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A shooting star burst across the horizon, then an eruption of a gorgeously massive flaming explosion shot up. The transport had fallen to the ground. It slid through the forest, eventually rolling into the ocean that surrounded the small, unoccupied island. There was no sign of any human presence, or OZ for that matter. It was truly an abandoned place. Like it had been forgotten long ago. In anyway, it was purely beautiful, untouched by the bloodied hand of man's polluted, war-ridden universe. The trees were tall lush and coloured with an array of green shades. The leaves were full and thick, providing decent shade for the moss embedded ground below. The transport had become an eyesore in this grotto-paradise. It had left a path of destruction as war had. The year is AC 195 and man has finally set-up a space civilization. The people of the people of the colonies were soon oppressed by OZ and the Romefellar Foundation. In retaliation they created five mobile suits known as Gundams. They were piloted by five selected pilots. On a journey to a base, the transport with the five pilots went down, stranding the five youths in a foreign, strange place that they had never seen before. The five young pilots struggled out of the downed aircraft. Some were silent as they exeunt, others more vocal. The five young men stood, watching the smouldering remains of their aircraft. "Hn." Heero Yuy watched silently as the aircraft went up in flames. The mission had been a failure. He looked to the others. They seemed to be as upset as he felt at this. Quatre sighed, watching the burning hulk. It was bad enough that they were now stranded here. But they had failed in their mission. He gave a sad smile at that. He was starting to sound like Heero. "Awwww...man this really fucking sucks! It's such an incredible dent in the dickens! Not only are we without our Gundams but we're stranded on this goddamned forsaken island! It's a death trap! We're gonna die unless we get off it!" Duo exclaimed, sounding though as he was on the brink of a severe whining session. He sighed, placing his hands on his hips and gazing down, his eyes shut. Amazingly, he didn't say anything for a minute, just kept his mouth shut, giving the other pilots a momentarily reprieve. His hand subconsciously tightened around the cross that he had held in his grasp as the transport had plummeted to the earth. Turning, he headed out of the thicket, finding an open beach. The sand was a crystal white, stunningly magnificent. The water that washed up, brushing the shore was a lucid blue-green and the foam that remained on the land was a pearl white, untainted by the pollution of man's world. Sighing, the braided pilot knelt in the sand, picking up a hand full and letting the grains seethed through his fingers back to the earth's surface. Quatre watched duo go silently. He turned, looking once more at the smouldering hulk. He silently bid farewell to Sandrock. It had been a good friend. He had a feeling they would be there for a very long time. Turning from the remains of their ship, he laid his hand on a tree. The island, save for their arrival, was truly tranquil. He closed his eyes, breathing in the salty sea air. Taking a step forward, he followed Duo onto the beach. He sank down onto the soft sand, watching the surf as it came up to the shore. His eyes were distant, not really aware of what was around him. It all seemed as if through a dream. He wondered if they would get off this island. He didn't see where it was likely, at least not in the foreseeable future. Pulling his knees up to his chin, he rested his head on his legs, watching the sea. He loved the desert, but the sea called to him as well. He closed his eyes; thinking of all that they would need to accomplish in order to survive here. The water washing up onto the shore sounded peaceful...the sound, like no other. The peaceful, tranquillity of the brushing water as it gently rolled in from the ocean onto the land, was positively indescribable. This was so to even to anyone who was subjected to the beauty. It was openly welcomed by the thankful hearts and minds of the two pilots that sat in the sand, enjoying the outward serenity of the scene. On the sand, between Duo and Quatre lay a lady pink, semi-glossy conch shell. It was about medium size, with one open end. There was a faint pattern that existed upon the surface. Along with the pink, was the accompanying brilliant white and a splash of yellow. Noticing the shell, Duo caressed his hand over the smooth surface of the conch shell. He turned the blond that sat next to him. He pushed the shell over. "Quatre...you have a way of getting people to gather. Why not use the conch shell to do that..." He suggested, eyeing his friend calmly. Quatre reached out, touching the hard surface of the conch shell. He rubbed his fingers over the edges, smiling sadly. Duo was right. They needed to work together in order to survive. Picking up the shell in his hands, he gazed at the ocean for a moment. It was calm, serene. The waves washed upon the shore, the foam rolling onto the sand. His eyes watched in fascination. He could see the texture of the wet sand, see how it moulded to various shells as the water washed over everything. He closed his eyes, breathing in the peace of this place. Lowering his gaze, he rubbed the hard surface of the shell he now held. Taking a deep breath, he raised it to his lips. Closing his eyes, he blew through the hole in the shell. A sweet note came out, filling the area with its soft sound. Quatre wasn't used to wind instruments, preferring strings. But he allowed the tranquillity of this place to fill him, revitalising him. He used the shell as if it were a flute, playing a sweet song that he had always enjoyed as a child. The soft sound of the music carried over the island, filling the ears of the other three pilots. Upon hearing the wafting notes from the melodic conch shell, the three other pilots, who had spread out, searching the island for a way out. Correction, two were searching for a way out, one was just hanging at the edge of the forest, watching the interaction between Quatre and Duo. He didn't move forward when the conch shell was used as a summon trumpet. He just remained static, continuing his watch on the area. The other two pilots, Heero and Wufei brushed by him, heading straight for where the sound had emitted. They just stood. One leaned against a rock, his arms folded and the second against a tree. They waited to find out why they had been summoned to the tranquil beach-front. From this initial meeting, it was obvious that there was an invisible layer of hostility. Duo elbowed Quatre, who held the shell in his hands. Clearing his throat, he spoke. "We all need to work together in order to survive on this deserted island. We need a system in how we conduct doings." Quatre placed the shell in his lap, turning to the others. "Duo is right. We're stuck here for who knows how long. We need to make some kind of...of system I suppose. If we are to survive, we must all pitch in. If we don't, we'll just flounder around." He sighed, shrugging. "This isn't that much different from going into battle. We each should have a job to do. Each of us should be responsible for some aspect of our survival. Someone needs to gather food, for example." Heero's intense dark blue eyes narrowed, as he nodded, agreeing. "That's true. But we also need a leader to organize everything, to keep order." He looked around, waiting for someone to speak up on it. If not, he himself would volunteer for the job and follow in the footsteps of the leader he had been named for. His sights darted around at the three pilots that he could see in the immediate vicinity. He brushed off the fourth that was just in the background, listening. Taking charge he stepped onto a rock. "I prose a democratic vote. We need to vote on a leader." "That's the first step to the downfall of society." Trowa stated calmly, just leaning against the tree he had been standing against for the last little while. Quatre creased his forehead, thinking. "I don't know Heero...I mean, its not important right now. What difference does it make who is the leader? We never worried about it before. Why start now?" "Chaos versus order. It wouldn't have mattered on the battlefield, but here, it's the real test. You said we needed a team for survival. Every team that ever survived the elements had a leader." Heero explained, gazing down at both Quatre and Duo. Making a face, Quatre turned to Duo. "What do you think? I think it's just superficial. We don't need a leader as long as we all stick to what we know. What do you think?" Duo sighed, looking down the sand. He lances his hand through the hot grains, lost in thought. He finally looked back up. "Heero does have a point. That's why OZ is still strong, they have a leader, that's why they're surviving." Quatre sighed. "Fine. If its so important, we'll have a leader. What are the qualifications?" He turned to Heero. "I suppose you think you should be the leader then?" "I didn't say I thought I should. All I did was suggest that there be the existence of one." Heero replied coolly. Sighing, Quatre shook his head. "Fine. A vote then?" Trowa pushed off the tree he had been leaning against and turned his back on the group. He was choosing to not participate in such an act. 'Democracy...this is the fall of one. By voting in one, they're on their way to creating a totalitarian dictator, by the name of Heero Yuy. He's the most likely candidate. Either way, no matter who runs, I can't vote. I work alone.' Pivoting he started to leave. Quatre turned, watching Trowa head out of the area. He sighed. He didn't like this anymore than Trowa did. He thought it was wrong...they didn't need a leader. It was counter productive to what they needed to accomplish. He sighed, watching the surf come in. He didn't like this. This felt wrong. Standing up, he headed for the trees. Gazing back over his shoulder, he paused in mid-stride waiting for a moment for Quatre to catch up. Once the blond was just a few steps shy of where he stood, Trowa turned back to completely face his friend. "You must also think that having a leader leads to nothing but a power struggle, ne?!" His expression was neutral, but his green eyes pierced Quatre's blue ones. "Hai. We don't need a leader! I don't know what Heero is thinking! Its useless in this situation! It will only lead to hurt and anger." Quatre replied, sighing deeply. "I know that OZ has a leader, but we are just too small...this will only cause jealousy and hurt in the end. I can feel it. Only tragedy will come of this." "No matter what happens. The group would've had a leader, no matter what. It would've only been a matter of time. That's why I'm working alone." With that, Trowa turned his back to Quatre and began once again to walk away. He had no intentions of hurting his blond friend by doing so. It was only a demonstration of how he felt, as subtle as it was. "Hai. I know Trowa. But we need to stay together in order to survive. Not fall apart." Quatre sighed sadly. He turned around and headed back to the others. Once there, he eyed them all carefully. "I have one thing to say. And only one thing. This is wrong and I will have no part in it." Looking up from the fire that he was building, using the reflecting light from the silver cross, Duo turned to fully face Quatre. "But you can't survive on your own Quatre! We're all in this together! Even if you don't approve of the idea of having a leader, it's better because that way there's one that takes care of making sure nothing falls apart." He turned back to the fire that he was in the process of building. "Alleluia! I've got it going!" The braided American cheered, giving a cheeky grin and a thumbs up. Both Heero and Wufei, who had been working on a reasonable size looking hut, simultaneously massively sweat-dropped at the outward, blatant inanity of their American colleague. Quatre blinked, then sweat dropped profusely. "Oi...Duo." Shaking his head, he looked at the others. 'Maybe they're right...I don't know! I'm so confused....' "I...I'm going to go look for food." "Hey, good idea man! I'll cook! Heero and 'Fei will finish working on the shelter! We're glad you're on our team!" Duo replied with enthusiasm, as he fed the roaring blazing fire some dry sticks. "Hai, Duo." Quatre turned and went into the forest. He stopped a short ways inside, turning and looking back at them. He couldn't explain it, but he felt as if something was going to happen. Sighing, he turned and began hunting for food. Looking up from his paradise, secluded sanctuary within the hidden depths of the forest sometime, later, Trowa gazed around, looking for the source of the branch crunching and the rustle of leaves. he waited patiently. If he didn't scare it, it wouldn't attack. He calmly watched the shadow move about a hundred or so yards away, within the vicinity. He didn't let the figure out of his sights. He relaxed once getting a better perspective on which it was. 'Hn. Only Quatre.' Quatre surveyed the area, listening attentively for any signs of wild animals. Finding none, he pulled out a large knife from his flight suit. He knew the others thought him weak, helpless. He never contradicted them, but he knew how to survive on his own. That was one thing Rashid had insisted he learn. How to take care of himself. He gave a silent prayer to Allah that his friend was safe. Taking out the large knife, he saw a tree with some fruit at the top. Placing the knife in his mouth, he began to climb the tree. Higher and higher he went, until he reached the very top. Taking the knife, he began to cut the fruit from the limbs, gently dropping them to the forest floor where he could pick them up later. Watching quietly in the embrace of profound silence, Trowa didn't say anything, as Quatre climbed to the top of the seemingly fragile tree. 'Hn. He should be careful, that particular tree doesn't strike me as stable.' A small growl cam from the base of the tree. It had rumbled from the throat of a medium size lynx. This particular area belonged to the cat. the tuffs of its ears were a je-back, its paws were massive. It had its teeth bared and whiskers flared out angrily. The tail swishes dangerously side to side. Its eyes were narrowed hatefully at the sight of the intruder. It prepared to pounce. Not giving the wild cat a chance to pounce, or notice Quatre, he moved in, stopping directly in front of the uncaged animal. He held his hand out, for it to sniff. Quatre sighed, pulling the knife across another piece of fruit. He was about to drop it to the floor when he looked down. His eyes widened at the sight of a large lynx at the base of the tree. Trowa was standing in front of it, his hand held out. He swallowed. He knew that animals had a way with Trowa...but he was frightened. What if it attacked? Gritting his teeth, he sat quietly in the tree, watching. Should it make a threatening move, the large piece of fruit in his hand would make a perfect projectile. Winning over the creature, the lynx was reduced to nothing more than a big sappy baby that purred in mild content. At this, Trowa gave an inward, hidden smirk. He failed to notice that above, Quatre held something that was about to be dropped. Quatre blinked. He'd never seen anything like that in his life! It was nothing short of amazing! 'Wow! He really does have a way with animals!' He was about to slide down the tree, when his hand slipped. Trying to gain purchase on the limb, he accidentally dropped the fruit that he held in his hand. It fell through the branches, landing squarely on the head of the lynx. Out of fright and shock, the lynx jumped and in reaction, as reflexive, normal animal reaction it attacked the hand that was under its chin with a small bit before disappearing into the mist of the forest. "Shit." Trowa held his injured hand. A small amount of blood trickled down, landing on the ground. Quatre watched in growing horror as the animal bit Trowa, then ran off. Climbing down the tree quickly, Quatre rushed to Trowa's side. "I'm so sorry Trowa! I...I didn't mean to drop it! Here, let me see..." Quatre took Trowa's hand in his, leading him to a nearby brook. Tearing a piece of his flight suit, he lowered the scrap of cloth, soaking it. He then began to clean Trowa's wound. "Hn." Trowa gave Quatre a level glare. Though it wasn't as close to a death glare as Heero's expression standardly was, he did get his point across. he most defiantly pissed off about his friend's absolute stupidly, or rather lack of co-ordination at a crucial moment. He didn't say anything, as he often did, and just patiently waited for this to pass. Quatre bit his lip. He felt so bad about what happened. He normally wasn't so clumsy. "I...gomen nasai, Trowa. I...didn't mean to drop that fruit...I'm sorry." He kept his head bent, massaging the bite. "Hn." Again, the same response was given by Trowa. He really didn't have anything to say. 'I know he's sorry, he doesn't have to repeat himself, it's getting to be redundant.' Quatre sighed, saying nothing more. Once he finished cleaning the wound, he bound it up with some stray material from his flight suit. He smiled, looking up. "There. Good as new." Trowa blinked. "Aligatou." Nothing more was uttered. He didn't feel the need to say anymore to Quatre at the moment. He stood up. He nodded before leaving for a more deserted space to stay. Quatre watched Trowa leave. He didn't say anything. He went and gathered the fruit at the base of the tree. Replacing his knife, he headed back to the others. The day wore on, growing hotter and hotter. Soon, the temperature skyrocket to an unbearable degree. Even Quatre found the heat intolerable. It wasn't a dry heat, like the desert. It was a blistering, intense heat that sapped the strength and will out of all whom it touched. Standing underneath a tree, Quatre was the first to strip his shirt off. He hated this heat...it wasn't natural, at least by his standards. The hot sun seemed to want to bake him. His golden locks were plastered to his face, as he sorted through the various food items he had gathered that day. "Whew...fuck...it's soooo inhumanly hot!" Duo complained. Well, granted he was working on keeping the fire alive and well. He also hoped to get a smoke signal going, in the hopes that a transport passing overhead might perchance catch a passing glimpse of the ascending trail of smoke that rose up in an intense cloud of varying greys. Moving over to where Quatre was, Duo rested against the tree in the comfort of the shade. He sighed. His face was laden with heavy perspiration, thus causing his bangs to be matted to his forehead in a disorganised manner. Even his normally immaculately tied braid was becoming lose due to the sweltering, intense amazon jungle heat that drifted through, blanketing the area. The strands of hair in his braid were somewhat lose and heavily drenched in his body sweat. His shirt, the long sleeve, deep jet black shirt he sported with his full-length priest outfit, was dripping and immensely washed and soaked in sweat. It was so bad, that when he wrung it out, some of it dripped on the ground. He sighed, shaking it out, he draped it over a branch and turned to Quatre. "So, even you find it too inhumanly hot?! Must be, if you're stripping down." "Hai. This isn't heat! This is...is...hell!" Quatre complained. He sighed, looking out at the ocean. It looked so cool and inviting.... Shaking his head, he placed his shirt, vest and Duo's shirt on a branch. He placed them there neatly, making sure no wrinkles would crease into the fabric. He ran his forearm over his sweaty brow, his own bangs plastered to his face. "This is inhuman! Nothing can possibly survive this heat!" "Well....maybe Heero, but then again, he's next to being inhuman himself," Duo commented, leaning back against the tree, resting his hands behind his sweaty head, his fingers laced within the heavily drenched depths of his hair. His elbows were level with his face. He let out a breath, enjoying the coolness thereof the tree's shadows, per say. He turned to Quatre. "So, how's the heat out in the forest?" "It's not as bad as it is out here. There are a lot of brooks and streams, plus all the trees. Lots of shade." Quatre replied. Sitting on his haunches, he began to sort through the nuts and fruits he had found. "I'm going to go back in a bit. We need vegetables too. And some meat if I can find any." He smirked. "Although, I think I'll stay away from any lynx' I see." Duo knelt down in front of his blond friend. He too smirked, but it was more impish. "Why? Have a nice tango-round with it and lose after getting your damned ass kick?!" He asked, while helping sort the fruit and nuts. After a minute, he looked back up. "Since I don't have anything to accomplish at the minute, I'll help you gather vegetables and hopefully meat as well." Quatre snorted. "No. Contrary to popular belief, I /can/ take care of myself. No, I met Trowa out there and I accidentally dropped a piece of fruit on its head while I was still in a tree. I'm thinking it might still hold a grudge." He stood, motioning towards the forest. "Lets go then." "On who's head?! His or the lynx?!" Duo inquired, as the two shirtless pilots headed into the thick of the woods. "Oh. Gomen. The cat's. I don't think it likes me now." Quatre replied. As the two headed into the forest, he once again took out the large knife from under his pants leg. He pulled it out of the scabbard, placing the sheath into his pocket. Duo nodded, calmly, his perspiration ridden braid swinging in the breeze, dripping sweat down his perspiration-ridden glistening back. He then snickered at the thought of what Quatre had just told him. "So, you beaned the cat, nice move. It probably has you on its hit list now, Quatre." He continued to snicker. "On the cat's head, brilliant!" "Oh, shut up! It was an accident!" Quatre retorted. They headed deeper into the forest, unaware that said cat was watching their every move. Stepping out of the thick of the wood, the same lynx stopped in front of the pair, and growled hatefully, in the general direction of the two pilots. "Eep!" Duo squeaked. He cowered behind Quatre. Quatre stepped back, almost running into Duo. He swallowed, looking at the cat in the eye. He looked at the knife in his hand. If it came down to it, he could probably injure it, but he didn't want to do that. Taking the knife, he placed it between his belt and pants. He knelt on the ground, every pore radiating peace and calm. He held his hand out to the lynx, just as Trowa had. He hoped that it wouldn't attack. He'd hate to harm such a beautiful creature. Having a natural instinct to attack those that dared to hurt it, the lynx sniff the out-held hand, then loathingly growled at Quatre. Raising a paw and hissing, it hit the hand that the blond held out. It backed up, its back arching, the fur bristling straight up. Its tail bushed out wildly and its eyes flared with wild, untamed hateful fear for the human being that had attacked it before. It prepared to launch an attack on the blond, but it sensed a greater growing fear in the second human. It was ready to jump when something prevented the creature. Placing a hand under the creature's chin and gently stroking the bristled fur, Trowa turned to face his two fellow pilots and nodded. Duo near fainted. He had almost been attacked, next he was watching his friend so confidently soothing an enraged beast. He still clung to Quatre's back, whimpering. he had occasionally glanced over. Quatre fell back as the lynx smacked his hand away. He fell against Duo, sending both of them crashing to the ground. "Oi! Duo!" Staggering up, he looked to Trowa and the rapidly claming lynx. "Thank you, Trowa." Sweat-drop. "Don't show fear or threaten it, it won't react in kind." He replied, calmly gazing over to the two hapless pilots. Quatre nodded. "I was trying that, but /someone/ was cowering behind me!" He turned a glare at Duo. Duo sputtered indignantly. "I--I can't help it! That...that damned thing scared the shit outta me! And robbed me of years of growth!!" Quatre rolled his eyes. "You ain't got years if you keep doing that to me!" He sighed, getting up off the ground. He stood, turning to Trowa. "Thank you again, Trowa." Shrugging coldly with a complete air of neutral indifference, Trowa looked back down to the lynx that was at his mercy (per say). It contentedly purred, its eyes closed and face turned upwards. Gazing back up at his two colleagues, he gave a faint smile. "How bad is the heat out on the ocean front?" "Bad." Quatre replied, wiping the sweat from his face. "I've never been in such heat before. Its nothing like this in the desert." "This ain't anything I've seen....it's so fucking inhuman!" Duo groused, slumped down at the base of the tree and heaved a sigh. He then glared up at Trowa. who was still fully attired. "How the hell is it you aren't even dripping with any sweat?!" "Simple, I've been in the shade and shadows. It's cooler the deeper into the forest." Trowa explained. He then gave a small quirked smile. "If you're really that warm, there's a spring with a fall about a couple of hundred yards into the bush." He pointed back to the area from where he had come from. Quatre looked to Duo. "All right. It sounds nice. It is a bit hot out here." It was a few minutes before the group of three pilots and a lynx arrived at the aforementioned springs. As was stated, it was there, with a small fall that was to the East End. The water itself seemed to bubble faintly. It was clear, vividly clear. There was the presence of a few small tropical fish that swam and frolicked in the water. There was also some aquatic flora that swayed gently at the bottom. It was mostly green with the exception of glaring hints of other bright colours that made up the composite of oceanus flowers. Quatre stopped, taking in the beauty of the place. He'd never imagined such beauty could exist. It was the most breathtakingly beautiful scene he had ever beheld. He'd never imagined such untamed beauty existed. It reminded him of the first time he had truly seen earth and all its wonders. He sighed, sitting down on a rock at the edge of the pool. He bent down, letting his fingers run through the clear water. It was cool, but not cold. It felt wonderful. Duo savoured the beauty for a minute, before stripping down to nothing and diving in head first, splashing the other two relatively dry pilots by the edge of the natural pool. Plunging down in deep, he remained down below for a quite a while. The caress of cold water over his heated, sweaty flesh felt seductively sweet and made him swoon in ecstasy. Moving back up to the surface, he spit out a mouth full of water. In the mean time, Trowa had stripped down to just the bare minimum short of taking off his boxers. Quatre flushed a bit when Duo stripped, entering the water. He looked down, not watching to see if Trowa did the same. He sighed. It was really too hot to worry about such things. Besides, they were grown men. Making his decision, Quatre stood and stripped. Placing his clothing on the rock, he slipped into the cool water. He dove underneath, swimming towards the waterfall. |
Select Your Destination Act I Act II Act III
