"He's not human?" Duo asked, incredulity filling his voice. "And he wanted us to know he wasn't human. Incredibly stupid. What a fool."
"He has a reason," Heero said, not believing Monotriese to be a fool. "He wouldn't have gotten this far if he were a fool."
Duo glanced at him. "Whatever. But why would he want anyone to know he's not human? Most normal people don't like the idea to begin with."
Juni scanned the screen more closely. "He doesn't state his reasons here, that's for sure. We'll have to work on it." She shook her head, soft locks falling forward into her small face.
Quatre looked at the others, then back at Juni. "We'll need to put together a mission soon, and fast." The others nodded consent. It was to be. It was their destiny, their fate. How the odds would come to be, no one knew.
-----
Lora Manosaka was an ordinary girl living in a small town near Portland, Oregon, on Earth. Her family roots traced to a Japanese heritage; her mother and father were both born in America but her grandparents and all her ancestors beyond that were all born and raised in Japan. She lived a lonely life; she had no brothers and sisters, though at birth she was the second twin to another little girl which her parents named Cora. They were not identical twins, each having her own special qualities and beauties. But when Cora and Lora were barely four years old, Cora was kidnapped during the night while the house and small family slept. Life dragged on in its terrible solitude since then, her parents mourning for their lost daughter.
Lora believed that Cora was still alive, though most people gave up hope long ago. After all, Cora was her sister. She had to keep hoping. Though some days it felt as though the world was coming to an end, there was that little flame of hope that kept her going. That someday she would see her twin sister again.
"I'm leaving now!" she called through the open doorway, closing it not-too-gently behind her. She was off to school on the frosty morning. It was early November, and the frost clung to the shrubs and grasses. She was careful to keep her shoes dry and clean for all the teachers at her school were extremely peeved by dirt and uncleanliness.
She shivered. The uniform of a pleated navy skirt and sweater and a crisp ironed white shirt did not give much warmth. Her coat, however, of fine lamb's wool and coarse silken weaving was much warmer. Her legs were left to the biting wind and cold, though she pulled her socks up as far as they would go. She hated the uniforms, and she hated Oregon. Not very many Japanese lived in the area; as a matter of fact, hardly any Asians lived in her town. She was one of the two that were Asian in the school, the other being a small Burmese boy about six years of age in the kindergarten.
She found herself staring at the restaurant sign. The hiragana letters seemed to jump out at her as she read them. Her parents owned a small Japanese sushi diner to earn a little extra money. On weekends it did very well, but during the weekdays things lagged behind a little. Especially in the winter. The location of the diner was not a good one, and not very many people came to the area just for a small sushi snack.
Her lavender-blue eyes scanned the skies. Clouds crowded around the sun, blocking its rays and cutting all the heat off from the Earth. She hoped fervently that it wouldn't rain and started to jog quickly to school.
Quatre separated the maps, placing different sections of the building on different chairs while the table was being set. Duo and Relena had promptly gone to clean away the turned over drinks and fallen knives and spoons in the commotion, returning rather tired and a trifle angered with clean table linens.
"Why did we get the messy job?" Duo lamented, throwing up his hands as he dropped the tablecloth neatly onto the table. Though it was almost perfectly even, Heero took the other ends and straightened it out to smooth out any wrinkles that may have been made.
Relena had sat down, frustrated. In the process of cleaning up, there were stacks of dishes to take away and wash, not to mention keeping your feet from slipping out from under you in the slippery kitchen. Then there was the mad scramble looking for all the fallen utensils, then jamming everything into the dishwasher. Finally, when the time came to bring the clean, starched, white tablecloth out, dirty dishwater spilled all over it. It was then a pandemonium both in the kitchen and out of the kitchen; Heero even stuck his head in to see what was taking so long. Finally he went searching for the linen closet, returning in what seemed a half an hour. It was all so exasperating!
Everything else was forgotten when Juni put the maps in order on the table, giving them a full view of the building the Zumin were supposedly going to attack within two days.
Heero evaluated the entire map. It was a tricky building; the hallways were never straight for more than three rooms on either side. It was the housing complex, an apartment building, where many officials were staying for the month to complete legal business. It was a modest attack; there were only sixteen officials and five innocent families living the in the complex. But nevertheless, they were still killing the innocent. They had to be stopped.
Dr. Jei appeared in the doorway. "I see you have gotten yourselves together," he commented, noting the serious looks on their faces.
"Yeah. We weren't chosen to sit around doing nothing," Duo said, standing up and putting his hands in his pockets. He was wearing black pants and a gray and black knit sweater with black stripes across the chest and upper sleeves. He was also wearing a black baseball hat on backwards. [it doesn't work right to put it on straight with his braid, if you know what I mean]
Dr. Jei chuckled inside. That would be Duo all over. "Reina and Todousa will arrive shortly. I have sent for them to come early to receive the mission and have some practice training together. Neither of them have met before, and I am sure none of you have ever met them, either. So long!" With that, he disappeared as quickly as he came.
"Damn! Why does he keep doing that?" Duo said angrily, taking off his cap and throwing it down. He sat down again, frustrated.
"We've read their stats already. What are we supposed to do?" Juni said, only making the sting hurt worse. [obviously she doesn't know Duo too well]
Duo remained silent. Heero went on studying the map. "We'll have to get the Gerdams ready. Is the Opular completed?"
Duo looked up, slightly alarmed. If Reina came, she would be the one using the Candonite. Relena used the Arabesque, and Todousa would be using the Retekar. Heero, of course, would be using the Phoelis Wing-Break, so what was left for Duo? Deathscythe was out of the picture, sent into the Sun once again, ready to hit its mark within another year. Now it was definitely too far for anyone who didn't wish to be killed in the process to go after it.
Quatre got into the seat and began to do some typing on the computer. He emailed Dr. Jei and the other Gerdam creators, making sure to state the problems and to ask the questions. He clicked something, then waited, sitting back in the chair. Juni looked over his shoulder at the screen, her great green and violet eyes wandering and her hair framing her small face.
"This is so uncool...do I really have to fight with my bare hands?" Duo managed to mutter, very unhappy about the whole thing.
Quatre suddenly sat up straight. "They have it completed far enough for you to use it properly. You'll need to test it out yourself tonight, though. Are you up to it?" Quatre asked, looking at Duo.
"Of course I can!" he said, standing up again. "Is it ready now?"
"Reina and Todousa are here. They will meet you in the training hangar."
Relena started at this. "Aren't you coming with?"
Juni shook her head. "We have to prepare the mission more thoroughly. We can't be responsible for sending you into an unknown area when we were supposed to take utmost care in preparing this."
Heero gave a nod. "Let's go."
"Awesome! Yeah, let's get moving!" an enthusiastic Duo commented, once again joyous that he would be able to use the Opular.
Juni and Quatre watched them go. Quatre excused himself, saying that he would be back in a minute with some tea. [tea always helps soothe him] Juni just nodded. She knew that Quatre always liked tea when he was working, and watched him go, also. She sighed and faced the computer's screen saver. Little Gundams were fighting mobile dolls on the screen, each triumphantly beating the mobile dolls. She recognized Wing Zero and Heavyarms Kai.
She moved the mouse. She found herself staring at her own profile, then suddenly remembered that she hadn't told the whole truth about her background in order to become a member of this elite team. Her mother and father were actually not her real mother and father. In truth, she called them aunt and uncle though they were of no relation to her. In fact, she hadn't even been adopted by them. They took her in and cared for her, sending her to school and letting her have what she wanted. But she never forgot that they were not her real birth parents nor was she adopted by them. She was a lost soul to the government, a soul that was proclaimed dead from long ago.
She only vaguely remembered scraps of her childhood, but most vividly the dark, cold days and nights she spent in the dark basement of some evil person's house. Then on an extremely cold night, she heard gunshots above on the upper floors of the grand mansion she never got to see. She heard screams, and feet pat-pattering in a staggered run, and she knew it was the mean man who had put her down in the basement. Even at eight, she had learned whose walking was whose; the long, ragged steps of the mean master or smooth, sailing, tiny steps of his large, ugly, prissy wife.
She had been fed scraps, and sometimes she became ill from the rotten food. But she learned what to and what not to eat. The "people upstairs" didn't care if she starved. But sometimes, just sometimes, when she was really really sick, they would send some pills for her to take.
She hadn't gone to school until after that fateful day she was taken in by the kind people in Australia. Before the "people upstairs" were killed and gone, she had learned to use her resources as best she could, her mind growing each day. A few days after being starved when nobody brought her any food, she finally realized she was free. The "people upstairs" no longer kept her barred in. The door had been blasted down in the fight, and the front door was easily opened. She dared not explore the house before running out into the dark night, but she certainly wished she could have. The house was wonderland to her eager eyes.
Once outside, she ran in the dark for hours on end. At the postoffice, she found she was in Australia. She hardly remembered that she grew up in America, but she knew she was in a very different place. She walked, walked, walked, begging on the streets and knocking on doors for food. Finally, she ran into a plump, kindly woman who pitied her and brought her to her house. There she met her tall but very kind husband, and was given food and clothing.
They sent her to the public school. Little did she know that they were good friends of her parents, but of course she never knew that, and the family did not know she was the missing twin. After all, they knew not as to how she came to be in Australia nor where she had come from. Juni looked nothing like Lora with her green and violet eyes and dark blonde raggedy hair.
Quatre shook her shoulders gently. She had zoned out, remembering. She looked up, noticing that Quatre looked extraordinarily worried. He had asked her if she was okay. "Ye-yes, I'm fine. Just a little tired, that's all."
He didn't look convinced. "If you need anything, just ask, okay?"
She nodded. "I didn't find out anything. There seems to be a lacking of information that we need."
He scanned the screen. He saw tons of information. It wasn't like Juni to be like this. "Are you sure you're okay? Maybe you should take a nap later."
Juni nodded again. She rubbed her temples. Her head had begun to throb, and the room was spinning. "I-I gue--"
Quatre caught her. She had almost fallen out of the chair. He picked her up without another word and gently put her on the bed in the spare room down the left hallway. She did not protest, though in fact if she tried she would have found that she couldn't. Things were all watery and out of proportion, and her headache was worsening. She felt a numb, dull ache all over her body, and she couldn't hear much. It was all a blurry fuzz to her.
Quatre brought a glass of cold water and put it on the nightstand. Juni had fallen fast asleep, tired out from some unknown cause that Quatre had no idea of. He wondered what could have happened. He sat with her for a while, making sure she was definitely asleep. Then he went back to the computer, noticing it was still on her profile. He scanned it, seeing some blank areas where she must have deleted information. Her last name, her immediate family, her background, her birthplace, all deleted. He began to get suspicious, sitting quietly, comtemplating everything that had happened. He heard a faint crying, and at first he did not react to the sad sound. Then he realized it was Juni.
He was at her side in a half-a-second. She had her eyes closed, her fingers in a death-grip on the covers. He felt her forehead. Burning. He tried to pry her icy cold fingers from the sheets, but to no avail. He brought a cool, moist towel and placed it on her forehead, brushing her hair away gently. He went to the kitchen [which was still a mess] and retrieved a hot water bottle to warm her hands.
He was starting to become tired as well. Someone had to be told of her condition, and soon. But obviously she had wanted to make the team, to help out with the colonies and their situation. And besides, he was beginning to like her. If he told, there was a great chance she would be killed to rid the team of such a cheat and a liar without letting the rest of the world and the colonies know what they were doing. She knew too much about them already. He murmured to himself, "Oh, Juni, what have you done? What is going on?"
Heero, Duo, and Relena waited in their respective hangars, seated in their Gerdams, readying for training. Duo was testing different moves out; without weaponry arms, of course. Uppercuts, left and right swings, blocks; he pretty much tested the entire system's agilty and quickness. The Opular's OS system was working quite well for its first run-through, though Duo, Reina, and Todousa were all at the disadvantage of using their Gerdams for so short a while. The other two had had much more practice.
When the other two finally arrived, all three seasoned pilots gaped. Todousa was quite stunning; tall and muscular like the other two but for some reason gave onlookers a feeling of awe. [more like "whoa, he's hot!" ^_^;;;] Wearing the black uniform, his golden-tanned skin and streaked hair stood out against it. Reina could have been a model. Duo swore on it as he talked to Heero. She was wearing the black skirt and bolero-jacket, which completely contrasted her shock of long, wavy reddish hair.
All three Gerdam hatches opened at once, the pilots dismounting via the handled cord. They met the others half-way with a warm welcome.
"Hello!" Duo called out as he rappelled down the Opular. He began to attempt to wave with his free hand which caused him to start falling towards the ground at a faster rate. Not enjoying the feeling too well, he immediately stopped, but continued to try to wave. Relena was still new to the rappelling and had both hands firmly gripping the handle. Heero did not say anything, though he carefully watched Relena out of the corner of his eye to make sure she got down in one piece.
Todousa grinned when he met them. "Pleased to meet you," he said warmly, shaking both Heero's and Duo's hands and kissing Relena's hand. "You are as beautiful as they say, Princess Relena." She blushed, and looked sideways at Heero. [he didn't look too happy but then again he wouldn't be happy, now would he? though he didn't look mad, either...]
"Welcome to the team," Heero said rather stiffly, though it was to be expected. All three shook hands with Reina, who didn't seem at all the flirt as Todousa. She was actually quite shy, though it was easy to see she was friendly and somewhat humble.
"Thank you." Her voice was not soft, but it was not harsh nor cold. "I was very happy to be accepted to join you. I hope we can accomplish our missions."
She seemed very focused on saving the colonies and Earth. "It was and still is my dream to help the world and the colonies. I was brought up on Earth, as you know, and I believe in a free democracy. I hope the people will wish the same thing of peace and happiness."
Todousa flashed a bright smile. "Listen to her. Just listen to the old speech!" He was laughing a little. Heero took an immediate dislike to the judgmental teenager, though he was judging him rather harshly himself.
Reina whispered to Relena. "He's not always like this, trust me. He's really quiet and very calm. But he's touchy about his past and background, so don't try to ask anything of those lines."
Relena nodded slightly. "Thank you. That will help quite a bit."
Heero noticed the two whispering but did not interrupt. He turned swiftly on his heel and began to mount the Wing-Break once again. "Are we ready for practice?" He did not look back.
"Right on!" Duo exclaimed, showing Reina the way to the Candonite. "You know how this thing works, right?"
"I think so," she replied, though it wasn't very convincing. Duo's eyebrows went up in uncertainty. She looked down. She was muscular for a girl, as one would expect her to be because she was a gymnast. She was medium in height, a few inches shorter than Duo; she was younger, after all. Her strawberry-blonde hair was quite long, although it would never be compared in length to Duo's mile-long shock of hair growing from the top of his head to a little above his knees when let down. She explained that normally it would be put up in a braided knot, however today being special she left it down. Duo nodded; he understood the troubles with long hair completely.
The Candonite sat with two spotlights shining upon it, leading a very awestruck Reina to gasp. "Th-that's the C-candonite?" she wavered, very stunned and rather nervous.
Duo grinned. "Yep. Your Gerdam. Isn't it a beauty?" He enjoyed watching her face go from awed to delight to just plain happiness.
"Yes, it is definitely something," she breathed. Her eyes were shining like stars. Then they grew dim. "But I do not find happiness in using it for the job it must do, even if it is for the good of the Earth and the colonies."
Duo sobered also. It was a sad, sad thing that these wonderful mobile suits had to be used for killing purposes. It ruined their entire view on the Gerdam's reputations [if they had any] and anything to do with them. "I guess you'd better get situated," he remarked suddenly, breaking the eerie silence that dropped like a blanket over the room. He gave her the rappelling cord and told her what to do. Soon she was in the cockpit. He began to shout basic instructions, then turned to the Opular.
They walked, stomping through the different hallways to meet in the mobile doll hangar where they were to fight them. The mobile dolls this time were black and purple, colors which reminded Duo of Hilde. [he shook those thoughts out of his head much quicker than Heero could ever do with Relena for some strange reason...Heero should have been quicker but seemed unable to do so]
Practice went well for all of them, each getting the practice they needed. The new recruits adjusted immediately, and Duo had no problem getting used to the Opular and the OS system used in it. They talked over it afterwards, remembering all the action required. Duo remarked suddenly that the invisibility option would also make him invisible to the others, which Reina had asked before. She didn't seem too pleased when she heard that the Deathscythe Hel* plans for the older invisibilty options had leaked out and some of the enemy also had the older version of invisibility options. But all five had the radar to sense these invisible enemies, so they would have no problem. [That's the problem when you copy someone else's plans. They know how to detect them.]
Juni opened her eyes. The sun was setting outside the little barred window near the ceiling, and she could tell it was near or past dinnertime. She wondered what had happened. The last thing she remembered was seeing Quatre's green-blue eyes, large and very worried. She sat up slowly.
Quatre heard the sheets rustling, walking quickly to the spare room on the topmost floor in the underground hideaway. He knocked gently before opening the door, though it would've been the same if he didn't knock. He was going in, no matter what she said.
Juni turned, surprised. "Oh, hello, Quatre. What's going on?" Her eyes were bright, and all the symptoms of her previous illness had disappeared.
Quatre shook his head slowly, sitting down in the chair he had moved near the bedstand. He put his hand up to her forehead. "Fever's almost gone. You collapsed...almost like you fainted. You don't remember anything?"
She thought for a minute. She looked out at the sky, which was starting to turn darker blue and purple. She smiled. "Nope. But that doesn't really matter, does it? I'm alive."
Quatre didn't say anything after that. He thought to himself, "Isn't it ironic? That's what I'm supposed to be saying. But I can't...I can't. Because not everything is all right. It does matter. And the whole this is my fault." He sighed. When would he learn to correct his mistakes?
Will Quatre blame himself forever?
"He has a reason," Heero said, not believing Monotriese to be a fool. "He wouldn't have gotten this far if he were a fool."
Duo glanced at him. "Whatever. But why would he want anyone to know he's not human? Most normal people don't like the idea to begin with."
Juni scanned the screen more closely. "He doesn't state his reasons here, that's for sure. We'll have to work on it." She shook her head, soft locks falling forward into her small face.
Quatre looked at the others, then back at Juni. "We'll need to put together a mission soon, and fast." The others nodded consent. It was to be. It was their destiny, their fate. How the odds would come to be, no one knew.
-----
Lora Manosaka was an ordinary girl living in a small town near Portland, Oregon, on Earth. Her family roots traced to a Japanese heritage; her mother and father were both born in America but her grandparents and all her ancestors beyond that were all born and raised in Japan. She lived a lonely life; she had no brothers and sisters, though at birth she was the second twin to another little girl which her parents named Cora. They were not identical twins, each having her own special qualities and beauties. But when Cora and Lora were barely four years old, Cora was kidnapped during the night while the house and small family slept. Life dragged on in its terrible solitude since then, her parents mourning for their lost daughter.
Lora believed that Cora was still alive, though most people gave up hope long ago. After all, Cora was her sister. She had to keep hoping. Though some days it felt as though the world was coming to an end, there was that little flame of hope that kept her going. That someday she would see her twin sister again.
"I'm leaving now!" she called through the open doorway, closing it not-too-gently behind her. She was off to school on the frosty morning. It was early November, and the frost clung to the shrubs and grasses. She was careful to keep her shoes dry and clean for all the teachers at her school were extremely peeved by dirt and uncleanliness.
She shivered. The uniform of a pleated navy skirt and sweater and a crisp ironed white shirt did not give much warmth. Her coat, however, of fine lamb's wool and coarse silken weaving was much warmer. Her legs were left to the biting wind and cold, though she pulled her socks up as far as they would go. She hated the uniforms, and she hated Oregon. Not very many Japanese lived in the area; as a matter of fact, hardly any Asians lived in her town. She was one of the two that were Asian in the school, the other being a small Burmese boy about six years of age in the kindergarten.
She found herself staring at the restaurant sign. The hiragana letters seemed to jump out at her as she read them. Her parents owned a small Japanese sushi diner to earn a little extra money. On weekends it did very well, but during the weekdays things lagged behind a little. Especially in the winter. The location of the diner was not a good one, and not very many people came to the area just for a small sushi snack.
Her lavender-blue eyes scanned the skies. Clouds crowded around the sun, blocking its rays and cutting all the heat off from the Earth. She hoped fervently that it wouldn't rain and started to jog quickly to school.
Quatre separated the maps, placing different sections of the building on different chairs while the table was being set. Duo and Relena had promptly gone to clean away the turned over drinks and fallen knives and spoons in the commotion, returning rather tired and a trifle angered with clean table linens.
"Why did we get the messy job?" Duo lamented, throwing up his hands as he dropped the tablecloth neatly onto the table. Though it was almost perfectly even, Heero took the other ends and straightened it out to smooth out any wrinkles that may have been made.
Relena had sat down, frustrated. In the process of cleaning up, there were stacks of dishes to take away and wash, not to mention keeping your feet from slipping out from under you in the slippery kitchen. Then there was the mad scramble looking for all the fallen utensils, then jamming everything into the dishwasher. Finally, when the time came to bring the clean, starched, white tablecloth out, dirty dishwater spilled all over it. It was then a pandemonium both in the kitchen and out of the kitchen; Heero even stuck his head in to see what was taking so long. Finally he went searching for the linen closet, returning in what seemed a half an hour. It was all so exasperating!
Everything else was forgotten when Juni put the maps in order on the table, giving them a full view of the building the Zumin were supposedly going to attack within two days.
Heero evaluated the entire map. It was a tricky building; the hallways were never straight for more than three rooms on either side. It was the housing complex, an apartment building, where many officials were staying for the month to complete legal business. It was a modest attack; there were only sixteen officials and five innocent families living the in the complex. But nevertheless, they were still killing the innocent. They had to be stopped.
Dr. Jei appeared in the doorway. "I see you have gotten yourselves together," he commented, noting the serious looks on their faces.
"Yeah. We weren't chosen to sit around doing nothing," Duo said, standing up and putting his hands in his pockets. He was wearing black pants and a gray and black knit sweater with black stripes across the chest and upper sleeves. He was also wearing a black baseball hat on backwards. [it doesn't work right to put it on straight with his braid, if you know what I mean]
Dr. Jei chuckled inside. That would be Duo all over. "Reina and Todousa will arrive shortly. I have sent for them to come early to receive the mission and have some practice training together. Neither of them have met before, and I am sure none of you have ever met them, either. So long!" With that, he disappeared as quickly as he came.
"Damn! Why does he keep doing that?" Duo said angrily, taking off his cap and throwing it down. He sat down again, frustrated.
"We've read their stats already. What are we supposed to do?" Juni said, only making the sting hurt worse. [obviously she doesn't know Duo too well]
Duo remained silent. Heero went on studying the map. "We'll have to get the Gerdams ready. Is the Opular completed?"
Duo looked up, slightly alarmed. If Reina came, she would be the one using the Candonite. Relena used the Arabesque, and Todousa would be using the Retekar. Heero, of course, would be using the Phoelis Wing-Break, so what was left for Duo? Deathscythe was out of the picture, sent into the Sun once again, ready to hit its mark within another year. Now it was definitely too far for anyone who didn't wish to be killed in the process to go after it.
Quatre got into the seat and began to do some typing on the computer. He emailed Dr. Jei and the other Gerdam creators, making sure to state the problems and to ask the questions. He clicked something, then waited, sitting back in the chair. Juni looked over his shoulder at the screen, her great green and violet eyes wandering and her hair framing her small face.
"This is so uncool...do I really have to fight with my bare hands?" Duo managed to mutter, very unhappy about the whole thing.
Quatre suddenly sat up straight. "They have it completed far enough for you to use it properly. You'll need to test it out yourself tonight, though. Are you up to it?" Quatre asked, looking at Duo.
"Of course I can!" he said, standing up again. "Is it ready now?"
"Reina and Todousa are here. They will meet you in the training hangar."
Relena started at this. "Aren't you coming with?"
Juni shook her head. "We have to prepare the mission more thoroughly. We can't be responsible for sending you into an unknown area when we were supposed to take utmost care in preparing this."
Heero gave a nod. "Let's go."
"Awesome! Yeah, let's get moving!" an enthusiastic Duo commented, once again joyous that he would be able to use the Opular.
Juni and Quatre watched them go. Quatre excused himself, saying that he would be back in a minute with some tea. [tea always helps soothe him] Juni just nodded. She knew that Quatre always liked tea when he was working, and watched him go, also. She sighed and faced the computer's screen saver. Little Gundams were fighting mobile dolls on the screen, each triumphantly beating the mobile dolls. She recognized Wing Zero and Heavyarms Kai.
She moved the mouse. She found herself staring at her own profile, then suddenly remembered that she hadn't told the whole truth about her background in order to become a member of this elite team. Her mother and father were actually not her real mother and father. In truth, she called them aunt and uncle though they were of no relation to her. In fact, she hadn't even been adopted by them. They took her in and cared for her, sending her to school and letting her have what she wanted. But she never forgot that they were not her real birth parents nor was she adopted by them. She was a lost soul to the government, a soul that was proclaimed dead from long ago.
She only vaguely remembered scraps of her childhood, but most vividly the dark, cold days and nights she spent in the dark basement of some evil person's house. Then on an extremely cold night, she heard gunshots above on the upper floors of the grand mansion she never got to see. She heard screams, and feet pat-pattering in a staggered run, and she knew it was the mean man who had put her down in the basement. Even at eight, she had learned whose walking was whose; the long, ragged steps of the mean master or smooth, sailing, tiny steps of his large, ugly, prissy wife.
She had been fed scraps, and sometimes she became ill from the rotten food. But she learned what to and what not to eat. The "people upstairs" didn't care if she starved. But sometimes, just sometimes, when she was really really sick, they would send some pills for her to take.
She hadn't gone to school until after that fateful day she was taken in by the kind people in Australia. Before the "people upstairs" were killed and gone, she had learned to use her resources as best she could, her mind growing each day. A few days after being starved when nobody brought her any food, she finally realized she was free. The "people upstairs" no longer kept her barred in. The door had been blasted down in the fight, and the front door was easily opened. She dared not explore the house before running out into the dark night, but she certainly wished she could have. The house was wonderland to her eager eyes.
Once outside, she ran in the dark for hours on end. At the postoffice, she found she was in Australia. She hardly remembered that she grew up in America, but she knew she was in a very different place. She walked, walked, walked, begging on the streets and knocking on doors for food. Finally, she ran into a plump, kindly woman who pitied her and brought her to her house. There she met her tall but very kind husband, and was given food and clothing.
They sent her to the public school. Little did she know that they were good friends of her parents, but of course she never knew that, and the family did not know she was the missing twin. After all, they knew not as to how she came to be in Australia nor where she had come from. Juni looked nothing like Lora with her green and violet eyes and dark blonde raggedy hair.
Quatre shook her shoulders gently. She had zoned out, remembering. She looked up, noticing that Quatre looked extraordinarily worried. He had asked her if she was okay. "Ye-yes, I'm fine. Just a little tired, that's all."
He didn't look convinced. "If you need anything, just ask, okay?"
She nodded. "I didn't find out anything. There seems to be a lacking of information that we need."
He scanned the screen. He saw tons of information. It wasn't like Juni to be like this. "Are you sure you're okay? Maybe you should take a nap later."
Juni nodded again. She rubbed her temples. Her head had begun to throb, and the room was spinning. "I-I gue--"
Quatre caught her. She had almost fallen out of the chair. He picked her up without another word and gently put her on the bed in the spare room down the left hallway. She did not protest, though in fact if she tried she would have found that she couldn't. Things were all watery and out of proportion, and her headache was worsening. She felt a numb, dull ache all over her body, and she couldn't hear much. It was all a blurry fuzz to her.
Quatre brought a glass of cold water and put it on the nightstand. Juni had fallen fast asleep, tired out from some unknown cause that Quatre had no idea of. He wondered what could have happened. He sat with her for a while, making sure she was definitely asleep. Then he went back to the computer, noticing it was still on her profile. He scanned it, seeing some blank areas where she must have deleted information. Her last name, her immediate family, her background, her birthplace, all deleted. He began to get suspicious, sitting quietly, comtemplating everything that had happened. He heard a faint crying, and at first he did not react to the sad sound. Then he realized it was Juni.
He was at her side in a half-a-second. She had her eyes closed, her fingers in a death-grip on the covers. He felt her forehead. Burning. He tried to pry her icy cold fingers from the sheets, but to no avail. He brought a cool, moist towel and placed it on her forehead, brushing her hair away gently. He went to the kitchen [which was still a mess] and retrieved a hot water bottle to warm her hands.
He was starting to become tired as well. Someone had to be told of her condition, and soon. But obviously she had wanted to make the team, to help out with the colonies and their situation. And besides, he was beginning to like her. If he told, there was a great chance she would be killed to rid the team of such a cheat and a liar without letting the rest of the world and the colonies know what they were doing. She knew too much about them already. He murmured to himself, "Oh, Juni, what have you done? What is going on?"
Heero, Duo, and Relena waited in their respective hangars, seated in their Gerdams, readying for training. Duo was testing different moves out; without weaponry arms, of course. Uppercuts, left and right swings, blocks; he pretty much tested the entire system's agilty and quickness. The Opular's OS system was working quite well for its first run-through, though Duo, Reina, and Todousa were all at the disadvantage of using their Gerdams for so short a while. The other two had had much more practice.
When the other two finally arrived, all three seasoned pilots gaped. Todousa was quite stunning; tall and muscular like the other two but for some reason gave onlookers a feeling of awe. [more like "whoa, he's hot!" ^_^;;;] Wearing the black uniform, his golden-tanned skin and streaked hair stood out against it. Reina could have been a model. Duo swore on it as he talked to Heero. She was wearing the black skirt and bolero-jacket, which completely contrasted her shock of long, wavy reddish hair.
All three Gerdam hatches opened at once, the pilots dismounting via the handled cord. They met the others half-way with a warm welcome.
"Hello!" Duo called out as he rappelled down the Opular. He began to attempt to wave with his free hand which caused him to start falling towards the ground at a faster rate. Not enjoying the feeling too well, he immediately stopped, but continued to try to wave. Relena was still new to the rappelling and had both hands firmly gripping the handle. Heero did not say anything, though he carefully watched Relena out of the corner of his eye to make sure she got down in one piece.
Todousa grinned when he met them. "Pleased to meet you," he said warmly, shaking both Heero's and Duo's hands and kissing Relena's hand. "You are as beautiful as they say, Princess Relena." She blushed, and looked sideways at Heero. [he didn't look too happy but then again he wouldn't be happy, now would he? though he didn't look mad, either...]
"Welcome to the team," Heero said rather stiffly, though it was to be expected. All three shook hands with Reina, who didn't seem at all the flirt as Todousa. She was actually quite shy, though it was easy to see she was friendly and somewhat humble.
"Thank you." Her voice was not soft, but it was not harsh nor cold. "I was very happy to be accepted to join you. I hope we can accomplish our missions."
She seemed very focused on saving the colonies and Earth. "It was and still is my dream to help the world and the colonies. I was brought up on Earth, as you know, and I believe in a free democracy. I hope the people will wish the same thing of peace and happiness."
Todousa flashed a bright smile. "Listen to her. Just listen to the old speech!" He was laughing a little. Heero took an immediate dislike to the judgmental teenager, though he was judging him rather harshly himself.
Reina whispered to Relena. "He's not always like this, trust me. He's really quiet and very calm. But he's touchy about his past and background, so don't try to ask anything of those lines."
Relena nodded slightly. "Thank you. That will help quite a bit."
Heero noticed the two whispering but did not interrupt. He turned swiftly on his heel and began to mount the Wing-Break once again. "Are we ready for practice?" He did not look back.
"Right on!" Duo exclaimed, showing Reina the way to the Candonite. "You know how this thing works, right?"
"I think so," she replied, though it wasn't very convincing. Duo's eyebrows went up in uncertainty. She looked down. She was muscular for a girl, as one would expect her to be because she was a gymnast. She was medium in height, a few inches shorter than Duo; she was younger, after all. Her strawberry-blonde hair was quite long, although it would never be compared in length to Duo's mile-long shock of hair growing from the top of his head to a little above his knees when let down. She explained that normally it would be put up in a braided knot, however today being special she left it down. Duo nodded; he understood the troubles with long hair completely.
The Candonite sat with two spotlights shining upon it, leading a very awestruck Reina to gasp. "Th-that's the C-candonite?" she wavered, very stunned and rather nervous.
Duo grinned. "Yep. Your Gerdam. Isn't it a beauty?" He enjoyed watching her face go from awed to delight to just plain happiness.
"Yes, it is definitely something," she breathed. Her eyes were shining like stars. Then they grew dim. "But I do not find happiness in using it for the job it must do, even if it is for the good of the Earth and the colonies."
Duo sobered also. It was a sad, sad thing that these wonderful mobile suits had to be used for killing purposes. It ruined their entire view on the Gerdam's reputations [if they had any] and anything to do with them. "I guess you'd better get situated," he remarked suddenly, breaking the eerie silence that dropped like a blanket over the room. He gave her the rappelling cord and told her what to do. Soon she was in the cockpit. He began to shout basic instructions, then turned to the Opular.
They walked, stomping through the different hallways to meet in the mobile doll hangar where they were to fight them. The mobile dolls this time were black and purple, colors which reminded Duo of Hilde. [he shook those thoughts out of his head much quicker than Heero could ever do with Relena for some strange reason...Heero should have been quicker but seemed unable to do so]
Practice went well for all of them, each getting the practice they needed. The new recruits adjusted immediately, and Duo had no problem getting used to the Opular and the OS system used in it. They talked over it afterwards, remembering all the action required. Duo remarked suddenly that the invisibility option would also make him invisible to the others, which Reina had asked before. She didn't seem too pleased when she heard that the Deathscythe Hel* plans for the older invisibilty options had leaked out and some of the enemy also had the older version of invisibility options. But all five had the radar to sense these invisible enemies, so they would have no problem. [That's the problem when you copy someone else's plans. They know how to detect them.]
Juni opened her eyes. The sun was setting outside the little barred window near the ceiling, and she could tell it was near or past dinnertime. She wondered what had happened. The last thing she remembered was seeing Quatre's green-blue eyes, large and very worried. She sat up slowly.
Quatre heard the sheets rustling, walking quickly to the spare room on the topmost floor in the underground hideaway. He knocked gently before opening the door, though it would've been the same if he didn't knock. He was going in, no matter what she said.
Juni turned, surprised. "Oh, hello, Quatre. What's going on?" Her eyes were bright, and all the symptoms of her previous illness had disappeared.
Quatre shook his head slowly, sitting down in the chair he had moved near the bedstand. He put his hand up to her forehead. "Fever's almost gone. You collapsed...almost like you fainted. You don't remember anything?"
She thought for a minute. She looked out at the sky, which was starting to turn darker blue and purple. She smiled. "Nope. But that doesn't really matter, does it? I'm alive."
Quatre didn't say anything after that. He thought to himself, "Isn't it ironic? That's what I'm supposed to be saying. But I can't...I can't. Because not everything is all right. It does matter. And the whole this is my fault." He sighed. When would he learn to correct his mistakes?
Will Quatre blame himself forever?