Konnichiwa Minna-san! Ex-Shark-Virtue is back with another Gundam 00 fic! This is a result of boredom so yeah, it's probably not the best. It's also my first attempt at a humor fic so go easy on me! Aside from that enjoy this little fic. Takes place during season one.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam 00 or the characters I'm just borrowing them with Veda's permission.
Happy reading!
Chapter One: Veda's not gonna help you
It was any ordinary morning on the Ptolemaios. As usual Allelujah cooked the simple meal of scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage. Allelujah usually made breakfast because Lockon was never up early enough and as for the two youngest, they weren't allowed to touch any of the appliances in the kitchen, especially the stove. Setsuna usually ate in silence and would only speak when spoken to. The youngest would substitute the sausage and bacon for toast and some sugary cereal that would usually earn a disapproving glare and on some occasions a lecture from Tieria.
Lockon would normally be the last person to enter the dining room. He usually entered the room about half an hour after everyone else and he would usually receive a cheerful good morning, a monotone 'morning, and a stern glare. Tieria would usually be the first one up in the morning. The second one up would find him sitting at the table reading some long winded and probably boring book while sipping black coffee he had made. The coffee maker was the only thing he was allowed to operate in the kitchen, the rest of the crew wasn't crazy enough to deprive the boy of his daily caffeine. However on this morning it was his absence that proved that it was not going to turn out to be a normal day.
"Yo," Lockon called as he entered the room about twenty minutes late
"Good Morning!" Allelujah called
"'Morning," Setsuna muttered without looking up from his food
"Oi, we're missing one," Lockon said, "Where's Tieria's almost audible glare?"
"He wasn't here when I got here," Allelujah said, "And he hasn't showed up yet."
"Really?" Lockon asked as he grabbed his breakfast, "I hope he's alright. He wasn't really acting like himself last night."
"Didn't he go to bed really early?" Allelujah asked
"Yeah," Lockon said, "The kid was practically passing out at supper last night. I hope he's not coming down with something." At that moment the door opened, "Well speak of the devil," he said, "Good morning sunshine."
Tieria didn't answer he just grabbed the last tray. He took a seat next to Lockon then put his head down on the table.
Lockon and Allelujah looked at each other, "Do you feel alright?" Lockon asked
"I'm just tired!" Tieria snapped
Sensing that Tieria was probably not in the best mood, Setsuna abandoned his cereal and left the room without a word.
"Lockon," Allelujah said, "You're in charge of the clean up today." Allelujah said as he too headed for the door. He also fell victim to one of Tieria's sleep deprivation induced bad moods.
"Alright," Lockon called, "I know." He then turned to Tieria, "What's wrong?" He noticed that the boy hadn't even looked at his breakfast yet. "You haven't touched your food yet."
"I'm not very hungry," Tieria said softly as he removed his glasses and put his head back down. He had such a bad headache that even with his glasses on, his vision wasn't straightening out.
Lockon sighed and started cleaning up from breakfast, "Are you going to eat this?" he asked
Tieria shook his head and rested it against the table again. He didn't feel right. It seemed as though his body temperature wouldn't regulate. One minute he was warm the next minute he was cold. His head and the rest of his body ached with a dull almost throb. He had gotten over twelve hours of sleep but yet it felt like he hadn't slept in several days. Veda hadn't really given him an answer; in fact, Veda hadn't given him an answer at all.
"Tieria this isn't like you," Lockon sighed, "We have a mission today, you need to eat something."
"I said I wasn't hungry!" Tieria snapped
Lockon sighed again and picked up Tieria's completely untouched breakfast, "I'm putting this in the fridge in case you get hungry later," He said as Tieria looked up from the table and it was then when Lockon noticed the faint pink tint to the boy's normally fair skin. /He really doesn't look well/ He thought as he abandoned his work and walked up to Tieria, "Tieria, are you really feeling alright?"
"It's just a headache," Tieria said softly
"Tieria lift your head a bit," Lockon said, "I can't hear what you're saying."
Tieria lifted his head and before he could say anything, Lockon placed his hand to the boy's forehead, "Lockon…what are you…"
"You're a bit hot," Lockon said as he placed his lips to the boy's forehead just to be sure, "No wonder…"
"This had better not be some perverted joke of yours!" Tieria yelled ignoring the pounding headache he had.
"Does it look like I'm trying to be perverted?" Lockon asked as he frowned, "Tieria, you're not well."
"What?"
"Shh," Lockon said as he placed his index finger to Tieria's lips, "Haro check his temperature."
"Thirty-eight point three, thirty-eight point three," The small robot chirped
"It's rather high…" Lockon said
"Lockon Stratos!" Tieria roared, "I am not in the mood for your jokes today!"
"How are you feeling?"
"Fine," Tieria snapped. He was beginning to regret yelling like that, his headache had increased ten-fold and was now accompanied with lightheadedness.
"Tieria, I have proof that you have a fever," Lockon said, "Tell the truth. How do you feel?"
Tieria sighed, "Lockon, I don't know what's wrong with me." He muttered, "I even went to Veda about it and she couldn't give me an answer."
One of Lockon's eyebrows went up at Tieria's comment, "Aside from the headache and fever, what other symptoms do you have?"
"I can't get comfortable," He said softly as he put his head on his arms, "It's too warm with my sweater on but I'm cold when I take it off…And…I don't know…I'm just achy."
"Tieria," Lockon said, "The problem you're experiencing right now is called the common cold. My advice, since Veda couldn't give you any, go back to bed, sleep for the rest of the day and keep yourself hydrated."
"But we have a mission today," Tieria said
"You're gonna have to sit this one out, Tieria" Lockon said, "Today you need to focus on getting some rest so you feel better."
"But…"
"Tieria Erde," Lockon said, "Colds are not something you mess around with. They may not seem like much at first but they can get pretty bad, pretty quick. If you sortie today and get sicker we'll run into problems if you can't fight in a major battle later on." He put his hand on Tieria's back, "Do you really think you're feeling well enough to sortie?"
"I think I could hold out," Tieria said
Lockon sighed, "Let me inform you as to what can happen if you do sortie today," he said, "If you head out today your fever will spike, probably mid-battle too. Tieria think about what might happen to you if you pass out in the middle of the mission. We'll be on earth today, there's nothing preventing the Virtue from crashing if you lose consciousness. You could also miss-fire and hit one of us instead. And not to mention the downed Virtue would be an easy target for the enemy to either take out or capture. You'll put the entire mission and yourself at a serious risk."
Tieria sighed as he thought about what Lockon had just said, "I guess you're right." He muttered as he put his glasses back on.
"Tieria," Lockon called, "Get some rest you'll feel better."
Tieria nodded then walked out of the room, "Lockon…"
"What is it?" Lockon asked, "Do you want me to help you?"
"No," Tieria said, "It's nothing."
"I'll be there in a bit to check up on you." Lockon called. He sighed, /This can't be a good sign/ He thought, /I got Tieria to not only agree to go to bed for the rest of the day, I got him to agree to sit out a mission as well. He must really be feeling sick/
"Lockon, what's wrong? Lockon, what's wrong?" Haro asked
"I'm just wondering what we're going to do with that kid," Lockon said
"Who knows? Who knows?" Haro chirped
"Well come on we should go inform Ms. Sumeragi about this," Lockon said
"Roger, Roger," Haro responded
Sumeragi was confused, Veda's first mission plan had Tieria covering most of the fire power. But the most recent plan didn't include Tieria at all. So now she was faced with the task of breaking the news to the most stubborn Meister.
"Ms. Sumeragi,"
"Lockon," She said, "What is it?"
"I have a request to keep Tieria from launching today," He said
"Why?" Sumeragi asked as she turned away from her work. Perhaps Lockon knew the reason behind Veda's change.
"He's not feeling so well at the moment," Lockon said
"Tieria's sick?" Sumeragi asked as she stood up, "What is it? Is he alright?"
"Calm down, Ms. Sumeragi," Lockon said, "He's running a mid-grade fever. So I've sent him to bed for the day, not that he'll listen to me but it's worth a try."
"So that's why Veda changed her plan…" Sumeragi said, "How high is his fever?"
"Thirty-eight point three," Lockon said, "It could be just be a cold, but you never know."
"Are you going to go check on him?" Sumeragi asked
"Yeah," Lockon said
"Alright," She said, "I'll be there as soon as I can."
Lockon walked up to Tieria's room, knocked on the door and when there was no response he let himself in. "Tieria?" He asked quietly in case the boy was asleep. He looked over at the bed and saw that Tieria had indeed taken his advice. /Good, he's resting/ He thought as he placed his hand on the boy's forehead
"Lockon," Sumeragi said, "Is he asleep?"
"Yeah," Lockon responded, "He's also agreed to sit the mission out."
Sumeragi bit her lip, "I think I'm going to have Moreno-san examine him later," She said, "I don't think he's come down with just a cold."
"Well there is the possibility that the kid's never been sick before," Lockon said, "That would make him feel sicker than he actually is."
"I know but…I don't think a cold would be enough to get Tieria to decide to sleep rather than sortie. Plus, last night he did mention something about not feeling well when I asked him why he was turning in so early." She said, "I think he might have come down with the flu."
"He's not going to like that much," Lockon said as he placed a cool damp cloth to Tieria's forehead, "He's not a big fan of the heat and if I remember correctly, he has a bad tolerance for it as well."
Sumeragi sighed, "He's in for a rough night."
A few hours later Tieria woke to his alarm and for the first time ever he contemplated turning the alarm off and going back to sleep. He felt awful, the three hour or so nap that he had taken had done nothing to yield the pounding headache, aches or the exhaustion that he felt. He slowly sat up and a small cloth fell off his forehead, /Lockon must have been here while I was asleep/ He thought. He then went to stand and his head swam so bad it nearly brought him to his knees, /Maybe this isn't such a good idea/ He thought as he put his hand to his head and shut his eyes.
Once the dizzy spell passed Tieria walked to the door and found a note taped to it. He put his glasses on and struggled to read Lockon's messy handwriting
"Tieria don't bother coming to the mission briefing, you won't be heading out today. Just get some rest. Lockon."
Tieria took the note and walked out of his room.
"Allelujah and Setsuna will cover Lockon as he completes the main objective," Sumeragi said, "Any questions?"
"But what about Tieria?" Allelujah asked, "Where is he anyway?"
"Tieria won't be-" Sumeragi started
"I'm…right here," Tieria muttered as he entered the room holding on to the door frame for support
"Tieria!" Lockon and Sumeragi exclaimed
"What are you doing out of bed?" Lockon asked as he approached the boy.
"I wanted…to know…what your note…meant..." Tieria muttered as he sank to his knees from exhaustion. He had slept so much, why was he so tired?
"You were taken off the mission plan," Lockon said as he knelt beside Tieria and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder, "You can't pilot in your condition."
"But Veda…"
"Has also taken you off the mission plan," Sumeragi said as she too knelt down next to Tieria, "Just go back to bed and sleep okay? Lockon will you bring him back to his room?"
"I was planning to," Lockon said as he slowly helped Tieria stand.
"Get some rest, Tieria," Sumeragi called as the two left the room. "Does that answer your question?"
"I've never seen Tieria act like that," Allelujah asked, "Is he sick?"
"Yes, he's running a fever," Sumeragi said, "Which is why…"
"Is he stupid!?" The tall Meister interrupted
Sumeragi and Setsuna turned and stared at Allelujah to find that his gray eye was covered revealing a gold one. "What the hell was he thinking getting out of bed in such a condition?"
"Don't say that Hallelujah!" Allelujah exclaimed, "Give Tieria a break."
"Give Tieria a break," Hallelujah mocked, "You're pathetic! You're too soft on people. A gentle personality won't get you shit Allelujah. You need to toughen up you little girl."
"Hallelujah, I can't stand you," Allelujah whined
"Just as I can't stand your whiny crybaby act!"
"Enough!" Sumeragi yelled before the argument could continue, "Can we please get back to the mission briefing?"
"Sorry," Allelujah said sheepishly, "I really can't control him."
"Well as I was saying," Sumeragi said, "Tieria is sick and will not be heading out today. Veda has taken him off the mission plan therefore we will have to try our best with only three Gundams today."
"Tieria you need to take it easy," Lockon said as the boy got back in bed, "You're going to get sicker if you continue doing this."
"I…wanted to go…to the…mission briefing…" Tieria gasped. Why was he having so much trouble breathing? Was this one of the symptoms?
"You already agreed to sit out the mission," Lockon said, "So why did you want to go to the mission briefing?"
"So I…could know…what was going…to happen…" Tieria gasped
Lockon sighed, "Don't worry about it," He said as he placed a damp cloth to the boy's forehead, "Just rest."
"What is the cloth for?" Tieria asked as his breathing finally eased a bit.
"It's to help keep you comfortable," Lockon said, "And it's also an attempt to lower your fever. Now stop asking so many questions and get some sleep. You need more sleep when you're sick. I'll be back to check on you later."
Tieria sat up as Lockon left the room, /If Lockon won't tell me what's going to happen, I'll have Veda tell me/
Lockon walked back to the briefing room.
"Is he back in bed?" Sumeragi asked
"Yeah," Lockon said, "And I think you're right about him having the flu."
Sumeragi sighed, "Of all the people to get if first, why did it have to be Tieria," She said, "The first one to come down with something always gets it the worst."
"Who knows maybe the kid has a strong immune system," Lockon said,
"I highly doubt it," Sumeragi said, "He may have avoided it the first time around but that was only because he didn't talk to anyone at that time."
Lockon sighed, "You do realize that he's probably going to need around the clock care if he does get as sick as you say, right?" He said, "Tieria is…let's just say, easily confused. He's probably confused as to what he's feeling, he'll probably end up freaking out when his fever spikes later, which will probably only make him sicker. I'm willing to watch him at night if you can find someone to watch him during the day."
"I think I'll have Christina and Feldt watch him during the day," Sumeragi said, "If it is the flu, I want to isolate it as much as I can. I know that Allelujah will probably help out as well, if I can keep Setsuna and Tieria away from each other then I won't end up with four sick pilots."
"Setsuna tries to avoid Tieria anyway," Lockon said, "But what happens when he comes into contact with the rest of us who are caring for Tieria? In such closed quarters the flu will be hard to isolate."
Sumeragi sighed, "I can still try," She said, "I'll talk to Chris and Feldt about watching him when the rest of you sortie."
"That sounds like a plan, Ms. Sumeragi," Lockon said as he turned to leave, "Well I'm going to check up on Tieria and make sure he has everything he needs."
"Let me know if he gets worse," Sumeragi called.
"I will."
Tieria leaned up against one of the walls as he tried to make his way to Veda's terminal. /Why…why am I so exhausted and weak?/ He thought as he let himself slide down the wall as low as the low gravity environment would allow him. /I shouldn't be so tired, I've slept so much today/ He then slowly pulled himself to a standing position and floated forward a bit, /Veda's terminal is only a little farther/ He could feel the intense fatigue and weakness taking it's hold on his body as his vision began dimming. He could hear two voices calling out to him in the distance but he didn't care, all he felt like doing was sleeping. And that's what his body was going to force him to do whether he wanted to or not.
/Tieria! What are you doing out of bed?/
/Allelujah you found him? Tieria you're supposed to be resting/
"Why…I…I don't…understand this…Veda…help me…"
/Tieria!/
Lockon walked to Tieria's room and found that the door was slightly ajar. He peered inside and found that Tieria was not in his bed like he was supposed to be.
"Dammit Tieria," He swore, "Where the hell did you run off to this time?" Then something clicked in his mind, "Veda," He said, "I bet you any money the kid went to Veda again. Haro, you know where Veda's terminal is right?"
"I know, I know," Haro chirped
"Alright then," Lockon said, "You lead the way. I've got a feeling that Tieria's around there."
"Roger, roger,"
Allelujah was on his way to the kitchen to make lunch when he found Tieria in one of the hallways.
"Tieria!" Allelujah called, "What are you doing out of bed?"
"Allelujah you found him?" Lockon called as he too entered the hallway, "Tieria, you're supposed to be resting."
"Why…" The purple haired boy muttered as his fever glazed garnet eyes struggled to stay open, "I…I don't…understand this…Veda…help me…"
"Tieria!" Allelujah and Lockon called as they watched Tieria's body become limp as he lost consciousness
"Dammit kid," Lockon swore as he pulled the unconscious boy to the floor. "He's gotten warmer, Haro temperature check."
"Thirty-eight point six, thirty-eight point six."
"That's rather high," Allelujah said, "Do you need me to get anything?"
"Yeah," Lockon said, "Get me a cold compress, a cloth soaked in cold water is fine, and some water for him to drink."
"I'll be right back," Allelujah called as he headed
Lockon nodded and turned to the boy resting on his lap, "Hey, Tieria," He called softly, "Wake up. Come on kid, wake up."
Tieria stirred a bit then opened his eyes, "Lockon…"
"Hey, what do you think you're doing out of bed?" He asked
"I wanted to ask Veda what was going to happen today," Tieria replied softly as he shut his eyes. He was absolutely exhausted and all he wanted to do was sleep.
"Didn't I tell you not to worry about that?" Lockon said
"Lockon," Tieria muttered, "Why do I feel so weak and exhausted?"
"Because you're sick Tieria," Lockon said, "And when you get sick your body uses most of your energy to fight off whatever the illness might be."
"Lockon," Allelujah called as he entered the hall again, "Is he awake?"
"Yeah," Lockon said, "Can you sit up a bit Tieria? We want you to have something to drink."
"Is there anything in it?" Tieria asked
"No," Allelujah said as he handed the bottle to Tieria, "It's just water." Tieria took the water bottle and took a sip, "See, it's just water." Allelujah looked over at Lockon, "We should get him back to his bed."
"Let him rest for a few minutes," Lockon said as he held the damp cloth to Tieria's forehead
"We have to get going soon," Allelujah said, "And it looks like he's about to fall asleep again."
Lockon nodded and helped Tieria stand, "Alright," he said as he tried to help Tieria stand. Lockon sighed, the boy was being less then cooperative. "Come on Tieria," He said as he tried to pull the boy to his feet, "Allelujah, could you help me?"
The two taller Meisters ended up having to physically lift Tieria off the floor, "Do you now understand why you need to stay in bed Tieria?" Allelujah asked
Tieria nodded and rested up against Lockon, "Please," He muttered, "Take me to the bridge."
"Oh no," Lockon said, "The only place you're going is back to your bed. Even if we took you to the bridge, you'd probably be no help. At the point you're at, you'd only pass out and sleep through the entire operation."
By the time Lockon and Allelujah had gotten Tieria back to his room the boy had fallen back to sleep. Lockon gently placed the sleeping Meister back in his bed.
"Is Sumeragi-san going to do something about this?" Allelujah asked, "I don't think he has a cold, he seems to be much sicker than that."
"Ms. Sumeragi thinks he may have the flu," Lockon said, "She's going to have Moreno-san examine him later."
"Good," Allelujah said as he and Lockon left the room, "I hope he's alright."
"I know," Lockon said, "I don't think the kid's ever been sick before."
About an hour later Feldt and Christina stood outside Tieria's room
"Erde-san," Christina called, "May we come in?"
"Chris, he's probably sleeping," Feldt said as she carried a tray of food, "Lockon said that he has a rather high fever."
"Erde-san," Christina said as she opened the door,
"Christina Sierra," He said softly
"Lockon told us to bring you something to eat," She said, "Are you hungry?"
"Not really," Tieria said as he sat up
"Lockon told us to make sure you eat something," Feldt said as she put the tray on the bed,
"Are they on the mission?" Tieria asked
"Yeah," Feldt said, "Lichty and Lasse are making sure things go smoothly."
Tieria sighed and took a small bite of a cracker, "I'm really not hungry," He said, "I'm not feeling well and I just want to sleep."
"Okay," Christina said, "We'll leave this here for you." She then placed the tray on the bedside table, "Sleep well Erde-san."
Feldt looked at Tieria as she left the room, "I can see why Lockon is so worried about him," She said
"Feldt-chan, what's wrong?" Christina asked
"It's nothing," Feldt said,
"Well come on," Christina said, "We should get back to the bridge."
"I want to stay here and make sure he's alright," Feldt said
"Alright," Christina said
Several hours later, Joyce Moreno docked on the Ptolemaios.
"I glad you could make it Moreno-san," Sumeragi said
"Your transmission seemed kind of panicked and urgent so I got here as fast as I could," Joyce said, "Alright so who am I going to be examining today, Setsuna, Lockon or Allelujah?"
"Actually it's Tieria, today," Sumeragi said, "He's been running a fever all day."
"Really?" Joyce asked, "In the years I've known him Tieria has never once gotten sick."
Sumeragi and Joyce entered Tieria's room where Lockon and Feldt were sitting in front of the boy's bed.
"He's not waking up," Feldt said softly as she returned the cloth to Tieria's forehead
"That's fine," Joyce said as he began the exam, "His lungs are clear so right now there's no threat of pneumonia. His pulse is a little bit quick but that's to be expected, his temperature…thirty-eight point seven. Did he complain of any other symptoms?"
"He was complaining of a headache, fatigue, chills, and aches earlier today," Lockon said
"Has he eaten anything?" Joyce asked
"No," Lockon said, "He wasn't hungry at breakfast and he wouldn't eat the lunch that Feldt and Christina brought here for him."
Joyce nodded, "Alright," he said, "I'm going to say that he has come down with the flu. All missions are off limits until his fever comes down. I want him on bed rest but if he needs a change of atmosphere, I will permit him to take short walks as long as he is accompanied by someone else."
"Can we give him fever reducers if it gets bad?" Sumeragi asked
"No," Joyce said, "Fever reducers only work for about four hours and when they wear off it will only make him feel sicker. I just want bed rest and plenty of fluids for him. Call me if his fever stays above forty for more then two days, if he starts having trouble breathing, or if he still has a fever after seven days."
Sumeragi nodded, "Thank you for coming out here," She said
"Keep him hydrated," Joyce said, "I don't really care if he won't eat much. I can expect that he's not going to feel much like eating. As long as he drinks plenty of water or juice it will be fine if he doesn't eat much. Well I have to get going, keep me updated Sumeragi."
"I will," She said, "Thank you again."
"So he does have the flu," Lockon said, "He is not going to fare well tonight."
Sumeragi sighed, "Which is why we're going to let him sleep now," She said, "Because I have a feeling he's not going to sleep much tonight."
So what did you think? Like I said I was bored when I wrote this. I know it's probably a lame attempt at humor but as my other fics will show, humor is not my strong suit. I'll try to make it funnier and I'm open to suggestions so let me know if you have any. Until next time!
Ex-Shark-V-005