The NightWolf
Darkness.. Nothingness. that was the extent of her world. And then suddenly, a line of white fire sliced through the blackness. She blearily opened her eyes a slit. A cell with stone walls, no windows, and a door made of gundanium. "I see you've woken up." came a low, silky voice, positively dripping malice. She turned her head and focused with her surgically altered eyes, zeroing in on the heat signature. Of course. She was hanging by her wrists from the ceiling. Standard treatment for OZ prisoners. And the voice? "Zechs Merquise." She hissed, her tenor voice filled with loathing. "Correct. Where are the others?" She smirked. "Like I'd tell you?" He moved out of the shadows. He stroked his chin, with a thoughtful expression on what you could see of his face. "Feisty, eh? I'm going to enjoy breaking your spirit, my dear assassin." She spit at his face and kicked out, swinging from the chains. A trickle of blood leaked from his mouth, but he didn't wipe it away. "Oh yes, I've heard what you can do. You, the best assassin in the world. And you know what? You're nothing more than a genetically altered freak." She gritted her teeth, although they couldn't rightly be called teeth. It was going to be another long night. Zechs smiled. It was going to be another fun night.
Heero opened his latest e-mail from Doctor. J. He scanned it and glided out to share the news with his comrades. "We have a mission." Duo was complaining about Wufei beating him for the 50th time in a row in chess, Trowa was watching TV, and Quatre was sitting on the couch reading the newspaper. " What is it?" He shrugged. "Rescue. We attack an OZ base and rescue a prisoner. That's it." Duo said, "That's it? No other information? Which base? How will we know when we find the right prisoner?" Heero replied. "No. The base is their headquarters. We will know when we find the right prisoner, because they will be different from others." Wufei glanced up, an expression of mild interest on his face. "Different? How so?" He thought for a moment before answering. "They will be like no other. All I know is that the prisoner is highly trained. In what, I don't know." Quatre whistled. "A real blind shot, eh?" "Yes." He turned and walked out. "We depart at sunrise. Be ready."
The pale sun peered over the horizon as the gundams lifted off. * Oz base is 50 miles to the north. * They flew over the forest, until Duo's sharp eyes spotted something. *Look. * The sheen of black metal glistened far below. *I'll check it out. * Wing Zero settled on the ground and walked forward. When nothing happened, he leaped out and slowly walked forward, with pistol at the ready.
Heero whistled softly. A gundam! He turned and waved the others down. They stared in awe. A titan of black metal stood before them. Where their gundams had more or less humanoid heads, this one had a wolf's. The eyes were emerald green and the fangs were silver and extended beyond the bottom of the snout. An ebony and indigo whip coiled in the right hand, while a buster rifle substituted for a hand on the left. A glaive with no blade was in a sling on the gundams back. Two silver wings bigger than Wing Zero's extended out of the back, and were built like a dragon's.
Duo stepped forward and touched it tentatively. The gundam straightened with a loud roar. They jumped back in surprise. The Gundam turned it's mighty head and stared with its flaming emerald eyes. It slowly locked eyes with each, the fire in its eyes smoldering. It roared again and opened its wings to its full wingspan, about the size of two football fields. It bent its legs, digging the claws into the earth before bounding upward, into the golden skies. A last roar echoed in their ears before the gundam dwindled into a small black dot.
Trowa turned his gaze to his comrades. Each of them except Heero was staring at the sky; amazed that something so big could vanish so quickly. "Come on!" They sprinted to their gundams and took off. They caught up to the unknown gundam, who was waiting at the edge of the atmosphere.
It uncoiled the whip and slashed through the group, sparks flying everywhere as Heavyarm's arm fell off. Trowa cursed and dodged as the whip flicked back, neatly separating Sandrock's main gun. The unknown turned its gaze to Wufei as he shot out the dragon arm. It hit the left leg.
The unknown looked down and then faster than light, had exchanged the whip for the glaive. The glaive glowed blue, with a long blade of flame extending from the end. The gundam twirled it almost lazily, and suddenly shot straight towards Nataku, thrusting the flaming blade into its chest. Black smoke billowed out as Wufei let loose an extremely long line of curses in Mandarin.
The black wolf withdrew the glaive and slung it into the carrier. His emerald eyes glittered with amusement. It turned toward Wing Zero and howled, a clear warning of death to who followed it. * We're setting down , we need to repair the gundams. * The group glided down into a forest and set up camp.
'I can't. give.. up!' She smiled inwardly. ' Give up, my butt. I'm not programmed to give up.' She looked up at Zechs, who had several bruises and a broken rib. He sat at a table, nursing his injured dignity. "Some fun, Zechs." She waited for her squadron.
Finally, at 3:00, they had repaired the gundams. Duo was no help, as he chattered incessantly about how cool the unknown was, and who had piloted it. Finally they finished and flew north. Some mobile dolls protected the base, but they destroyed those with ease. They quickly set down and ran through the base, killing several Ozzies.
A yell of fury reached their ears and they headed toward the sound. They reached a cell, and Heero exploded the door. Inside was a strange scene. Zechs Merquise was hanging against the wall, held there by a girl. Her wrists were bound in chains, but she had flipped over and was staring upside down at Zechs, who gurgled feebly, seeing as she had a large black boot on his throat. ". and if you EVER call me a genetically altered freak again, I will tear your arms and legs from their sockets, and then I will slowly and painfully give you a death."
She punctuated this by slamming a foot into his face. He gurgled and slid to the floor. She flipped right side up and produced a dagger from her boot. She commenced sawing through the chains with the knife held between her teeth. Finally they parted and she landed on the floor with catlike grace. She turned around and stared at them. In that split second, Heero saw that her eyes were slit vertically, like a cats. They were a shocking green, with cold flames burning. She made the first move.
The girl vaulted across the room, drawing a gun from her black trench coat. Suddenly she was beside him, with a gun held to his temple. "Don't move! Or he gets it." She called in a surprisingly light tenor. "And I see you, boy with the sword who plans to sneak up on me. If you try it, I will kill you as well as your friends. And you, boy in the dark corners, come out." Duo came rather sheepishly out, while the others wondered how this girl had managed to see him.
Heero turned his head and glared into one emerald eye. She stared just as coldly back. He noticed that she had an X scar through her left eye, but the eye still functioned. "Put down your weapons, all 5 of you." They silently drew out all of their guns and threw them on the floor. "You, katana boy, I believe you have 10 guns still concealed and a dagger in your shoe." He gaped before glaring and piling them on the floor, muttering about weak onna's all the while.
Once she was satisfied, she slowly drew the pistol back into her coat and stepped away. She stood tall in the light, staring at the pilots. Her hair was black and tied back into a ponytail, and she was wearing jeans and a tube top. She seemed perfect, too perfect. "Names and numbers?" "How do you know we have numbers?" Duo asked. She turned her cold gaze on him. "That is my concern."
Heero motioned for them to go ahead and comply. "Heero Yuy, 01." "Duo Maxwell, 02." "Quatre Raberba Winner, 03." "Trowa Barton, 04." Wufei refused to answer and glared sullenly. She turned and uttered something in Mandarin. His ears turned red and he ground out, "Chang Wufei, 05."
"And your trainer?" Heero darted his eyes around the room, searching for an exit. Duo glanced at him and told her. "Dr. J." Her eyes narrowed and she let out a low hiss. "Oh yes," she muttered, "we have some unfinished business, me and him."
" You know him?" The girl looked toward Heero. "Yes, I know him. Very well, in fact." "Uh, can we have your name?" Duo queried. "She flicked her sub- zero gaze to him. "I have many names. Some know me as Apollyon, others as Draconis, still others as the Assassin. But primarily I am known as the Shadowblade. Take your pick." " We'll just call you Draconis, I guess."
Draconis stuck her hand inside her coat and pulled out a small gadget. "This is a proton shift bomb, that will utterly destroy this area with the force of 50 atomic bombs. It is set to explode in 4 minutes. Come." The pilots looked toward the bomb. Everyone except Heero and Draconis had a slight expression of fear. They followed her into the hallway as she lobbed the bomb into the corner.
" What are you trained in? I'm guessing you're the pilot we've been sent to rescue?" She looked at Heero and jerked her head in Duo's direction. "Is he always this forward, Odin?" Heero stopped dead. "And how do you know that name?" She looked at her watch and broke into a long lope, steadily eating up the length. "If you do not want to be destroyed so that you will never find out any of your questions, hurry up!" They looked at each other and broke into a run.
Outside they ran to the Gundams. Draconis climbed into Wing Zero and stood behind Heero's seat and began answering Duo's and Heero's questions. "Odin, I cannot answer that question. Let's just say I've known you for 18 years. Maxwell, yes, I am the prisoner you've been sent to rescue, and I have been trained in martial arts, knife fighting, piloting, hacking, stealth, guns, and explosives for 17 years. In other words, I am the perfect assassin. I also have one talent that Dr. J did not design me to have. It is empathy. I can see into people's minds, read their thoughts, and insinuate myself into a person's consciousness to read their memories."
Heero absorbed the info, and noticed something strange in what she said. 'Dr. J did not design me..' He filed that glitch away for future reference.
TBC?
Darkness.. Nothingness. that was the extent of her world. And then suddenly, a line of white fire sliced through the blackness. She blearily opened her eyes a slit. A cell with stone walls, no windows, and a door made of gundanium. "I see you've woken up." came a low, silky voice, positively dripping malice. She turned her head and focused with her surgically altered eyes, zeroing in on the heat signature. Of course. She was hanging by her wrists from the ceiling. Standard treatment for OZ prisoners. And the voice? "Zechs Merquise." She hissed, her tenor voice filled with loathing. "Correct. Where are the others?" She smirked. "Like I'd tell you?" He moved out of the shadows. He stroked his chin, with a thoughtful expression on what you could see of his face. "Feisty, eh? I'm going to enjoy breaking your spirit, my dear assassin." She spit at his face and kicked out, swinging from the chains. A trickle of blood leaked from his mouth, but he didn't wipe it away. "Oh yes, I've heard what you can do. You, the best assassin in the world. And you know what? You're nothing more than a genetically altered freak." She gritted her teeth, although they couldn't rightly be called teeth. It was going to be another long night. Zechs smiled. It was going to be another fun night.
Heero opened his latest e-mail from Doctor. J. He scanned it and glided out to share the news with his comrades. "We have a mission." Duo was complaining about Wufei beating him for the 50th time in a row in chess, Trowa was watching TV, and Quatre was sitting on the couch reading the newspaper. " What is it?" He shrugged. "Rescue. We attack an OZ base and rescue a prisoner. That's it." Duo said, "That's it? No other information? Which base? How will we know when we find the right prisoner?" Heero replied. "No. The base is their headquarters. We will know when we find the right prisoner, because they will be different from others." Wufei glanced up, an expression of mild interest on his face. "Different? How so?" He thought for a moment before answering. "They will be like no other. All I know is that the prisoner is highly trained. In what, I don't know." Quatre whistled. "A real blind shot, eh?" "Yes." He turned and walked out. "We depart at sunrise. Be ready."
The pale sun peered over the horizon as the gundams lifted off. * Oz base is 50 miles to the north. * They flew over the forest, until Duo's sharp eyes spotted something. *Look. * The sheen of black metal glistened far below. *I'll check it out. * Wing Zero settled on the ground and walked forward. When nothing happened, he leaped out and slowly walked forward, with pistol at the ready.
Heero whistled softly. A gundam! He turned and waved the others down. They stared in awe. A titan of black metal stood before them. Where their gundams had more or less humanoid heads, this one had a wolf's. The eyes were emerald green and the fangs were silver and extended beyond the bottom of the snout. An ebony and indigo whip coiled in the right hand, while a buster rifle substituted for a hand on the left. A glaive with no blade was in a sling on the gundams back. Two silver wings bigger than Wing Zero's extended out of the back, and were built like a dragon's.
Duo stepped forward and touched it tentatively. The gundam straightened with a loud roar. They jumped back in surprise. The Gundam turned it's mighty head and stared with its flaming emerald eyes. It slowly locked eyes with each, the fire in its eyes smoldering. It roared again and opened its wings to its full wingspan, about the size of two football fields. It bent its legs, digging the claws into the earth before bounding upward, into the golden skies. A last roar echoed in their ears before the gundam dwindled into a small black dot.
Trowa turned his gaze to his comrades. Each of them except Heero was staring at the sky; amazed that something so big could vanish so quickly. "Come on!" They sprinted to their gundams and took off. They caught up to the unknown gundam, who was waiting at the edge of the atmosphere.
It uncoiled the whip and slashed through the group, sparks flying everywhere as Heavyarm's arm fell off. Trowa cursed and dodged as the whip flicked back, neatly separating Sandrock's main gun. The unknown turned its gaze to Wufei as he shot out the dragon arm. It hit the left leg.
The unknown looked down and then faster than light, had exchanged the whip for the glaive. The glaive glowed blue, with a long blade of flame extending from the end. The gundam twirled it almost lazily, and suddenly shot straight towards Nataku, thrusting the flaming blade into its chest. Black smoke billowed out as Wufei let loose an extremely long line of curses in Mandarin.
The black wolf withdrew the glaive and slung it into the carrier. His emerald eyes glittered with amusement. It turned toward Wing Zero and howled, a clear warning of death to who followed it. * We're setting down , we need to repair the gundams. * The group glided down into a forest and set up camp.
'I can't. give.. up!' She smiled inwardly. ' Give up, my butt. I'm not programmed to give up.' She looked up at Zechs, who had several bruises and a broken rib. He sat at a table, nursing his injured dignity. "Some fun, Zechs." She waited for her squadron.
Finally, at 3:00, they had repaired the gundams. Duo was no help, as he chattered incessantly about how cool the unknown was, and who had piloted it. Finally they finished and flew north. Some mobile dolls protected the base, but they destroyed those with ease. They quickly set down and ran through the base, killing several Ozzies.
A yell of fury reached their ears and they headed toward the sound. They reached a cell, and Heero exploded the door. Inside was a strange scene. Zechs Merquise was hanging against the wall, held there by a girl. Her wrists were bound in chains, but she had flipped over and was staring upside down at Zechs, who gurgled feebly, seeing as she had a large black boot on his throat. ". and if you EVER call me a genetically altered freak again, I will tear your arms and legs from their sockets, and then I will slowly and painfully give you a death."
She punctuated this by slamming a foot into his face. He gurgled and slid to the floor. She flipped right side up and produced a dagger from her boot. She commenced sawing through the chains with the knife held between her teeth. Finally they parted and she landed on the floor with catlike grace. She turned around and stared at them. In that split second, Heero saw that her eyes were slit vertically, like a cats. They were a shocking green, with cold flames burning. She made the first move.
The girl vaulted across the room, drawing a gun from her black trench coat. Suddenly she was beside him, with a gun held to his temple. "Don't move! Or he gets it." She called in a surprisingly light tenor. "And I see you, boy with the sword who plans to sneak up on me. If you try it, I will kill you as well as your friends. And you, boy in the dark corners, come out." Duo came rather sheepishly out, while the others wondered how this girl had managed to see him.
Heero turned his head and glared into one emerald eye. She stared just as coldly back. He noticed that she had an X scar through her left eye, but the eye still functioned. "Put down your weapons, all 5 of you." They silently drew out all of their guns and threw them on the floor. "You, katana boy, I believe you have 10 guns still concealed and a dagger in your shoe." He gaped before glaring and piling them on the floor, muttering about weak onna's all the while.
Once she was satisfied, she slowly drew the pistol back into her coat and stepped away. She stood tall in the light, staring at the pilots. Her hair was black and tied back into a ponytail, and she was wearing jeans and a tube top. She seemed perfect, too perfect. "Names and numbers?" "How do you know we have numbers?" Duo asked. She turned her cold gaze on him. "That is my concern."
Heero motioned for them to go ahead and comply. "Heero Yuy, 01." "Duo Maxwell, 02." "Quatre Raberba Winner, 03." "Trowa Barton, 04." Wufei refused to answer and glared sullenly. She turned and uttered something in Mandarin. His ears turned red and he ground out, "Chang Wufei, 05."
"And your trainer?" Heero darted his eyes around the room, searching for an exit. Duo glanced at him and told her. "Dr. J." Her eyes narrowed and she let out a low hiss. "Oh yes," she muttered, "we have some unfinished business, me and him."
" You know him?" The girl looked toward Heero. "Yes, I know him. Very well, in fact." "Uh, can we have your name?" Duo queried. "She flicked her sub- zero gaze to him. "I have many names. Some know me as Apollyon, others as Draconis, still others as the Assassin. But primarily I am known as the Shadowblade. Take your pick." " We'll just call you Draconis, I guess."
Draconis stuck her hand inside her coat and pulled out a small gadget. "This is a proton shift bomb, that will utterly destroy this area with the force of 50 atomic bombs. It is set to explode in 4 minutes. Come." The pilots looked toward the bomb. Everyone except Heero and Draconis had a slight expression of fear. They followed her into the hallway as she lobbed the bomb into the corner.
" What are you trained in? I'm guessing you're the pilot we've been sent to rescue?" She looked at Heero and jerked her head in Duo's direction. "Is he always this forward, Odin?" Heero stopped dead. "And how do you know that name?" She looked at her watch and broke into a long lope, steadily eating up the length. "If you do not want to be destroyed so that you will never find out any of your questions, hurry up!" They looked at each other and broke into a run.
Outside they ran to the Gundams. Draconis climbed into Wing Zero and stood behind Heero's seat and began answering Duo's and Heero's questions. "Odin, I cannot answer that question. Let's just say I've known you for 18 years. Maxwell, yes, I am the prisoner you've been sent to rescue, and I have been trained in martial arts, knife fighting, piloting, hacking, stealth, guns, and explosives for 17 years. In other words, I am the perfect assassin. I also have one talent that Dr. J did not design me to have. It is empathy. I can see into people's minds, read their thoughts, and insinuate myself into a person's consciousness to read their memories."
Heero absorbed the info, and noticed something strange in what she said. 'Dr. J did not design me..' He filed that glitch away for future reference.
TBC?