Pheonix Rising
Yay!
It's April 15th! It's my birthday! Happy birthday to me! I just turned
19!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pheonix Rising
by Ratha
Part Four:Tension
& Confessions
Eiko followed the faint
signal from Trowa's gundam as she searched for the severely damaged machine.
She felt a sense of urgency, not knowing how badly the other pilot was
injured and how long she had before Trowa tried to self-destruct.
"Trowa, where are
you?" she called, trying to get him to tell her his position. "It's
me, Eiko! Tell me your position!"
No answer. Abruptly
there was a burst of static over the audio-link.
"-ko?" came Trowa's
voice, sounding slightly hoarse and strained. "What the hell was that thing?"
She knew he was referring
to the Versago. "That was the Gundam Versago, and Id Kushrenada was
its pilot. I-I'm sorry for getting you involved in this battle between
us, Trowa. I shouldn't have allowed you to go so close to the base knowing
Id was there with his new gundam. Please accept my apology."
Silence, then, "No,
Eiko. My predicament was my fault. I saw the Versago and thought it was
Zechs and the Epyon and I challenged Id. I was stupid and made a stupid
mistake."
"You're only human,
you know," she said wryly. "Even Heero makes mistakes. I've got
my gundam, so I can get you back to base. Tell me your position."
"All I can tell is
I'm near the ocean. My navigational systems are down."
"I've got a lock
on you now. I'll be there before you can say 'Wing ZERO' five times fast!"
Trowa laughed softly,
then his voice grew somber. "Eiko, the Versago's weaponry was a combination
of Wing ZERO's and Shenlong's..."
"I know. Versago
has many weapons-a megasonic gun, a beam saber, two strike claws, two claw
beam cannons, and two head vulcans. I read the file for it when they first
found it. I..." She trailed off as she caught sight of the Heavyarms.
"Oh
my God...Trowa, how did you even survive with the damage you sustained?"
"I'm a gundam pilot.
We've been known to survive even self-detonation."
"Yeah, you guys
are worse than weeds. Ya keep coming back no matter what." She was
rewarded with another laugh. "Well! You're certainly cheerful! Looks
like Heero's not the only one who can make you laugh." She could almost
see him smirk after letting out a derisive snort.
"Whatever. Hurry up
and pick me up so we can get out of here. I don't want to face Id when
he finds us."
"He won't follow
us. You have my word." Her tone was emotionless as she grabbed one
of the Heavyarms' cannon arms and lifted into the air toward space.
"You defeated him?"
Trowa asked in disbelief.
She hesitated. "No.
We didn't fight this time. But we will face each other again in the future.
And only one of us will leave that battle alive." She fell silent.
Neither spoke for the
rest of the return voyage.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Father, I request
permission to have full reign over any attempts to retrieve or destroy
the Pheonix." Id stood before Treize' desk with a hard expression as he
made his request. "I do not want any interference from other OZ soldiers."
Treize turned his chair
from the window to face his son. "That is a tall order, Id. Lieutenant
Zechs is the one in charge of-"
"Of the Pheonix project
only,
sir," Id interrupted harshly. "When Eiko defected, the project was automatically
aborted. Now the gundam pilots have her."
"Are you so sure? You
forget the limitor that was installed-"
"NO. I do not
want that ace to be used. I want a chance to face her in a real
battle. I want a chance to test the Versago against the other gundams,
to explore its abilities to the fullest. I don't want Zechs to interfere,
or anyone else. I want to be the one who crushes the rebellion,"
Id snapped, slamming his fist down on the desk. He leaned over it, hands
resting on the desk as he faced his father. "I mean no disrespect to you,
Father, but I demand that this be granted to me."
Treize looked at him
silently, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "If you were any cadet other than
my son, I would have you severely punished for your impertinence to a superior.
But as you aren't a cadet, I will grant your request, Colonel Id,"
he finally said.
It took Id a moment
to realize that he'd just been promoted to second-in-command. He straightened
up and stepped back, then bowed respectfully. "Thank you, Father. You will
not regret your decision."
Treize chuckled softly.
"Just try not to get yourself killed, kid. Your sister would get very upset
if that happened."
Id smiled broadly and
turned to leave his father's office.
"One more thing. Mariemeia
wants you to take her to an amusement park before your next mission. Could
you wait on hunting down the Pheonix long enough to spend some time with
your sister?"
Id smiled and nodded.
"Of course, Father. I'll be glad to."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Yo, Duo! Get your
sorry ass in gear and open the docking bay doors for us!" Eiko yelled
over the comm-link.
"What, back already?"
Duo laughed. "I can't wait to-"
"Shut up and listen,
dammit! Open the damn doors before the Heavyarms gets damaged any further!"
The doors quickly opened
and she flew inside, still holding onto the Heavyarms as she docked her
gundam. The doors closed behind them and Eiko had to nearly rip the Heavyarms'
door off so Trowa could get out. She was relieved to see that he'd sustained
only minor injuries from his run-in with Id. Then she exited her own gundam,
stumbling slightly as she had to get used to using her eyes again.
"Damn..." she grinned
after nearly falling into Duo, her eyes slightly unfocused. "Whatta rush!
That suit's ZERO system is awesome!" She giggled giddily and sat down hard
on the ground, then she abruptly shook her head violently and made an odd
noise that made the boys laugh softly. "I'm fine now," she said with sudden
composure.
'That's the gundam
designed for you?" Duo asked, craning his neck around to look up at the
flame-colored gundam.
"Yup, that's the Gundam
Pheonix." She went on to explain what had happened to her and Trowa.
Duo whistled softly.
"Damn...Now we've got another enemy out for our heads."
"What do you suggest
we do, Eiko?" Quatre asked.
She arched an eyebrow
and grinned mischievously. Instantly all four boys felt worried at her
look. "What do I think we should do?" she repeated slowly. "I think we
should...GO TO BED!!!!!"
The four boys jumped
and she fell backwards with laughter at the shocked surprise on their faces.
Then they began laughing as well at the ingenious way that she'd gotten
them.
"I don't know about
you guys, but I'm bushed!" Eiko said when she'd finally calmed down. "G'night,
guys!"
The five pilots went
their separate ways to act on Eiko's suggestion of sleep, calling goodnight
to each other with a camaraderie that hadn't been present before Eiko's
arrival.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A dark figure crept
through the shadows of the gundam's base, moving with suspicious stealth
toward sickbay. The figure entered and crept toward the unconscious form
of Heero Yuy. A light sparked to life, revealing the figure to be none
other than Eiko. She looked at the unconscious boy silently. Even in unconsciousness,
his face was hard in a cold mask of indifference. She reached out a hand
and carefully brushed his bangs away from his face.
"What could have made
you agree to J's training, Heero?" she whispered. "What happened to make
you so cold and uncaring?" She placed her fingers against his temples and
closed her eyes, trying to access his memories. She frowned as she saw
a young girl and her dog, an exploding base, a Leo suit falling onto a
building beside the base, and the lifeless body of the dog in the rain.
Eiko jerked her hands away and looked at Heero in sudden understanding.
"I see. You keep remembering that girl and feel responsible for her death.
But it wasn't your fa-"
She let out a startled
scream as her wrist was suddenly held in an iron grip.
Heero glared up at
her with cold eyes. "What the hell were you doing?" he growled, gripping
her wrist tighter as he sat up.
She swallowed fearfully.
"I was...trying to learn more about you. And attempting to heal your injuries.
I shouldn't have meddled with your memories. Gomen nasai, Heero-san."
He frowned at her.
"I should kill you, Pheonix," he hissed. "You're too dangerous to be allowed
to live. So why are you here?"
She relaxed slightly,
seeing he wasn't going to kill her right away. "Because I am colony-born.
Why should I fight against them when I am part of them? I should be protecting
them, not destroying them. Don't you think so?"
He remained silent,
then released her wrist. "I'll be keeping an eye on you, Pheonix. One wrong
move or suspicious act, omae o korosu."
She shrugged. "Join
the club. Now I've got you and OZ after my head. Oy vey. What am
I, Miss Popularity? Well, good night, Heero." She turned and left the room.
"And you're welcome for helping you."
"Arigatou."
She faltered briefly,
glancing back at Heero, who was ripping his IV lines out of his arms. Then
she grinned wickedly as an idea occurred to her and she headed toward her
room with a jaunty step.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eiko hummed to herself
as she worked on repairing the Wing ZERO's ZERO system. No one else was
up yet, so she had time to work out the kinks in her plans for today.
"Hey! What the hell
do you think you're doing to my gundam?!"
She stuck her head
out of the cockpit and looked down at Heero. "I'm repairing the ZERO system,
of course. I'm the only one in this base that knows how. Unless you don't
want me to."
The Wing's pilot scowled
at her. "No one touches my gundam but me."
She shrugged. "Wakatta.
Gomen nasai, Heero-san." She started to climb down from the cockpit.
"Matte."
She paused and looked
down at him in surprise. "Nanda?"
"How did Duo get both
his gundam and my own back here from the base?"
"I piloted your gundam,"
she said carefully. "After I blew up the base."
He scowled darkly.
"Fine. Just don't break anything."
She watched him walk
away, then she let out a huge sigh of relief. "I thought he was gonna kill
me! Talk about a lucky break." She climbed back up to check the connections
and the repairs. Satisfied, she climbed down and closed the cockpit, then
went to the mess hall for breakfast. After she made a detour to the kitchen
and Wufei's room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Duo, Quatre, and Trowa
looked up from their plates in surprise at a startled yell from Wufei's
room. A moment later, Eiko came running in with a maniacal grin and a bucket.
"EIKO! OMAE O KOROSU,
YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Wufei ran in after her, soaking wet and mad as hell.
Eiko shrieked and ducked
behind a startled Heero who'd just come in. "Eek! Save me!"
"Hey, Wufei!" Duo grinned.
"You're not supposed to take a shower in your clothes."
"Shut up, Bakagami!"
the angry Chinese boy snarled.
"What happened, Wufei?"
Trowa asked with a vague smile.
"That little brat dumped
a bucket of water on me!" Wufei snapped, pointing at Eiko.
"Moi?" she replied,
looking innocent. "I would never do anything like that, Niichan!
You must have done it yourself."
"Why, you little-!"
Wufei lunged at her.
She shrieked again
and bolted around the table, Wufei in hot pursuit.
Heero frowned in confusion
as he joined the other three pilots at the table. "What all did I miss
while I was out?"
"She's Wu-man's wife's
cousin," Duo explained. He then gave his friend a recap of the last 48
hours.
When Duo finished speaking,
Heero looked expectantly at Trowa for confirmation.
"She's proven to be
a good pilot," Trowa said quietly. "I didn't trust her at first, but she
doesn't have a single evil intent in her. She can be trusted. She'll be
a great help with our new enemy."
"New enemy?" Heero
repeated.
Eiko stopped so fast
Wufei ran into her. "Id Kushrenada," she said emotionlessly. "The son of
Treize. You've heard of the Gundam Versago?"
Heero nodded.
"That's Id's gundam.
It has a ZERO system similar to Wing ZERO's and Epyon's. Id himself is
a formidable foe, what with his high ki and and superior fighting abilities.
Add that to the Versago, and the gundams are done for. IF I had
stayed with OZ, that is." She suddenly grinned. "But on a lighter note,
why don't we all take a day off to have some fun?"
The five boys looked
at each other in complete bafflement. "Fun?"
She assumed a commanding
maternal stance, hands on hips. "That settles it! You boys are taking a
day off! No missions, no fighting OZ, nothing but relaxation and fun! Whether
you think you need it or not, the six of us are going to an earth theme
park! No arguments!"
Duo grinned and saluted
her. "Yessir!"
The others rolled their
eyes.
"Looks like Bakagami's
got a new friend," Heero muttered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Oh look, Id! Bunnies!"
Mariemeia pointed eagerly and dragged Id toward the rabbit cages. "Aren't
they cute? I love that little white one with the red eyes!"
Id smiled. "Yes, they
are kind of cute. But not as cute as my little sister."
She laughed and hugged
his leg. "You're nice, Id! Can we go ride the merry-go-round now? Please?"
"I thought you wanted
some cotton candy."
"Cotton candy! Let's
go get some!"
Id laughed as she dragged
him down the midway. "Slow down, M & M!"
A familiar voice stopped
them. "Nice shot, Niichan! You dunked Duo!"
"Eiko?" Id turned to
look and spotted Eiko's familiar black hair.
"Miss Ryushi!" Mariemeia
cried happily and ran toward Eiko.
"Nani?" Eiko
turned in surprise only to get tackled by the younger girl. "M & M?"
Eiko said in surprise, then looked up to see Id. "Uh oh. Um...Wufei? We
gotta problem."
"Hm?" Wufei turned
around. "Who's the kid?"
"Mariemeia Kushrenada,"
Eiko said quietly, eyes locked on Id. "And that's Id."
Id scowled as he approached
them. "Mariemeia, come here," he ordered sharply. When the girl had moved
to his side, he glared at Eiko and Wufei. "Well, Pheonix," he spat angrily.
"Who's your friend?"
Eiko visibly bristled.
"This is my cousin Meiran's husband, Chang Wufei. Niichan, that
is Id and Mariemeia Kushrenada, Treize' two children."
"That's Id?" Heero
asked as he and the other pilots came up behind them.
"Hai, Heero-san."
Eiko looked slightly panicked. "Don't you dare, Id! Leave them out of this."
Id sneered at her.
""I'm not interested in you right now, Pheonix. I have a score to settle
with Chang."
Wufei bristled silently.
"What are you talking about?"
"You attempted to assassinate
my father." Id drew a sword and aimed it at Wufei. "En garde."
Wufei scowled. "I have
no weapon to defend myself."
Id smirked. "Easily
fixed." He tossed the sword to Wufei, then pulled out his gunblade.
Eiko looked ready to
have a conniption. "That's not fair, Id! Your gunblade's made out of gundanium!"
"Stay out of this,
Pheonix!" Id snapped at her.
"Id?" Mariemeia said
softly, tugging at Id's pants leg. "You promised me cotton candy."
Id scowled at Wufei
a moment, then sighed. "Okay, 'Meia."
Eiko sighed with relief
and snatched the sword from Wufei. "Give me that! Id! Take your stupid
sword and quit neglecting your little sister!" She practically threw the
sword at Id. "Sorry, M & M, but I can't play with you today. Maybe
later, okay?"
"Okay!" the little
girl chirped and dragged Id off.
"She's cute," Duo commented
blandly. "And she just saved your ass, Wu-man."
"Don't call me 'Wu-man',
Bakagami," Wufei snarled.
"I see what you meant
when you said Id was dangerous to us, Eiko," Trowa said softly. "His aura
is dark."
"He's scary," Quatre
added with a shudder.
"He's an arrogant pain-in-the-ass,"
Heero grunted.
Eiko suddenly rounded
on them angrily. "Damarimas! All of you!" she snarled. "I don't
want to hear another word about him! Not a single word! Got it?!"
They all looked at
her in shock at her outburst.
"I came here to forget
about my past for at least one day and it seems that I've failed miserably."
She looked ready to burst into tears at any moment. She turned away from
them abruptly. "Gomen nasai, minna-chan. I shouldn't have blown
up at all of you like that. I-I need to be alone for a while." Without
another word, she ran off and disappeared into the crowd.
"Eiko...!" Wufei, Trowa,
and Duo chorused in an attempt to call her back.
"Eiko..." Quatre whispered,
clutching at his chest.
Heero looked at them
silently, then looked in the direction the black-haired girl had gone,
frowning slightly. Silently, he backed away from the other pilots, vanishing
into the crowd.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eiko sat silently
at the base of a tree, knees pulled up to her chest, tears streaming down
her emotionless face. She tensed at the soft tread of approaching feet
and instantly identified Heero's aura. "Go away, Heero-san," she
said dully. "Unless you plan to kill me right now, go right ahead. I hurt
too much inside to stand living."
"You sound like Quatre,"
Heero grunted from behind her.
She sighed miserably
and dropped her head onto her knees, not caring in the least when she heard
him sitting beside her. "What do you want, Heero?"
"How did you do it?"
"Nani? Do what?"
She looked at him in confusion.
"Pilot the Wing ZERO.
Only Zechs and I have ever mastered the ZERO system."
She smiled mirthlessly.
"I was raised in one. Doctor J trained me in one until I turned twelve.
Then when I turned thirteen, OZ kidnapped me and trained me to be their
ultimate weapon. I didn't want to fight at first, to hurt innocent people,
so they put a limitor in my neck to control me." She pulled her hair away
from her neck to reveal a silver metal switch. "I had no choice after that.
They made me watch as they destroyed my home colony, as they killed Cousin
Meiran. I thought they'd killed Niichan, too, and I just...broke
down. Then when you and Duo-kun came to attack the base, I sensed your
thoughts about Niichan's mission at the time and I decided right
then and there that I would get my revenge on OZ for Meiran's death and
rejoin Niichan."
"What happened during
the three years before Operation: METEOR?"
She sighed heavily.
"Id trained me how to fight when Zechs wasn't training me to hone my powers.
Id and I became close friends during that time. Now he feels that I've
betrayed him by joining the 'enemy'. I don't blame him." She dropped her
head onto her knees again and was silent.
Heero looked at her
silently and noticed her shoulders were shaking. Was she laughing? No,
she was crying! But why? "Eiko? Doushitano?" When she didn't respond,
he hesitantly put a hand on her shoulder. "Eiko...?"
If anything, her sobs
were now audible, though she still didn't respond, even to his use of her
name. Acting on instinct, he awkwardly pulled her close in a comforting
hug. She openly sobbed into his chest, hands gripping his shirt tightly
as she cried. He attempted to soothe her the way he'd once seen a mother
soothing an upset child.
"Eiko, please tell
me what's wrong," he pleaded softly.
"I think I've lost
my koi forever," she whimpered. "Id hates me now. He hates me for
leaving him for you guys. He won't let me into his mind anymore. He only
lets me see his hatred and betrayal and what he wants to do to you guys.
I'm scared to let any of you near him. The five of you are like a bunch
of oniichans to me. I don't like the way Id's making me take sides
and choose between either betraying you guys or him. Why can't he get along
with everyone? Why is he doing this to me?"
Heero stayed silent.
He didn't know how to answer her, or even if he should. He hated indecision.
It was dangerous and usually meant getting hurt or killed. Finally he sighed.
"That's the price of doing what you feel is right. You usually end up doing
it alone. Except you aren't alone, because you have Quatre, Trowa, Wufei,
and Duo doing it with you."
She sat back to look
up at him, wiping away her tears. "You don't just mean me," she stated
bluntly. "You're talking about yourself, too."
He nodded. "Hai,
Eiko.
You have more in common with all of us than I'd first thought. Don't give
up on Id yet, Motochan. Fate doesn't just throw missiles at us.
Sometimes it throws candy. Now let's get back to the others and enjoy the
rest of the day. Okay?"
She smiled slightly
and nodded. "Arigatou, Heero-niichan."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author's notes:
EEE! I'd planned to make this part a humor part, but it refused to let
me make it humor. Gomen for Heero's OOC-ness, but don't you think it fits?
~Ratha~