Warnings: 3x4, 1x2, 5x, 5+Mariemaia (she has only a little crush on him!)
Summary: read it and weap. Aryana is replaced for someone else.
Violence: lots of it, now and in the future
If you're underage, please, read something else.
And finally: I do not own GW, only the characters I've made up.
And meet the Poene
Sally sighed, ´When he was conscious he only whispered a name of a place of person, I think.´
´What was it?´ Heero asked her, ´Please.´
´Mei Ran.´
´Mei Ran!´ Duo's eyes widened in horror, ´I thought she was dead!´
´How... Did she survive that crash?´ Trowa hardly believed it.
´Who or what is Mei Ran?´ Sally asked them, but the four remained silent.
´Tell me, please... Wufei is like my little brother.´
´Sally...´ Duo begun in a serious tone of voice, ´We all tried to forget her, we... Wufei...´
´Sally, there is something we need to tell you, and not only you, but also Lady Une, Noin and Zechs Marquise. Next to the five of us, only Howard knows of her existence.´
´Who is Mei Ran?´ Sally cried suddenly, ´Who is she that she did this to him? Who is that bitch!´
´Calm down!´ Trowa cried back, and Sally shut up at once. Stunned she stared at them, ´And it is what we did to Mei Ran... What happened to Wufei is only the result of a tragic love...´
Heero said stoic, ´Come... I already contacted Noin and Zechs. Lady Une is on her way to the hangar, and so should we do. Quatre, Trowa.. Stay with him.´ The blonde had woken up from the trance suddenly and looked around in shock, not understanding what had happened, ´Eh?´
´Nothing... Did you find anything?´ The blonde Arab shook his head, ´He is confused and everything is blur. It seems as if all his memories came back to him at once and that he could not cope with them.´ He whispered, these kind of actions took an enormous amount of energy from the blonde. Trowa would watch him and make sure that he would not be drained, ´But it has something to do with Mei Ran...
´Than she is still alive.´ Heero said, ´Trowa, Quatre, stay here. Duo... Sally...´ Heero left,
´We are at the hangar.´ Duo said goodbye and left taking Sally with him.
Heero was fond of Toyotas and had several of them in the garage. Next to Duo's Ducati and two Kawasaki's, both to belonged to Duo. But now they were driving Sally's Mercedes, a decent car, good enough for the transport of people and small supplies, hidden away in a normal ordinary civilian automobile. The engine hummed like a purring kitty cat. Noin and Zechs followed in a Renault behind them with lady Une. Both cars stopped in front of what a appeared to be a forest. When Heero used his cell phone to make a call, a door slid away in the forest floor and a road down into the earth lay ahead of them. Heero drove in, lights on and disappeared into the earth. Zechs decided that he should follow and did so. The walls were made out of metal, as well as the roof of the tunnel, but the floor was made out of asphalt - the tunnel led to a hall where Heero parked the Mercedes and got out. ´We are here.´ He said and walked to the left wall and clicked on the lights. The air was damp of the forest above them. Roots of trees stuck out of the ceiling, creating an earth smell. For a few seconds they had to adjust to the bright lights, but then they saw an awesome MS, a Gundam. Angle like wings, a head similar to that of the Sand Rock, a body with soft shapes, to make it impossible to spot on radar or sonar, bright colors of bleu, green and orange. Zechs could immediately tell that there were two Vulcan cannons, a beam sabre, a gundanium sword attached on the back, a shield on the left arm and a double rifled gun. The propelling engines were massive, but the Gundam was not alive at all. It seemed as if it had not been used for years. Roots grew over the massive body, strapping the arms and legs and in one of the arms lived a family of squirrels. Plants that lived in darkness and moist environments flourished around the Gundam. Water made it corrode and oxidize and probably there was not much left of the once impressive Gundam.
´this is Poene.´ Heero said calm, as if he introduced someone important to an audience, ´The Gundam of Mei Ran Chang.´
Duo was not far off by what he said. L6 was a lush green planet, beautiful, stunningly beautiful. Lush green forests, gigantic plains full of earth like wildlife, enormous farms with horses and cows and other sorts of cattle - which were tormented by gigantic birds who sometimes took a goat or a cow for lunch - gigantic mountains, in better times a resort for vacation in winter or summer, deep blue oceans with whales, dolphins, sharks and fish, lovely lakes, wild rivers and silent creeks. Numerous of birds, mammals and predators roomed the small earth like planet. It had its own ecosystem, its own disasters like volcano eruptions, earth quakes, tsunamis, tornados and other storms, forest fires... L4 could be compared to its riches, L2 could be compared to the poor conditions of the original colonists, who did not show themselves to the people. Only their children dared to go outside, but were easily seen because of their heights and beauty. Something in that planet made everything look beautiful. But the conditions for the children of the original colonists were poor, real poor, and they often did not got better jobs than cleaning for the rich people.
Out here, the war continued. Only there was no Gundam to stand up for them. There were only the leftovers of the Romafeller Foundation, who had become cruel to the colonists, even to those who arrived later on the world. The resistance had no funds to buy armaments or weapons, not even to build a new Gundam. And the pilot... The original pilot was executed long before the Gundam was sent to Earth. Mei Ran, the younger sister of the pilot, had taken over and was a Harpy compared to the five pilots. She came, she saw, she conquered, she destroyed and went on. Romafeller Foundation had always believed that it was only one of the five attacking, and often blamed the 05 for it.
Mei Ran Chang was no one else than the wife of Wufei Chang. A woman who was capable of such destruction, such fury.
But that fury had been beautiful to see. She had long slim legs and a small upper body. An almost flat abdomen and a thin waistline, just those little female rounds were left over, strong shoulders and arms, thin nonetheless, a long graceful neck and a beautiful face. Big bright golden eyes like a cat, high cheekbones, flat small forehead, little pert nose, small pink lips, the upper lip was carved out like a hand bow, a small chin and a hart shaped face. Her eyebrows shaped like the wings of a bird. Her thick silk black locks tied in a pony tail.
She often wore purple and blue colors, sometimes a touch of pink and added hardly make-up to her already beautiful face. Only if she had to charge at OZ officers and they were easy targets for someone so beautiful. Relena was beautiful, as well as Noin, Lady Une and Sally, but Mei Ran was stunningly beautiful...
But not so beautiful anymore. The once so proud Mei Ran was now nothing more than a shadow of her former self. Her hands were torn up, scrubbing the floor was not your every daily job and her hands hurt because of the sand she used for scrubbing. Once her hands had been beautiful, and only the gun powder residue stained her hands. Now it was blood and sandy irritating mud. ´you missed a spot.´ said her mistress as she walked by. The woman's skirts ruffled softly, her blonde locks decorated her head, which was not beautiful at all. She was ugly, drop dead ugly. And she knew it. It was the reason they had beautiful staff in their houses.
The lady of the house stopped at the bucket of water, ´You can not clean for sure!´ and pushed the water bucket over with her foot, ´Clean that mess before it ruins my floor and my ceiling!´
Mei Ran did not even grumble anymore. The master of the house had punished her for grumbling, even giving a bad dark look. The once so proud and lovely woman had crumbled to a lifeless woman who did everything her masters ordered her to do. Mei Ran rushed down stairs, putting her once so delicate feet on the stairs and hurried to get clean dry cloths and rushed back upstairs.
The mistress of the house made her way downstairs again and let her trip halfway, ´Learn you place, maid!´ she snarled, ´Learn your place, for you belong underneath the stairs of the social ladder, or underneath my husband, to please him!´ grabbing the lavender locks, she pulled the girl back, and throw her off the stairs... She could not even look scared anymore, she did not even scream, as she fell down the stairs and hit the ground. The cruel woman just stepped over her and let her lay down there, unconscious.
Terry, another servant, waited till the lady of the house was gone, in the living room and when she was gone, he run out of the kitchen to the girl laying down stairs, ´Mei Ran?´ Cupping her in his arms he carried her upstairs, to the servants rooms, and laid her on the bed.
´Again?´ A young girl with bleu eyes, a pale skin and yellow locks turned around from the broken mirror to see what happened, ´Again.´
Terry was a young man with dark skin, eyes and hair, said, ´Again. Mrs. De Gucht just can not leave her alone. I can not understand why.´ He laid her down on the bed and pulled the thin practically useless blankets over her thin fragile body, ´Mei Ran should be wearing those dresses, not that idiotic slut of a bitch.´
´Be careful, Zasha is over there.´ She pointed to the wall, behind that wall was another room, for the servants who were somewhat more important. They had better rooms than Mei Ran, Terry and Gaia. And Zasha would do everything to keep them, even ears dropping and telling her mistress and master what she had heard.
´I am so sorry for the both of you, but it is my shift and Mrs. De Gucht expects to be served this time. It appears that they have a special guest coming over for this evening, Mariemaia Barton, I have heard. With her protector, Mr. Chang...´
´And to bad Mei Ran has to join you as well.´ Terry had filled a vase with water and sprinkled drops on her face. Slowly she woke up and looked around, ´Make up Mei Ran, and make-up.´ Gaia said and did her face with some powder to hide the bruises, ´Here, Terry's gloves, that is better for your hands.´ The three servants took good care for themselves and each other, but when they heard small footsteps running downstairs, things did not look good for Terry and Mei Ran. Apparently Zasha had to tell Mrs. And Mr. De Gucht the latest rumours, and that spelt trouble.
She hardly believed her eyes. A little red haired girl, probably only eleven or twelve years old, preaching peace to the L6 nation. But that was not the only matter. At the right side of the girl sat a young man with oiled thick black hair. She had only seen a glimpse of him, strong, proud, handsome and a gracious stride. Her heart hurt everywhere. Chang Wufei...
Mei Ran had traded places with Gaia, who looked a lot better to. She was not beaten up, or bruised or ripped open hands. She would serve them with grace and in silence, not with trembling painful hands like Mei Ran would do. But Gaia too was hit by the grace of the young man. ´he is lovely...´she cheered, ´I have never seen anyone with that kind of a body... He walks like a dancer...´
´Do I not move like a dancer?´ Terry teased her a bit and spun her around, as if they were dancing around,
´yes Terry, but every girl here knows you.´
´Except for Mei Ran.´ Terry bowed to her like he would do for a princes, ´My lady, may I have this dance of you?´ but Mei Ran stared at the young man, could not keep her eyes of of him.
´Mei Ran?´ Terry waved his hand for her eyes, ´hello-o.´
´Oh...´ Some what dumbstruck she looked around, ´you were dreaming...´ Terry pretended to be a girl in love, and acted like an idiot.
´Stop it, you make her look ashamed.´ Gaia kicked his but, ´Idiot. You make us all look like idiots.´ suddenly they all hold back, became silent once more. Zasha stared at them, an evil smile upon her face. Things did not look well for them...
Mariemaia saw the enormous dining room in aw, it was beautiful. Red embroidered wallpaper decorated with roses in all sorts of colours, gigantic velvet red drapes, and lilac benches below the windows with soft pillows. A gigantic pinewood table with oak chairs embroidered with delicate flowers on them. Chandeliers of silver, a crystal lamp with gold and platinum, china dining plates and forks and knifes and spoons laid in with gold, silver and platinum, Swarovski crystal glasses of wine and water, a carafe filled with water and an other one with wine. The most delicate dishes passed the dining table, until their guests were full and stuffed like a roast turkey on Thanksgiving day. Wufei hardly paid attention to the servants, but thought that these people understood what pleasing their masters was.
´Well there Ms. Barton, Mr. Chang, do we have convinced you with civility or not? Or are our guests not pleased yet?´
´Mr. De Gucht, this is not a matter of pleasing guests. This is a matter of cleaning up the rubbish Dechim Barton started, and I will finish it with the help of the Preventers. We wish to see peace throughout the universe, not war. And I am afraid that since the late Mr. Barton had contact with the L6 colony, there might be signs of an other war.´ Mariemaia explained again that day and waited for their answer.
´but my dear, why would we start another war? We have a good life here, and we treat our personal good.´ Mrs. De Gucht said with awe in her voice, ´I can not understand why anyone would do such a thing.´
´Wars are dreadful and desperate measures of those who can not get used to peace.´ Wufei explained, ´but Ms. Relena Darlian has made peace throughout this universe. Only L6 refuses to sign the declaration of peace.´
´Now either there is no unity among the people of L6, or there are signs of another war, with L6 as the source. Many people suffered from war, and even more died. Nobody wants that anymore, not now we are rebuilding the colonies and Earth. And not afterwards as well.´ Mariemaia said when Wufei was done, ´Please, do not repeat my mistakes.´
Mrs. De Gucht saw it in aw, as if she was shocked, but Wufei could see something else. The shocked face was nothing more than a facade. As if they had found out what kind of plans they had... Mr. De Gucht only coughed a little bit, ´We will not make your mistakes young lady.´
No... You only make other mistakes and more... Wufei thought and kept his pokerfaced, ´Maybe, Mr. De Gucht, we can speak solitary and leave the ladies with their business. I am afraid that these matters go beyond the little girls mind,´ he tried a last attempt to get Mr. De Gucht speaking. Mr. De Gucht seemed to buy it, ´Of course my friend!´ he said with his heavy voice and tried to get his even heavier body in motion, ´Of course my friend. Let me serve you cognac in the library.´ Wufei nodded and tapped the somewhat angry Mariemaia on the shoulder, ´later honey.´ And left the poor girl with the - a lot - elder woman.
Strangely enough, she had always healed faster than Wufei. Mei Ran stared at her hands. She had an extremely rare gift, the gift of healing. Some said she was a dreadful halfblood. She was not. She was what she was, and that was it. Her hands seemed almost normal when Zasha called for her, ´Cognac, library.´ she ordered and left the young woman alone. Then she loaded a silver plate with a carafe of the golden fluid and two large crystal glasses. She tried to look out for outstanding feet, people who wanted to knock her over, or other teasing idiots. But she found no one on her path to the library. There she entered in silence, pored the cognac in the glasses and waited. She had to refill them when one was empty, and make sure that the guest was drunk enough to talk...
Wufei was dumbfounded when he saw her enter. He could not keep his eyes off of her. ´You like her?´ The older man said, ´If you want to, you may have her tonight.´ he smiled, ´From what I have heard she is really good. So good that all my male guests ask for her.´
´And I may presume that you have had her from time to time?´ Wufei asked with a little made smile upon his face. But he could not believe that he talked about a woman as if she was nothing more than a piece of meat, an object. Nothing else. Wufei stood near the window, and when Mr. De Gucht did not looked, he emptied his glass by throwing the cognac out of the window, into the garden. He was not about the get drunk yet. But unfortunately, Mei Ran walked near with the carafe and filled the empty glass. Maybe it was not that unfortunately. There was still that rosy like smell around her, but she looked a bit more dirty, older... A lot older...
´She will do.´ he said to Mr. De Gucht, and returned to his glass of cognac, ´but tell me, are the rumours true, about the Virgo MS? They are supposed to be stored somewhere here.´ Wufei asked him, ´Or am I wrong?´
´No Mr. Chang... You are not wrong. But tell me, is that really what you are interested in? I have heard rumours about a Gundampilot who opposed his friends and tried to attack and demolish Earth. Is that true?´ Wufei gave him a blank look, ´I am not aware of that, I am sorry, but I have heard that rumour though.´
´Than you are also aware of the fact that you are that Gundampilot?´ Mr. De Gucht said.
Mei Ran listened in aw, her eyes stared to the ground, but her ears were open. Wufei a traitor? She could not believe... When she saw that Mr. De Gucht had finished his glass of cognac - again - she made a decision... In stead of filling the glass again, she decided to let it slip out of her hands. It smashed to smithereens on the ground, thousands of little crystal scarves, everywhere. And the cognac made a big stain on the carpet floor.
´my apologize sirs...´ she muttered and tried to clean. ´I think it is better if you join the ladies again, Mr. Chang.´ Wufei passed her as he left, she sat on her hands and knees, not able to look at him. If he could, he would help her... Like that day...
Wufei woke up in shock, his eyes flew open and tried to observe the room. A harsh cry escaped his lips when he realised that he wasn't dead but still very much alive.
´calm down... You could wake up the dead with that cry.´ Trowa said calmly, ´And besides, Quatre is finally asleep.´
Frightened and feeling a little bit silly he stared at Trowa, ´You are not supposed to be dead... Or...´
Trowa tried to put a comforting smile on his lips, ´Sally found you in time that is after Quatre had warned her. You know you can't commit suicide with him alive?´
Than Wufei looked down and saw Quatre half on his bed, half on a chair, vast asleep. And then Trowa´s eyes, ´What happened Wufei that you tried to kill yourself...´
He did not answer right away, sighed a couple of times, ´Because of what I did.´ He finally said, ´Because of what I did to the one woman I loved during the war, and never stopped loving after the war.´
´I do not understand.´ Trowa stated, ´So... Tell me.´
Wufei looked the other way, ´I am sorry I did this. But... I do not know how to solve this all. How to... To end her suffering and mine as well.´
´What do you mean?´ Trowa stroke his shoulder and cheek, ´We can only help and understand if you talk and explain... Please Wufei. Quatre cried for hours, Duo is off and Heero is more stoic than ever.´
´And you?´ Wufei tried to strike back, ´And how about you?´
´I only felt emotions... I wanted to cry, to shout it out... Why did you do this... To yourself? And to us? We love you Wufei... And that we can not make love to you, does not mean we do not care for you. Oh... How many times Quatre tried to talk us both into your bed, I can not remember. He wanted to ease your pain, you know?´
Wufei only stared to his knees, ´I never knew.´ he whispered softly, ´I never knew.´ He pulled up his knees and hugged them, as if he was holding a warm soft body, ´I never knew she survived that crash.´
´She... Did survive?´ Trowa asked, ´I really thought she had died.´
´I never looked in the rubble and debris that was left.´ Wufei whispered as if he was talking to himself, or a shrink, ´I never did. I only saw the debris and believed she had died inside that building.´ A little tears slipped from the corner of his eye and rolled down his cheek, ´she... She was still cute to see. But... Damaged. As if the light in her eyes had died the day I left her... Mei Ran.´
´Damaged? How?´ Trowa asked wondering how the girl survived the collapse of the building, six years ago, ´Please, tell me.´
Wufei nodded, ´When that idiot, De Gucht, started about my betrayal to each of you, she knocked over a carafe of cognac. I left the room, with Mr. De Gucht, and let her clean it. But he went back again, and all I heard were sobs of agony and despair. He... Hurt her in some way. Playing nice in front of me and Mariemaia, but hurting the woman I still love... I still love her Trowa... I still do.´ He buried his face in his knees and cried all the unshed tears. Dumbstruck by this, he wondered how she survived, and what was even more important, how to extract her from that place...
TBC
Please R&R
