Creature of the Wood
Chapter 17
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"What do you mean it's gone?" Selena Winner brought herself up to her full height, glaring over the counter at the young man who was currently stuttering over his words as he tried to find any information possible to get this crazy lady away from his desk. It wasn't that she was intimidating in size... even with her at full height, he could look over the top of her head without trying. It was the intensity of her gaze and the calm, rational tone of her voice that made the ticket clerk want to climb over the baggage conveyor and disappear.

Shuffling through papers and scanning over his computer screen once more, the clerk felt his heart sinking into his knees and progressing steadily downward. "I-it's not here, Miss Winner. According to our records, you boarded your shuttle this morning, ahead of schedule, and left to the colonies."

She brought her elbows to rest against the counter, slender fingers rubbing against each temple as she tried to keep her temper in check. "So what you're telling me is that I walked in here, got on my shuttle and left, correct?"

"Y-yes, ma'am."

"Mind telling me why I'm standing here then, instead of being halfway to L4?"

"I..."

Sighing, she brought her hands down against the wood, fixing him with that singular glare. "Look. I've shown you my ID, I've been standing here for almost 45 minutes arguing this. Obviously I did NOT get on that shuttle, and I want to know who DID. Now I suggest you start making moves to find out before I sue this company for negligence which led to grand theft." As he scurried away, Selena let her head fall against her arms, her mind wondering exactly how severe the repercussions would be if she just went Sidhe on the incompetants and removed them from the gene pool. It would be another 30 minutes before the now-haggard looking clerk came back to her... and he didn't look happy.

"M-miss Winner?"

"Yeeeees?" She leaned over the counter again, resting her chin in one palm and fixing him with a sweet smile that was straining every ounce of self control she still possessed. As far as she was concerned, this was getting very old, very quickly... and if there wasn't a good answer waiting at the end of this rather dark tunnel, someone was going to wish rather fervently that they hadn't been born.

The clerk cleared his throat softly, shrinking back under the intense gaze and directing his attention towards the papers in his hand. "I-I found the records of the person on the flight this morning. Apparently, however, there was a mix-up by the clerk on duty at the time." As her eyes on him narrowed, he was at least relieved that it wasn't HIS fault this had happened. It wasn't making things any easier, however... since he was the one who had to deal with the aftermath. "The shuttle was registered under your name, but apparently the passenger and crew roster only had you listed as 'Miss Winner'. The person who got on the flight this morning had your last name, but we looked up the records and realized that it wasn't 'Selena Winner', it was 'Quatre Winner'. No one had given us your physical description, so there was no way to kno--"

"I do not BELIEVE this!" Selena threw her hands up into the air, half turning away from the desk before glaring back at him. "Quatre Winner is my BROTHER, not my sister, as anyone with eyes in their head would have noticed! How in Hades he managed to walk in here and fool one of your staff is completely beyond me!" She fairly growled, trying to come up with a rational explanation for all of this, and coming up with only one solution. Looking back up at him, she calmed herself, bringing her voice back down to conversational tone. "Pray tell... judging from the time they left this morning, where is my darling sibling and MY shuttle now?"

* * *

"Ms. Winner, we're preparing to land. Please make sure you're seated." The pilot's voice came clearly over the intercom and Quatre nestled back into the seat with a faint smile on his face. Outside the window, stars hovered in the silence and barely seemed to move as the shuttle drew nearer to its destination. The crew thought that he was his sister... even though they knew his name now, they apparently hadn't been told precicely which Winner was going to be getting on the shuttle. It had been sent by Instructor H, and the people manning it were his. None had come into contact with the UnSeelie family before, and Quatre was perfectly content to let them believe that he was female. He was just very glad that he'd taken Cathy's suggestion of wearing a sweater to the spaceport. It had served its purpose of keeping him warm, then had also acted as a shield of sorts... the bulky garment making it so that they really couldn't tell that he was male, so long as he kept his voice quiet and raised the pitch slightly. It was easy enough to do.

Now, however, as the shuttle lurched against the stabilizers and started to slow for entry into the docking bay, he closed his eyes and hoped that he hadn't made this trip for nothing. It would all hinge on what Instructor H wanted, and whether or not he was capable of truly taking Selena's place in this whirlwind.

The black void of space was replaced by the brightly lit hangar bay as the shuttle slid into place, landing gently within the bulk of the asteroid. Quatre's eyes were closed as he felt the shuttle come to rest, the dizzying sensation of motionlessness after hours of travel making itself known. His hands reached for the belt around his wait, unbuckling it and laying it to the sides as he rose to his feet and took his first look at the laboratory that was the pride and joy of the Nockers associated with Winner Enterprises. It was also their largest kept secret, and as Quatre's eyes focused on the array of mobile suits in various stages of repair and manufacture, he began to realize just why Instructor H had kept this hidden from the head of the Winner family.

The pilot of the shuttle nodded to him as they both stepped off into the bay, then motioned him towards the large metal doors that were sliding open on the far end of the vast expanse. "This way, Miss," he said, bringing one hand lightly against Quatre's back and steering him towards the doors. Quatre found himself hard pressed to keep a straight face amidst all the 'Miss' and 'Ma'am' comments, but he did enjoy the man's smalltalk. It gave him a background of white noise so that he could think of his responses when it came down to meeting with Instructor H. He was pretty certain that the scientist had met his sister before, or at the very least had seen her. This was going to be tricky. It was also going to happen a lot sooner than he expected. As they made their way down the hall, he was brought to a stop in front of another door, much smaller, that slid open into what appeared to be someone's personal quarters.

"Selena, dear, you're FAR too early. Now I know you've got a penchant for being ready for anything but this is a bit unexp-- who the hell are you?" The heavyset man who had been intently staring at readouts on a screen in front of himself had turned while speaking and found himself face to face... not with the headstrong daughter of the Winner clan... but apparently the equally headstrong SON. It only took him a moment to recognize the Heir of the Winner family, and he turned back towards the console, muttering under his breath. "Damnit, I didn't need this. Now we'll have to send another shuttle down and she won't get here until tomorrow... AND I have to find a way to get you back without your father finding out about this."

"Then why not let me attempt to fulfill my sister's duties, save us all a lot of time and arguments you really don't want to get into, and *I'll* handle my father." Quatre crossed his arms over his chest, levelling the ice hard gaze at the back of the man's head. "You said yourself that she won't get here until tomorrow, and from the ruckus I saw in the hangar bay, you don't have much time left. She couldn't have been training all this time, or I'd have found out about it long before now. So unless I miss my guess, you were looking for a willing Fae that would fit your needs, and she just happened to be your first choice." He smiled sardonically at seeing the look of first anger then shock pass across the man's face as he spun around to face the blonde haired teen. He was right, and the old bat knew it. "So now I'm your second choice. Tell me what you need and I'll do it."

Instructor H cursed inwardly, his fists curling tightly at his sides as he tried to think of a way out of this. Apparently the ability to talk anyone into a corner was hereditary and didn't just come with the auburn haired hellcat that had first offered to assist. "I hope you realize what you're getting yourself into, heir Winner..." He turned then, motioning towards the man who had escorted Quatre to him to begin with. "Get him into a flight suit and let's see if he can survive."

* * *

Darting through the spaceport, Duo kept his bag clutched tightly at his side. He'd long since made his way out of the commercial passenger area and now was praying that he wouldn't be seen as he flitted from hiding place to hiding place along the freighter loading area. This was going to be his best bet, seeing as how he didn't have the time to arrange a flight... but he was just hoping to find a freighter headed in the right direction. Hiding behind a stack of crates, he took a deep breath, calming himself and letting his ears pick out traces of conversation here and there.

"...get a move on, if we want to be out of here by 1800 hours. We haven't got much time..."

"...over there. That's right, just put it with the rest."

"...rendezvous in the L5 cluster in a few hours... we should make it."

The last snippet of talk made Duo prick his ears. L5... that's one of the main colony clusters, and he knew that Heero was headed out towards one of them. So long as it wasn't too far between them, he should be fine. Picking up his bag, he idly wished he'd paid more attention during his Colony classes. At least then he'd know where they were. He caught sight of the two men who had been conversing, and waited until he could see which ship they went to. Once he knew for certain, he made his way towards it, waiting until the bay doors were starting to swing closed before launching himself up into the cargo area, his bag sliding onto the floor beside him. Immediately, he picked himself up again, finding another hiding place as quickly as he could.

As he settled down in one of the maintenance crawlspaces, he wedged his bag behind his back, using it for a makeshift pillow and curling up to try and get some rest. It was going to be a few hours, judging from the conversation he'd overheard, and he'd best be ready to move when they landed. The last thoughts he had as his eyes slipped closed were of Heero... and whether or not he would be able to catch up to the elusive satyr.

* * *

TBC