Hi there!
Recently, I've just happened to get the inspiration to write - both my thesis (which, thankfully, I've almost finished) and fanfics. :)
As I announced at the end of the previous ficlet, this time I focused on Gaia's relationship to the youngest Planeteer – Ma-Ti. I have to admit that their bond, visible from the first episode, immediately won my heart. It made finding the right words to describe their love, affection and trust, not an easy job. On the other hand, I didn't want to make the whole thing too fluffy and sweet... so I've added Captain Planet to the mix. :D
This one-shot is set directly after "The Big Clam-Up".
Enjoy!
VerMa
After tucking Kwame in with a blanket as thoroughly as she could, Gaia headed towards Ma-Ti's hut. She'd been doing so for a time long enough for it to become her routine. She watched over the Planeteers not only by day, when they were either saving the Earth or filling Hope Island with laughter and hubbub, but also at night, especially if any of them was sick. Tonight, luckily, nothing disturbed her four elder children's sleep, even though only a few hours earlier, Skumm had tried to force them to eat the contaminated seafood. The incident's only side effect was that none of them was able to eat dinner.
At the thought that for thousands of years, she hadn't wanted to deal with humans, she smiled and shook her head. It was unbelievable how quickly these children had turned her life upside down. In the past, Captain Planet and the animals inhabiting Hope Island had been enough to keep her company. Now, though, she felt lonely when the Planeteers were away, stopping yet another eco-disaster.
She was about to look into Ma-Ti's bedroom through the window, to see if the boy had kicked his blanket off as usual, when she felt a sharp, throbbing pain in her temple. Of course. Another eco-problem. She wondered what it was this time. An explosion of a nuclear power plant? A burning forest? A broken dam?
x
Upon seeing in her crystals a pierced tanker ship, out of which oil flowed abundantly, Gaia shook her head sadly. Were humans really unable to comprehend what precautions meant?
"Wake up, o Captain, my Captain" she said, holding out her hand towards the floor, under which there was a large crystal, in which Captain Planet stationed.
"Have you called me?" he asked a moment later, materializing beside her.
"Yes, I have. Look" she replied, showing him the leaking vessel.
"Eco-villains or an accident?
"An accident, I think. The children probably could handle this, but I don't have the heart to wake them up in the dead of night."
"Aren't you a bit overprotective?" the Captain looked amused. "Okay, okay, I'll deal with it; let them sleep" he added, noticing the disapproving look in his friend's eyes.
"Thank you. You've never failed me" this time, Gaia smiled.
"It's my job" the Captain remarked perkily. "Speaking of which, I'd better be off; I've got a lot to do."
"Then go, Planet."
The Captain saluted and with a whistle of air, flew off towards the open sea. A moment later, Gaia heard the sand crunch under two bare feet, and a semi-childish voice, calling her name.
"What happened, Ma-Ti?" she asked, hugging her favorite, who'd run into her open arms. "Why aren't you sleeping?"
"I cannot sleep. I am afraid that Skumm will find us here and poison us..."
Gaia sighed softly; then, she sat on a bench, which Wheeler had recently made for Linka, and beckoned for Ma-Ti to join her. She wasn't all that surprised when, instead of sitting next to her, he climbed into her lap and embraced her waist; and frankly, she didn't mind. She loved her Planeteers more than her life and knew they felt the same for her, but Ma-Ti still was her most cherished darling boy. Being the youngest of the five of them, he cuddled up to her whenever he wanted, and unlike the others, wasn't afraid it would make him look silly. Sometimes, she just wished her elder children were this at ease with her outside the one-on-one interactions.
For a long while, the only sound was the one of the waves, rolling into the island's shores.
"You don't have to be afraid of Skumm" Gaia said at last, wiping away a tear running down the boy's cheek. "At least as long as you are on Hope Island. Don't forget Skumm's element is the city, and a polluted one at that, so he wouldn't stand a long contact with the micro-climate around here. Besides, if he did come here, Captain Planet and I wouldn't even let him TOUCH any of you, not to mention poison you."
"Really?"
"Really. As long as at least one of us is alive, you all are safe."
The tone of her voice obviously relieved Ma-Ti, who relaxed and trustingly rested his head on her shoulder.
"But, Gaia" he spoke after a while "you two are immortal..."
Gaia pried him off herself with a gentle smile.
"If you mean that we can't die of natural causes, then yes. But how about we finish this chat tomorrow? It's late; you should be off to sleep."
"Not yet" the boy firmly grasped her hand and yawned. "Will you tell me a bedtime story?"
"Aren't you a little too old for this?"
"Pleeease..."
"All right; but when I'm done, you go back to bed right away, okay?"
"Uh-huh" Ma-Ti muttered, burying his nose in Gaia's gown.
"So: once upon a time, far away from here, lived a little boy..."
About halfway through the story, Ma-Ti nodded off. Seeing this, Gaia leaned over him and kissed the top of his head. They shared a truly unique bond. Even on the very first day, before she gave up on keeping her protégés at bay and let herself to love them, he'd been looking at her with so much trust that the majesty barrier, which Wheeler had previously weakened by demanding explanations right away, fell all apart. Besides, knowing that Ma-Ti had been tragically orphaned as a six-year-old kid, and therefore longed for warmth and fondness, made her unwittingly treat him more gently than she did other Planeteers.
But why all the humans couldn't have hearts as kind as this child's...? Oh, right. Because of Zarm. At the memory of the Planeteers' meeting with him, she shivered. She didn't want to think what would have happened if Ma-Ti also had believed his fake kindness. Ironically enough, she was a bit grateful to Zarm nonetheless. Hadn't it been for that incident many thousands of years ago, she might have never met 'her' children; and if he hadn't tried to make them turn away from her, she certainly wouldn't have realized just how much she cared about them, and wouldn't now have such a close relationship with them...
Then, she realized Ma-Ti was slightly trembling from the cold. She needed to put him to bed as quickly as possible. However, the situation became a bit problematic. Whenever Gaia tried to free herself from the boy's grip, he just grasped her hand tighter. Thus, there was no way she could take him in her arms and stand up, not to mention carry him to bed. Sure, technically, she could simply use her powers to send him back, but she didn't want to do that. If he woke up and saw he was alone, he'd get scared and run to her again. That only left using her free hand to hold him close, lest he got cold, and making plan after plan of getting him to any place sheltered from the wind. Unfortunately, each one had one weak point: Ma-Ti wouldn't let go of her hand.
Finally, Gaia got her brilliant idea. She closed her eyes and focused.
"Captain, my Captain, answer me" she said softly.
"Roger, Gaia" she heard a moment later in the noise of the water.
"When you're done, I'll need your help with one more thing" she whispered back, lightly rubbing her precious boy's arm.
"What happened?" the Captain got worried.
"This time, nothing terrible. You'll understand everything when you come back to the island."
"Okay, I'll be there soon. Over and out!"
Gaia smiled. Captain Planet could always make her brighten up, despite – or perhaps BECAUSE of – hardly ever being completely serious and mature.
x
Upon seeing Gaia, immobilized by Ma-Ti, Captain Planet almost burst out laughing.
"So THIS is the thing that I am to help you with?" he asked once he'd finally gotten himself under control, and gave her an amused look. "The mighty Spirit of Earth is unable to lift a thirteen-year-old kid?"
"Try it yourself" in Gaia's voice, a hint of mockery could be heard.
The Captain put his hands under the boy's knees and back, only to discover he couldn't pull him away from Gaia.
"He's holding you strong" he stated with surprise.
"I told you I needed help" was the answer.
"But what do you think I should do? I can't pry him off you by force, unless I want to hurt him."
"There is another way. You have to move us both onto his bed; I'll take care of the rest."
"Whatever you say, Gaia" the Captain replied, lifting her like a feather.
He was about to take off, when Gaia elbowed him lightly in the chest.
"No flying" she said firmly. "I don't want him to freeze to the bone."
"Okay... Mother" the Captain replied and obediently (maybe even too obediently!) started walking towards Ma-Ti's hut. "But you do realize Wheeler would've died laughing if he saw us right now?" he added after a moment with a mischievous smile.
For a second, Gaia looked like she were about to suffocate with a stifled laugh. The Captain, however, knew that in her case, there was no need to be worried of it; after all, despite her ability to take on a solid form, she still was a spirit, which came with immortality.
"You're matchless, Captain" she declared when she'd finally calmed down.
"Thanks. Is this a new thing for you?" he answered in a playful tone. "Okay, the ride's over; we're already there" he added, walking into the hut and putting Gaia on Ma-Ti's bed.
Gaia covered the boy with a blanket, carefully placed a pillow under his head and disappeared, only to materialize at Captain Planet's side after a moment.
"Neat" he said admiringly.
"Thank you" she replied "but I wouldn't have succeeded without you. I've never thought that children his age could be so strong."
"Neither have I" the Captain admitted. "I wonder what else we don't know about him and the others."
Then, Ma-Ti curled up, embraced the pillow and buried his nose in it, muttering something incomprehensible. Gaia walked up to him noiselessly and rearranged the blanket.
"Shouldn't we leave before he wakes up?" Captain Planet asked.
Gaia didn't answer; she sat beside Ma-Ti and put her hand on his head. When a soft, golden glow surrounded them, the Captain realized she'd used the Heart power. After a while, the boy settled down.
"NOW we can go" said Gaia, reappearing beside the Captain.
x
"Have you noticed you treat these kids as if they were yours?" the Captain asked, as soon as they were back in the Crystal Chamber.
Gaia nodded without saying a word.
"But you do realize this won't last forever, right?" the Captain insisted.
"Yes. But you can't convince me you're indifferent to them.
"Good point; I'd lie if I claimed so."
There was a pause. After a while, it was broken by Gaia's sigh.
"You know why Ma-Ti held onto me so tight? He was afraid of Skumm's revenge" she said softly. "And he only felt safe with me."
"I told you" the Captain chuckled. "You act as if you were the mother of the five of them, and an overprotective one at that."
"They all still are almost children. Sometimes, I even wonder if they really are mature enough for their duties" Gaia replied, deep in thought.
The Captain took her hand and looked her straight in the eye.
"Gaia" he spoke seriously "believe me, you worry without need. Hadn't they been ready for being Planeteers, the rings wouldn't have gone to them of all people; I'm sure you're aware of this. And you must have noticed that they're doing very well even without my help. To be honest, sometimes I even have an impression that they rescue me more often than I do them."
After the last sentence, he made such a face that Gaia laughed.
"I guess you're right; I tend to be overprotective" she admitted finally.
"Especially towards Ma-Ti" the Captain said, winking at her knowingly.
"He's the youngest" Gaia shrugged slightly. "He needs a mother more than the others do."
"Right" the Captain smiled in amusement. "Have you ever thought that you, in turn, could have needed such a beloved child, so you'd stop being sulky with the humanity?" he asked suddenly, lifting an eyebrow.
Gaia looked genuinely surprised.
"I've never thought of it that way" she admitted after a while.
"Well, you do have a few hours left before the kids wake up" the Captain remarked, winking at her again, and bowed to her courteously. "The power is yours" he added before disappearing in a brief flash of light.
Next one will be a Gi-centered ficlet.
Meanwhile, reviews will bewelcome.
Regards,
VerMa.
PS – Of course, Zarm showed up about once per season (except the sixth one), but his second appearance was AFTER the episode this story refers to.
VM
