Chapter Two: Once And Again
"Are we almost there yet?" came a voice over the com. system. Michel's voice.
"If we were there," answered an annoyed Sanders, "then we would have STOPPED MOVING. Now stop tying up the line!"
"Just how far away is this village?" Aina wondered to herself. They hadn't seen any sign of the enemy yet-Aina had to keep reminding herself that the Zeon WERE the enemy-but no sign of a village either.
By light of the day or dark of the night, I'd give everything away to know you're alright, Erica sang in her head. It had been the single line of that song caught in her head for as long as Shiro had been sending her letters. I'm surprised he even remembered me, she thought to herself.
************
A girl with orange-blonde hair and big blue eyes hurried back to the village where she lived, bursting with excitement.
"Guess what guess what guess what?!?!" she cried as she ran.
A young boy in her path caused her to stop running. "What're you so excited about, Kiki?" he asked.
Kiki grinned. "They're coming back! Shiro's coming back!" she cried, jumping in happiness.
"Isn't he the one who got rid of those Zeon Mobile Suits? I thought you hated him!"
"Not in the least! If it weren't for him..." she sighed, then continued running. She'd run all the way to the Federation base if she had to. Meanwhile, she was thinking, If it weren't for Shiro I wouldn't be around to see HIM again.
************
"Look! There it is!" called Michel as the 08th Team approached the village. "Hey, Eledore, doesn't this place look familiar?"
"Of course it does, idiot, this is Kiki's village! Rebuilt, but still basically the same, I guess." It had been a long time since Eledore had been here. He hadn't been with the team on their last mission here.
"You know the drill. Leave the Gundams stationed outside the village, ok?" Shiro called.
"No problem here, Commander," Erica answered.
I wonder how long she can keep this up, thought Karen. I bet pretty soon she'll be running home crying back to side 2.
"Hey, kid, you know how to stop, right?" Eledore called over to Erica.
"You worry about stopping yourselves," was her cool reply. "It's not very fun to run into things." Eledore snapped out of it just in time to swerve out of the way of a tree.
"Very funny, newbie," he muttered. For once, Michel had to agree. He opened his journal and began to write.
Dear Bebi,
We've been assigned to protect the village where Kiki, the girl I told you about, lives. There's a new girl on our team, a kid named Erica. Personally, I don't think she's cut out for this, even though she SAYS she used to command a GM team. It makes me wonder why she's still not commanding that team now.
We almost lost Shiro when Aina's brother destroyed the base, but we found both him AND Aina, and now Aina's a member of the team. I keep thinking she'll desert and take all our information right back to her brother, who believe it or not is still alive.
All my love,
Michel
He sealed the letter in an envelope and tried to ignore Eledore's stare.
They parked their Gundams and climbed out, Erica jumping to the ground. She hit hard and grimaced.
"It's called gravity, kid, get used to it," Sanders snapped. Erica raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing. That kid is WAY too silent, thought Sanders.
They reached the center of the village and were greeted by Kiki and two younger children. Kiki held out a letter.
"Here, Michel. It's a letter from your girlfriend." Michel took the letter and put it in his pocket. He'd read it later. "And who're you?" Kiki asked Erica.
"Erica Weller, or The Phoenixbird, newest member of the 08th Team," Erica said, beaming. "And Shiro's cousin," she added with a grin.
"Pleased ta meet ya, Phoenixbird. Shiro, you never told me you had a cousin in the Federation!"
"I didn't know myself, till yesterday," he answered truthfully.
"Well come on, team, I'll take you all to a restaurant for lunch! How's that?" Kiki cried, and the rest of them eagerly agreed. "Then let's go!"
************
It was after lunch, in the Hovertruck, right after Michel had called over to Erica to help fix the tank's gun controls (he had to admit it, she WAS good with electronics), that he read the letter from Bebi.
Dearest Michel,
I'm very sorry to say this, but I'm afraid I can no longer write letters to you. You're so far away, and every day I worry that you'll never write a letter to me again. And then your next letter comes and I'm so relieved, but then the worry starts again, worry that this letter is your last.
I can no longer love you, for it seems that all I have to love is a pile of letters sitting in my room. No human being can truly love a pile of letters. I am sorry. I hope you will forgive me, and that maybe we can still be friends. If you still wish to write, you can. I'm very sorry, Michel, but it's too much. I know you'll understand.
Forever Friends,
Bebi
Michel stared down at the letter, not believing, not comprehending. He put the letter down, rubbed his eyes, and read it again. It was still the same. Every word the same. He felt tears welling up and hurried to blink them back.
Erica climbed into the Hovertruck then, banging her head on the ceiling. "Ow. I'm here to help you fix the control...panel...Michel? Are you ok?" He said nothing, just handed her the letter. She read it in silence, until she hit the one line Michel hated most.
"No human being can truly love a pile of letters," Erica whispered, astonished. Did this woman know how much she had hurt Michel with these words?
"Well...I-I-I suppose it's t-t-true..." Michel sobbed. "N-n-no one r-really can love a p-p-pile of l-l-letters." He actually started crying then, ashamed of himself. Crying in front of what had to have been the youngest soldier in history. Making a fool of himself.
"I'm sorry, Michel. All I can say is that I know she's wrong. You DON'T understand, you CAN'T understand. It's more than just a pile of letters to you, isn't it." A statement, not a question. "It's your feelings, your thoughts, your love, only put onto paper instead of into words, because you're too far away to speak to each other." Michel, still sobbing, nodded slowly. "And she can't understand THAT, because she's not in the middle of it all, not down here fighting for her life every day. I know that nothing I can say can make you feel better about it..." she trailed off then. Really, it had been a pretty long speech for her.
"That's where you're wrong," Michel said, wiping his eyes. "What you said DID make it easier to take. So can we fix this thing now? I don't wanna be fighting some Zeon army tonight and end up shooting one of you instead."
"No problem! If it's fixable, the two of us together are bound to be able to handle it." Maybe I can get these guys to respect me, after all, Erica thought silently.
Neither of them knew that there was a third person in this conversation. She stood just outside the truck, in a position to hear every word. Even Erica's whispered 'No human being can truly love a pile of letters.' And she began to fill with excitement at what this meant.
He's SINGLE! He's MINE! the girl thought, when a noise startled her into reality.
"Kiki? What are you doing here?" Shiro asked her. She blushed and shrugged.
"Waiting for action, I guess," she said, trying to sound bored. Shiro gave her an odd look, but instead of saying anything rapped on the side of the Hovertruck.
There was a bang, and a muffled "Ouch! That's the second time I've done that!" from inside, and suddenly Erica's head popped out. "You wanted something, oh fearless leader?"
"Mm-hmm. We're having a meeting in the village, trying to decide a plan of attack. The ENTIRE team. You and Michel included. So if you don't want Karen any more frustrated than she already is, you'll hurry."
"Consider it done, Commander. I KNOW not to mess with HER." Erica ducked back inside and could be heard telling Michel they had to leave.
"Kiki," said Shiro, "you need to come, too. We'll need your knowledge of the surrounding area." Kiki grinned, glad that he seemed to have forgotten his suspicions from earlier.
Erica, upon climbing out of the Hovertruck, hit her head a third time. "Man, this HAS to be a conspiracy," she grumbled, rubbing her sore head.
"Complaining already, kid? Soldiers gotta be tougher than that," criticized Eledore, who'd come to show them to the meeting place. Erica scowled.
Like she really knows what she's doing, Eledore thought, amused.
"As a matter of fact, mister smarty-suit, I DO know what I'm doing," Erica snapped. Eledore just stared, open-mouthed, as she breezed past him.
"Lay off, Eledore," Michel said softly. "You didn't trust Shiro either, and he saved our butts back there with Aina's brother."
"Yeah, but Shiro's my COMMANDER. That girl's just a kid."
"Maybe there's more to her than you think, Eledore," Michel muttered, then hurried to catch up with Erica and Kiki, leaving Eledore to stare in shock a second time.
************
"So," Shiro began, "we're here to protect this village and its residents. If the Zakus attack tonight, we gotta have a plan. This is it."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
CONTINUED NEXT CHAPTER
Enough said. Didja like my little scene with Michel and Erica, and eavesdropper Kiki? Didja get it yet? Well, didja??? If you like this so far, please check regularly for more chapters! ~DM
"Are we almost there yet?" came a voice over the com. system. Michel's voice.
"If we were there," answered an annoyed Sanders, "then we would have STOPPED MOVING. Now stop tying up the line!"
"Just how far away is this village?" Aina wondered to herself. They hadn't seen any sign of the enemy yet-Aina had to keep reminding herself that the Zeon WERE the enemy-but no sign of a village either.
By light of the day or dark of the night, I'd give everything away to know you're alright, Erica sang in her head. It had been the single line of that song caught in her head for as long as Shiro had been sending her letters. I'm surprised he even remembered me, she thought to herself.
************
A girl with orange-blonde hair and big blue eyes hurried back to the village where she lived, bursting with excitement.
"Guess what guess what guess what?!?!" she cried as she ran.
A young boy in her path caused her to stop running. "What're you so excited about, Kiki?" he asked.
Kiki grinned. "They're coming back! Shiro's coming back!" she cried, jumping in happiness.
"Isn't he the one who got rid of those Zeon Mobile Suits? I thought you hated him!"
"Not in the least! If it weren't for him..." she sighed, then continued running. She'd run all the way to the Federation base if she had to. Meanwhile, she was thinking, If it weren't for Shiro I wouldn't be around to see HIM again.
************
"Look! There it is!" called Michel as the 08th Team approached the village. "Hey, Eledore, doesn't this place look familiar?"
"Of course it does, idiot, this is Kiki's village! Rebuilt, but still basically the same, I guess." It had been a long time since Eledore had been here. He hadn't been with the team on their last mission here.
"You know the drill. Leave the Gundams stationed outside the village, ok?" Shiro called.
"No problem here, Commander," Erica answered.
I wonder how long she can keep this up, thought Karen. I bet pretty soon she'll be running home crying back to side 2.
"Hey, kid, you know how to stop, right?" Eledore called over to Erica.
"You worry about stopping yourselves," was her cool reply. "It's not very fun to run into things." Eledore snapped out of it just in time to swerve out of the way of a tree.
"Very funny, newbie," he muttered. For once, Michel had to agree. He opened his journal and began to write.
Dear Bebi,
We've been assigned to protect the village where Kiki, the girl I told you about, lives. There's a new girl on our team, a kid named Erica. Personally, I don't think she's cut out for this, even though she SAYS she used to command a GM team. It makes me wonder why she's still not commanding that team now.
We almost lost Shiro when Aina's brother destroyed the base, but we found both him AND Aina, and now Aina's a member of the team. I keep thinking she'll desert and take all our information right back to her brother, who believe it or not is still alive.
All my love,
Michel
He sealed the letter in an envelope and tried to ignore Eledore's stare.
They parked their Gundams and climbed out, Erica jumping to the ground. She hit hard and grimaced.
"It's called gravity, kid, get used to it," Sanders snapped. Erica raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing. That kid is WAY too silent, thought Sanders.
They reached the center of the village and were greeted by Kiki and two younger children. Kiki held out a letter.
"Here, Michel. It's a letter from your girlfriend." Michel took the letter and put it in his pocket. He'd read it later. "And who're you?" Kiki asked Erica.
"Erica Weller, or The Phoenixbird, newest member of the 08th Team," Erica said, beaming. "And Shiro's cousin," she added with a grin.
"Pleased ta meet ya, Phoenixbird. Shiro, you never told me you had a cousin in the Federation!"
"I didn't know myself, till yesterday," he answered truthfully.
"Well come on, team, I'll take you all to a restaurant for lunch! How's that?" Kiki cried, and the rest of them eagerly agreed. "Then let's go!"
************
It was after lunch, in the Hovertruck, right after Michel had called over to Erica to help fix the tank's gun controls (he had to admit it, she WAS good with electronics), that he read the letter from Bebi.
Dearest Michel,
I'm very sorry to say this, but I'm afraid I can no longer write letters to you. You're so far away, and every day I worry that you'll never write a letter to me again. And then your next letter comes and I'm so relieved, but then the worry starts again, worry that this letter is your last.
I can no longer love you, for it seems that all I have to love is a pile of letters sitting in my room. No human being can truly love a pile of letters. I am sorry. I hope you will forgive me, and that maybe we can still be friends. If you still wish to write, you can. I'm very sorry, Michel, but it's too much. I know you'll understand.
Forever Friends,
Bebi
Michel stared down at the letter, not believing, not comprehending. He put the letter down, rubbed his eyes, and read it again. It was still the same. Every word the same. He felt tears welling up and hurried to blink them back.
Erica climbed into the Hovertruck then, banging her head on the ceiling. "Ow. I'm here to help you fix the control...panel...Michel? Are you ok?" He said nothing, just handed her the letter. She read it in silence, until she hit the one line Michel hated most.
"No human being can truly love a pile of letters," Erica whispered, astonished. Did this woman know how much she had hurt Michel with these words?
"Well...I-I-I suppose it's t-t-true..." Michel sobbed. "N-n-no one r-really can love a p-p-pile of l-l-letters." He actually started crying then, ashamed of himself. Crying in front of what had to have been the youngest soldier in history. Making a fool of himself.
"I'm sorry, Michel. All I can say is that I know she's wrong. You DON'T understand, you CAN'T understand. It's more than just a pile of letters to you, isn't it." A statement, not a question. "It's your feelings, your thoughts, your love, only put onto paper instead of into words, because you're too far away to speak to each other." Michel, still sobbing, nodded slowly. "And she can't understand THAT, because she's not in the middle of it all, not down here fighting for her life every day. I know that nothing I can say can make you feel better about it..." she trailed off then. Really, it had been a pretty long speech for her.
"That's where you're wrong," Michel said, wiping his eyes. "What you said DID make it easier to take. So can we fix this thing now? I don't wanna be fighting some Zeon army tonight and end up shooting one of you instead."
"No problem! If it's fixable, the two of us together are bound to be able to handle it." Maybe I can get these guys to respect me, after all, Erica thought silently.
Neither of them knew that there was a third person in this conversation. She stood just outside the truck, in a position to hear every word. Even Erica's whispered 'No human being can truly love a pile of letters.' And she began to fill with excitement at what this meant.
He's SINGLE! He's MINE! the girl thought, when a noise startled her into reality.
"Kiki? What are you doing here?" Shiro asked her. She blushed and shrugged.
"Waiting for action, I guess," she said, trying to sound bored. Shiro gave her an odd look, but instead of saying anything rapped on the side of the Hovertruck.
There was a bang, and a muffled "Ouch! That's the second time I've done that!" from inside, and suddenly Erica's head popped out. "You wanted something, oh fearless leader?"
"Mm-hmm. We're having a meeting in the village, trying to decide a plan of attack. The ENTIRE team. You and Michel included. So if you don't want Karen any more frustrated than she already is, you'll hurry."
"Consider it done, Commander. I KNOW not to mess with HER." Erica ducked back inside and could be heard telling Michel they had to leave.
"Kiki," said Shiro, "you need to come, too. We'll need your knowledge of the surrounding area." Kiki grinned, glad that he seemed to have forgotten his suspicions from earlier.
Erica, upon climbing out of the Hovertruck, hit her head a third time. "Man, this HAS to be a conspiracy," she grumbled, rubbing her sore head.
"Complaining already, kid? Soldiers gotta be tougher than that," criticized Eledore, who'd come to show them to the meeting place. Erica scowled.
Like she really knows what she's doing, Eledore thought, amused.
"As a matter of fact, mister smarty-suit, I DO know what I'm doing," Erica snapped. Eledore just stared, open-mouthed, as she breezed past him.
"Lay off, Eledore," Michel said softly. "You didn't trust Shiro either, and he saved our butts back there with Aina's brother."
"Yeah, but Shiro's my COMMANDER. That girl's just a kid."
"Maybe there's more to her than you think, Eledore," Michel muttered, then hurried to catch up with Erica and Kiki, leaving Eledore to stare in shock a second time.
************
"So," Shiro began, "we're here to protect this village and its residents. If the Zakus attack tonight, we gotta have a plan. This is it."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
CONTINUED NEXT CHAPTER
Enough said. Didja like my little scene with Michel and Erica, and eavesdropper Kiki? Didja get it yet? Well, didja??? If you like this so far, please check regularly for more chapters! ~DM
