Ok, so this is doing WAAYY better than I ever thought it would so thanks to everyone that has read it! Feel free to review it, it's nice to know how I'm doing and all Also, I'm thinking about updating every Wednesday and Sunday, does that sound good? Well to be honest I have the first six chapters written already so I don't need to worry about getting behind for a while. Well, here's chapter 2. Enjoy!
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Piano music drifted out of the hotel's door, capturing the attention of the passing people while the people in side couldn't help but stare at the snowy haired girl as her fingers flew across the ivory keys. Her eyes were closed, though still covered by her goggles, and a soft smile was on her face. The music flowed like paint on a brush as the artist bended the notes to do what she wanted.
Duo, Quatre, and Cynea sat transfixed on the strange girl they had picked up days before. She somehow never ceased to amaze them. First she was incredibly flexible, then they find out just how good of a computer programmer she was by easily making reservations in a hotel that was said to be booked for moths, and now here she is playing the piano like a master. So there they sat in the hotel lobby where they were to meet with Trowa as the girl continued to play without a care in the world.
Said brunette walked in and looked up upon hearing the piano. Taking one glance at the pianist, he knew she must be the girl that the others had picked up. Spotting them not far off he walked over and sat down in one of their chairs, drawing their attention away from the girl. "I take it she's Marzia?" he asked stoically.
"Yup, that's her," Duo replied leaning back into the couch.
"She's really quite something Trowa," Quatre commented. "She managed to somehow get us reservations at this hotel when it's been completely booked for months in preparation for Relena's arrival."
"Yes, she's sparked the interest of Heero when you mentioned that. You are positive she's not you-know-who?" the circus performer asked.
"Pretty much, I don't believe that Toni could play the piano," Cynea spoke up for the first time. "She was never musically enhanced, sticking to gymnastics and computers and what-not." Trowa nodded and leaned back.
"And what about Evangelo? Any leads?"
"Natta," Duo responded. "She tried tracking him during one of his little broadcasts, but the computer ended up just shutting off."
Trowa began to think before leaning forward again, noting how everyone around them was entranced by the little pianist at the moment. "Heero and I, we have a theory that Antonia is actually Evangelo, though I'm sure you are thinking the same thing." At nods from the others he continued. "The only problem is that Heero managed to stumble upon a file that stated that Aeryn, Leonid's right hand person captured a girl that they believe Antonia, which has caused us to wonder if this Evangelo person really is her."
"What?!" Cynea practically shouted at the news that her friend had quite possibly been captured. "Toni would never let that happen! It has to be a mistake!"
"Yes, we thought the same at first, but Wufei managed to infiltrate the army and has informed us that they do indeed have a girl with dark blue hair and red eyes," Trowa stated. "He went on to say that she has been giving Aeryn problems because she won't speak." At this new information, the group began to doubt their initial guess about Evangelo.
"But how?" was all that Cynea could get out.
"According to Wufei, they apprehended her without a fight," Trowa stated. "He believes that it was some how set up, like she knew they were looking for her. But still, everything is unclear at the moment. All we know is that The Order does have a girl that greatly resembles Antonia and that Evangelo is able to keep the occupied but his distraction won't last much longer. We also know that something is strange about your little friend. You claim she greatly resembles Antonia personality wise and talent wise, so we believe she does have something to do with the girl, we just don't know what."
The piano playing abruptly stopped causing them to look over. Marzia sat frozen on the piano bench, eyes wide as she stared at a television screen across the lobby. They were showing the remains of some shop that had apparently exploded. "Ed," she whispered before falling backwards.
Quatre and Duo instantly shot up and ran over, checking to see if she was ok. What shocked them was that her eyes remained open as if she was just starring off into space. Trowa walked over and bent down to check her pulse. He frowned when he felt nothing at all, not even a faint trace of one. He frowned and looked up. "She has no pulse," was his diagnosis. The other's eyes went wide as they heard this and Trowa stood up.
Just as the brunette stood the TV's went white before Evangelo's cat appeared on the screen. "Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen! It's your friendly neighborhood stray dropping in to deliver a message. I have grown rather tired of sitting around and waiting to be found, that and The Order has begun to push me to my limits so I'm giving my little questers, and I know there's more that just the Gundam Pilots out there looking for me, six hours. If no one has found me by the sixth hour, I will reveal myself, but there is a consequence. I have a special prize for whoever can find me first. So! Let the search begin! Make it interesting folks, I don't want my finale to take place without a grand show." With that the screen went black before returning to whatever was on before.
The pilots looked at each other before down to the girl who had suddenly taken what appeared to be a deep breath, though her eyes remained unfocused. Her mouth began to move though no sound came out. "What is she saying?" Duo asked, completely forgetting that just a few minutes ago she supposedly had no pulse.
The other boys just stared at the girl, trying to figure out what it was she was mouthing, but it was Cynea who figured it out. "She's counting," she stated.
"Counting?" Quatre asked.
"Yes... twenty-one thousand, five hundred ninety-one, ninety, eighty-nine, eighty-eight, and so on."
Trowa quickly reached down and felt around on her chest for something. Duo and Quatre blushed, thinking he was groping the girl, but realized what he was doing when they heard a click and a plate lifted upon her chest. Pushing the girl's shirt up they starred in awe at the wiring and other things that led away from a central chip. "An android," Quatre breathed, receiving a nod from Trowa. Carefully reaching out, he pushed a button that was located right below the chip and the jumped with the other's as the doll sat up suddenly.
"Very good," the doll spoke in the same voice that the cat used. "I knew you would figure it out fast Trowa. You always were bright. Now, here's your hint. Take the goggles and put them on. They will lead you to your next clue. Oh, and you might want to get rid of my little toy. She might just blow when she finds out you touched her. Good bye for now!"
With just a quick look to each other, they removed the goggles and Quatre put them on, slightly confused when a wire connected to a box came with them, but shoved it into a pocket. Trowa and Duo then grabbed the doll and ran outside before throwing it into a dumpster. Once they were out of the alley they heard a small boom and the dumpster jumped before smoke began to rise from it.
Quatre and Cynea met them outside and Quatre let out a small gasp as he recognized the location of their next 'clue'. "It's with Ms. Relena," he breathed out. The next clue was in deed at the shuttle transport on the colony that Trowa had just left. Quickly taking out a cell phone he called Heero who was sure to be near by.
"Heero. Yes, we got the message and the first clue. Yes, it's with Relena. Look for a human looking person with red eyes. Yes, it was the girl they picked up earlier. Oh, and be careful, it explodes after you find it." Trowa hung up and nodded to the others. "He's going to meet us in an hour and call back if he finds anything." The group just nodded and silently hoped that Heero could find the next clue.
:.:.:
"What do you mean she just started counting?!" Aeryn shouted as she looked at the screen her little prisoner was in. Sure enough she was mouthing words that did in fact transform into numbers. "What is she on?"
"Twenty-one thousand, two hundred fifty-seven, fifty-six," the man reported.
"Damn it!" Aeryn shouted slamming her fist on the counter. "It's what that damn hacker was talking about! If this girl has anything do with it, it means we only have five hours left and we must find that hacker before those pesky Gundam pilots do!"
"But commander, how do you suppose we do that?" another man asked.
"Ask the girl! She obviously has something to with it! And she's speaking now so get something out of her!"
"Yes ma'am!" the men replied with a salute. Aeryn remained, glaring at the girl in the cell.
"You will pay you little brat, be well aware of that!" The commander then turned and left as two of her men ran into the room to interrogate the girl.
:.:.:
Heero had finally caught up with Relena's group as they entered the airport and frowned at all of the reporters. It didn't take long to spot his target, she was right next to Relena and just as strange looking as the girl that Quatre and Duo had found. Looking no older than seven, the girl had short pink hair pulled into two pig-tales and blood red eyes. Her tiny hand was clasped firmly in Relena's and was the cause of most of the questions.
"Ms. Relena, who is this strange girl with you?" one reporter asked a Heero pushed through them.
"This is Floriana and she's a little girl that I found. Apparently her father and mother were killed in the explosion the other day and so she will be traveling with me until we can find her a proper home," was the diplomat's reply.
"How old is she?" asked another before all questions about the girl ceased when Heero broke through.
"Relena, I need to see that girl," he spoke.
"Heero," she breathed, having not seen him in quite a while. "Why?"
"She's not what you think she is," was his answer before he looked back at the reporters. Not finding a way out of this without wasting more time he knelt down in front of the now grinning girl.
"What's the password?" she asked, her head tilting to the side as something seemed to flash through her eyes.
Password? Heero thought. Trowa never mentioned anything about a password. His mind began to race as he thought of anything that might be the password before he finally remembered a name that he had forgotten about until now, making since of things. "Evangelous," he spoke quietly and blinked when the girl began to laugh, though it wasn't her voice.
"Very good Heero. You always were quick on your feet. Now, for your final clue. I always liked to gaze at the stars, but there was always one place in particular that had a better view. From here I could look down at my wonderful creations and just turn around and look at the star filled sky. Oh, and hurry up Heero, only four hours and forty-two minutes remaining. One more thing, you might want to get everyone out of here before what happened four years ago happens again."
The voice then shut off and the doll collapsed, it's eyes going blank. The reporters began to ask a million questions but the boy ignored them. He remembered what Trowa had told him about the doll self destructing and quickly grabbed it, running to where the humans had built a pond next to the shuttle port. Quickly throwing the doll into it, the people watched as water suddenly bubbled up, spraying everywhere.
"Heero!" Relena called as she ran over. "What is going on? What was that all about?"
Heero turned and looked down at the girl, starring straight into her eyes. "I can't tell you right now, we're in a hurry." With that he pulled out his cell phone and called Trowa, relaying what had happened, all the while feeling the girl's stare as he walked off.
:.:.:
"A bomb!" Aeryn shouted when the men had reported back. "How the hell did that go unnoticed! Get rid of the damn thing quick!"
"Um, you see, that's the problem," the man replied. "We can't. You see the girl was actually a doll and it's sort of built into it."
Aeryn growled out in annoyance as she turned to the monitor. The girl sat there, a panel in her chest open showing the counter. "Seal off this part of the base and get in a bomb expert. I want that thing deactivated and then find out who it was that made it. It has to have some sort of tracking beacon in it!"
"Yes ma'am!" the soldier reported before running off to as he was told.
Aeryn turned back to the android that was sitting in the cell and narrowed her eyes. "What the hell is going on here?" she asked before leaving. She had some work to do and there was no way she was letting those Gundam pilots find her prize before she did.
:.:.:
"Ok, thanks for the update," Trowa said as he hung up the phone. The group was currently headed for what was now an abandoned colony that held Antonia's old factory where she first built the Gundams, Cynea having remembered it extremely clearly.
"Who was it?" Duo asked as he piloted the shuttle they were on.
"That was Wufei, he said the girl they had apprehended turned out to be a doll as well. It asked them for a password and when they gave the wrong one, it activated a time bomb that was set to go off at the end of our little hunt."
"So The Order has a set of clues as well," Quatre commented.
"It appears so. Unfortunately, due to the fact that Heero's was aired on public TV, I wouldn't be too surprised if they caught on and were headed to this factory while we speak. How much time to we have left?"
Cynea looked down at her watch, "If I've been keeping up correctly, just over three and a half hours."
"And how long will it take us to get to this colony?" Quatre asked Duo as he sat down.
"Right around two and a half hours," he replied.
"So once we get there we'll have an hour to find our clue and whoever this Evangelo is," Trowa concluded.
"Sounds like. Let's just hope that The Order doesn't figure everything out first." The group silently agreed and continued on to the colony where everything began.
:.:.:
"Ma'am! We have an update on this little hunt! Apparently one of the Gundam Pilots found a clue and lucky for us it was aired on television," a soldier reported.
"Well! What is it?" she snapped turning around.
"Well, our research team believes it leads to colony X195, where the Gundams were first built."
Aeryn turned around and looked at a screen that showed the bomb technician working feverishly on the doll. "Very well," she replied turning them around. "Tell them to dispose of the doll and prepare a shuttle to take me to this colony!"
"Yes ma'am!" the man replied, running off to do as he was told. Aeryn felt a grin appear on her face as she looked at the look-alike doll.
"Soon Miss Antonia, I'll get my revenge for what you caused. The people were never meant to rule themselves and soon even you will see that!"
:.:.:
Wufei watched as two soldiers carefully carried the doll to a safe room where it was to detonate on it's own. They had gotten the clue they needed and had no more need for the doll. His eyes narrowed as he watched the doll be carried off, but continued on his way. He needed to get a hold of the others to let them know of what had happened. This whole ordeal was turning into one giant mess and over just a single person. What was this world coming to?
Just as he was about to enter a computer room to make the call, he was stopped by none other than Commander Aeryn herself. "You, Chang was it?" she asked.
"Yes ma'am," he replied while saluting.
"You'll be coming with me as we travel to the colony. I've seen you fight and we could use a man like you," she ordered.
"Yes ma'am," he replied.
Aeryn grinned and something flashed across her eyes. "Good, then you'll be coming with me soldier."
Wufei winced mentally. Great, now he wouldn't be able to get ahold of the others. "Yes ma'am," he replied before following the stony woman. As they passed the room that the doll was placed in, he took note how they quickly locked the room before running off. The timer must be getting closer to the detonate time. All he could do now was hope that the others figured out the clue and managed to make it to the colony before he did.
:.:.:
Somewhere, in a dark room with no lights, there was a clicking noise followed by a clatter as something seemingly fell to the hard ground. A chuckle could be heard from the darkness before a pair of red eyes seemed to pierce through it. "Everything is going just as planned," a voice spoke before another clang was heard as if whatever had fallen was kicked.
A bit of shuffling before a beep was heard and red numbers lit up the darkness slightly. '30:00' they read before counting down. '29:59', '29:58', and so on. Another chuckle was heard before the room was filled with light, though no sound could be heard except for the beeping left behind as the counter counted down.
:.:.:
"Hurry up and get on! We're running out of time!" Aeryn shouted to the soldiers as they scrambled to get on the carrier. One last soldier hopped in before the air craft's door was shut. "Good, now if I ordered you to a suit, get in it. We're lucky in that it will only take us a few minutes to get to the colony so get moving!"
"Yes ma'am!" the soldiers answered before heading to their assigned positions. Twenty men headed to the back and climbed into the newly made mobile suits, clipping on the bands that gave them the control to move the suit as they moved. While Aeryn hated Antonia with all of her might, she couldn't help but thank the girl for leaving behind her plans on the new systems, they helped greatly in making the new mobile suits.