Author's Notes: Merian's A-L-I-V-E in this ficcie!! …ya heard? This is a little bit AU…just another What If…with a twist.
!! A whole lotta couples !! pretty much all non-yaoi/yuri…but I did add a couple of OC's that are homosexual (what can I say? One of my best guy-friends who happens to be gay and the nicest male on earth, happens to love G-Wing). Catherine and Trowa aren't brother and sister in this thing…
Relena, Hilde, Catherine, Dorothy, and Merian have all runaway for their own personal reasons. To try to get away from their past. The Gundam pilots. And all their pain. But it's not as easy as it seems; they knew it wouldn't be. And now things have gotten even more complicated—after three years of running, the girls find themselves reunited with the five Gundam pilots…and it's not pretty…
R/R!!!!! (although I honestly doubt I wont get any reviews for this one—it's not my best)
Disclaimer: I don't own anythingL—except for my own made-up characters…so don't sue!!!
On with the story!!
One Sweet Day-Chapter Two: The Assignment-
The Destined Angels had just finished a hearty breakfast, relaxing and without any tension.
Unfortunately, for them, the carefree atmosphere wouldn't be lasting the morning.
Minutes after they had finished cleaning up after themselves and getting fully clothed, the phone rang.
"I'll get it!!" Hilde called out to the others, reaching over to pick up the receiver. "Hello?" the 20-year old spoke into the phone.
"Good morning, Hilde. I hope you and the rest of the girls are ready to work…" the voice on the other replied.
Sensei…
"Hello, Sensei. What's the trouble?" Hilde said, and Relena, Dorothy, Catherine, and Merian's heads turned Hilde's way, each listening intently.
"The same as always, Hilde…you and the T.D.A.s have another assignment. Arrive at the office at 1000 hours. Is that clear?" Sensei told her.
Hilde nodded. "Understood."
"Good...And please don't be late. This meeting is extremely important."
Hilde smirked. "So what else is new?"
She heard Sensei laugh light-heartedly. "Point taken, Hilde…I must get going, now…my superiors demand I go over endless pages of worthless facts for today's meeting. I trust you'll tell the others about the meeting. Take care."
"Bye…" Hilde murmured, hanging up the phone.
Looking up, she was greeted with four inquiring stares from her close friends.
In response to their looks, Hilde simply told them, "We're wanted."
~*~
"So what do you think they want now?" Dorothy asked aloud as she and the others drove off towards the warehouse office.
Catherine shrugged. "Who knows? We never do, not until last minute, usually. It's The Council's damn way to try to test us, or whatever…"
"Utter bullshit…" Hilde remarked. "They know we always get the job done, regardless of anything that comes our way, so why bother testing us so many freakin' times?! I swear, that organization is really getting on my nerves…"
"At least it pays," Dorothy said.
Relena made a slight tutting sound. "I suggest that you don't go around telling that to The Council, Hilde…"
Hilde rolled her eyes, "Yes, Mother..."
"Slut," Relena retorted.
"Bitch."
"Skank."
"Ass-kisser."
"Crazy bitch."
"Hilde, Rel…" Merian cut in, a hint of exasperation in her voice.
"Sorry…" both girls said in unison.
Catherine sighed. "Dorothy…can you please go easy on those turns. I'm trying not to spill my frappuccino mocha…it's hard enough as it is…"
"Sorry, Cathy…but I never was the easy-going type," Dorothy retorted.
All four other girls laughed. "Ya got that right!" they all exclaimed.
~*~
Heero was losing patience.
They all were.
They were waiting for about 4 hours already for their new "partners" to arrive so they could meet and start working on the mission at hand.
And they still weren't here, yet.
All five of the Gundam pilots wondered just what the hell were taking them so long, anyway…
Heero heard Duo sigh. "I'm borrred!!" he complained in a childish matter. [A/N Duo is just SO kawaii!!]
"Shut up, baka," Wufei demanded from his seat. He waasnt in the mood for listening to Duo's constant chatter.
"Well, excuse me for acting like a human being…" Duo retorted. He sighed again. "I'm sure as hell rather be home on a date with Laura, [A/N duo's new girlfriend] then be stuck in this boring-ass place. This meeting should've been over wit' about 2 hours ago!"
"Hn…" Heero grunted.
"Now guys, we're going have to be patient a little bit longer. After all, Ms. Gibbons did say we arrived earlier than expected," Quatre reasoned.
It was true, when they got to Australia, Ms. Gibbons, the director of this whole session, was surprised to see them arrive so early. She had told them that it was nice to see their eagerness to start the mission ASAP, although, she said, that the meeting would not be scheduled to be earlier, and even if they were to do so, her people would not arrive any earlier than they were expected to.
They wouldn't allow it.
So they were left to wait in a desolate room, completely void of color or any homey touches. Just gray walls with gray floor and a metal table with metal chairs. The only thing seemingly nice about the room was that it was well lighted.
Trowa glanced at his watch. It read exactly 10 o'clock. Looking up at the others, he told them, "It's nearly time…"
~*~
"Hey Ozzie! Sensei! How's it goin'?" Hilde greeted the two individuals, as she and the other Angels entered the office.
Ozzie, as usual, greeted his 5 favorite girls with a warm grin. Normally, he would've also exchanged hugs and hellos with his Angels, but now was not the time, he knew.
"You're 2 seconds late, ladies," Sensei murmured to them, in a somewhat humorous way.
"We're sorry, Sensei, but we had some trouble with the cops," Dorothy informed the elderly woman.
Sensei's eyebrows shot up. "Oh?"
Catherine nodded. "Yup, as a result of Dorothy's hazardous driving, no less…"
They watched as their mentor laughed quietly and then her expression becoming serious again. Sensei got up from her seat, and without a word, walked toward the exit of her office.
Immediately everyone followed.
~*~
"So what's the deal, Sensei?" Hilde asked once they entered a dull, colorless room, much like the ones that could be seen on those TV Police shows when they brought in suspects for interrogation. The only thing different was that mirrors covered each wall.
"You'll see in due time, my child…" Sensei told her. "For now, wait here for a few minutes…"
"Yes, Sensei," Relena said nodding as she and her friends watched the elder dark-haired woman leave the room.
"Hm…something's definitely not right…there's a lotta negative vibes in the air," Catherine remarked, seriously.
Merian nodded. "I know…" She turned to Ozzie who stood next to her, and asked, "Do you know anything about this "meeting", Ozzie?"
Instantly, Ozzie tensed up, but stood his ground. "Sorry, Mer, my lips are sealed on this one…" All five pouted at him and he remarked, "Hey, don't worry…just wait some, you'll find out soon enough…"
Ozzie wished he could say something, anything, to warn them of what was to come in the next few minutes, but he couldn't. Sensei promised him not to, regardless of anything, and Ozzie Wright always kept his promises.
"You five better get comfortable. God knows how long this meeting will be," the 20-year old male stated.
~*~
"Gentlemen…" spoke a voice. The Gundam pilots glanced up to find Ms. Gibbons at the door. "It's time…" she told them. Turning at her heel, she commanded lightly, "Follow me…"
And the five did as they were told.
~*~
"My fucking God…what's with the freakin' mirrors, yo?" Hilde noted, staring at her reflection. She looked like utterly crappy! That day she wore something casual, as she always did, a black, oversized, Ekoe shirt that was half tucked into her dark-blue jean capris, the short sleeves rolled up to make it look like a sleeveless shirt. She wore all this with her favored blue and white Nike's. On her right side of her arm, a small tattoo could be seen—it was of an well-designed, yet very simple, black cross, thorns and roses wrapped around it. Hilde didn't know what the fuck she was thinking going out like that.
Relena, for her part, also began to stare at herself. And she too could only think of one thing looking at the turquoise-eyed 20-year old staring back at her: I look like hell. She wore a baby pink dress that went down mid-thigh, a dainty ribbon tied right above her bosom. (No, it didn't show that much cleavage—only a little) On her feet were her silver and white Guess sneakers. Her hair cascaded down, 2 or 3 inches below her shoulder and a solitary, white, clip was in place at the side of Relena's head. On her ears, Relena had gotten 3 piercing each, and bought white gold stud earrings with them, each size small than the next. (A/N think O0o)
Dorothy eyed herself in a disapproving fashion. Her long hair was tied into a tight, although now messy, bun, strands of hair framing her face. She was wearing a powder blue, long sleeved belly shirt (that showed a small silver belly button loop—yes, she did pierce it), with dark blue jeans, with matching, black, 2-inch heeled boots.
Catherine had similar reactions as Relena, Hilde, and Dorothy. The tall Russian staring back at her was wearing a dark-green halter-top with black flared pants and black, plat formed sandals. One side of the pants were rolled up in a capris-fashion. Catherine wore an anklet on her right ankle. Catherine also had gotten her nose pierced; a very small, subtle silver stud gleamed on the side of her nose. Her wavy brunette hair was tied back with a simple dark-green ribbon.
And finally, Merian. She sat unable to resist the urge to observe herself in the mirror and she looked at herself in a disgusted manner. She was a traditional gray, Chinese shirt that reached right above her mid-thigh, along with black shorts that reached right above her knees. She wore her beloved Timberlands (aka Tims) that were gray. Her hair was in its usual fashion: tied in the back with two very short pigtails. [A/N check out her pic in Episode Zero] Meiran, for her part, had also gotten a tattoo (although you couldn't see it right then), due to the constant pleading and persuasion of Hilde. It was of a black, Chinese character that symbolized Love. She had it on her back, right above her ass, again due to the constant pleading and persuasion of Hilde.
"This is a sick way of telling us we're ugly…" Hilde finally remarked.
"Will ya stop with that??!! None o' ya are ugly, for Christ's sake!" Ozzie exclaimed.
"We beg to differ, sweetie…" Relena told him, getting up from her seat, and trying to straighten out her dress.
Teddy sighed in exasperation, shaking his head. "You girls are so incredibly stubborn sometimes…"
"We know…" the girls said together.
Just then, the doorknob turned, and out came the T.D.A.'s Sensei, and to the girls' utter shock and horror…
The Gundam pilots.
At the sight of each other, no one spoke. No one dared to breathe, even.
And then, Relena, who had been standing before, suddenly got very dizzy and her whole body shuddered slightly, falling to the ground, fainting. Luckily, Merian, who was closest to her, caught her in time. The Chinese female held her friend, letting Relena's body slide gently on the marble floor. The others, excluding the pilots and Sensei, rushed over to their fallen friend.
Catherine pulled out her small bottle of strong essences that could always jerk the most deepest sleepers awake.
They watched as Relena moved her head away from the bottle, shutting her eyelids tighter. They heard their honey-blonde friend say, "Keep that crap away from my nostrils because I don't want to be brought back to reality, right now…"
The others looked at her, understanding, and Dorothy murmured quietly, "We feel your pain, Rena…"
Reluctantly, Relena opened her eyes, and with the help of Merian got up, shakily. Her friends helped her to her seat.
The room was filled with heavy tension and deafening silence once again.
Only when someone new walked through the door did the silence break.
Lucas Bruno walked through the door that the Angels and Gundam pilots were supposedly to meet in, and he was met with angry stares—and it all came from the girls (not including MS. Gibbons).
He merely smiled in return, saying, "I see you've met your new partners for your next mission, Angels…"
And then, Hilde snapped.
"You son-of-a-bitch!!" Hilde cried out in anguish. "You fucking planned this whole damn thing, didn't you?!"
Bruno had always been her most disliked co-worker out of The Council—the worst thing was, he was one of the bosses of their Sensei, even though he was much younger than Sensei (Sensei was 46 and Bruno was 29), and had this freak some, almost obsessive, infatuation towards all the Angels.
The T.D.A.s, to say the least, prayed that The Council would overthrow Bruno out of the organization—and very, very soon. They couldn't stand the bastard.
"Hilde…" Sensei said in a warning tone.
But Bruno cut her off. "It's quite alright, Gibbons…" The 29-year old man focused his attention to the fiery women before her. "Yes, Schibeker, I set this whole thing set up…and I'm guessing none of you are not very happy with this situation…"
"No shit, Sherlock…" Dorothy grumbled.
Bruno was about to make a remark to counter Dorothy's, but was interrupted by Merian. "Just cut to the chase, Bruno. What's all this about? And what do they have to do with our job?"
Bruno smirked, taking out 10 manila folders. He passed them on to each Angel and Gundam pilot. Bruno finally noticed Ozzie standing in a distant corner, observing the whole thing, and with cold eyes, Bruno demanded, "Leave, Wright…this meeting doesn't concern you…"
"No! He stays!!" Merian exclaimed as Ozzie walked towards the exit. The last thing she wanted was Ozzie to leave—she needed his mental support for this.
Bruno simply waved off her shouts and shot Wright a look to leave immediately.
And he did.
And Merian was not happy.
Merian curled her fingers into a tight fist, her knuckles whitening.
Bruno smirked again, in a cruel manner. "Don't worry, Merian…you'll be able to cuddle with your 'Ozzie Bear' soon enough, after all this is over."
"Fuck you." Merian hissed in the most harshest way she could, her eyes gleaming with rage.
Bruno was unfazed, a smirk still in placed, he said to her, "Tsk, tsk, young lady…such vulgar language…"
"If you don't stop bullshitting, I'll be doing much more than cursing—I'll be kicking that fucking, dishonorable, ass of yours…" Merian threatened.
No one bothered to scold or stop Merian running her mouth.
"Hm…a bit too confident aren't you, Merian? You really do overestimate your strength and abilities, don't you? Let's not forget the last time you overestimated your power—from what I've heard, you almost died didn't you?" Bruno said, malevolently, hoping to get Merian even more worked up.
It worked.
Merian practically jumped out of her seat, and nearly climbed over the table that separated her and the miserable Bruno. Her intention: to strangle the damn bastard.
However, Catherine, Dorothy, and Relena halted her before she could do anything else, knowing that Merian wouldn't hesitate severely hurting the fool, thus a chance of getting herself in deep trouble with The Council. Hilde sat watching, not bothering to stop Merian, for she too, desperately wanted to see the low son-of-a-bitch to get a real good ass-whipping.
The way Hilde and Merian saw it: All of it would be worth the punishment from The Council.
"Take that back, you spiteful, bullshitting, asshole!! Take. It. back!!" Merian hollered as she tried to break free of her friends' grasp.
"No, I don't think I will…" Bruno taunted.
"Stop all this at once!!" Ms. Gibbons suddenly cried out. She frowned at all of them. "You have a mission to focus on, and we haven't even gone over the details of it. Stop all this foolish behavior this instant!! I expected more from you, Angels…" Then she turned to Bruno. "And you, you should know better than to provoke the girls—they can and will, inflict physical pain on you. Only give them a reason to, and they will…you are their superior, and you mustn't taunt them so—that's not part of your job. Criticizing when they do the wrong thing is, but taunting for your own pleasure isn't."
Bruno didn't say anything in defense of himself.
And Gibbons went on.
"Take a seat, gentlemen…" Ms. Gibbons motioned the five to chairs.
They obliged as, sitting across the girls, each Angel trying to avoid looking at them.
"First things first…" Gibbons said. "Introductions…I'm sure each of you would like some confirmation who each of you are…" The elderly Irish women walked over to her girls. She put a hand on the first saying, "Hilde Schibecker." Then went on to the next girl, "Dorothy Catalonia." And the next, "Catherine Bloom." Thirdly, "Relena Darlian." And finally, ended with "Merian Chang."
Bruno watched the ten 20-year olds before him with interest and sick humor. He noticed that every Gundam pilot had turned a very, very pale.
"To the public eye, however, they are knows as the following, in the exact same order as I introduced them to you: Hillary Schlitz, Dora Corona, Katie Blossom, Rena Diamond, and Mae Chung…" Gibbons paused, flashing her eyes towards Bruno's direction for a second and then returning her gaze at the group of 20-year olds. "They are The Destined Angels…otherwise known as T.D.A.s or more simply, The Angels."
She turned to her girls. "Do I have to introduce them to you, girls?"
She didn't need to.
Each girl knew who was who.
Merian had seen pictures, and heard enough about them to know them, so she knew as much as the girls did who each of them were.
When silence was her only answer, Ms. Gibbons went on. "Very well…on with the situation at hand." She picked up her own manila folder and opened, signaling to the others to do the same. "In approximately 2 months from now, a new organization called The Skulls is planning on creating huge massacres throughout various sections in the world—5 specific areas, to be exact. Paris. London. Madrid. New York. And Beijing. Our main objective: to stop them. They have the equipment—they're preparing to use atomic bombs and thousands of mobile suits--and they won't hesitate to follow through the procedure planned out."
"What's their reason for doing such a thing?" Relena inquired, studying the papers in her folder.
Gibbons shrugged. "Their reasons are still vague…they haven't directly said why they insist on doing this. We're assuming it's just for publicity, so that they could be known for something "great" in history—"
"That's a sick definition of something "great"…" Merian muttered.
Gibbons nodded. "And their obvious desire for war and bloodshed should also be accounted for. The most likely reason above all is that they're doing this—"
"Just for the freakin' hell of it…sick bastards…" Duo finished for her, a frown placed firmly on his face.
It was the first time since the Gundam boys stepped into the room that any of the pilots spoke.
The girls' Sensei nodded, remorsefully. "I'm afraid so…"
Silence followed, the only sound was the shuffling of papers. Dorothy was the first to break the silence. "So why must we collaborate with the likes of them for this, Sensei? We could easily do this ourselves…"
"Exactly. From what I can see, most of the head directors and officials of this situation are all pretty much rookies—hardly any experience. We could take them out, and we won't even need two months to end this whole thing," Merian stated.
"Be that as it may, but we don't want to risk it. We're talking about millions of people in the most populated cities in the world! The Council thought it best to get the Gundam Pilots, just in case. After all, they have a lot more knowledge than you five do, when it comes to Mobile Suits, and you'll most likely use the suits for this particular mission," Gibbons explained.
"Don't underestimate the enemy, Angels…" Bruno added. "This new organization wasn't recently started—The Skulls were created years before, nearly a decade ago, and were only found out the end of last year. And that was only because a careless, ignorant, new recruit had blurted out some information about The Skulls while he was drunk. You can be sure that he didn't last very long," Bruno explained, the last comment said with a very nauseating, amused, glint in his eyes. "And the head official of The Skulls? Did you see his profile yet?"
"I have…" Catherine murmured, her hands gripping a piece of paper. "Richard Daniels…a very impressive profile, indeed. Apparently he was commanding officer as an under-cover OZ official, about 40 years worth of military experience, studied law and history in Harvard University for 6 years, giving him a wide knowledge in the political field, grew up in a very rich society—giving him access to many organizations and many high-class associates, an intimidating personality, and…"
"Has no freakin' life…" Hilde finished for her. It stated on the paper he had no immediate family (no wives or kids), and his favorite hobbies were to stay up endless hours to devise strategies for his war fantasies and target practicing—with an actual living creature, he preferred to use pigs and boars.
"He has no distraction or any apparent weakness, then…" Trowa noted.
Gibbons nodded, then gestured to one of the members of The Skulls. "Ed Norman…he is your first victim. The Council has already set up your encounter with him. Tomorrow night you are to meet with this young man at that beloved dance club of yours and try to get as much out of him as possible."
The Angels smirked. "No problem…" the 5 female youths said together in unison.
"For the next 2 and half weeks the pilots shall be staying with you, my dears, training and harboring information in order to make a nearly flawless plan to put a stop to the planned attacks on those 5 regions of the world. Understood?"
Bruno saw Hilde grit her teeth and the other girls tense up, clenching the jaws. "I'm sorry, Sensei…but I refuse to work with the pilots. I don't think it's for the better," Hilde said through her teeth.
Gibbons sighed tiredly. She knew the girls were very upset at her at that moment.
"Well, it is for the best, Schibecker…" Bruno remarked.
"And unless you want to risk millions of lives, Hilde, you don't have any choice but to work with these gentlemen. They are the best partners to assist you in this mission, just as you five are to them." Gibbons added.
Hilde said nothing in response, just looked away stubbornly.
Gibbons sighed again, knowing that her next comment would for sure enrage her Angels. "The 5 Gundam pilots are to stay at your place for the next following weeks…"
Instantly, the five girls' heads snapped towards their mentor. Their eyes widened in horror, and Hilde making an expression as if to say, "What the fuck…?"
Bruno wanted to laugh right then and there.
"You mean…stay at our apartment? In our home? In our personal space? In our supposed refuge?" Catherine sputtered out.
Gibbons nodded, solemnly.
"Oh my fucking God…I cannot fucking believe this shit!" Hilde exclaimed in exasperation, emphasizing each curse word.
The pilots watched as Hilde leaned back in her seat in disbelief, Relena massage her forehead in distress, Dorothy sighing and burying her face in her arms, Catherine rubbing her eyes tiredly, and Merian sitting stiffly in her seat, eyes closed, arms crossed, and a scowl on her face.
"Gee ladies, I didn't know you all hated us so much…" Duo remarked, bitterly.
"Shut up, Maxwell…" Dorothy warned him. "You don't know the first thing about the situations we've been through, so don't run your mouth about things you don't know."
Merian's eye twitched. "That's virtually impossible--them staying at our home. The idea is ludicrous…we'd kill each other before we'd even accomplished the mission. And there's hardly any space in our apartment as it is. It's unattainable."
"Now, now, Merian…don't exaggerate. There's more than enough space. You've been able to have men over before," Bruno pointed out, clearly implying something.
Merian glared at the loathing man before her. "But they didn't stay over for two weeks—and it wasn't a fucking sleepover, you bastard."
Bruno just continued smirked maliciously.
It was really ticking off the ten 20-year olds--that damn smirk of his!
The girls heard the Sensei sigh. For a moment, they forgot all their anger and sadly realized how old and worn out their mentor looked.
The girls couldn't stand seeing the person who had acted like a mother to them for the past few years, in such a distraught mood and so they decided to leave without any more debate.
The Angels gathered their things and stood up from their seat. They walked towards the direction of the door, and before going through it, each of them turned to their Sensei, bidding her farewell. They had also turned to the Gundam pilots who were still sitting on their asses.
"Well? Are you five coming or not? We don't got all day!" Hilde remarked.
The pilots got up and followed them without another word.
A/N: now, I know I didn't really get into the G-Wing pilots' thought and what the felt. But I wanted to focus more on the girls' reaction. But no worries—I'm planning on focusing a chapter on them and their thoughts only. But you HAVE to review!!!!!!!!