Hurray for PIE shorts! Below is the crossover with D.N.Angel, something I've wanted to do for a while. Dark makes me so happy. Sigh. Please read and enjoy! And as always, if you find a typo, please let me know where it is and I'll try to fix it.
PIE Short: Earth Minus
(Or 'The Attack of the Phantom Thief')
Prologue
Cosmic Era 74.
A mistake during a test to create near light-speed capable engines tears a hole in the space-time continuum and sends test pilot Parr Inlum to another universe. After he makes a rapid u-turn, scientists research the tear and stabilize it into a gateway. Subsequent tests create more tears to more universes and result in more gateways.
Universe 1 leaves the Cosmic Era for the Parr Inlum Era, commonly known as PIE….
PIE 1.(CE 76.)
PLANT and Earth forces create the Frontier Inspection Team to explore the many universes they now have access to. Although FIT is a peaceful organization, because mobile suit piloting skills are usually required, army officers are allowed to hold dual memberships within their armies and FIT.
Intrigued by the prospect of exploration, our heroes of the Bloody Valentine Wars enlist once again, this time as Frontier Inspection Team Explorers….
Earth Minus 2001 AD
"But honestly, Kira, this has got to be wrong! It's a middle school!" Athrun objected loudly. He looked up from skimming their latest orders, horrified at the thought of pretending to be a middle school student. He had already been feeling weird masquerading as a high schooler lately.
"Keep reading, Athrun," Kira replied without looking up from his scrap-booking. He was fixing the memories from the last PIE universe they had traveled to into the album, but the picture of Athrun with some of his classmates looked out of place. It was probably the automatic rifle one of the boys was carrying. Kira sighed and searched for a different picture of Athrun, Sousuke, and Kaname.
"Wait, I'm a T.A.?" Athrun asked curiously. Kira mm-hhmmed a response and after finally choosing a picture of safe fun, he went to work with his fun curvy scissors.
"Well, I guess that's alright. Although, I wonder what I'm going to be teaching?" the blue haired boy mused aloud. Kira began humming cheerily one of Lacus' songs as he took out the glitter glue and ribbons for borders.
"I hope it's something fun, like a ninja class or something."
Kira snorted, nearly upsetting his supplies of paper.
"Or maybe ballroom dancing. I'm really good at that."
Kira finally looked up, satisfied with the latest page and ready to face Athrun. He hated being a crusher of dreams, but he felt the truth was more important, especially if they were to fulfill the mission.
"Athrun, you will T.A. the classical literature of Europe class. Your duties include watching over study hall and assisting the classical lit teacher when he is teaching," Kira told him gently, "It sounds like a lot of fun. Not only will you learn the important history of this part of the world through literature, but you can help the students by being a good role model."
Athrun groaned. If there were one thing he hated more than losing a battle, it was reading books that other people assigned.
"That's not 'a lot of fun,' Kira. That sucks! After Frankenstein, I swore I'd never read another book!" Athrun grumbled, before realizing how dumb he sounded. Kira gave him a pained expression by wrinkling his brow and somehow making his purple eyes seem bigger. His mouth twisted into a little pout.
"But all those children that could benefit from your guidance!" Kira protested. "And besides, it is your mission. You can't not do it."
"Well, they'll just have to benefit from knowledge I already have," Athrun relented, looking away as Kira's face brightened into a childish grin, "Because I am not reading anymore books for school."
"Maybe they'll have a Spark's Notes or something? You should at least try a little to understand what's going on in class," Kira persisted innocently. He began cleaning up the little mess of paper, ribbon, glitter, and pictures from the table.
"I think it was just Sparknotes, but that was Earth Plus. Earth Minus, however, will probably live up to its name," Athrun retorted a little bitterly.
"How do you mean?"
"Oh, just that it's a little, well, lacking." Athrun sighed, turning and running his fingers over his reminder of Cagalli. The good-luck necklace seemed to glow even in the shadow he cast, silhouetted in the bright lamps from Kira's workstation.
"Well, I hope they still have stickers."
"So class, you can direct any questions you have to Athrun here if I'm busy helping another student or during study hall," the classical lit teacher told his eighth graders. They vaguely resembled a flock of sheep, but seemed shorter to Athrun. He supposed the more intelligent brats were the ones staring out the window and wishing they were somewhere else. He could not blame them. He glanced back at the teacher, letting his cheesy 'I'm happy to be here' smile fade a little to put on a more serious face.
"Any questions, class?" the teacher asked, ignoring Athrun completely. Several hands shot up. Athrun could not understand what anyone would have a question on already, and ground his teeth together. He had not been this stupid in middle school. Maybe there was a bigger difference between Naturals and Coordinators than he had thought.
"Why's your hair blue?" a girl with braids asked from the third row, "Are you related to Satoshi?"
The class giggled, and Athrun realized that the teacher must have opened up question-time just so he could be interrogated. He dragged in a deep breath before answering.
"I have no idea who you're referring to. I was born this way." But even as he spoke, the children turned in their seats to steal glances at who could only be Satoshi. His hair was a pale blue, and slightly disheveled as if he had walked through a strong wind. However, Athrun could not see much more of what he looked like, due to the large glasses that obscured his face and reflected the sunlight back at his eyes. Satoshi was, after all, peering out the window.
The teacher called on another student who asked what his favorite music was. Athrun played it safe by saying several genres rather than Lacus Clyne, although he was still rewarded with a room full of blank looks. He continued answering questions posed by the eighth graders until the teacher finally decided they actually had work to do. Athrun did not know which was worse, and cursed Kira under his breath for always taking the fun sight-seeing jobs.
Athrun sat on the left side of the room, blankly staring at the teacher who went on in a monotonous voice about something. Athrun had stopped paying attention, his mind fixed on his last meeting with Cagalli. He absently began rolling the good-luck stone between his fingers, remembering how she had hinted about a surprise for him when he returned. He wondered what it was.
Spacing out as much as he was, Athrun failed to notice the two sets of eyes among all those students not paying attention that were intently watching the stone between his fingers.
"So? How was it?" Kira goaded his friend. He elbowed Athrun gently in his side to elicit a response faster. Athrun sighed.
"Honestly, Kira? That was the most boring thing I've ever done with my life. I sat there and did nothing all day. Nobody asked any questions, not that I could have answered, and half the students fell asleep in each class. I almost fell asleep," Athrun complained. The most fun he had had was when he had begun doodling cartoons of the teacher he was assisting. The teacher's head had resembled a block even more when Athrun drew it.
"Well, that's fine. That means you'll be able to stay up late tonight," Kira said brightly.
"What are we doing tonight?" Athrun asked curiously. His interested sparked suddenly. "Clubbing?"
"No, of course not," Kira replied, nearly giggling, but then he turned very serious and handed Athrun a small slip of paper. "Here. This arrived just before you got home."
Athrun took the stiff piece of paper and turned it over carefully. He began reading the rather flowing script.
Tonight at 10:00, I will steal the Orb of the Princess.
Phantom Thief Dark
Athrun stared, utterly confused. Kira looked expectantly at him.
"Um, what the hell is this, Kira?" Athrun puzzled.
"Well, I did some research right after receiving the warning letter. Apparently, everything this Phantom Thief says he will steal, he does. He sends out the warning notes so that the police will involve themselves and it becomes a media event, but he's never been caught," Kira informed his younger friend. His brows knitted together in an adorable expression of frustration. "I haven't called the police yet, because I can't figure out what the 'Orb of the Princess' is yet. Any ideas?"
Athrun thought for a moment. He knew what the Princess of Orb was, but she was so far removed from this situation and that would be considered kidnapping, not stealing. Unconsciously, his fingers closed around his necklace as they often did when he thought of his girlfriend. "You don't think it has anything to do with Cagalli, do you?"
Kira shook his head. "How could it?"
"I guess you're right," Athrun said. His fingers relaxed their grip on the stone.
"Unless…" Kira began, staring at Athrun's chest. Athrun resisted the urge to squirm uncomfortably under Kira's eyes. "Unless it's your necklace that she gave you. Dark only steals works of art, like paintings, mirrors, and, well, jewelry. Anyway, it's probably the only thing in this house that we treasure enough to guard."
Athrun looked stricken. How would he ever explain to Cagalli that it was stolen? He could not let that happen, not even if he were up against a previously undefeated foe. This Phantom Thief would never know what hit him while trying to steal from Athrun Zala.
"I was thinking that perhaps we shouldn't report this to the police. Apparently Dark simply runs in circles all around them and they are pretty much useless. I think the two of us can come up with something better, don't you?" the brunette thought aloud. Kira immediately went into thinking mode, which meant he sat down on the sofa cross-legged and stared at the carpet, his hands folded around a cushion in his lap. Athrun began pacing with his left hand clutching what they believed to be the Orb of the Princess. Suddenly he stopped and faced Kira.
"I think the safest place for it to be is right where it is. I mean, who could steal it while I'm wearing it?" Athrun asked, looking a little desperately back at Kira to see if he were nodding in agreement. However, he was still staring at the floor. "Kira?"
"Oh. Yes, that seems like the smartest course of action, although…" he trailed off, at least half of his brain still deep in thought.
"Although what?" Athrun asked.
"Maybe we should add a little more security to the house, and you should sleep in my room. We'll set up a trap or something in yours. Maybe we can catch this thief ourselves," Kira mused, growing excited at the prospect of doing good. He finally looked up at Athrun, his amethyst eyes glowing eagerly.
"I'll start getting things set up to trap him. Why don't you see if you can upgrade our security system before nine, Athrun?" Kira smiled reassuringly at his best friend who nodded.
"Great. Now let's catch a thief."
9:57 P.M.
Athrun felt surprisingly calm, the way he always did before a battle. He sat with Kira in the basement, staring at the myriad of video screens from the security cameras they had installed throughout the house. Most were focused on Athrun's room, where they had placed a wigged manikin in Athrun's bed, along with a fake necklace.
"You know he's supposed to fly in?" Kira asked quietly, eyes still focused on the cameras on the roof.
"Fly? How's he do that?" Athrun asked. He had not known that, but then realized it was probably why Kira had installed so many cameras on the roof or near the second story windows.
"You should see the WeTube videos. He's got these great black wings," Kira said wistfully, gesturing with his hands so that Athrun could almost see the feathery spread.
"Isn't that 'YouTube' though, Kira?"
"Nah, that's only Earth Plus. But it's very similar," the brunette responded. They were both silent, avidly watching the screen for any sign of movement.
"Oh no!" Kira suddenly whispered in horror.
"What?!" Athrun turned, suddenly terrified. He clutched his necklace for reassurance. Kira had taken his eyes from the monitors and was staring at Athrun with his mouth open slightly and a horrifying expression.
"I left my wallet in the hall!"
Athrun sighed. "That's fine, Kira. He only steals artsy stuff, right?"
"But my ID is in there! What if he sees it?" Kira still looked stricken with horror and guilt.
"Fine. Run, you've got two minutes," Athrun agreed, but felt better knowing what it was that had upset Kira. He watched Kira sprint from the room and then looked down at his good-luck charm. He would keep it safe. Athrun looked up again when Kira reentered the room, holding his wallet awkwardly. He sat down in his chair and fiddled with one of the monitors. Athrun looked at him.
"It's not getting a clear reception," Kira responded sheepishly. Athrun gave him a smile.
"Relax, we'll see him just fine." Kira gave a quick nod in response and watched the monitors attentively.
9:59 P.M.
"I just hope he won't be late. That would be considered rude, wouldn't it?" Athrun joked.
Kira let out a soft chuckle. "Don't worry, he'll be here."
10:00 P.M.
A flash of movement caught Athrun's eye. Gleaming black feathers caught in the moonlight, a shadowy figure suspended between two powerful wings. He seemed to be a darker part of the night, moving rapidly closer and blotting out the stars behind him.
"Kira!" His pointing finger accompanied the low shout. Purple eyes darted to see the figure, and they both stood to get a better view of the monitor. They moved in closer to the screen, their faces almost pressed together.
"Well, time to get to work, right?" Athrun asked, a smile on his lips. He looked sideways to Kira, who looked back. A smirk was forming on Kira's lips to match his own.
"Exactly," Kira responded, still grinning. He patted Athrun on the shoulder and stood. Athrun turned back to the monitors to watch Dark land and unlatch a window. He slipped inside Athrun's bedroom, slinking quietly to the bed in the dark room. The thief's purple hair shone for an instant in the starlight spilling in through the window as he pulled back the blankets and sheets to reveal the dummy. He did not look surprised, but instead smiled cheekily at the hidden camera and waved.
Athrun was shocked. Kira laughed uncharacteristically and began walking towards the door. Athrun turned to watch him.
"It wasn't as fun as it would have been with Hiwatari," Kira said in a deeper, richer voice. From his right hand dangled the Orb of the Princess, the pink jewel glowing in the light from the multiple video screens.
Athrun's eyes widened along with his mouth. The man who could only be the true Phantom Thief opened the door and turned back to face the blue-haired explorer.
"Yes," he said grandly as he seemed to pull away his clothes and skin in a swift motion to reveal the handsome man in black underneath, "I am Dark Mousy, the Phantom Thief."
With a cry Athrun lunged, but even his Coordinator speed could not match Dark's triumphant call. Feathers blew around the room as wings exploded onto Dark's back and he gave them a single beat that shot him out the basement room and into the main house. Athrun took the stairs in three steps, just in time to see feathers falling from around a corner. He leapt and skidded around the corner, but tripped on something that felt like a rolled carpet almost immediately. As he fell, he saw front door burst open into the night and the thief rocket upwards.
He scrambled up, but the only thing he caught was a single falling black feather.
Awww, poor Athrun! I almost feel really bad for him, but… they shouldn't have been so cocky in dealing with the Phantom Thief. We'll see how they deal in the next chapter. Anyway, thanks for reading!
anja-chan