Operation Shooting Star By: Neko-chan
Oh, and I must warn the people trying to email me: My email address has been changed. I am now located at: TrunksXgokuSSJ@aol.com Remember, I love comments!
Operation Shooting Star
Part Three-
Circus Acts, Danger, and Battle
"So, what can you ladies do?", asked the ringmaster.
"I can be a clown.", Eliza suggested, smiling charmingly up at the ringmaster. Celia and Nikki agreed with Eliza.
"And what can you do.... ?", the ringmaster asked, turning to Morgan and subtlety asked for her name.
"Morgan.", she said, offering her name to him. Continuing, she asked, "What do you want me to do?"
"Well, recently a zoo gave us several animal babies. A snow leopard, panther, tiger, ocelot, clouded leopard, cheetah, and a lion. Can you train them, put on an act with them, and be a trick rider?"
"Yes.", was Morgan's reply.
"Thank you so much, m'dear! Let me take you to the cubs."
Astrid, Celia, Eliza, and Nikki wandered off, preparing for their acts. The ringmaster quickly led Morgan to the pen where the circus was keeping the baby animals.
When the cubs saw Morgan, they came right over.
"I'll let you get acquainted with them.", the ringmaster said. "I'll check on you later."
"Fine."
With that, the ringmaster left.
Let's see... What shall I name you all?, Morgan thought, looking down at her new friends. The snow leopard will be...Andes. The panther will be...Stalker. The clouded leopard will be Asia. The cheetah's name will be Blaze. The tiger will be Bengal. The ocelot is Brazil. And, finally, the lion will be named Braveheart.
Soon she had practiced her circus act with the cubs and Draco.
Unknown to her, Trowa was watching.
Later on that night, Trowa sent an encoded message to Heero, Duo, Quatre, and Wufei.
It read:
Please come to the performance tonight.
-Trowa
* * *
Something's up., Heero thought.
* * *
Wonder what's wrong., thought Duo.
* * *
I wonder what Trowa wants., Quatre thought.
* * *
Something's happening at the circus., thought Wufei.
* * *
Morgan watched as the girls prepared for their acts. Nikki, Eliza, and Celia's act was first. They, with Trowa, were putting on a comedy for the toddlers. The act included tumbles, flips, knock-knock jokes, tiny cars, and, of course, pies.
Astrid's act was in the middle of the show. It was basically a repeat of the last one.
Morgan's act was last. She had a long time to wait. For her, patience was a strength and a virtue well learned. She settled back into her seat, to wait.
* * *
Wow! We look great!, thought Eliza as she looked at her friends.
Astrid was wearing the outfit she had worn before, on her first performance.
Nikki, Celia, and herself were wearing white tank tops under bright pink suspenders and lime green clown pants (think of Trowa's clown pants-then change the color to lime green). They had genie-like bright orange slippers on their feet, and bright yellow top hats on their heads.
I bet we could glow in the dark!, thought Eliza with a smile.
Then she turned her attention to Morgan. Her outfit reminds me of her namesake., Eliza thought with a shiver.
Morgan Le Fay was an evil seductress from Arthurian legend. The most famous enchantress in all of Camelot. In the legends, Morgan Le Fay had red hair-just like Bryanna.
Morgan was wearing skin tight black leather pants. She was wearing a long-sleeved white pirate-like shirt. Over that, she was wearing a snow leopard print vest. Her ankle boots matched the vest. Her long red hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Someone (probably Cathrine) had curled the hair that cascaded down from her ponytail. Also, someone (probably Cathrine again) had put glitter in her hair and had put two feathers (one silver, the other black) in her hair on the side of her head. Morgan was also wearing make-up. She had silver eyeshadow with black eyeliner on her eyes. Her lipstick was blood red.
She looks wild., Eliza thought with a shudder. Dangerous. Untamable. I feel sorry for her enemies.
* * *
"Move.", Heero told the boy who was in his way.
"Why?", Duo complained. "This place's crowded. There's hardly enough room for me, let alone you!"
Heero stared at him. Duo paled.
He quickly scooted over, making room for Heero. While he was doing this, he muttered, "Fine, fine. I'm moving, Heero of the Big Butt." Duo said this last part softly, so that Heero wouldn't hear him.
"God! I feel like I'm a sardine in a can!", Duo complained, loudly.
"Quiet.", Heero ordered. "The show is about to start."
The ringmaster came into the spotlight. He bowed to the audience, the said, "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! We have many amazing things for you tonight! So, without further ado, I give you the Parade of Clowns!"
* * *
As Trowa and the girls were making their way into the center ring, Duo stared in astonishment at one of the girls.
He leaned in close to Heero and asked, "Hey! Isn't the brown-haired clown Eliza?"
Heero looked at him and gave him a small nod.
* * *
Across the tent, Quatre and Wufei were sitting together. At the same time, they turned to each other and said,
"That's Nikki!"
"That's Celia!"
* * *
Trowa quickly scanned the audience. He found Quatre and Wufei quickly. Then he spotted Heero and Duo.
Good., he thought. They're here.
* * *
As this was going on, Heero was thinking to himself. Eliza's here, so it's a good chance that Morgan is here, too. But where is she? Since Eliza is in the show, Morgan probably is, too. So all I have to do is wait for her to come on, to see if my theory is right or wrong.
* * *
Morgan had never told anyone this: she was psychic. Her act was next, and as she was waiting for the ringmaster to announce her, she had a premonition of Heero, in the audience, watching her.
Kuso!, she thought, swearing in Japanese. He was here!
Oh, well. There's nothing I can do. As the saying goes: The show must go on.
* * *
Every male's (from ages 13 to 22) eyes widened when Morgan rode into the ring, standing on top of Draco. Every girl in the circus had appealed to them. Eliza, Nikki, and Celia to their playful side. Cathrine to their wild side. But Morgan was different. She appealed to the predator deep inside themselves. She was wild and dangerous. Untamable.
She was a cat made human. A dagger wrapped in velvet.
* * *
This is easy., Morgan thought as she rode into the ring. Now it's time for fun!
With that thought in mind, she gracefully executed a back flip. And landed sitting on top of Draco.
She gently eased him into a canter. Morgan did another flip and ended up in a handstand. Then she did a one-handed handstand.
She did a couple more flips to impress the audience. Then she jumped off of Draco.
Then, one by one, the cubs came out.
* * *
Finally, Morgan's act was over. The circus show ended.
All of a sudden, Eliza ran back into the tent. "Ringmaster! Ringmaster!", she cried. "There's a fist fight going on outside!"
Hearing this, Morgan quickly ran outside. She recognized the two boys who were fighting. They had introduced themselves to her before the show.
What were their names again?, Morgan thought. Oh, yes, now I remember! Albert and Johnathan!
Johnathan swung a left hook at Albert's face. Albert ducked. Then, when Johnathan was distracted, Albert kneed Johnathan in the stomach. Johnathan doubled over, then fell to the ground.
Albert started kicking Johnathan in the side, until he passed out.
That's enough., thought Morgan. She then ran toward Albert. Morgan did a jump kick and kicked Albert in the face. His eyes rolled back in his head, showing only white. Before his fell to the ground, he was unconscious.
Moran looked down at the two boys, her eyes emotionless.
* * *
Eliza, Astrid, Nikki, and Celia watched the fight. After it, Astrid ran off to call the police.
Unknown to them, Duo, Quatre, Wufei, Trowa, and Heero were watching them from the shadows.
Heero turned to Trowa, "Are they the reason you brought us?"
"Yes.", Trowa answered quietly. "They say that they are Astrid's sisters; but, as you can see, there is no family resemblance between them. Also, before this, Astrid never talked about having sisters. The four girls just mysteriously appeared this morning. So, as you can see, I was suspicious. Are these the girls you are looking for?"
"Yup! These are the girls we're looking for! I'd recognize Eliza anywhere!", Duo said.
"Yes. That's Nikki. She was part of our mobile suit mechanic team. She's very good.", Quatre said.
"Yes, that's Celia. She's the little hellion that gave me this black eye.", Wufei said, gently touching his black eye, then wincing at the pain.
"Yes. Morgan is here.", said Heero. "Trowa, how long ago did Astrid join the circus?"
"Two weeks ago."
Heero turned to the other Gundam pilots. "She's one, too."
* * *
Later on that night, the girls were celebrating their first performances in Morgan and Eliza's trailer. (Nikki, Celia, and Astrid were bunking together in another trailer.) The party included the usual: junk food, soda, pillow fights, and nail painting.
"Come on, Morgan! Not that color! Anything but that! How 'bout I paint your nails bright pink?", Nikki asked, pleading with Morgan.
Morgan glared at Nikki. "I do not want to look like that girl from school. I think her name was....Relena. I want my nails to be black."
"Fine, fine, fine. Black it is.", grumbled Nikki.
After everyone had their nails painted, Morgan turned to the girls and gave them a wicked smile.
"Uh-oh! Morgan's planning something!", Astrid giggled.
"What?! Tell us!", Eliza exclaimed.
"Well,", Morgan began, "what's a true slumber party without truth or dare? Shall we play?"
"Yes!"
"Totally!"
"I go first!"
"Let's play!"
Morgan turned to Eliza and said, "Shall I begin? Truth or dare?"
Eliza visibly paled.
"Truth! Truth! Truth!", yelled Eliza.
* * *
Unknown to the girls, Trowa had put a bug in both of their trailers. And, at that very moment, the five male Gundam pilots were unashamedly listening to their conversation.
* * *
"Eliza, what do you truly think about Duo Maxwell?", Morgan asked evilly.
"Wh-What?"
"Answer the question.", Morgan demanded.
Eliza turned bright pink.
"I-I-I think he's cute. I like him."
"Would you go out with him?"
"If he asks me, yes."
* * *
"Yipppeee!", Duo shouted. He started doing an Irish jig around Trowa's trailer.
"Sit down, you baka and sorry excuse for a man!", Wufei said to Duo, disdainfully.
Duo complied, but as he was sitting down, he was muttering to himself (happily), "She likes me! She likes me!"
* * *
Eliza turned to Nikki. "Truth or dare?", she asked.
"Hmmm.... Truth."
Okay. We know a guy gave you Sunshine. Who is he, and do you like him?"
Hearing this, Nikki's eyes went all dreamy-like. "His name is Quatre Raberba Winner. And yes, I like him. He's cute, he's nice, and he's so, so sweet."
* * *
All the boys, except for Heero, turned to Quatre. He was blushing!
* * *
Nikki then turned to Celia. "Your turn. Truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"When you were at the base camp, did you meet a guy? If you did, what did you think of him?"
Celia gave a nasty smile. "Yes, I met a guy. His name's Wufei. Want to hear his good qualities? He's a male chauvinistic pig, he has an ego the size of a planet, he's a jerk, a baka, he's very, very, very annoying, short-tempered, sexist, arrogant as hell...."
* * *
The boys turned to Wufei.
"What did you do to her?", Quatre asked.
"Man, Wufei, those are your GOOD qualities?", asked Duo.
"Shut up.", Wufei told them angrily.
* * *
Celia was yelling and complaining for about five minutes before Nikki yelled,
"Okay! Okay! We get the picture! And those are only his good qualities?"
"Yup! Shall I begin with his bad qualities?"
"NOOO!!!", yelled the four girls.
"Fine." Then Celia turned to Astrid. "Your turn. Truth or dare?"
"Dare."
"Yessss!!! Okay, we all know that you like Trowa-"
"What?! I do not!"
* * *
Duo turned around to look at Trowa. Surprisingly, Trowa was blushing! Duo waggled his eyebrows at Trowa.
* * *
"Yes, you do! Stop denying it! Okay, here's your dare: During tomorrow's show, sing 'Thank God I Found You' for him."
"No!! Please!! Please, change it!!"
"Nope. Now, go ask Morgan truth or dare."
"Okay... Truth or dare, Morgan?", Astrid asked with a sigh.
"Both."
The four girls looked at each other.
"Okay.", Astrid said. "Dare first. During tomorrow's show, go on the high wire, while singing 'Split Personality' from Pink, do a 360 degree flip off of it, and land on Draco's back."
"Easy.", Morgan said. The four girls sweat dropped. "What's the truth?"
"What....do...you...think...of....Heero Yuy?", Astrid asked anxiously.
Morgan thought for a moment.
"Nothing."
Morgan turned her empty, soulless eyes on each of her friends. As one, the four girls shivered.
* * *
The five male Gundam pilots heard the emptiness of Morgan's voice. They, except for Heero, shuddered.
"D-Doesn't she feel anything?", Quatre asked in a shaky voice.
"Probably not.", was Duo's reply.
While the conversation was going on around him, Heero was immersed in his thoughts. Morgan, what made you so cold, like me?
* * *
One by one, the girls fell asleep, until only Morgan was awake.
Quietly, she reached under her pillow for her binoculars. When she found them, she carefully stepped over her friends until she reached the door. Slowly, so she wouldn't wake anyone, she went outside.
Finding a clearing in the nearby woods, she sat down on a boulder and looked to the heavens. There's Orion. And there's the Little Dipper, and the North Star.
Looking south, she saw pinpoints of light moving on the horizon.
Frowning, she lifted her binoculars to her eyes. They were OZ mobile suits-flying straight towards the circus.
Morgan jumped off the boulder and sprinted toward her trailer.
We must ready our Gundams., she thought.
* * *
Heero was hacking into a bank on the Internet when he received a message from Dr. J. It read:
OZ mobile suits are coming your way from the south.
Heero turned to the pilots and started to wake them.
* * *
The girls climbed into their Gundams and deactivated the cloaking devices.
* * *
The boys pulled the camouflage blankets off their Gundams.
* * *
Morgan was scanning the enemy lines when she noticed something odd.
"Computer, enlarge enemy mobile suit 139001."
When the computer did so, she discovered that the enemy mobile suit wasn't just any mobile suit. It was the Talgeese, which meant that Zechs Merquise was piloting it.
"Eliza, Nikki, Astrid, and Celia! The Talgeese is here!"
Over the intercom, Morgan heard various curse words. Surprisingly, the most colorful were coming from Astrid.
Suddenly, the computer set off an alarm.
"Five unidentified mobile suits are approaching from the west."
Now what?, thought Morgan.
* * *
Finally, Heero thought as the boys came to the end of the forest.
Heero quickly spotted the OZ troops, the Talgeese included. In front of him were five, all new Gundams.
"What the....", he heard Duo say.
"I guess we found the five new Gundam pilots.", Quatre commented.
Heero turned his attention back to the Gundams.
One Gundam was red, orange, yellow, and gold. It's weapons were a huge flamethrower and energy staff.
Another Gundam was a deep purple with blue and green highlights. It's weapons were a huge rocket launcher and a huge machine gun.
The third Gundam was dark blue with light blue highlights. It's weapons were: an ice beam cannon, a water gun, and a lighting bolt shooter.
The fourth Gundam was interesting. It was a cross between Deathscythe and Sandrock. The colors were the same. The Gundam also had Deathscythe's scythe and Sandrock's two blades.
The last Gundam caught Heero's eye. It was all black, and it was outlined on the edges in silver. What caught Heero's attention was the amount of weapons it had. It had every single Gundam's weapon. It also had Wing's shield, except it was black and had a black opal located in the center of the shield. It also had a couple of weapons that the other Gundam's didn't have. It had an energy whip, twin samurai swords, a Gundanniam alloy bow with energy arrows, and several other things he didn't know (for him, this came as a shock).
When Duo noticed the black Gundam, he whistled.
"Wow! That Gundam is ready to fight!"
"Come, let's join them. We'll be fighting together.", Heero said.
On a private communication's channel, Heero sent a message to the black Gundam:
The Gundam pilots of Wing, Deathscythe, Sandrock, Heavyarms, and Shenlong are offering assistance. Is the offer of assistance accepted? If so, may we join you?
Quickly, a message appeared on his computer screen:
Assistance accepted.
* * *
Eliza watched as the Gundams joined them. Then, once the ten Gundams were together,
in one group, the split up into pairs.
The Deathscythe Gundam went to her.
Sandrock went to Nikki.
Heavyarms went to Astrid.
The Shenlong went to Celia.
And,
Wing Gundam paired up with Morgan.
Together, the ten Gundams waited for the OZ troops to attack.
* * *
Zechs Merquise watched his enemy, thoughtfully analyzing their weapons and the way they were located on the battle field. All ten formed a barrier, thus keeping him from passing through their defenses.
It seems that there are five new Gundams, he thought quietly to himself. So, they teamed up with 01, 02, 03, 04, and 05. A wise move. It also seems that I am faced with a new challenge. I love challenges.
* * *
And, as one, the two sides attacked.
* * *
Finally, after about half an hour, the battle was coming to an end. Parts of different OZ mobile suits lay littered on the ground, hacked apart by the ten Gundams. After fighting for so long, the ten Gundam pilots had finally been able to defeat all of the OZ troops.......except for the Talgeese and a couple of Leos. After several more minutes, those several Leos were narrowed down to just two...but the Talgeese was still fighting, barely damaged at all.
Seeing that he was losing, Zechs called the order of retreat.
As Zechs was retreating, he saw that one of the Gundams was busy with the two Leos.
Smiling slightly, he lifted his beam cannon, aimed, and fired.
* * *
NOOO!!, Morgan thought when she saw Zechs target Eliza's Gundam. I won't let him kill Eliza!
She pushed her Gundam's engine thrusters to full capacity, trying with all of her might to get to her friend fast enough. Her Gundam flew at a dead sprint toward Eliza, going as fast as it could.
When she was in front of Eliza, she stopped. Morgan crossed her Gundam's arms, shield first, as she waited for Zechs's blast to come. And come it did.
Her whole Gundam shook from the blast. But her Gundam took the blast easily. Once the shock wave had passed her by, she read the computer screen, checking for damage.
Good, she thought with relief. No damage.
Something wet and sticky trickled into her eyes.
And slowly, the world went dark.
* * *
"Morgan! Nooo! Please respond! Please answer!", Eliza was yelling into the communication consul. Tears were streaming down her face as she desperately called for her friend, begging her to answer.
"Nikki! Astrid! Celia!" she screamed, calling for her friends. "Hurry! Quick! Morgan took a hit for me! She isn't responding! Please, HURRY!!"
Over the communications channel, Eliza heard different curse words and exclamations of:
"What happened?!"
"Is she okay?!"
"We have to help!!"
Soon the three girls's Gundams surrounded Morgan's. After much pulling and yanking, they finally were able to open the cockpit's door. While they were doing this, the boys were patrolling the area for more enemy troops. They came back when the girls got the door to Morgan's Gundam open.
In order to get Morgan out of her Gundam, the girls and guys had to go out of their Gundams, revealing their identities to each other.
When Duo saw Eliza, his jaw dropped.
"Eliza??!!"
"Duo?! You're a Gundam pilot??"
Next, Nikki and Quatre saw each other.
"Nikki?!"
"Quatre?!"
Following them, Astrid and Trowa spotted each other.
"Trowa?!"
"Astrid?!"
And finally, Wufei and Celia spotted each other.
"NOOOOO!!!!! Not you again! There's no way you're a Gundam pilot!!"
"Celia?! You're a Gundam pilot, too??!!"
Finally, Heero appeared.
"Where's Morgan?", he asked the four girls.
Eliza turned to him, crying. "Z-Zechs Mer-Merquise tried to shoot me when he was retreating. Morgan took his hit for me. She hasn't been answering our calls. It's-It's all my f-fault!"
Duo hugged her, trying to comfort her.
"Shh. Shhh.... It's all right. It isn't your fault. Morgan did this of her own free will. It's no one's fault."
Heero turned away from this small group and started walking toward the black Gundam. A few minutes later, he came back, carrying an unconscious Morgan in his arms. There was a large cut on her head, just above her right eye. Blood was trickling from the corner of her mouth.
"Is she okay?", Nikki asked worriedly.
"I don't know.", Heero stated monotonously.
"Come on, lets go back to the circus. We can tend to her there.", Trowa said. "Can you four hide your Gundams before we go?"
"Yes, we can.", Astrid said. "We have a cloaking device built into our Gundams that is even better than the Deathscythe's cloaking device."
"Really?", Duo asked Eliza with a wounded look on his face.
"I'm afraid so, Duo.", she replied, a grin just beginning to show on her face. And with that, she pushed a small black button on her watch. The girls's Gundams disappeared, much to the guys's amazement.
"What?!", Duo yelled in surprise.
Astrid looked at him and said, "They're invisible to radar, heat sensor, the eye, and several other things. They also use fuel at a much slower rate than your Gundams."
"They're also quicker, more agile, and more powerful than any of your Gundams, except for maybe Wing Zero.", Celia said.
"Also, like your Gundams," Astrid began, "ours also specialize in certain terrains. My Gundam, Oblivion, the purple Gundam, speacializes in ground combat. Eliza's Gundam, the Gundam that is a cross between Deathscythe and Sandrock, Deathblade, specializes in ground combat, also. As does Celia's Gundam, the red, orange, yellow, and gold Gundam, Fatal Fury. Nikki's Gundam, Wave Walker, specializes in underwater combat. And, finally, the black and silver Gundam, Morgan's Gundam, however is different. It is, perhaps, the most powerful of all of the Gundams. It specializes in all terrain combat, including space. Out of our Gundams, it is best at everything. Fighting, armor, being the most powerful, fastest, and so on. Morgan's Gundam's name is the Nightstalker Gundam."
* * *
The group finally arrived back at the circus. They quickly put Morgan in the trailer that she and Eliza were sharing. Heero slowly bent down and gently put her on their couch, acting as if she were a priceless jewel that would break at any minute.
He worriedly checked her pulse, then settled her into a more comfortable position.
As Eliza was watching Heero treat Morgan with gentleness, she realized something. He cares for her, she thought with awe. Maybe even......No, it's too soon to tell.
In a scared voice, Nikki asked Heero: "Is our Fearless Leader going to be okay?"
"I don't know.", he replied, still watching Morgan's unconscious form. "She might have suffered a head injury when she received the wound."
"Come on, guys. We'd better leave. We can't do anything and we'd only be in the way if we stay.", Eliza said.
So, in pairs, they left.
Before Eliza left, she turned back to Heero and asked, "You'll tell us if there's any change, won't you?"
"Yes."
* * *
Duo and Eliza were quietly roaming around the circus grounds. When they stepped into the moonlight, Duo noticed that there were tears on her face. Seeing this, he pulled Eliza into a tight hug.
"Shhhhh, Shhhh. Everything's going to be okay, Eliza."
"And what if it isn't?", was her muffled reply as she pressed her face against his shirt.
"It will be. Morgan's like Heero, right?"
"Yes....", was Eliza's puzzled reply.
"Then she'll definitely survive! Heero's been though plenty of explosions and see! He's still alive! He's even blown himself up once! In fact, he's been through so many explosions that Trowa, Quatre, Wufei, and I have started to call him Self-Exploding Boy."
A half sob/half laugh came from Eliza.
They stood that way, hugging each other tightly, giving each other comfort, for a long time.
* * *
Nikki tried as hard as she could not to think of Morgan. But, try as she might, the image of what she looked like when Heero was carrying her kept coming into her mind.
Quatre saw the first tear fall.
He gently brushed it away with his thumb. "Why are you crying, Nikki? You know that Morgan's going to be fine."
"What if she isn't?" whispered Nikki.
Quatre took Nikki over to a bale of hay, gently holding her hand. He tugged gently and she sat down with him. Slowly, Nikki began to lean against Quatre, taking in the comfort he so unselfishly offered. Putting his arm gently around her, he then laid his cheek on her head.
"Everything will be fine, I promise,"he whispered fiercely.
* * *
Trowa, with Astrid sitting between his legs, leaning back into him, was sitting on some boxes near the lions' cage. The two quiet people were stargazing.
"That's Draco,"Astrid said quietly, pointing to a constellation. "It's Morgan's favorite. Most people don't know it, but she loves legends.......fairy tales.......it's where she got her name from."
"Morgan will be fine, Astrid. She's tough," Trowa murmured into her ear.
"I hope so," the young woman said with a sigh. She leaned her head back, so it rested on Trowa's shoulder.
"Don't worry. She will be."
Slowly, the feeling of peace surrounded them.
* * *
Celia was NOT happy. She heard the source of her problem following along behind her. Slowly, she turned around.
"Why'd I get stuck with YOU?" she asked, glaring darkly.
"Because everyone else paired up,"Wufei said matter-of-factly.
"And didn't you hear me when I said I wanted to be alone??"
"Yes, but first I wanted to ask you two questions, then I'll leave."
"Only two?"
"Yes,"was Wufei's reply.
"Fine."
"Do you remember," Wufei began, "when we were fighting at Sally Po's camp, and you told me that a friend taught you everything you know about martial arts?"
"Yes....." was Celia's uncertain answer.
"Who is that friend?"
"Morgan."
"Thank you for answering my first question. Second question: Why do you want to be alone?"
Celia turned her back on him, avoiding his eyes.
"Ahhhh...." Wufei commented. "I see. You want to be alone so you can cry!" Wufei walked over to Celia and put his arms around her shoulders.
"Don't worry! You can cry in front of me!" he generously offered.
"Wufei?"
"Hmmmmm?" Wufei asked.
"Get your slimy tentacle offa me!" Celia told him sweetly.
Wufei, apparently not remembering the last time she used her sweet voice, asked, "Why?"
"'Cause I'm gonna do this!"
She quickly turned around and kneed him in the groin.
"Ooomphff!!"
Wufei fell to his knees with a thud. Celia walked away from him, smugness practically coming off of her in waves. As she was walking away, Wufei stared at her. If you were a man, I'd kill you, he thought. But then again, I'd never have the pleasure of taming a hellion such as you, Celia; my brave Nataku.
* * *
Heero gently wiped off the blood that was running from Morgan's head wound. Then he quickly finished bandaging it.
Besides the head wound, he discovered several other cuts. A long, thin one ran across her upper left arm, there were several scratches on her legs, and a thin cut ran across her right cheekbone.
Heero soon cleaned and bandaged all of her cuts, making sure that none had a chance to get infected.
After he was finished, he found a book and settled into a chair, waiting for Morgan to regain consciousness.
Several hours later, when Heero looked up from his book, he saw that Morgan was awake and staring at him.
"Good, you're awake," he said matter-of-factly.
"You bandaged my wounds?" Morgan asked as she slowly sat up, tossing red-orange hair out of her face.
"Yes."
"Thank you," Morgan replied softly.
"It was nothing,"Heero said, shrugging. "I knew how to care for my own wounds. So I treated yours, as I would mine."
Morgan nodded.
"Your friends asked me to tell them when you'd awaken. I'll go and get them now."
He walked towards the door. With a quick backwards glance at Morgan, he left.
Morgan settled back, waiting for the reunion.
* * *
Heero found Duo and Eliza first.
"Morgan is awake," he said quietly and left.
"See?! I told you everything was gonna be fine!" Duo told Eliza with a grin, once Heero had left.
"I never should've doubted you," Eliza answered him with a grin of her own.
"Well! Hurry up and see how Morgan's doing!"
"Thank you, Duo."
Giving him a quick kiss, Eliza turned and sprinted toward her trailer. Duo was standing there, shocked, a hand to his lips as she disappeared from view.
* * *
Heero found Nikki and Quatre next.
"Morgan's awake."
Quatre turned towards Nikki. "See, I told you that everything was going to be fine."
"Thank you, Quatre, for giving me the comfort and strength I needed so much," Nikki said softly, looking at him from beneath her lashes.
Giving him a quick kiss, she too ran off, heading towards the trailer that Morgan and Eliza shared. Quatre stared after her, dumbfounded, sharing the exact same reaction as Duo had when Eliza had kissed him.
* * *
Heero found Astrid and Trowa after that.
"Morgan's awake," he told the young woman.
"She is?" Astrid asked him, amazed.
"Yes," Heero answered and disappeared, blending in with the night, off to find Celia and tell her the good news.
"Did you hear that, Trowa? Morgan's awake!" Astrid exclaimed as she jumped out of his lap and landed on the ground below.
"I told you she would be fine," he told her calmly, also jumping down and landing beside Astrid.
"And you were right. Thank you, Trowa, for giving me comfort when I needed it the most."
She gave him a quick kiss, then ran off toward Morgan and Eliza's trailer. Trowa watched her run off, his emerald green eyes wide.
* * *
Heero finally found Celia. She was up in a tree, relaxed in the crook of a tree branch.
"Where's Wufei?" he asked her, raising an eyebrow.
Celia gave him a smug smile. "Rolling on the ground somewhere, in pain."
"What did you do to him?" Heero asked, interested and faintly amused.
"You'll find out," Celia answered him, grinning gleefully.
"Hmmmmmm......."Heero commented. Then, "Morgan's awake."
"She is??!! Why didn't you tell me??" Celia exclaimed, glaring down at Heero. She then jumped to the ground and ran off towards the trailer.
I wonder what she did to Wufei? Heero thought to himself as she ran past him.
* * *
Wufei was in the shadows by the road, blending in with the darkness as if one with the night. He watched, faintly amused, and Celia ran past, for all the world acting as if the Wild Hunt's hell hounds were at her feet.
So......Morgan's up, he thought, frowning thoughtfully. Then he started to walk towards the trailer, knowing his friends would soon join him.