The Red Shoes

by Alithea

AU Multi-Crossover fic. An an alternate look at Road Rage by Jilly-chan. Catherine Bloom was once a rising star, but a severe injury ended her dancing career. Now she has been asked to direct a revival of the very show that was the height of her success and her lowest points. Cast drama, and past mistakes crop up to make everyone wonder if the show can ever succeed.

1. Prelude 1 Not Now Not Ever

Title: The Red Shoes
Prelude#1: Not Yet...Not Ever
PG-13
Warnings: AU, Crossover, F/F M/M and F/M content. Characters are not mine I am just borrowing.
Characters: Nichol (Gundam Wing), Shiori (Utena), Catherine (Gundam Wing)
A/N: This is an alternate look at Jilly-Chan's Road Rage fic (universe). The Preludes (there are six) are my way of rewriting some of the history before jumping into the meat of the main story. I highly recommend reading Road Rage since it's a fun and fantastic story, and it may help make some of what is going on here make a tad more sense. Thank you Jilly for letting me play around in your sandbox.

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It was a leftover pasta day for Nichol, and it was hardly filling after four hours of rehearsal. He picked at the noodles, doing his best to stretch out the small portion. Then he gave in and swallowed down the few bites he had before looking over his script.

As he mulled over the words a shadow moved behind him. He almost instinctively knew who it was, and he realized that the conversation about to take place was an inevitable one.

He turned around and glowered slightly at Shiori.

"What?" He asked more bitterly than he'd meant.

"How is she?"

He sighed. "Recovering."

She shook her head. "You know that's not who I meant."

Nichol stood up so that he could look down at the young woman. "At this point, Shiori, she's the only one you have any right to ask about."

He watched her shrink slightly under his gaze, and, then, as always, she had to try and fight back.

"I've been doing better. I-"

"I don't care if you've just become a millionaire. You don't get to be a part of mydaughter's life." He stepped back to pick up his empty lunch container. "You gave it all up, and you don't get to change your mind."

Shiori stared at him and then stormed off. He watched her go and then sat back down on the bench. He ran his hand through his dark hair and shook his head.

"She's doing her best."

He turned around and looked at Catherine. He wasn't sure how she managed to walk without making a sound while on crutches. He eyed the severity of the brace around her knee and shrugged.

"Her best isn't good enough," he stated sharply. "You shouldn't forgive her so readily."

"I didn't say I had."

"But?"

Catherine grimaced, or perhaps it was a flare of pain from her knee. "Maybe you're right. Maybe she isn't ready yet. But... after losing everything... I just think there should be something."

Catherine moved away down the sidewalk.

Nichol picked his script back up and stared at the words on the page without registering them. After a long while he stood up and walked back towards the theater. He saw Shiori in the distance.

"Not yet," he said. "Not yet."