Pheonix Rising
Pheonix Rising
by Ratha
Part Three:Enter
the Pheonix
Eiko gazed at the blue
marble of earth through the base's windows, a slightly sad expression on
her face. She sighed softly and leaned her forehead against the cool plasti-glass.
"Hey! Can someone hand
me the three-quarters wrench?" Duo called from inside his gundam, trying
to repair what Eiko hadn't had time to.
Eiko snorted and the
said wrench floated from the toolbox on the ground to Duo's outstretched
hand.
"Thanks, Eiko!"
She rolled her eyes
as she heard some of the technicians working on the Wing Zero mumbling
prayers or crossing themselves. Silly human superstitions, she chuckled
to herself. We got that a lot when we were developing our powers, didn't
we, Id? She smiled slightly as she thought of the only other person
who'd known what it was like to be vastly different from other normal
people.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"WAAAH! I can't
do it right!" Eiko wailed loudly as she dropped the heavy gunblade again.
"Why do I have to learn how to use this stupid piece of junk?! My psi powers
are ample enough weapons!"
"Quit whining,"
said a male voice nearby. "It's getting annoying."
"Excuse me?"
she said, spinning to face the speaker indignantly. She scowled when she
saw a young man with red eyes, pale skin like a vampire's, and long red
hair. "Who are you?" she sneered disdainfully. "Don't you know that
I'm Eiko Ryushi, the Pheonix?"
He snorted. "I know
who you are, Miss Ryushi. But you obviously don't know who I am." He smiled
mirthlessly and bowed to her mockingly. "Id Kushrenada, son of Lord Treize
Kushrenada."
Her eyes nearly
bugged out-not at who he was, but at the immense power she sensed from
him. "Holy shit! Your ki is..." She blinked and shook her head violently,
then grinned brightly and held out her hand. "Pleased ta meetcha, Id! Is
that your gunblade? What's it made out of? Are you training to be an OZ
soldier, too?"
He stayed silent,
arching an eyebrow at her.
"Not very talkative,
I see." She made exaggerated grimaces as she lifted the awkward gunblade
she'd been trying to learn how to use. "Can you help me learn how to use
this thing, please?"
"I don't think the
gunblade is your specialty. You swing it like it's a katana. You should
try learning that instead."
"Really? Cool."
She dropped the gunblade and dashed over to a rack of swords to grab a
katana. "But Lord Treize said I-"
"I'll tell him what
I said. He'll agree."
"Thanks, Id! You're
cool!"
He smiled slightly
in response.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hello! Earth to Eiko!
Come in!" Duo waved his hand in front of Eiko's face.
She blinked and focused
on him. "Hm? What?"
"Wufei's comin' in.
Everyone not wearing a space suit's gotta leave the docking bay."
Her eyes lit up. "Wufei?
Let's go!" She grabbed Duo by the wrist and dragged him out of the docking
bay.
When the Gundam Shenlong
was docked and the cockpit opened so Wufei could exit, Eiko was the first
one there.
"WUFEI!" she squealed
happily, tackling the startled pilot.
"What the-?! Onna,
get off me!" Wufei tried to pry the girl off with little success. When
she finally let go, he glared at her. "What the hell do you think you're
doing?!"
She grinned brightly.
"Still haven't changed a bit, you male chauvinist! Didn't Cousin Meiran
teach you anything, Niichan?"
He stared at her a
moment. "Eiko?"
"In the flesh!" she
chirped happily. She let out a shriek of laughter as he suddenly hugged
her. "Ack! Try to warn me next time, Niichan!"
"Ehhh, what's going
on?"
They looked up to see
a very confused Duo watching them. Wufei blushed and tried to hide his
face while Eiko fell backwards with laughter.
"I was Wufei's wife's
cousin!" she explained. "We were like brother and sister when we were younger!"
She grinned and put an arm around the embarrassed Wufei. "Weren't we, Niichan?"
Wufei mumbled something
and didn't look up.
"Ah, lighten up, Wufei!
The only one of you five I haven't totally embarrassed is Heero, and that's
only because he's unconscious!" She yanked playfully on his ponytail.
Wufei scowled at her
and jerked his hair out of her grasp. "Whatever. Bakagami, where's
Quatre and Trowa?" he asked, looking up at Duo.
"Right here," Quatre
replied as he and Trowa approached. "What do you have to report?"
"OZ has been very busy
lately. They've just had two mobile suits transported to their main base.
It's rumored one of them is another gundam. An old one from an abandoned
colony."
"The Gundam Versago,"
Eiko said, suddenly serious. "Treize mentioned it when they first found
it. He said he was saving it for his son, Id Kushrenada. If Id gets a hold
of it, not even the Pheonix could stop him. The Versago has a ZERO system
much like the Epyon's and the Wing ZERO's. Add that to Id's immense ki
powers, and he's unbeatable. And if he manages to-" She stopped, eyes wide
with sudden realization. "One of you guys has to take me back to earth
to the Toshitada base. Now."
"What?!"
"Are you crazy?!"
"You're suicidal!"
She shook her head.
"There's a gundam there. One especially designed for me. We have to get
it before Id does. Once the Versago unites with that gundam, we're all
doomed."
"That doesn't sound
good," Duo grimaced. "I'd take ya, but the Deathscythe's navigational system's
shot."
"Sandrock's still being
repaired from my last mission," Quatre said.
"Nataku needs to be
refueled and repaired," Wufei added ruefully.
Eiko looked expectantly
at Trowa.
Trowa sighed heavily.
"I'll prep Heavyarms for launch. You'd better know what you're doing, Eiko."
"Gee, I'm stuck with
Mr. Happy-face," she said sarcastically. "Don't worry. I know that base
inside out. There's no way they could catch me again." And if Id's there,
I'll have to kill him. Please don't be there, Id!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Id walked across the
catwalk to stand in front of the enormous gundam. It was a dull red, almost
resembling the Gundam Epyon in design. He looked at it from all angles,
then nodded shortly. "It will do," he said to the soldier standing behind
him. "Where is the Gundam Pheonix?"
"The Toshitada base,
sir," the soldier responded promptly.
Id nodded slowly, his
eyes narrowing. Eiko knows of the Versago's abilities, namely its ability
to unite with the Gundam Pheonix. So she'll be heading toward the base.
And I'll be there waiting for her. "Prepare the Versago for launch!
I'm going to the Toshitada base at once!"
"Yes, sir!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eiko sat silently
in the seat behind Trowa as the Heavyarms moved toward the base. Neither
had spoken since starting out.
"Why did you do it?"
Trowa asked suddenly.
"Huh?" She looked at
him blankly. "Do what?"
"Defect OZ and join
us."
"Oh." She was silent
a moment, then said quietly, "I didn't agree with their methods and ideals.
OZ wants to use force and conquer the colonies and they don't care how
many innocent people get caught in the crossfire. They want to exploit
my powers to do just that. I'd rather use my powers to help people, not
hurt them. Isn't that why you guys fight?"
He grunted. "We each
have different reasons for fighting. But yes, that's basically the reason.
You mentioned Id Kushrenada. I didn't know Treize had a son."
She was suddenly silent.
When she spoke, it was with obvious reluctance. "Id Kushrenada is the son
of Treize Kushrenada and Lady Une. Treize didn't know about Id until recently.
That's all I'm gonna say until I get Id's permission."
"You know him?"
"Brilliant deduction,
Holmes," she snapped sarcastically. "Now don't ask me anymore about him!
I've got enough on my mind as it is! I don't need any more distractions,
got it?"
He laughed softly and
fell silent.
She sat back in her
seat and closed her eyes, letting her memories take her back to another
time...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Strike harder!
Don't be afraid to break a nail, Eiko!"
Eiko growled softly
and leapt forward, swinging her katana furiously at the smirking red-haired
man. "Damn you, Id! You're pissing me off!"
"That's the idea!
If your enemy can do that to you, they've already won!" Id laughed as he
dodged her attack, firing a ki blast at her.
She shrieked and
bolted as the blast chased her around the training room. "No fair! You
know I can't deflect ki attacks! WAAAH!"
He snorted as he
hovered a few feet above her. "Do you honestly think your enemies will
always fight 'fair'? If you have an advantage, use it, no matter how dirty
a trick it is. Now quit running and defend yourself!" He fired another
ki blast at her from in front of her.
She yelped, vanishing
suddenly, and the two blasts collided.
Id arched an eyebrow
and looked around for her. "Well, you've learned a new trick, Eiko. You
can teleport." He didn't even flinch when he was abruptly grabbed from
behind and a katana blade was at his throat. He only smirked. "Congratulations,
Eiko. You've finally gotten the better of me."
"You can't fool
me this time," she hissed by his ear. "Last time something like this happened,
you tricked me and beat me into the floor."
"Indeed," he smiled.
"I've finally gotten through that thick head of yours and taught you something."
She snorted and
dropped to the floor. "Some teacher."
He laughed and lowered
to the floor. "I'm the best kind of teacher for someone of your caliber.
We are the only two people who have the kind of power we do. Normal humans
can't understand us and our powers. Only we can understand each other.
Only I can understand the trouble you have, and vice versa. We need to
stick together, then nothing can defeat OZ."
She scowled. "What
makes you so sure OZ shouldn't be defeated? Is the success of OZ really
worth all the innocent lives that have and will get destroyed? It makes
me question its motives."
He put a hand on
her shoulder. "Let's not get into that. Father granted me the privilege
of training you to use your powers, and that's what the time in the training
center is for. Let's not waste it. Now let's continue where we left off."
She nodded silently
and lifted her katana. She liked the young soldier, and most of what he'd
said was true. She smiled faintly. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but
she always looked forward to her training sessions with Id-
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Eiko?" Trowa's voice
brought her back to the present. "We're almost there. Do you sense any
enemies?"
Eiko "felt" around,
then her eyes flew open. "Holy shit! Id's there! Dammit, why did he have
to come?" She pounded her fist against the armrest in fury. "Shit! Trowa,
stop here and drop me off."
"What? Are you crazy?
You'll be captured!"
"No I won't. I was
trained by the best how to sneak into and out of heavily guarded places.
There's only one person who could catch me, and I know how to hide my ki
from him. Now do it!" But I can't hide my mind from Id. "No need
to open the cockpit, I'll teleport out. Seeya later." She abruptly vanished.
Trowa blinked. "Wow.
Duo wasn't kidding."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eiko looked around
the base from the shadows by the wall, eyes narrowed calculatingly as she
searched for any unfamiliar gundams.
Welcome back, Eiko.
She jumped at the mental
voice and froze against the wall, eyes wide. Id, why are you here? You
know I'll have to kill you if we face each other again. And you know I
don't wanna do that.
I don't see how
you could kill me, as I have the Versago and you have nothing.
Wrongo. I've got
the Heavyarms nearby.
Oh really. That
pilot won't dare face the "Devil God." In fact, he's already running from
my last attack on him.
Her eyes flicked toward
where the Heavyarms should be and saw the gundam-severely damaged-was retreating.
"Shit." You son of a bitch!
We already know
what Une is.
If you hurt Trowa,
I'll-
Trowa, is it? You're
on a first-name basis with them now? Id's tone was dangerously soft
and Eiko shivered in slight fear.
Id, please just
let him go. He's only a friend. Please! She finally spotted the dark
shape of Id's new mobile suit and watched with mounting horror as the gundam
turned slowly to go after the Heavyarms. Id! Please don't! I-I'll come
back to OZ. Just let him go, please!
Now that's more
like it. The Versago turned back to face her and a bright light illuminated
her hiding place. Mariemeia's been missing you. It would be a shame
to disappoint my little sister, wouldn't it?
Eiko bowed her head
in defeat. "Forgive me, Id," she whispered and raised her head, her face
completely blank. She raised a hand into the air, palm facing the Versago's
cockpit. White energy glowed around her hand, then shot out in a brilliant
beam straight toward the cockpit.
What the hell are
you doing?!
What I never wanted
to do. Killing someone. She teleported away just before an explosion
rocked the area.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Id lowered his arms
cautiously. He wasn't dead? He looked at the screen and his eyes widened
in shock. His red Leo suit was in pieces in front of him, totally destroyed.
How had it gotten there?
Id the Leo pilot
and partner of the Pheonix is dead. Id the Versago pilot is no friend of
the Pheonix. The next time we meet, we will be enemies.
He sat back in his
seat, frowning thoughtfully at this turn of events.
Soft laughter filled
the cockpit as he saw the irony of the situation. Once again, Eiko had
gotten the best of him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eiko leaned against
the wall of the storage bay, sighing heavily. She hadn't wanted to do that.
Id had worked so hard on that Leo suit, fixing it up the way he wanted
it. But now he had the Versago and he was her enemy.
Something caught her
attention and she looked up.
And up.
And up.
Towering above her
was a magnificent mobile suit the color of flames. Enormous feather-like
wings flared out behind it in yellow, orange, and red blended together.
All in all, it resembled a female version of the Wing ZERO, only colored
like fire. This was the Gundam Pheonix.
"Wow," she breathed
in awe, eyes wide. Transfixed, she walked slowly toward the enormous mobile
suit meant for her. It was...indescribable! She slowly placed a hand on
one of the metal panels covering the feet of the gundam.
As if sensing her,
the cockpit opened fluidly. She didn't hesitate. She leapt up to grab the
cable dangling from the doorway and pulled herself up. She looked around
the interior of the cockpit, then climbed into the seat. There were no
screens or monitors of any kind. The door closed behind her, engulfing
her in darkness. She was silent for a moment, then reached up to grasp
the helmet and lowered it to her head. She closed her eyes and seemed to
enter a comatose state.
"Preparing to activate
systems. All systems on." Her voice wasn't quite a mental voice, nor
was it vocal. It was like she was speaking through the computer system.
Console lights lit
up the cockpit and the giant machine began humming with power. Her eyes
stayed closed, but she could see the readouts of the suit's running systems
in her mind, thanks to the suit's ZERO system.
"Holy shit, I can
see without monitors or screens! It's all being transmitted directly into
my brain! This is-is-damn! I can't describe it! This ZERO system is unlike
anything I've ever seen! I-whoa!"
The suit was reacting
to her thoughts, moving fluidly like a living being and not a machine.
It was like the machine was her body and she was only the brain.
It was like she was the gundam itself. It gave her a feeling of...of...
Power. Undefeatable
power.
"No. Can't let it
go to my head." The gundam shook its head in reaction to her thoughts
and she grinned, trying not to laugh out loud. "Now to take this baby
out for a test flight!"
She pulled out one
of the two beam sabers and fired the thrusters, exploding up through the
roof and out into the night air. She let out a wild yell at the thrill
of the immense power rushing through her. She flared her wings to slow
her upward flight and swiveled to face the Leos that dared attack her.
Swinging the beam saber with deadly precision, she sliced the Leos in half
before they even knew what hit them.
"Hahah! Take that,
OZ!" she hooted, then reacted to a new threat. The Versago was approaching
fast.
"Not tonight, Id. I'm not in the mood to play with you right now,"
she snarled at him.
Eiko, calm down!
You're letting the system control you! Don't let it control you!
"Shove it, Id! Get
outta my way or die!"
Would you abandon
your ideals just like that? By doing so, you become nothing more than that
which you fight against.
She froze, his words
sinking in. "You're right. Now get out of my way before I kill you.
Again."
The two gundams stared
each other down, then the Versago silently stepped aside.
You win again, Eiko.
But I will never give up.
"Nor will I, Id.
And next time I won't have Mariemeia in mind when I face you. Thank your
lucky stars that you have a little sister to save your sorry ass."
She turned and jetted away to find the Heavyarms and return to base. "And
don't follow me. Six gundams against one isn't the kind of odds you want
to be in, if you're the one."
Id was silent, watching
her leave. We will meet again and finish this, Pheonix.
She winced mentally
at his use of her codename. Now they were officially enemies.