Cherry Blossom: This is so weird.
Duo: I agree. How come I'm always getting shot or hurt in your stories?
Cherry Blossom: 'Cause you're my favorite.
Duo: O.o;;;
Quatre: Are we in this chapter?
Cherry Blossom: Nope.
Wufei: Are we ever going to be in this fic?
Cherry Blossom: I…think so.
Trowa: ::sigh:: Well call us when our part comes in.
Matteo: Let's get to it.
Disclaimer: I don't own GW. But I own the other characters so please don't use them without my permission…not that you'd want to.
Warnings: Um…this is weird. And this chapter doesn't really involve the pilots. Made-up original characters. AU maybe? Read the first part or you won't understand anything. Not that you'll understand it anyway O.o;;;
Ware o Mamoru – Part 2 – The entrance to Eden
Rhi watched the bullet rip through the soft tissues of the man's shoulder as he tumbled awkwardly to the floor in a dead faint. She gave out a strangled cry before turning her attention to the person who had fired the gun. The figure was shadowed in the darkness of the room and his face, if it was a he, was effectively hidden. Rhi stepped in front of Stasya, wanting to protect the younger girl. Stasya would have none of it. She dodged around Rhi's outstretched arm and walked towards the armed figure shouting, "What did you do that for?"
The figure lowered the gun and stepped closer. As the pale light from the counsel washed over his features, Rhi saw, to her surprise, a familiar face.
"Gilly?"
"Did I get him?" the boy asked, looking down at the body that lay crumpled on the ground before him.
"What are you doing here?" Stasya yelled.
"Looking for you," the boy retorted. "The elders were worried that you wouldn't get the job done so they sent me to help. And it's a good thing too. This guy was just about to corner you."
"You idiot! That's not an OZ soldier! He saved us from the other guy who was going to shoot us," Stasya shouted, gesturing to the unconscious guard lying next to Duo.
"Oops…"
"Oops is right. You're such a moron sometimes, Gilly."
"We don't have time for this," said Rhi as she knelt by Duo's side, pressing her fingers to the wound to staunch the flow of blood. "We have to get him to Leah. She'll know what to do."
Gilly shook his head vehemently. "You know the rules. No Outsiders allowed in Eden. We can't bring him back to Leah."
"We have to bring him back to Leah. He saved us. There's a rule about that, too, remember. When someone saves your life then you're in their debt," Rhi argued.
"And since you're the one that shot him," continued Stasya. "You have to help us carry him out. So get your butt over here and take his other foot."
Gilly grumbled bitterly to himself but he came over and lifted the braided man's right leg while Stasya lifted the left and Rhi hooked her arms under his armpits and raised him up.
Gilly groaned at the sudden weight and said, "He's heavier then he looks."
"Quit…complaining…and start…walking," Stasya gasped back and they proceeded to drag him out of the room and off the grounds of the compound.
"I can't believe that we haven't been caught yet," said Rhi as they passed a strangely deserted guard post.
"We will be if you don't hurry the hell up," Stasya growled.
"Watch your language," Gilly lectured.
"Shut up."
"No, you shut up."
"ALL of you shut up."
It was a miracle that they got out of there at all with all the noise they were making. But OZ was having a particularly incompetent night and no one spotted the slow-moving group at all.
When everyone was a good distance away from the compound, Gilly declared a rest stop and they paused to catch their breath and let Rhi wrap Duo's shoulder in a make-shift bandage ripped from Stasya's vest.
Gilly made a big show out of examining Duo's wound and decided ultimately, "He 's gonna die."
"No he's not, it's only a flesh wound," Rhi pointed out.
"Just because you're a year older then me doesn't mean you know anything, Rhi."
"She knows more then you, idiot."
"Oh yeah?" Gilly glared at Stasya, ready for a fight.
"Stop it you two. We don't need this right now," Rhi scolded.
Gilly and Stasya continued to glare at each other for a little while longer before Gilly flung himself on the grass and said, "I wonder what he was doing at the compound anyway?"
Suddenly a loud explosion sounded through the air and the entire base was consumed in a giant fireball. The three children stared at the chaos, mouths open in shock.
"Does that answer your question?" Stasya asked smugly.
Gilly nodded, not wanting to venture words. He looked down at the braided man with new respect.
"That guy is cool."
Rhi tightened the knot on Duo's bandage and said, "That's enough rest. We'd better get home. Leah's going to freak out if she hears about the explosion before we get back."
The rest of the children nodded in agreement and they picked up Duo and dragged him through the fields, being extra careful not to leave a blood trail behind them. No one must follow them into Eden.
Rhi slipped down through the trap door, careful not to bang the limp body she was holding up against the wall. As she stepped down on the decaying stairs the wood creaked and whined, sending clouds of sawdust scuttling across the floor. The old theater had been abandoned centuries ago and was long forgotten by the inhabitants of the city that surrounded it. Beneath the stage, however, was an extensive network of carefully planned out tunnels and interconnecting rooms that were probably the pride and joy of some long dead. This labyrinth, although a bit musty, was the beloved shelter of the children. For most it was the only home they could remember. Gilly and Stasya towed Duo through the passages while Rhi brought a flashlight out of her pocket and walked ahead, lighting the path for the other children. They soon reached a large steel door. Rhi switched off her flashlight and knocked three times, the sound echoing off the stone walls of the maze. Slowly, a small window-section of the door drew open and two eyes blinked out.
"We are the forgotten," A muffled voice from behind the door intoned.
"We are the lost," Rhi replied.
"We are the ones who remain," they continued in unison and the great door swung open to reveal a skinny, red-haired boy with large owlish blue eyes, obscured behind a pair of thick lenses that drooped precariously on the end of his nose.
"I'm glad you're back Rhi," the boy exclaimed. "Leah was getting worried. We heard about the explosion on the radio and…hey! Who's that?"
"We don't have time to explain, Jase. Where's Leah?" Stasya asked.
"In the war room," Jase said absently. "That's where she always is. Is that an Outsider? I bet it is. Oh, you guys are going to be in so much trouble! It's against the rules to bring an Outsider into Eden."
"Shut up," Gilly snapped, dragging Duo in the direction of the war room with Rhi and Stasya following close behind.
"Hey wait! You're not allowed in there! Leah said so," Jase called after them.
Ignoring this, Rhi flung open the door to the war room and stepped inside. The room was large and almost completely bare. The only furniture was a small table in one corner of the room where several yellowed papers lay in a messy pile. In the middle of the room a tall, willowy figure crouched in a fighting stance, her long black hair tied back securely in several braids, her bare arms tanned brown in the dim light. She faced another, slightly taller figure who was also in battle stance, his short and spiky brown hair falling messily into his eyes. Neither of them moved. Suddenly, the boy lunged forward, swinging his left arm out for a quick jab. The girl sidestepped the attack gracefully and aimed a kick at the boy's midsection. The boy blocked the kick with his knee and came back with a punch aimed for the girl's head. At the last possible second the girl dropped to floor under his punch and spun her leg around, tripping her opponent and bringing him to the ground successfully and pining him with her knees.
"You're still way too slow, Teo-chan. I got you easily that time," the girl scolded as she stood.
"Sorry," the boy mumbled, allowing the girl to help him to his feet. "I let myself get distracted. It won't happen again."
"Leah!" blurted Stasya. "We've got something to show you."
The girl turned to regard the children with a piercing stare.
"What is the meaning of this interruption?" she asked.
Before Stasya had a chance to reply, Rhi stepped forward and said, "We're sorry for intruding Leah, but this is important. A man needs our help. Gilly shot him."
"It was an accident," Gilly protested sourly.
"Shot who?" the boy called Teo interrupted.
The children stepped back to display the unconscious braided form lying on the ground behind them.
"An Outsider!" Teo gasped. "You've brought an Outsider into Eden! Do you have any idea what you've done?"
The children flinched under the harsh stare of the raven-haired girl and shuffled their feet nervously.
"He saved us," Stasya said. "We couldn't just leave him there to die."
"Please understand," Rhi pleaded.
Leah sighed heavily and said, "Rhi, you and Teo take him to Nitta. She'll be able to do something about that shoulder. The rest of you come with me. I'm calling a counsel meeting. I want to know exactly what happened at that compound."
Rhi smiled gratefully and she and Teo lifted the body and carted him off to Nitta's infirmary. Stasya and Gilly followed meekly behind Leah as she went to gather the rest of the counsel.
As they came out of the room Jase peered at them curiously and asked, "Well? Are you in big trouble?"
Gilly sneered at him and snapped, "Shut up!"
Stasya growled half-heartedly but, inside, she felt slightly sick.
Leah's gonna kill us.To be continued?
Duo: I was unconscious this entire chapter. What's up with that?
Cherry Blossom: Sorry. I had to do it.
Duo: Riiiight.
Cherry Blossom: No really, Matteo made me.
Duo: Now I see why you wanted to do this fic so much, "Teo".
Matteo: ::blinks innocently:: I don't know what you're talking about.
Cherry Blossom: Shame on you Matteo! Self-insertions are the Mary-Sue's spawn.
Matteo: Hhmph. And who exactly is "Leah" modeled after?
Cherry Blossom: Is my name Leah? Nooooooo.
Matteo: Raven-black hair my ass.
Cherry Blossom: Language!
Duo: What's with all the new characters?
Cherry Blossom: I'm trying to get my own gang going. Don't worry they'll be an actual plot soon. Or not. Depending on how many people want me to continue.
Duo: Review!
Matteo: Or suffer!
Cherry Blossom: Don't forget to send money ^__^