“Alim, you can already see what is
happening,” his mother hissed, “If we do not do anything…we will never be able
to set foot on any colony, L-4 or otherwise. Will you return to Earth? Will you
just run away?”
“Khushrenada is a madman!” he snapped,
“You can’t let him use you like this!”
“Who’s using whom?” she countered, “I have
my own share of Father’s money, and I can use it however I see fit!”
“You are ridiculous, woman. He will need
more funds than you have! I already spoke to the others, and I know you have,
too.”
“Alim, it’s just a few thousand, maybe one
measly million,” she practically pleaded.
“No! I will not give you money to do
that,” he informed her, “Never.” Both of their jaws were shut in frustration
and determination.
Wednesday, October 9 AC 198
Quatre stared at the floor. There was
something there. Relena stared as well. They had both seen an inconsistency in
the carpeting but had lost it. Currently, they were looking for it again. Amaya
walked in.
“What are they doing?” she quietly asked
Sylvia, who had been watching them for a few minutes. Sylvia shrugged.
“They’ve been like that for almost an
hour,” she informed. The two girls stared at them for entertainment for awhile.
“Let’s go,” Sylvia suggested, “I finished
that book, so you can read it now if you want.”
“Okay,” Amaya accepted, “Is it in your
room?” Sylvia nodded, and the two left for Sylvia’s room.
“Quatre,” Relena’s voice cracked a bit
after not using it in awhile, “Do you think maybe it was just a flicker in our
eyes?”
Quatre shook his head, “No, we can’t think
like that. There was something here. I know it. If we find it again, we might
be able to finally get away from here.”
“But we’ve been here, staring at the
floor, for so long!” she protested mildly.
Quatre blinked his tired, strained eyes,
“I know, but we have to-there!” He pointed.
“What? I don’t see it!” she said,
searching desperately for what he saw. Quatre cautiously got to the floor to
inspect what he found. Relena got on her hands and knees to help him.
“What do you think it is?” she whispered.
Quatre got on his elbows, “There is
something under here. It could be our ticket out of this place.” He carefully
pulled a bit on the discrepancy. Relena grabbed another part and tugged as
well.
“You really think this is our way out?”
Relena smiled, excited about the prospect of getting away. Quatre yanked some
more.
“I think,” He grunted a bit, “that is a
distinct possibility.” He jerked it one last time and the mat ripped. Relena
and Quatre gasped faintly. With huge smiles and smirks, they tore at what was
under it.
Friday, October 11 AC 198
Li Yen smiled at the sight before her. It
would be hers. Soon, she would just have to wait a little while longer.
“Are you thinking about it?” asked another
woman. She rested against the brick wall.
Li Yen nodded, “I am.”
“It may not happen,” she warned her.
“It will.”
The other woman eyed her, “How are you so
sure?” Before she could answer, a little girl ran up to them.
“Mama!” called the child, Ling. The woman
picked her up. Yen watched them carefully.
“What is it, Ling Ling?” the woman asked.
“I’m bored. Are we leaving soon?”
“Any day now,” Yen told the little girl.
“Yay!” the child exclaimed, “I’m glad,
Auntie Yen.” The young girl grinned.
“I have to go,” Yen notified, “I got the
signal.” Yen quickly left then.
Saturday, October 12 AC 198
Hilde was fretting. Their small hotel room
was not the place to entertain guests, but she would have to. Duo said that
Trowa, Wufei, Dorothy, and Sally were coming in a few days. He needed to talk
to them in person, but he had promised to stay with Hilde until the end of the
pregnancy, and she could not exactly fly at the present. As a result, the small
group was coming to their petite hotel room.
Thus Hilde fretted. She needed to clean
the place and get more items, like beverages, but Duo would not let her. He was
out at that moment. He apparently had an informant or something that he needed
to contact. He would not say who the person or where this person might be. He
simply told her that he did not want any trace of the spy leading to her, so he
always went to a public terminal. Hilde was not sure how or why someone might
trace it back to them, but she let Duo go on with it.
There was a knock on the door, “Hello, Ms.
Hilde? It’s us, Sisters Mary, Margaret, and Amanda.”
“Come in,” Hilde called. They entered with
smiles.
“How are you? Is everything okay?” Sister
Amanda fussed.
“I’m fine, just anxious to hold my baby in
my arms,” she reported, trying to smile.
“Any ideas on what you’ll name her?”
“Duo wants to call her Muerte, but I think
we’ll settle on Caitlyn Brie.”
“That’s a nice name.”
“We’ll start the invitations for her
baptismal.”
Hilde smiled uneasily at the idea of
baptizing her child. She wanted her child to go to Heaven, if it existed that
is, but she was not sure how Duo felt about going inside a church after all
this time.
“Duo told us all about your troubles,”
Sister Mary informed her, “We’re here to help put your modest hotel room into—”
“—into a glamorous entertaining vicinity,”
Sister Amanda interrupted and finished. The other two looked at her woefully at
her choice of words but remained silent about it.
“Not,” Sister Margaret emphasized the
word, “how I would have put it, but yes, we are going to put your mind at ease
and help you with it.”
“That’s kind of you, but you needn’t go to
the trouble. I’m sure you have other duties,” Hilde said.
“Now, now, we’re happy to help you in any
way we can, like we’ve told you before.”
By
“Duo should be back any minute now,” she
told them. Hilde had insisted they stay for dinner. A knock came on the door.
“Ah, that will be Father Maxwell and
Mother Eleanor,” explained Sister Mary, “We probably should have told you about
them before we accepted your dinner invitation.”
“Father Maxwell?” Hilde asked as she
answered the door. Standing there was a man, past middle age but not too far
into old age, and a woman who looked to be a few years into middle age. Duo was
behind walked up behind them.
“I see we have company for dinner,” he
said as he walked in his current home.
“Er, yeah, we do,” Hilde told him, “Sorry
about not telling or asking you.”
“Eh, it’s ok,” he assured her.
“I do not believe we have had the proper
introduction,” the man declared, “I am Father Maxwell.”
“Father Maxwell?”
“Father Benjamin Maxwell, Duo
probably told you about my older brother, the gentle man who took him in.”
“I am Mother Eleanor,” the woman introduced.
Hilde introduced herself.
Duo evidently already knew them. In fact,
he had met Father Benjamin Maxwell and Mother Eleanor at a church during one of
his missions. He found out that he was Father Maxwell’s younger brother, who
had joined the priesthood in honor of his late brother, and that Mother Eleanor
was a cousin of Sister Helen, close cousins in fact. They had, by chance, all
been in the same church that day. It was not Ben’s church home and Eleanor
called a nunnery in former
Duo had been thrilled to meet them and be
able to learn more about the only people who had acted like parents to him. He
ultimately learned that Mother Eleanor was searching for a place where she
might send her younger nuns for a slight vacation. Duo suggested that she send
them to the church near Hilde. She thought it was a wonderful idea and agreed
to have them watch the young mother of his child.
Hilde wanted to be irritated with Duo, but
she unfortunately saw his side and that she probably had needed it. At any rate
she had enjoyed their company. They ate dinner like old friends.
Sunday, October 13 AC 198
JL
Khushrenada straightened his tie. The last meeting had not gone well, and now
he had a young woman following him around everywhere. True, she was beautiful,
everyone was jealous of how he had caught her, but he found out the hard way
that she was not the kind of girl to do that. She appeared just to be waiting
to kill him. His arm and hand were still throbbing in pain from whatever it was
she did a few days ago.
“There you are,” greeted the familiar
shadow.
“What happened last time?” JL asked
testily. He was on edge.
“I was looking for your replacement, old
man,” the person informed.
“My what?” asked JL incredulously, “What
do you mean my replacement?”
“This young lady here has graciously
offered to kill you. It is great fortune on my part. You see, I was just
waiting to kill you, and now I do not have to put forward a reward,” a grin was
evident on his veiled face, “Thanks for having so many enemies.”
“You can’t terminate me!” JL shouted, “I
took all this!”
“No,” corrected the shadow, “I gave this
all to you. Your replacement is already putting her things in your room. Don’t
worry. I’ll attend your funeral and send your body back home.” JL, fists
clenched, was about to retort when Alex put a bullet through his brain. He lay
on the rug, bloodying it up.
“Good thing those girls don’t care about
rugs,” she told the shadow, “You wanted revenge, too?”
The figure nodded, “Yes, he damn well
deserves it.” Alex bobbed her head in agreement.
“I see you’ve taken care of my one
obstacle,” thanked Yen. She signaled to a soldier, Monroe, to take away the
corpse. Alex watched her cautiously.
“What do you want?” Yen angrily asked
Alex, not liking her one bit.
“Those two girls you brought,” Alex told
her, “Who are they?”
“That is not your business,” snapped Yen.
She turned to the video-screen, “Don’t expect me to talk to you once a month
like that bastard.”
“You will,” commanded the shadow and
signed out. The remaining girls glared at each other. Waiting to see who would
make the first move.
“Why do you care about the girls?”
“I just do,” answered Alex. She glared
more.
“I’ll be back,” warned Alex. She sneered
at Yen as she left the room.
“You will, and you die,” Yen advised the
air where Alex had been.
Tuesday, October 15 AC 198
Dorothy stared at the doll. She was
actually a bit scared that the doll was still with them, but she did not voice
this opinion. The doll was more than a mere replica. It had all the worn signs
that Dorothy had put on her as a child. If this was just a copy, they copied
every detail down to the torn stitches and stains, which looked worn with age.
“So what is this grand plan of
Khushrenada’s?” wondered Sally, back from her missions.
“He has that Chivalric Crystal, whatever
that is, and now he’s given us a new or maybe the real Kiara,” Dorothy
recounted.
“The Chivalric Crystal enhances firepower,”
Wufei informed.
“Why would Khushrenada need it then? He
could only put it in one suit, and it’s not like he has a big beam cannon or
anything,” Sally said.
“In each Gundam, there’s a crystal used
for a focus point,” Trowa reported, “He has control of all the colonies now, so
he has all the Winner Resources at his disposal. It would take him sometime,
but he could, theoretically, get into Quatre’s files and be able to make his
own Gundam. With that, he could put the crystal in it and have it be extremely
powerful.”
“So why Kiara?” asked Dorothy.
Duo shrugged, “I have no idea, but he gave
it to Hilde. Does this mean he’s after her, too?”
Dorothy groaned out loud, tugging her hair
a bit. Duo got up to go to Hilde, who was calling for him. Trowa put a hand on
Dorothy’s shoulder as if to ask “are you okay?”
She sighed, “I hate him. I can’t stand the
fact….” She shuddered. Trowa rubbed her shoulder a bit and left. When Dorothy
looked up, Wufei had fallen asleep with his head on the table, and Sally was
drinking coffee or some other hot beverage. Trowa walked back in a minute with
a quart of ice cream and a spoon. Surprisingly, it was her favorite, Chocolate
Fudge Brownie. He set the quart in front of Dorothy.
“Here,” he told her. She mumbled thanks
and started to eat some. He sat down.
“What will be our next move?” she asked.
“We’re waiting for the other girls to get
back here,” Sally notified. Dorothy nodded an acknowledgement.
Back in the bedroom, Hilde was getting
anxious. She was due to give birth any day soon.
“Hilde,” Duo told her soothingly,
“everything will be okay. I’m here.”
She nodded, “I know, but I’m still
worried. What if something happens during the birth? What if…what if someone
attacks us or something?”
“Nothing will happen. I promise,” Duo
guaranteed. She clung to Duo and rested on his chest.
“I don’t want anything to happen to our
little girl,” she said, “I couldn’t take it!”
“Hilde, I swear to God I won’t let
anything happen. Trust me.”
Friday, October 18 AC 198
Heero scowled at the meal before him. Was
this a joke? Jet and Laraine had something to do with this. He knew it. He
would not stand for it either. If either of them were present at the time, he
would demand a proper meal. He picked up his plate and walked out onto his
small porch. There, he set down the plate and left it to the wild animals (or
as wild as animals come on a colony) to finish. Then he took in his situation.
Both females who cooked for him were gone. Jet was on some blasted mission,
Laraine to visit a sick boyfriend or cousin or something—he paid attention.
“So dinner is up to me,” he decided, “Not
the first time, but it is certainly the first time in awhile.” He went to
refrigerator and examined the contents. “Not much to make a meal with.” There
was a knock on the door. Heero frowned. Who would come to his door?
“What is it?” he asked a bit too angrily,
as he opened the door. Hunger did not put him in the best of moods.
“Um, s-sir,” cowered a young girl, “I-I’m
supposed to come get you.”
He raised an eyebrow, “Come and get me?
Why? Who are you?”
“Yes, g-get you. Miss Jet s-said to. She
said you’d know me as Hollard, b-but if you don’t want to come, I won’t make
you,” she trembled more. Jet had sent her? He searched his memory for her name
and finally found it with an evening not too long ago. She looked like the
picture Jet showed him.
“I haven’t eaten yet,” he informed her,
his voice softening, but the girl did not seem to notice it.
“You don’t need to. Jet said that she’d
feed you later.” Heero nodded, locked the door, and followed the small girl. He
kept an eye on her, still not entirely trusting her, and the other on where
they were going. Eventually they came to an old diner, nothing out of the
ordinary. Hollard kept her gaze downward.
“Just go on in,” she muttered, “Jet’s in
the back in the kitchen. She says it’s important.” Heero walked into the old
eatery and looked around. He pulled out his gun, wherever it was hidden, and
stealthily walked into the back kitchen.
“Are you always suspicious?” asked Jet as
he entered, “I showed you her picture and everything. Did you really think this
was a trap?” She sat on one of the counters.
“Hm”
She rolled her eyes, “Do you know what
this place was originally for?”
“People to eat grease and syrup?” he
suggested, “Dining? Weapons development?”
“No,” she admonished almost with a
chuckle, “The diner was here for as long as people can remember, which isn’t
very long. Anyway, it has always had a large underground basement. Can you
guess why?”
He glared at her mockery, “Mobile suits.”
“Correct!” she gleefully announced.
“What mobile suits?” he asked her, knowing
she wanted him to ask.
“Well,” she jumped off the counter, “the
“So I was correct when I said weapons
development,” he smirked.
She gave him a look, “No, you weren’t.”
He decided not to argue, “So why are we
here? What is it used for now?”
“Our suits,” she informed.
“Our suits?” he asked. She led him
downstairs to where Wing Zero and Double Zero lay on the cement floor.
“Why do you have these two here?” he
asked.
“For breeding them,” she answered. He
looked at her, but she showed no signs of it being a joke.
“They’re suits,” he told her, “They can’t
breed.” She rolled her eyes.
“I know that. You boys are the ones you
think they’re alive,” she finished before he could retort, “We need to merge
the systems.”
“Why? They’re fine as they are.”
“Not exactly,” she informed, “The copies
aren’t as good as the originals; the other boys have found this out by now, and
we girls’ Gundams aren’t up to par with your real McCoys. Whatever those
scientists did, they made it nearly impossible to make an exact replica.” Heero
snorted.
“Merging the systems will take out a lot
of kinks,” she told him. He shrugged.
“Sure, why not.”
Tuesday, October 22 AC 198
A nervous news reporter stood in front of
the camera, “Oleksandr Schbeiker now has full control of three continents:
“The citizens in his territories have
armed themselves. So far it is just local militia for the areas, but Schbeiker
promises more as soon as he gets more funds. The residents say they are happy
to finally be able to bear arms. They feel more protected now. Already old
weapons’ factories are being fired up. The once dormant plants now manufacture
weapons daily, creating new jobs for the economies.
“The president strongly discourages
joining the youth, saying, ‘He’s just a child. Where are his parents? Why do
they allow their son to go around the world with no supervision? We have
attained peace finally, so why is he stirring up trouble by giving people
banned weapons?’ Schbeiker and his people will not comment on the whereabouts
of the young man’s parents, saying there was a tragic accident years ago that
they do not wish to remember. However, he does comment to say that the world
needs weapons or enemies will easily dominate the world.
“As you can see behind me, there is
already a new flag over the lands with civilians taking turns for guard posts.
One can only wonder how much more land the adolescent will control by the end
of there. When will it end?
“For Channel 2 Action News, I’m
Wednesday, October 23 AC 198
Iria answered her video-phone. The doctor
on the other end was very distraught. He looked like he had lost a patient. She
immediately became concerned.
“What is it, Dr. Evans,” she asked.
“I just…lost a lady,” he replied, shocked,
“I can’t believe it.”
“We all lose patients from time to time,”
she consoled, “How old was she?”
“Seventy”
“Well, do you think it was old age?” she
suggested.
He shook his head, “Iria-uh, I mean Dr.
Winner-there’s something not right with this.”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“The authorities won’t let me have the
liberty to say.”
“To hell with them, tell me.”
He sighed, “There seemed to be something
in her blood stream. I don’t know what exactly, but it prevented us from
revitalizing her. I’m supposed to say she died of natural causes. They said
they don’t want to draw attention to the death more than it will and that
they’re investigating it, but I don’t think they will. Iria—Dr. Winner, what do
you make of it?”
“I don’t like it,” she divulged, “It’s not
good. Who died?”
He told her.
She gasped.
Thursday, October 24 AC 198
“Zechs, how’s it going?” asked Noin over
the video-phone.
“It’s going as well as it was when you
left. I am getting very tired of playing the disgruntled traveler; I’m going to
leave soon,” he told her.
She sighed, “You know you can’t do that.
We need you there to get information.” He glared. “You also can’t leave for my
sake. Soon I’ll be done, and I just want to return to you.”
He started to pace the floor, “I still
don’t like it.”
“Would you rather have it with you out
fighting and me in there getting information?”
“Yes”
She rolled her eyes, “Well, that’s not how
it is. Please, be patient for once.” He snorted. “Look, if you do…you’ll be
rewarded.”
“How?” he questioned.
“It’ll be a good reward,” she assured,
“Just wait until I get there.”
“I don’t see why. I haven’t found any
information just sitting here. Khushrenada is not using this colony at all,” he
informed bitterly.
“We’re not telling you why we need you
there just yet,” Noin thought.
Friday, October 25 AC
198-13:00
“Catherine,” Midii said over their link,
“What is going on?”
“I don’t know,” she answered truthfully,
“There haven’t been anymore attacks since two weeks ago. I heard a rumor that
said Khushrenada stopped the attacks for some reason.”
“Why would he do that?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Shouldn’t we attack places now since he’s
not fighting back?”
“I…I’m not sure,” Catherine admitted. Originally,
they got their “orders” from Jet since she seemed to know what they were doing,
but she said that if they do not attack them, they were not to fire, for the
moment at least.
“Sally went back to Trowa and the others,
Jet went to Heero, and Noin is going to Zechs,” Midii pleaded, “Why can’t we go
somewhere? I want to see Trowa again.”
“So do I, but we don’t know where they
are.”
“We can get Sally to tell us. Please?”
“Midii,” Catherine warned, “don’t start
that again. We’ll find a place to stay.”
“Where?” Midii asked, near her end, “Where
are we going to stay? Where in Earth Sphere will we be safe? Hm? How will we
get there?”
“I know a friend on a nearby colony.
She’ll lend us room and board for a few weeks. As for our Gundams, we can leave
them here for the time being. I’ll contact my friend, and she’ll come in a
shuttle. There, now don’t you want a bath?”
“I want a bubble bath…a nice, hot, long
one.”
“Don’t we all.”
“So we’ll have real meals for once?”
“Of course, we will. So, you agree to
this?”
“Yes, I do.”
An hour later, they were in their new
apartment. It was two rooms: a living room/kitchen and a bedroom. Nevertheless,
it was all they could get. They decided to take turns for the bed: one sleeping
on it one night and sleeping on the couch the next. They had enough clothes
from their previous shopping spree. The floor was to share a bathroom, but
Catherine’s friend let them use her own private bathroom.
“How long do you think we’ll be here?”
asked Midii. Her hair was a bit damp from her bath. Catherine had just gotten
out of hers.
“I’m not all too sure,” Catherine
confessed.
“You must be good friends with that woman
to be able to get a room, even this dinky one, for free…and be able to
use her bathroom instead of the communal one.”
“Well, it’s not entirely for free.”
Midii sighed and rolled her eyes, “I knew
there were strings attached. What do we have to do?”
“It’s not that bad. We have to do her
grocery shopping, which will also be our own by the way, and we have to
baby-sit. I mean, it’s not all that bad. We surely can handle that.”
Midii nodded, “Yes, I think that is fine.”
“However, she’s moving soon, so we only
have this room until the middle of November. Another friend of hers got a new
place and is giving her and her daughter a few rooms there.”
“How nice of her friend”
“Yes,” Catherine nodded, “but I think we
should keep an eye on her. Something doesn’t seem right about it.”
“I’m
glad you said it before I did.”
Friday, October 25 AC 198-23:54
Heero grunted under the strain. He was
stretched to his limits, which he remembered being quite longer. Of course, he
was still healing, so that could be it. He kept going because the end was in
sight. The systems were close to being completely merged. He just wanted to be
out of the bottom of the old diner and to be fighting or going on with his new
life. He looked over at Jet; she was sleeping.
“Figures,” he muttered. She was sleeping
on the “chest” of her Gundam. Obviously, the people who worked here before
spent a lot of time in the basement because there were a couple of beds. There
was only one big room, but a corner was littered with a small number of
roll-away beds. Heero picked Jet up and laid her on one of the beds. He
smirked,
“She’ll be upset with herself that she
fell asleep before I did this time.” He looked over to his Gundam, “What will
you do when the merge is complete? We’ve already finished fighting. Khushrenada
has ordered his troops to cease fire. He may not command them to attack again
now that he has all of the colonies and Mars. The girls have stopped. I hope
Quatre knows what he’s doing with Relena. She needs to get out in the open,
even if she is hurt.”
Heero went over to the computer and made
the final adjustments that would finalize the merge. There, all done. Now what
to call it? He contemplated on the name Triple Zero, but it was a lot zeroes
and not very original. Well, he had used two systems to form one, so he dubbed
it the One System. It may not be the most original name, but he decided the
name did not really matter.
He walked upstairs and went through the
kitchen area of the cafeteria. There was not much left, but the machines still
worked, and he and Jet had found out that they could get decent meals out of
the place if one, usually Jet, left every now and then to get fresh supplies.
He made himself a cup of coffee and a ham and cheese sandwich. After the snack,
he walked back down, put a bed up against Jet’s, and fell asleep next to her.
Saturday, October 26 AC 198
Relena and Sylvia sat in the common room.
Over two weeks ago, Relena and Quatre had ripped up the flooring to find their
way out; now they just waited for the most opportune moment to leave. They were
able to sneak around the house by what they had uncovered, and progressively
they were finding information after information about where they could be in
space. As soon as they knew in which colony they were, they could make a break
for it.
“Where are the other two?” Relena asked.
“Amaya’s in her room. I’m not sure what
she’s doing, not sure I want to know. I’m pretty sure Quatre’s in his own room,
working on that plan of his,” Sylvia answered.
“I see. Well, soon, we’ll be out of here,”
she said cheerfully.
“Yes, I know. Quatre thinks we’ll have to
hide for a little bit, though, because of all the agents around. He thinks
we’re in the heart of a cluster,” Sylvia informed.
“So he’s told me, too,” Relena sighed, “I
just want to be home. I will gladly do all that paperwork now. Oh no!”
“What is it?”
“I’m going to have a ton of papers to sign
and even more packets to read when I get back. I just started to catch up.
This’ll have to be my vacation for awhile.”
Sylvia smirked, “What a fun vacation.”
“I know,” Relena rolled her eyes. A scream
came from Amaya’s room. “Do you think she’s hurt?”
“Nah,” Sylvia repudiated, “It’s probably
just a spider or something. She’ll be fine.”
“If
you say so,” Relena said, “What will you do when we get out?”
“Hug my grandmother and never let her go,”
Sylvia answered quickly. Relena laughed some. “Well, maybe I’ll let go of her
for a bit to hug Henri.”
“Henri?”
“He’s my boyfriend, didn’t you know?”
“I might have heard it, but it didn’t
really register or anything,” Relena explained.
“What about you? Are you seeing anyone?”
She smiled, “I’ve been on a few ‘dates’
with my childhood friend Gerry, but we’re just lonely. There’s nothing there. I
think that when I get out, I’ll see my adoptive mother more often. It seems I
just pushed her out of my life where she just vanished without a trace or
something.”
“That’s a shame,” Sylvia said, “If my
mother were still alive, I’d keep her near me, same with my father.” Relena
nodded sadly. She had heard when the Noventas died. “What about Heero?”
“Heero?” asked Relena, “Well, he told me
that he has a woman in his life already. Besides, I still want Heero, but I’m
not going to sit around and wait for him. I’m sure he’ll come around
eventually.”
“Having a woman in his life could mean
anything. That woman could be his sister, mother-figure, a close friend….”
“Or his lover,” Relena finished. The doors
opened and guards brought in their next meal then left.
“Quatre, Amaya, lunch is here,” Sylvia
told them. They both came out of Amaya’s room. Amaya was absolutely giddy,
something that startled Relena and Sylvia since she was usually realistic,
practical, and hardly excited about too much.
“What is it?” asked Sylvia. She did not
respond, just giggled, putting her hand over her mouth.
“Quatre?” prompted Relena. He grinned.
“We have a plan,” he announced.
“And Amaya is thrilled about this?” asked
Sylvia.
“I don’t blame her,” Relena said.
“We both just finished an arrangement,
that’s all,” he mysteriously answered with a knowing glance at Amaya.
Monday, October 28 AC 198
Mmes. Darlian and Vandivier cried with
their heads bowed down to the ground as the casket was lowered into the ground.
They were dressed in black and held onto each other for support. The priest was
saying something as they lowered the old woman down, but they could not
understand. Around them, people were crying and doing the same. It was a tragic
loss. Their good friend who had helped them through it all had died from what
seemed like old age, but she had not been all that old.
Mrs. Darlian was reminded of her husband’s
funeral three and a half years earlier, except then she had had no one to
support her. Relena had refused to see her father buried, she could not bear
it. Mrs. Vandivier was reminded of her father’s funeral a few years earlier.
Both women were also distressed because
they suspected foul play in their friend’s death. The doctor did too, but he
could not speak about it he said. They were mad that the authorities, whoever
they were anymore, made it very “hush-hush.” They wanted answers and justice
for what happened.
One by one, the mourners said their
good-byes and left. Mrs. Darlian put down her bouquet of flowers at the grave
as did Mrs. Vandivier.
“She was so vital,” Vandivier commented,
still wiping away tears.
“Yes, she was full of life,” agreed
Darlian, “There’s no way she simply keeled over.” She dabbed more tears.
“How can they just act like nothing is
wrong?” Vandivier questioned, “It’s not fair. They don’t do anything useful in
finding our daughters. They let those kids do it. But they can’t even find a
common criminal for the poor woman’s death. It’s a shame. How can they call it
natural causes?”
Darlian shook her head, “I don’t know.
They’re horrible. At first I had more faith in them than those children friends
of our daughters, but now I’m beginning to think that they know what they’re
doing. She was right to trust them.” She gestured to the grave. “We should have
gotten more advice from her.” The women began to cry again.
“I think this has been enough for you two
today,” said former General Vandivier, “It has been traumatizing for you to
lose her. We had better go home.” He took their arms as they nodded. Mrs.
Darlian was staying at the Vandiviers’ for moral support. They left the grave
full of flowers remembrances that covered the gravestone:
Esmeralda
Hermosa Arnold Gitano de Noventa
Dutiful, faithful, and
loving wife-Beloved by all-We miss you
4 March AC 128 to 23
October AC 198
Thursday, October 31 AC 198
Duo smiled as Hilde gave her last push and
produced their daughter. The doctors and nurses cheered when the babe cried at
her entrance. After a quick clean-up, the doctors handed the small bundle to
her mother. Duo put his arm around her as to hold both of them at the same
time. Hilde cried and could not stop.
Later in the day, when Hilde had been
moved to her own room, the couple got to hold their daughter without anyone
else around them.
“Your name’s better, Hilde,” Duo told her.
She already knew it. “How do you like this world, Caitlyn?”
Hilde smiled as Duo bounced his brand new
daughter, “I’m glad you like it.”
“Of course I like it. I love it! She’s
finally here with us. I was beginning to feel left out,” Duo admitted.
Hilde shrugged, “Trust me when I say you
didn’t want half of what happened with me. Now that she’s here, I can go and
get my Gundam.”
Duo stopped bouncing, “No. You’re not
going anywhere near a battle or where a Gundam would be needed. You need to
take care of yourself and Caitlyn.”
She started to retort a losing battle when
a nurse interrupted her.
“You have a visitor,” she announced.
“A visitor?” asked Duo, “Who’d be coming
here? Sally already said she was waiting until tomorrow to come and see you.”
“Your brother, Ms. Schbeiker,” the nurse
clarified, “Oleksandr Schbeiker is here to see you. He says he’s your brother.”
“Let my little brother in,” Hilde invited
before Duo could interject. The young teenage boy walked into the room with a
hug, kiss, and congratulations for his older sister.
“Is this little Brie?” he asked, taking
Caitlyn in his arms.
“Brie is her middle name,” Hilde informed
him, “Caitlyn’s her first name.” She looked at Duo. She could tell he was
furious and was holding himself back as long as Oleksandr held the baby.
“Why are you here?” she asked, “Olek, what
have you been doing?”
“You mean you haven’t seen me in the
news?”
“We’ve seen you enough,” spat Duo, “All
those times you asked about what I did in the war, you were just getting
information to use? All those times you acted like I was the big brother you
never had, it was all an act?”
“No! No, that wasn’t an act,” he pleaded
to show the older man it was the truth.
“We’ve seen you in the news,” Hilde
clarified, “I mean, what are you thinking to do it? Why did you do it?”
“I saw an opportunity and took it,” he
told them truthfully, “I haven’t done anything wrong! I just let people have
weapons. It’s what they want.”
“It’s also illegal now!”
“Well, it’s what they need,” he said, “You
said so yourself, Duo.” Duo clenched his fists tighter.
“Oleksandr, what you’re doing is wrong.
Why can’t you see it?” asked Hilde. Caitlyn started stirring. Oleksandr handed
her to Hilde. It was a wrong decision. As soon as he handed the baby over to
her mother and stepped away a bit, Duo hit him with all that he had.
How was that? I hope it was
good. Let
me know.