The Arrival of
Gundam 6: Celestial Wings
By Shinigami
The
club was shaking. Arianna made her way
over to the bar and ordered a margarita. Whoa,
this place is hopping tonight. She thought as she received her drink. Sipping it slowly, she watched the gyrating
dancers on the dance floor. A threesome
caught her eye as her gaze swept the deck.
Hey, that guy in the middle...he
reminds me of Wu-chan! She
realized. Then the song "Its All For
You," by Janet Jackson came on. Sitting
her drink down, she bee-lined for the Wu-chan look-alike, who was dancing with
a girl and a young blonde man.
Wufei was
having a great time. Winning the bet
with Quatre and Duo, he made them dress up and go clubbing with him. Dressed in black leather pants and a jade
green metallic dress shirt, Wufei hit the clubs. Duo and Quatre were also enjoying themselves. Wufei's eye was suddenly caught by a figure
making its way towards the dance floor.
She was stunning. Wearing
skin-tight black leather pants and a white mesh top, and her long black hair
streaked with gold and aqua and silver, the girl was definitely the center of
his attention.
Duo and Quatre
looked up as the music changed.
Sweeping the room, Duo's gaze landed on Heero and Trowa, who had just
entered the building. Touching Quatre
on the shoulder, Duo jerked his head in the direction of their teammates. Quatre nodded slightly to acknowledge the
message. Sensing something, Quatre
turned to Wufei, who was standing rigid beside him. Following Wufei's gaze, Quatre also saw the girl that was making
her way to Wufei. Quatre smiled
mischievously and tugged Duo away, leaving Wufei on the dance floor alone.
Arianna made
her way up to Wufei and asked him if he wanted to dance.
"Su..sure."
Wufei stuttered. Arianna leaned back
against Wufei. Putting her arms above
her head, she let one drop behind Wufei's head. Wufei tentatively wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her
back against his chest. Head tucked
under Wufei's chin, Arianna smiled. This feels so good. Playing with his short ponytail, she
sighed. Wufei felt her sigh and smiled
slightly. Letting his hips sway, he led
her movements as the beat pounded in their ears.
Quatre looked
over at Wufei and the girl. "It looks
like Wufei is having a good time."
Duo looked
over there as well. "Damn, that is one
hot chick! If I didn't have Heero, I
definitely would have fought Wufei for her."
Heero casually
smacked Duo upside the head.
"Baka!"
"Itai,
Hee-chan, that hurt!" Duo rubbed his
head.
Quatre gasped
suddenly. "Wu..Wufei. He just...smiled!"
Duo whipped
around and, sure enough, Wufei was smiling.
"Oi! I think Wufei has gone off
the deep end for this one."
Wufei looked
up as the music changed. Arianna
stirred slightly in his arms. Opening
her eyes slowly, almost unwillingly, she gazed up at Wufei. "Your a good dancer." She spoke softly, but Wufei heard her.
"Not so bad
yourself." He replied, smiling gently.
"My name is
Arianna. It is a pleasure to meet
you." Her blue eyes twinkled at
Wufei.
Arianna? Is it
possible...? "My name is Wufei
Chang, and the honor is all mine."
Arianna looked
at him in confusion. "Fei-chan? Is it you?"
"It is,
Arianna. Though how we could meet here,
of all places, is very unusual." Wufei
gaze flicked over at his teammates, who were staring at him with shock written
all over their faces.
"So, what have
you been up to, Fei? Still playing with
Shenlong?"
Wufei's gaze
snapped back to her. "How do you know
about Shenlong, Ari?"
Arianna
grinned wickedly. "Because Celestial
Wings and I have been 'playing around' too.
She and I just 'happened' to have met 'the doctors', and they told me to
give you some help." She leaned back,
resting her head on Wufei's shoulder.
"I wasn't supposed to inform you of my presence until it was necessary,
but I was tired of working alone.
Besides, you are going to need me soon, anyway." She looked over at the group Wufei had been
staring at. "Are they your
friends?" she asked.
He
nodded. "Lets go tell Heero about
this."
Arianna walked
up to the table. "Hello, everyone. My name is Arianna." Quatre beamed at the girl. She was the one that had made Wufei
smile. He started to introduce himself
but was cut off by Arianna's next remark.
"I am here to announce to all of you that I know who you are and I know
your purpose here on Earth. But you
should also know that Celestial Wings is also one the 'little toys of
destruction' that those crazy old men made.
And those stupid bastards pulled me in on this, for God knows what
reason. Since I will be joining you
soon on your next trip to OZ, I figured it would be a good time to introduce
myself so that you don't blow me up."
She smiled at Wufei as he joined the group.
Heero stood up
and stated very softly, "Meet us outside.
We will talk later at the safehouse."
Arianna smiled
and asked sweetly, "Do you want me to bring Celeste?"
"Please do."
"Fine."
Duo walked up
to Wufei once they got back to their safehouse. "Wu-man! What's up with
you and Arianna?"
Wufei colored
slightly. "Arianna and I knew each
other back on L-5. She and I were both
trained to be Gundam Pilots, but she decided to wait for the next suit and they
gave Shenlong to me."
"So she is an ally?" Heero questioned.
"Of
course! She is the best ally we could
possibly have right now. Her skills are
almost equal to your own, Heero. She
just doesn't work well by herself. She
needs company." Wufei stopped. Why am
I telling them this?
"Hey,
Fei-chan! Gonna come out and greet
me?" The smooth alto drifted into the
room, startling the occupants. The
pilots rushed outside, only to stop short at the sight of Celestial Wings. The navy, aqua, and white gundam was on the
MS transport unit. Arianna jumped out
of the cab in the front. Whistling
softly, she examined the pilots. "I
thought you two were girls." She
pointed at Duo and Quatre. They blushed
slightly.
"What? So we lost a bet with Wufei." Duo muttered.
Arianna
giggled. "I learned never to gamble with Wufei. He usually wins ."
Chuckling
slightly, she twirled around a few times before she pointed to her gundam. "Got a place where I can stash her?"
"Wufei will hide her for you. I need to talk to you for a few
minutes." Heero said. Arianna nodded.
As she
followed Heero into the house, she called out to Wufei, "Hey, Wu-baby! Stash it somewhere where I can find it, 'kay?"
"So, whatcha
wanna talk about?" Arianna asked,
flopping down on the plush chair.
Quatre and Trowa took a seat on the couch beside her, and Duo and Heero
pulled up chairs. "First of all, how
did you find out about us?"
Arianna
grinned, swinging her legs over the side of the chair. "That's easy. Master O and Instructor H, plus Doctor G put Celeste
together. Master O then gave her to me,
with the instructions that I was to not inform you of my presence until I was
needed."
Heero
nodded. "Why did you show up now,
then?" Arianna shrugged. "I got lonely." She doesn't work well by
herself...needs company. The thought ran through Heero's head as he
assessed the situation.
"So, are you
and Wufei an item?" Duo asked, leaning
forward.
Arianna
blushed. "No! But we work well together.
We were trained at the same time, so that is why we suit each other so
well." Quatre looked at her. He sensed
that there was something she was not telling them, something personal that had
to do with Wufei, but he let it go.
Trowa,
meanwhile, was watching Arianna. She seems to fit in well. I wonder why she wasn't here when the war
started? "Why didn't you fight in
the beginning?" Everyone fell
silent. Trowa had a point.
Arianna
flushed a bit. "I...I didn't want to
kill anyone. I was afraid it would kill
me, knowing that I caused pain and suffering to those who didn't deserve
it. So I waited. When they offered me a way to fight without
harming anyone except those that really deserved to die, I took it. I only fight Mobile Dolls. Celestial can distinguish them from the
piloted suits. I only kill if
necessary."
Trowa's eyes
widened. "Why do you fight, then?"
She
sighed. "I fight because it is the only
way I can avenge the people of L-5. It
is the only way open to me." She leaned
against Wufei, unconsciously seeking comfort.
Wufei looked
down at her, noticing the lines of fatigue.
"She isn't going to be able to answer anymore questions tonight. She's exhausted." He looked at Arianna.
"Ari, when did you last sleep?"
"About two or three days ago." She yawned.
"I haven't been able to sleep lately.
Wonder why..." she nodded off.
Wufei gently
picked her up. "I take it that she
passed your inspection, Heero?"
Heero
nodded. "I just received conformation
that she is an ally. Although she was
not supposed to show up until tomorrow, she is okay." Nodding, Wufei turned and left the room, making his way to the
room that was his. Since he didn't
share a room with one of the other pilots, Arianna could sleep with him. He placed her on the unused bed beside his
and tucked her in.
"Oyasumi,
Ari." Wufei whispered as he left the
room.
As Wufei
walked back into the living room, he heard the endless chatter of Duo suddenly
cease. Surprised, he looked around
questioningly, wondering what had shut Minx up. Heero looked up at Wufei and smirked. The confusion on his face was just too hilarious. "Wufei, we have a mission. Tomorrow you, Arianna, and I are to destroy
an OZ arms depot. This mission is to
test Arianna's skill and her limit. We
leave at 0500. Agreed?"
"Agreed."
Arianna woke
up, gasping. That image...No! Wufei! Don't
leave me alone! She shuddered
slightly as she gazed around the room. She noted that the clock blinked
1:30am. Her gaze finally came to rest
on the other occupant of the room. She
smiled as she caught the look on his face.
He looks so kawaii when he is
asleep... Softly, so as not to wake Wufei, she slid out of bed and exited
the room. Arianna swiftly made her way
to the hanger where her gundam was being stored.
As she entered
the room, she heard the click of a safety lock being unarmed. Ari grinned. "And a good evening to you, too, Heero Yuy." Slowly she turned around, facing Heero. As he stared at her, she assessed the
potential threat of the boy before her.
Hmm....one gun, weak stance, open
holes in his guard. No prob. She smirked and held her hands up. "Would you please put the gun down? I was just checking on Celestial before the
mission."
Heero
considered this, then accepted and dropped the gun. "What are you doing up so late?
You are going to up at 0500 for a mission."
Arianna smiled
grimly. "I was having nightmares,
ok? Give me a break. I'm not perfect like some people. When I have nightmares, I usually come and
sleep in Celeste's cockpit. Now that
you know my secret, goodnight."
Climbing into Celestial's cockpit, she settled down and fell asleep, a
small smile on her lips.
"Rise and
shine, Sleeping Beauty." A soft voice
whispered in her ear.
Ari grumbled
and shifted, muttering, "Go way, Fei-chan, I'm still sleepy." Wufei, undeterred by that little problem, shrugged
and started to tickle Arianna very gently.
Soft giggles could be heard as she sluggishly tried to escape the
wriggling fingers.
Finally, she
opened her eyes and glared at the person who had woken her up. "Damn it, Fei, I was having a nice dream."
Wufei
smirked. "Get up, grumpy. We have a mission."
"Wha...what!
KUSO!!!" Arianna shrieked as she sprang out of the
cockpit and hastily jumped off the service ramp, and raced towards the
bathroom.
Heero stuck
his head into the hanger. "Was that
Arianna I just saw?"
"Yup."
Heero shook his head. "How did she ever complete a mission?"
Wufei grinned
and crossed his arms as he replied.
"That's easy. She always had an
alarm clock nearby."
Heero
shrugged. "Whatever. Let's get going." As they readied their gundams, Wufei wondered about Arianna. Even
though I know she's good, what if she gets hurt? What if… Wufei shook his head vehemently. That
attitude is not going to help Arianna.
"I'm
ready!" Arianna sang out as she ran
back into the hangar. She had stolen Duo's
flight suit. Her hair was up in a braid
and her face was devoid of makeup.
Jumping up into Celestial's cockpit, she began the preliminary check and
started warming the engines up.
"Let's
rock!" She cried over the communications
link as she launched.
Wufei and
Heero cracked a grin, even as Heero replied in a toneless voice, "Roger that."